A Glock Overhaul

My old Glock 22C needed some love. I’ve used this pistol for training, teaching and as a test bed for products, most recently the excellent LaserMax green guide rod laser. The Heinie Straight Eight night sights had finally gone dim as the tritium went off to wherever half-life radioactive stuff goes. Several folks had recommended the new Trijicon HD Night Sights with the big orange front sight dot but I was reluctant to cough up the $135 for the sights because there’s a little problem with compensated barreled Glocks like my 22C. You see, because of the barrel and slide porting it doesn’t take much shooting for the front sight to become covered in soot. I had experienced this many times with the Heinie sights – after a few shots the dot on the front sight was gone, much less glowing. When I posed this problem to the folks who had recommended the sights they pointed me in the direction of another product called FireClean, a lube they said would prevent the accumulation of soot on my front sight.

FireClean

When folks ask me what’s the best gun oil I usually say, “Whatever’s free”.  Most oils will do just fine, especially when guns are cleaned and maintained regularly. Still, some oils have particular characteristics that may be useful, especially when subjected to extreme use and conditions. I decided to give FireClean a try and ordered a bottle of it along with the Trijicon HD sights from the good people at Brownells. After installing the sights I swabbed a little FireClean around the barrel and slide ports and on the face of the front sight and headed to the range. Much to my surprise, after shooting 100 rounds no soot had stuck to the front sight and I could still see that big orange dot. After I got home I found the areas I had treated with the FireClean wiped clean with a rag. One of my least favorite cleaning chores is removing the powder residue from the face of stainless steel revolver cylinders because it’s hard to remove and usually takes quite a bit of scrubbing. Before taking a new revolver I’m working on to the range I smeared a little FireClean on the cylinder face. After an extended range session there was a lot of black crud on the cylinder and the inside of the frame so I applied FireClean to the soot and let it sit for about an hour. When I came back to cleaning the revolver most of the soot wiped clean with a rag and I was able to clean the cylinder face with a minimum of scrubbing. This is a good product that will clean and lubricate metal while helping to prevent the build-up of powder residue. FireClean retails for $14.95.

Trijicon HD Sights

When it came to replacing the Straight Eight sights on my Glock I wanted to avoid standard night sights with three glowing dots of the same color. The Trijicon HD sights, with the front dot surrounded by large, orange ring and two green dots on the rear sight seemed like a good idea for daylight, as well as low light shooting. The orange part of the front sight is photo luminescent and can be made to glow brightly for about 30 minutes by pointing a light at it for a few seconds. These sights provide the kind of sight picture my ageing eyes appreciate, with a round dot front sight and a “U” notch rear and I like the contrasting color front sight because it grabs my attention. Installation on the Glock was easy and took about 10 minutes. These sights are very well made, solid and durable and should serve my needs for many years to come. They have a limited lifetime warranty and Trijicon says they will continue to glow for 12 years.

Lone Wolf Trigger

Lone Wolf Distributors makes an extensive lineup of aftermarket Glock parts, to include frames, slides, barrels and internal parts. They recently introduced a new trigger that’s adjustable for take-up and over-travel. The trigger shoe is made of aluminum and is attached to a polished steel trigger bar. With a smooth face and rounded edges and the ability to be adjusted without removing it from the pistol, this trigger is comfortable to shoot and provides for a crisp 4.5 pound let-off according to my Lyman electronic trigger pull gizmo. The trigger kit includes a trigger spring that contributes to the trigger pull while providing a positive reset. Easily installed as a drop-in part, the LWD Ultimate Adjustable Trigger is available direct from Lone Wolf and goes for $74.95.

Chamber-View

Do you shoot at a public range where chambers must be opened and flagged when guns are benched? Do you teach shooting or sell guns? Do you like to see a visual indication that a gun is unloaded? In any of these instances you might be interested in a product I ran into this year at the SHOT show in Las Vegas. Colored bright orange and made of a soft rubbery material, the product gives a high visibility indication that a firearm is unloaded when inserted into the chamber and ejection port. As I said, the Chamber-View would be appropriate on the firing line to indicate guns are unloaded and I can see this product having applications for safeing guns during training. I think it would be great if gun stores started using the Chamber-View to show guns are unloaded and safe before being handled and it could be included with the purchase of a gun. Unlike the tiny little chamber flags often packaged with gun purchases, the Chamber-View is large, durable, easily seen and should last a long time. Retail pricing is $9.95.

About the Author: Ed Head is a regular on Shooting Gallery, Gun Stories and Down Range TV. He has worked for almost 30 years in law enforcement, first in the United States Air Force and then with the United States Border Patrol, retiring as a Field Operations Supervisor. During his Border Patrol career, Ed worked in a variety of patrol, investigative and training capacities. Ed has an extensive background as a firearms instructor, having trained thousands, ranging from beginners to police, military and special operations personnel. Having taught at Gunsite for 20 years, Ed first trained there under the world famous shooting school’s founder, Jeff Cooper, then later ran the school as the operations manager for more than five years. Ed lives in Chino Valley, Arizona, where he continues to teach and write.