CAN WE BUILD A GLOCK MY SON ACTUALLY LIKES?

Glock pistols have earned a reputation for being simple, durable and reliable. They are used by law enforcement agencies, competitive shooters and millions of recreational shooters around the world.

But reliable doesn't necessarily mean everybody likes them.

My son doesn't particularly like Glocks.

That gave me an idea.

Can we build a Glock that my son actually likes?

That's going to be the basis of another Gunsmith Rx project.

START WITH A GOOD PISTOL

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the Glock platform. That's actually what makes this project interesting.

We're not trying to fix a broken pistol.

We're going to start with a proven design and see whether thoughtful gunsmithing and carefully selected components can change the shooting experience without giving up the characteristics that made Glock successful in the first place.

And before we start changing anything, we need to determine what actually needs changing.

GLOCK HAS BEEN CHANGING TOO

One thing that makes this project particularly interesting is that Glock hasn't stood still.

Over successive generations, Glock has changed grip configurations and textures, barrels, controls, magazine wells, sighting and optic-mounting options, and other features. Some of those changes address the same areas gunsmiths and aftermarket manufacturers have been modifying for years.

Glock's Gen5 pistols, for example, introduced changes including the Glock Marksman Barrel, removal of the finger grooves and ambidextrous slide-stop controls. Glock has continued evolving the platform in subsequent designs.

That creates another question for this project:

How much customization does a Glock really need today?

Depending upon the pistol we start with, some modifications that made sense on an earlier Glock may already have been addressed by the factory on a later one.

WHAT DOES "CUSTOM" ACTUALLY MEAN?

There is a big difference between installing a collection of aftermarket parts and building a pistol around a particular shooter.

Before ordering anything, I want my son to shoot and handle the pistol and tell me specifically what he doesn't like.

Is it the grip?

The trigger?

The sights?

The way the pistol points?

The recoil characteristics?

The controls?

Or is it simply the overall shooting experience?

Until we answer those questions, buying parts would mostly be guessing.

FOUR PLACES TO START

Several years ago, I completed the American Gunsmithing Institute's Glock customization training taught by Gene Shuey.

That training approached Glock customization through four major areas:

Sights. Barrel. Grip frame. Trigger.

I studied the entire program at the time, but it has been a couple of years since I've been through it. Rather than simply repeating what was taught then, I'll revisit the portions that apply to this project and compare them with the pistols, parts and factory features available today.

That should make this project more useful than simply building another customized Glock.

We get to look at what gunsmiths traditionally changed, what Glock has changed at the factory, and what modifications still provide a meaningful benefit for an individual shooter.

ESTABLISH A BASELINE

Before modifying the pistol, we'll shoot it in factory configuration.

We'll document accuracy and reliability, but we'll also record something that's harder to measure:

What doesn't my son like about it?

Then we'll have something meaningful to compare after the work is completed.

If he dislikes the grip before the project, does he like it afterward?

If he dislikes the trigger, did our changes actually improve it for him?

And if we spend money changing something that doesn't improve his experience, we'll say so.

WHAT ABOUT COST?

There's another side to this project that matters to anyone considering having a Glock customized.

At some point it may make more sense to buy a different Glock—or even a newer generation—than to modify the pistol already sitting in the safe.

On the other hand, a customer may already own a perfectly reliable Glock that simply needs a few carefully selected changes.

We'll keep track of what we spend and compare the options as we go.

The goal isn't to build the most expensive Glock possible.

It's to determine where customization actually provides value.

RELIABILITY COMES FIRST

Whatever we change, reliability remains the priority.

Glock's Safe Action system and reputation for reliability are fundamental parts of the platform. A modification that makes the pistol look better or feel different isn't much of an improvement if it compromises dependable operation.

So every change will be evaluated with that in mind.

THE PROJECT

We'll select our starting pistol, establish a factory baseline, identify exactly what my son doesn't like, research the available options, make our modifications and return to the range.

We'll document the work, the parts, the costs and the results along the way.

And when we're finished, there's really only one question that matters:

Can we build a Glock my son actually likes?CAN WE BUILD A GLOCK MY SON ACTUALLY LIKES?

