PMCI - September 2015

PERFECTING THE DAILY
CONCEALED CARRY GLOCK
Having carried a Glock during his time as an LEO, and subsequently as his concealed
carry handgun of choice, this month Trampas Swanson looks at how even “perfection”
can be improved.
Ever since Gaston Glock’s “wonder 9” model 17
was introduced to the US market in 1986, the
Glock pistol series has mesmerised shooters
from all walks of life in a way rarely seen
since the days of the Colt .45 Peacemaker. This
polymer and steel trendsetter has been the
basis of urban myth, controversy and ultimately,
legend. The Glock has managed to transcend
the shooting range and into shooting culture
itself. You can’t turn on the television these days
without seeing a Glock being used in a nightly TV show or movie.
Musicians are even literally singing its praises in their songs
mentioning Glock firearms. This is not a fluke by any means. Over
the years, the Glock reputation and presence among military and
over 70% of US police forces has helped civilians trust carrying
their pistols. Unlike other companies who produce rifles, shotguns
as well as handguns, Glock does one thing in multiple calibres
and does it so well; their tag line is “Glock Perfection”.
With the understanding that nothing is perfect, the Glock does
make a very strong case for being the ultimate duty weapon with
its high capacity magazines, easy to use controls and rock solid
reliability in less than friendly environments. After 11 years of
Law Enforcement service carrying a Glock on and off duty every
day, I can attest to this personally, but the Glock is far from
where my shopping stops when it comes to my daily concealed
carry pistol. Let’s take a look at some key factors in upgrading
an already great gun to make it even better.
GETTING SIGHTED IN
First, the factory Glock sights are basically the “bare bones”
cheapest thing Glock can put on a pistol and have it still perform
well out of the box. Its white outlined “U” shaped rear sight and
large white dot front sight are cumbersome to acquire quickly and
with pin point precision. Recently, I upgraded my daily carry pistol
from a Gen 3 to a Gen 4 Glock 19 chambered in 9mm.
The new generation’s interchangeable grip back straps, wider
magazine release and more aggressive grip surface were new
options I preferred over my old pistol. Before I even pulled my
new favorite Glock out of the box, I had ordered a great set of
TRUGLO night sights to replace the factory set. I regularly choose
TRUGLO because of their reliability and reputation for strong, steel
sights, which I have used in both Law Enforcement and in the
private sector teaching firearms classes. I have found over the
years, their night sights can last up to 3 years longer than most
of TRUGLO’s competitors. For my daily carry G19 9mm, I chose
TRUGLO’s new TFX night sights. These sights offer the best of both
worlds combining green fiber optic sights for great presentation
for daytime use and even in most low light situations with Tritium
inserts to give you a soft but quick sight acquisition in the dark.
The body of the front and rear sights are a bit longer than
factory sights, but sit very low in height for a great snag-free
design. Retailing at around US$175 before installation, these are
not the cheapest option on the market, but you seriously get
what you pay for in an area where your life may depend on it.
In the past six months of running these sights on my daily
carry, I can honestly say they are the best product currently
available on the market for anyone carrying a concealed carry weapon.
TRIGGER UPGRADE
A common complaint with the Glock is the trigger. While there
is a great advantage to a double action only system due to its
consistent trigger pull, the “lawyer safe” 5.5 pound trigger is a
slightly heavy for new shooters and smaller hands. Normally
this is a quick fix by using a trigger kit and new disconnector
by Ghost Inc. This is a simple drop-in replacement kit that is
recommended by the manufacturer to be installed by a certified
Glock Armourer. As it turns out, I have been certified for the past
10 years and feel this task is safe for most anyone, who can
follow simple directions to install using only a small punch. This
kit contains a small plunger spring, trigger spring, disconnector
FIREARMS PERFECTING THE GLOCK
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