Category: Glock

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Glock magazines PSA

Can the Alpha Foxtrot S15 Be Used With PSA’s Dagger Micro 15-Round Mags?

Can the Alpha Foxtrot S15 use the PSA Dagger Micro 15-Round Mag?

I’ve asked that question on at least one 1911 forum and was told that it wouldn’t work, but no one has tried.

I’m not interested in hearing assumptions.

It either will latch or it won’t

It will either release and drop free from the mag well effortlessly or not.

It should feed properly.

The Alpha Foxtrot S15 is built around Shield Arms S15 15-round mags, which are 3rd-Party mags made for the Glock 43X and the Glock 48. Because of that, the AF-S15 can also use the OEM G43X and G48 mags, although those particular mags have a 10-round capacity.

In the quest to check for yet another source of mags for the AF-S15, I’ve ordered one PSA Dagger Micro magazine, which has a 15-round capacity and can be used with G43Xs and G48s.

I saw that PSA had the mags in stock. I ordered a blem mag with the Micro Slick finish, for $29. Shipping was $9.99 and the total was $40.72 (shipping is always a lot and I didn’t need anything else from PSA).

Note that the Dagger Micro mags are polymer-coated, even around the mag latch area, which means that this will be a wear point, as the AF-S15 uses a metal mag catch within it’s mag well. I’m also curious if the mag will slide easily into and out of the mag well, and also unlatch without hangup issues.

I ordered one mag to test, initially, as I didn’t want to order 2-3 only to find that they won’t work.

The test results will determine if I order more (specifically for range use).

I’ll share my findings with the rest of the world, as I keep seeing folks asking this question or outright verbally assuming that the Dagger Micro mags will work with this gun.

Categories
G19 Glock Springfield Armory XD45

I Decided to Switch My Carry Gun

I’ve switched from carrying the Glock 19 gen 4 to the Springfield Armory XD45 subcompact in Mod 2 format.

Why the change?

I’d always been interested in the XD45.  I bought this used (see my last post).  It appears to have a very low round count…there’s slight barrel wear (just the black finish has worn) and there’s one place on the slide that has finish wear.  I took it to the range and shot a bit over 100 rounds from it.  It has VERY manageable recoil (remember, it shoots .45ACP) for a firearm it’s size.  I had no issues firing it…there were no hiccups or malfunctions.  I shoot this better than I do my 1911 of the same caliber.  The grip safety doesn’t bother me and I’ve carried the 9mm counterpart in the past so I’m familiar with the platform.

There was nothing to not like about the gun.  It is a good bit smaller than my G19 and I’d been thinking of going back to my XD9 anyways.  The XD45’s raw price was $320 but after all the fees, it was $420, which is still a great price for a basically new firearm.  I can basically switch carrying the XD45 to the XD9 (and back) without any issue.  I did that during my last range visit and because the two guns share the same platform, I had no issues being accurate or getting used to triggers when switching between both handguns.  Recoil happens after the round has been fired, so it doesn’t affect my accuracy (unless I’m anticipating it).

I’d been using the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holster with the XD9 subcompact shell when I first started carrying.  The XD45 will fit in that holster without issue.

Magazine capacity is 9 rounds with the normal magazine, although it comes with a 13-round extended magazine as well (which I use as a backup mag).  I’ll be getting a few other 9-round mags soon, so that when I go to the range, I don’t spend most of my time loading up mags.

The sights are great, but are not good in low-light situations, so I may have to get new sights.  I’ll probably not go with XS Big Dots this time.  If I can find a set that have the same profile as the current ones but are night sights, I’ll be fine.  Or, I can keep them as-is and not mess up a good thing.  I’ll figure out which direction I want to go soon.

Categories
Big Dot ETS G19 Glock XS

Glock 19 as a Carry Gun?

I’ve decided to give my Glock 19 (Gen 4) a chance at concealed carry.

I can start carrying it immediately but actually want to get a few things first. Firstly, I already have a holster (an Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0) and have the Glock 19 shell for it, but I ordered a N82 Tactical Professional IWB holster specifically for the Glock 19.  I’ve this same holster for my PX4 Storm and it is exceptional.  It will take awhile for me to receive it, though, since they are made to order. I also ordered new sights.  What did I order?  A set of XS Big Dot sights.  They should arrive tomorrow.  I can shoot well enough with the OEM U-sight system, but wanted something that would help me quickly focus on the front sight.  Since my eyesight is getting worse, I need an edge and I think the Big Dot system would give me that edge. I bought three (3) ETS mags 15-round mags, as well, since my particular Glock came with three (OEM) 10-round mags.  I need to try to sell the 10-rounders…I want more than 10 rounds in the firearm when carrying. There is one thing I need to get over when carrying the Glock.  I’m not used to carrying a firearm that’s striker-fired.  This firearm has no safeties (other than the internal and trigger safeties).  At least when I carried the XD Mod.2, I could rely upon the grip safety.  I’m well aware of the fact that I should “keep my booger hook off the trigger”…remember, I’ve been carrying awhile now, but firearms can and do go off without fingers touching the trigger, mainly during reholstering.

