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Aftermarket Parts Your Glock Should Have: Making It Your Own
When it comes to Glocks, I like to compare them to the old Honda Civics. They are reliable, everyone has one, and the aftermarket support is enormous.
Out of every pistol, the Glock is a true blank canvas, thanks to how bland it is from the factory. Simply adding a weapon-mounted light could drastically improve its appearance while giving you an edge.
And that’s what we’ll discuss—what aftermarket parts should you put on your Glock?
The aim here is to enhance the aesthetics and efficiency of your pistol. These modifications should help you become more comfortable and accurate with your Glock.
Of course, don’t forget to train. No modification can make you a better shooter if you don’t start somewhere. I won’t mention “ammo” as a modification, but you should have a lot of it for training purposes before buying accessories.
“All The Goods” Glock 19. Source: reddit
Red Dot Sight
Put simply, aiming a red dot is faster and more efficient than trying to line up your iron sights. Think about it. If it’s the middle of the night and you don’t have night sights, will you be able to use them at all?
You can, but it will be quite the task, and I hope you’ve trained in low light to do so.
That makes the red dot sight a must for anyone who wants to be more efficient and accurate with their Glock. Of course, if you don’t have a MOS variant, you must get your slide milled, but it’s worth it for the accuracy gains and extra confidence behind your shots.
There are plenty of red dot sights to choose from, and you don’t have to spend much money unless you’re set on the best.
The red dot sight is my #1 modification for any Glock.
Glocks look and shoot great with the Trijicon RMR. Source: reddit
Weapon-mounted Light
The weapon-mounted light is another candidate for the best modification you can make to a pistol. One of the most important universal safety rules is to know what you’re aiming at.
At this point, having a WML is a necessity for any firearm, especially one used for self-defense. In a world where bad things happen in the dark, being able to light the way can make all the difference.
Weapon-mounted lights can also deter an attacker. Having a bright light flash in your face while your eyes are adjusted to the dark not only hurts but will cause a flinching reaction, and the attacker will cover or shut their eyes.
During this time, you have your chance to high tail out of there. Everyone goes home happy.
Lights can be expensive, similar to red dot sights, but there are many less expensive options that will do the trick.
You don’t have to go straight to a pricey Surefire, as Streamlight has affordable, high-quality lights for all pistol sizes. You won’t go wrong with either brand.
A Glock 19x and a Surefire X300UA make an excellent pair. Source: reddit
Trigger
Let’s be honest: the Glock isn’t famous for having a great trigger. They’re either terrible or sometimes decent from the factory but never great. The ones that don’t suck have a break-in process where they may get better, but you won’t know right away. Typically, they’re garbage.
What’s the solution? If you guessed an aftermarket trigger, you’d be correct.
Regardless of which trigger you go with, don’t go too light on the trigger pull if you’re using your Glock for defensive purposes. You don’t want your nerves to get the best of you and cause you to make a terrible mistake.
I don’t typically like to make specific recommendations, but due to the insane number of manufacturers throwing their products in the ring, I’d say go with a Johnny Glock. They dramatically improve the feel of the trigger and are crisper than a Lays potato chip. I’m not alone in this recommendation; many armorers I know always recommend them as well.
Extended Magazine
Most Glocks already come with a decent magazine capacity from the factory, but there is always room for improvement, especially on the Slimline Glocks with their single-stack magazine capacities. There’s no room for small-capacity mags in this brave new world.
If you own a Slimline, chances are you’re capped at ten rounds or less. Take the 43X, for example, one of the best carry guns on the market, which is also capped at ten rounds. The solution for that would be a Shield Arms 15-round magazine.
It keeps the exact profile of the factory magazine but utilizes a double-stack structure instead of a single-stack, providing those additional rounds.
Having extra ammo is always a good idea. You’ve probably heard this saying before: ” Having it and not needing it is better,” which definitely applies to ammo.
Shield Arms 15 Round Magazine and a Glock 43x. Source: reddit
Extended Magazine Release
A common complaint with Glocks is the magazine release, especially if you have shorter hands. You do not want to have to adjust your grip every time you need to reload.
Glock understood this and came out with its own OEM extended release, which does help. However, there are others out there, like the Strike Industries Modular magazine release, which does an even better job and doesn’t chew up your magazines as some others do.
Mag releases are a cheap and easy swap, so why not?
Conclusion
Customizing your Glock is a fun but thoughtful process. You have to consider many things, like what you’re planning to use it for and how your build can affect your shooting performance.
But that’s all part of the fun. Once you get your Glock build completed, there will be no other like it, and that’s why modifying firearms is so popular for those who want to improve their accuracy and efficiency.