Glock pistols have earned a reputation for being simple, durable and reliable. They are used by law enforcement agencies, competitive shooters and millions of recreational shooters around the world.

But reliable doesn't necessarily mean everybody likes them.

My son doesn't particularly like Glocks.

That gave me an idea.

Can we build a Glock that my son actually likes?

That's going to be the basis of another Gunsmith Rx project.


START WITH A GOOD PISTOL

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the Glock platform. That's actually what makes this project interesting.

We're not trying to fix a broken pistol.

We're going to start with a proven design and see whether thoughtful gunsmithing and carefully selected components can change the shooting experience without giving up the characteristics that made Glock successful in the first place.

And before we start changing anything, we need to determine what actually needs changing.


GLOCK HAS BEEN CHANGING TOO

One thing that makes this project particularly interesting is that Glock hasn't stood still.

Over successive generations, Glock has changed grip configurations and textures, barrels, controls, magazine wells, sighting and optic-mounting options, and other features. Some of those changes address the same areas gunsmiths and aftermarket manufacturers have been modifying for years.

Glock's Gen5 pistols, for example, introduced changes including the Glock Marksman Barrel, removal of the finger grooves and ambidextrous slide-stop controls. Glock has continued evolving the platform in subsequent designs.

That creates another question for this project:

How much customization does a Glock really need today?

Depending upon the pistol we start with, some modifications that made sense on an earlier Glock may already have been addressed by the factory on a later one.


WHAT DOES "CUSTOM" ACTUALLY MEAN?

There is a big difference between installing a collection of aftermarket parts and building a pistol around a particular shooter.

Before ordering anything, I want my son to shoot and handle the pistol and tell me specifically what he doesn't like.

Is it the grip?

The trigger?

The sights?

The way the pistol points?

The recoil characteristics?

The controls?

Or is it simply the overall shooting experience?

Until we answer those questions, buying parts would mostly be guessing.


FOUR PLACES TO START

Several years ago, I completed the American Gunsmithing Institute's Glock customization training taught by Gene Shuey.

That training approached Glock customization through four major areas:

Sights. Barrel. Grip frame. Trigger.

I studied the entire program at the time, but it has been a couple of years since I've been through it. Rather than simply repeating what was taught then, I'll revisit the portions that apply to this project and compare them with the pistols, parts and factory features available today.

That should make this project more useful than simply building another customized Glock.

We get to look at what gunsmiths traditionally changed, what Glock has changed at the factory, and what modifications still provide a meaningful benefit for an individual shooter.


ESTABLISH A BASELINE

Before modifying the pistol, we'll shoot it in factory configuration.

We'll document accuracy and reliability, but we'll also record something that's harder to measure:

What doesn't my son like about it?

Then we'll have something meaningful to compare after the work is completed.

If he dislikes the grip before the project, does he like it afterward?

If he dislikes the trigger, did our changes actually improve it for him?

And if we spend money changing something that doesn't improve his experience, we'll say so.


WHAT ABOUT COST?

There's another side to this project that matters to anyone considering having a Glock customized.

At some point it may make more sense to buy a different Glock—or even a newer generation—than to modify the pistol already sitting in the safe.

On the other hand, a customer may already own a perfectly reliable Glock that simply needs a few carefully selected changes.

We'll keep track of what we spend and compare the options as we go.

The goal isn't to build the most expensive Glock possible.

It's to determine where customization actually provides value.


RELIABILITY COMES FIRST

Whatever we change, reliability remains the priority.

Glock's Safe Action system and reputation for reliability are fundamental parts of the platform. A modification that makes the pistol look better or feel different isn't much of an improvement if it compromises dependable operation.

So every change will be evaluated with that in mind.


THE PROJECT

We'll select our starting pistol, establish a factory baseline, identify exactly what my son doesn't like, research the available options, make our modifications and return to the range.

We'll document the work, the parts, the costs and the results along the way.

And when we're finished, there's really only one question that matters:

Can we build a Glock my son actually likes?