Also, I’ve been carrying small handguns the last few years.  The grip on the G19 is bigger than what I’m used to.  Hopefully, I can get used to that.  I’ve been carrying in the house without a magazine the last two days just to get used to the grip (and so I can get used to carrying a striker-fired handgun).  The Grip isn’t all that much bigger than the GP P11’s grip, so I don’t know why I’m having a difficult time with the G19’s grip.

All of these changes are due to me not being able to find viable sight options for the Thunder.  That’s a damned shame…that’s the ONLY thing I don’t like about the Bersa, but I NEED to be able to see the front sight.

UPDATE 1:  The sights arrived.  They are now on the gun.  Some comments:

  • With this set, only the front sight has tritium.  The rear does not.  That surprised me and now I know why the sights were so cheap.  I may later pony up for the rear tritium sight (I believe I can purchase it by itself).  I’m not returning them…they’re on the gun and it would be a hassle to remove and return them…as well, the OEM sights that I removed got scarred up and can’t be re-used (I suppose they could but screw that).  I think I need to find some soft-tipped punches.
  • The front dot’s tritium isn’t as bright as I thought it would be, but maybe I’m being a bit TOO critical.  I mean, I can see them easily when I’m in a dark room.  We’ll see how long they last.
You might hate James Yeager, but he absolutely makes several great points, as well as a great demonstration of long distance shots with the XS Big Dot sights…they are indeed accurate…you just have to read the instructions on how to use them, and understand bullet drop.
Categories
Canik Century Arms CZ Glock nationalists patriotism Turkey

Canik Firearms

For those of you that don’t mind Turkish guns (the non-Nationalists out there, maybe), Caniks are very nice guns.  They’ve a good polymer gun presence in the US gun market.  A few of their polymer guns are the TP9 SF, The TP9 SF Elite, and the TP9 SFX.  They no longer sell the TP9 SA, but have reworked their TP9 v2:  it is now called the TP9 DA.

Canik also sells all-metal guns.  Canik Sharks and their variants are available on the market, but I do believe they’re no longer imported by Century Arms.  Tristar is an importer of Caniks.  Any handguns they have are actually Caniks.  Tristar handguns are just rebranded Caniks.  A few of those guns are:  the C120, C100, T120, T100, and P100.  Most people refer to these guns as CZ clones, mainly due to the slide rails being inverted compared to traditional gun slides.  They are not actual clones…they may share similar parts but you actually won’t be able to swap most parts internal to a CZ75, for example, into a Tristar C120.  I don’t call them clones.  I call them CZ-inspired.

Now, about my Nationalist comment.  Many people tend to get their panties in a bind when they discover that Caniks are gaining popularity.  These people usually can’t hold back the “I don’t support terrorism” comment.  The general population of Turkey should not be held accountable for the few radicals they have.  The US has radicals as well.  If people held the US accountable like the US citizens always want accountability with other countries (such as Turkey), there probably wouldn’t be an uproar.  The things we do to our own citizens here is actually appalling, yet we’ll make generalist comments about a damned Turkish gun maker.  Caniks are imported by US businesses.  The money spent on these guns are staying in the US…it’s going to those that work in those US businesses, to people like you and I.  I wish I could buy a Canik every time I heard these comments, just so I could tell those folks, “every time one of you open your mouth, I buy a Canik.”  I’m a military veteran and I’m about as red-blooded as one can be and I own three of these guns.  It doesn’t bother me one bit.  You can love your country and buy imported goods without issue, IMO.  Every person is different.  I feel I can do whatever the hell I want with my money, for one.  Secondly, for every Nationalist that tells me that I’m unpatriotic because I bought a Turkish gun, I ask them, “have you served your country?  Have you fought on foreign soil?”  It usually shuts them up because most of those folk have never seen the world beyond the town they live in.

As well, those of you that feel that “it isn’t a Glock”…no shit.  You can own both.  Some people say, “well, aftermarket support isn’t on the level of Glock”.  Well, there aren’t many gun makes that have the level of aftermarket support of Glocks.  Still, all you have to do is Google Search on “Canik TP9 holsters” or “Canik TP9 sights” and you’ll see a ton of hits…it won’t be like there’s a scarcity of such info…trust me, I did several such searches the other day when someone commented that Caniks weren’t wanted.  I also posted the results.  I also said, “there’s a whole world beyond just Glocks.  I own several Glocks and several Caniks and I like both.  There’s room for both.”  The guy never responded back.  It was probably because such details are difficult to refute.

If you’re new to Caniks or want to know more about them, check out the Canik Fanatik web forum..

Categories
EFK failure G22 Glock recoil spring

EFK Fire Dragon – Dual Action Recoil Spring – Failure!

The spring is supposed to be one unit, not three separate pieces.  This is what I found when field stripped the G22 this evening.

Yeah, look at that shit.

This is NOT good.  That spring was $70.

The last I saw, the spring was one piece and I’d installed it in the gun as soon as I received it.  The end screw apparently came off, probably during the last range visit back in January.

I’m glad I didn’t depend on this gun with my life.

I’ve sent EFK the following notification:

This is regarding Order ID 00000.
I bought a dual action recoil spring from you for me Glock 22 back in January.
The last time I had fired it was on 1/31.  Today, I did a field strip of my gun.  I found that the dual action spring came out in 3 pieces.  That’s funny but concerning because last I remember handling it was when I put it in the gun…it was one piece and it hasn’t been out of the gun until today.  There’s a piece missing…the screw that goes on the end.  I’m assuming it went flying off at the range the last time I shot it.
Yeah, this needs to be fixed ASAP.  Spending almost $70 for a spring for it to fail like this…that’s horrible.
I’m looking for some feedback from you.  I’m either looking for a replacement with a guarantee that the replacement won’t fail or a refund.

I’m not sure what their response will be.  I imagine they’ll want me to ship it back to them.  I also imagine they’ll send me another.  I’m not even sure I want another one, as I’ve no confidence that the  the replacement will not also fail.

We’ll see how this plays out.

Categories
22TCM conversion Gen 3 Glock Glock 17

Glock 17 22TCM 9R Conversion Kit

Was perusing the web and bumped into this:


 
It’s a Glock 17 conversion that allows the firing of the 22TCM round. This conversion works well with full-length handguns, as the extra barrel length gives more “ooomph” to the round. I’ve heard they’re making a Glock 19 conversion, too. And they lightened that slide bigtime.

The two cons are:

  1. It’ll take a paper clip to get the spring and guide rod back into place after field-stripping the gun.
  2. These conversions don’t work with Gen 4 Glocks.  They only work with Gen 3s (I’m not sure if they’ll work on Gen 2s and below, either).

The conversion is expensive ($400+ for the slide, guide rod and spring).  If you don’t already have a Gen 3 Glock 17, then you’ll have to spend money on that, too.  When the fat lady has sung, it’ll be a $700+ for the conversion and the handgun.  If you already have a Glock 17, then you’re halfway there!

And the 22TCM 9R round will fit in Glock mags (they’re shorter than the standard 22TCM round).

I’m definitely intrigued.

Categories
15 2075 380 AR-556 Bersa Canik CZ Glock M&P Plus RAMI BD Ruger S&W Shark Shark C T-100 T100 Thunder Tristar

New Wishlist

I’m probably not going to get any new guns any time soon…I’m still OK with what I currently have.

I do wonder if I should try to sell a couple since I’m no longer going to California and no longer have the need to be able to bring non-attainable guns with me to that state.  I currently have two Canik TP9SAs, for example…I only really need one.  The plan was to bring two and possibly sell one of them to a CA resident since those are not on the CA DOJ roster.  As well, I’ve two Rock Island Armory 1911s that shoot 9mm ammo…I really only need one, although I can keep one of them to modify/paint.  I’ve even thought about selling my Sig Sauer SP2022 and even my P220…of the two, the P220 has more ‘keep’ potential, although it won’t hurt to keep both of the (I’ve the space).

Some guns I’m thinking about buying next are:

CZ 2075 RAMI BD in 9mm

UPDATE (7/20/2014):  I’m adding the Tristar T-100 to the list.  It is a CZ75 clone and resembles a Baby Desert Eagle (itself a CZ clone).  They are 9mm DA/SA hammer-fired handguns.  There’s also the Canik Shark C, which is identical to the Tristar T-100.  The two colors I’m interested in are the platinum and black, but I only want one of the two:

sootch00 has a good review of the T-100 here:

UPDATE (1/22/2016):  I changed my mind about the Bersa Thunder Pro Ultra Compact.  I have also changed my mind about the RIA rifle and the S&W E-Series 1911…I no longer want any of them.  I do want a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus (or Combat model).  A Glock 22 Gen 3 (used) is also desirable, as well as a Grand Power P1 (mk7 is preferable, to cut costs).  Oh, and a long gun is pretty much mandatory:  I’ll considering either a Ruger AR-556 or a S&W M&P 15 Sport (the Ruger would be the better buy for the same amount of money, though).

To be honest, not a lot is jumping out at me and I should really start thinking about taking a few self defense courses and focus on trying to sharpen my shooting skills.