G34 upgrade path for competition.

[Nepherael]

Of course there's a million articles out there about upgrading your Glock but I thought I'd get some opinions from you guys for where to start.

I have a stock gen 4 G34 with the OEM adjustable sights.

With this G34 I plan to shoot as much steel challenge and USPSA as I can manage monetarily.

I was thinking about upgrading to a better adjustable sight because my OEM ones actually have some some wiggle and rattle to them but it's actually more expensive for a decent adjustable iron sight than a new budget friendly adjustable trigger. I've also got my eyes on a slide compensator (one that doesn't require a threaded barrel)

I'm thinking

Adjustable trigger
Slide comp
New sights (iron or red dot)

Where would you start? What modification has given the most ROI for you?

 

[cjcycles]

Subscribed.

I’m a big fan of Dawson Precision sights.

Do you want to shoot open division? Any compensator will bump you to open division.


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[Nepherael]

Subscribed.

I’m a big fan of Dawson Precision sights.

Do you want to shoot open division? Any compensator will bump you to open division.


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I'm not sure. I know that some upgrades I pick will bump me into different divisions so that's actually going to be part of this conversation for me.

I learned a lot at the USPSA match on Sunday and am excited to continue but I still haven't really figured out what division I would like to compete in. Not sure what really makes one more desirable than another for me yet. Looks like it comes down to how far I go with decking out my pistol.

Now that I've learned the ropes I will probably bump out of limited and into production for now until I get some work done to my G34. Now that I know what I'm in for I'm a little more comfortable with the 10 round limit and, since my G34 is completely stock, production is probably where I should be for right now.

 

[Nepherael]

Instead of a compensator I could start with maybe a heavy tungsten guide rod. I hear that buying one of those helps with muzzle flip.

Seen here.

https://www.glockstore.com/GEN4-Tungsten-Guide-Rod

 

[ECS686]

I put Dawson Precision for my Gen 5 34 MOS and love them. They even send to the tools to remove/install the front sight as well as a bon marring punch

As far as anything else I leave it stock

 

[Ggreen]

Dawson's and leave it alone basically. I prefer non adjustable for uspsa and steel. You don't need it, and it's just another point of possible failure.

The 34 is mostly good to go as it sits. If you decide to shoot carry optics have allenm mill your slide for the red dot.

Cheap triggers will screw you over shooting competition. Compensator of any type will put you into open, and you'll need to put another 1k into it to be open class competitive.

Most people forget to add in the cost of the gear needed to shoot matches.

Buy another 5 magazines, extensions, a good competition belt, a red hill tactical holster and mag carriers, solid range bag, maglula, spare electronic hearing protection. Ammo

 

[gmcttr]

...Buy...Ammo

Lots and lots of ammo.

 

[NHT3]

Sights and shoot it. Most of the aftermarket "improvements" are just gadgets and have a real possibility of reducing reliability.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public” [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]

 

[blacknwhite]

You want to be in production class......the class now allows plenty of modification if you wish but like most have said. Get the sights of your choice and run it. The best thing you can spend your money on is ammo, targets, and a timer.

 

[Nepherael]

Sights and shoot it. Most of the aftermarket "improvements" are just gadgets and have a real possibility of reducing reliability.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public” [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]

I hear ya. The honest to God problem for me is I really want to be tacti-cool (for lack of a better term). I'm from a younger generation and there's nothing more fun to me right now than the thought of tricking out my firearms. Colored pin sets, attachments, comps. Hell I'm even going to do my own laser engraving on my slide and grips (I've been doing custom laser engraving for years).

Maybe I should stick in production with my G34, leave it mostly untouched, and choose another firearm to deck out.

Dawson's and leave it alone basically. I prefer non adjustable for uspsa and steel. You don't need it, and it's just another point of possible failure.

The 34 is mostly good to go as it sits. If you decide to shoot carry optics have allenm mill your slide for the red dot.

Cheap triggers will screw you over shooting competition. Compensator of any type will put you into open, and you'll need to put another 1k into it to be open class competitive.

Most people forget to add in the cost of the gear needed to shoot matches.

Buy another 5 magazines, extensions, a good competition belt, a red hill tactical holster and mag carriers, solid range bag, maglula, spare electronic hearing protection. Ammo

Thanks for the suggestion from all of you to go with dawson precision sights. I will pick one and go for it.

Can you elaborate on the aftermarket trigger? Here's the thing: I love the 1911 trigger. I will do just about anything to improve the feel of the fulcrum trigger in the glock. It's not horrible but I was hoping for an adjustable to at least reduce the over and under travel. Worst case scenario a new connector to lower the pull weight. Can you elaborate on why a trigger change will screw me? Is it a reliability concern?

 

[Ggreen]

Thanks for the suggestion from all of you to go with dawson precision sights. I will pick one and go for it.

Can you elaborate on the aftermarket trigger? Here's the thing: I love the 1911 trigger. I will do just about anything to improve the feel of the fulcrum trigger in the glock. It's not horrible but I was hoping for an adjustable to at least reduce the over and under travel. Worst case scenario a new connector to lower the pull weight. Can you elaborate on why a trigger change will screw me? Is it a reliability concern?

There are a number of issues with aftermarket triggers, mostly reliability. There are good ones available, but they aren't cheap and they won't magically make you better. I've shot with an open class gm that used a professionally built g17 (loaded to major pf) . He used a factory trigger with a ghost bar. I had one similar to it, but I don't reload so major 9mm was pretty useless to me. The stock trigger shouldn't have much over travel if any. They have an audible reset and short take up. You will never have a single action trigger in a glock. That's not a bad thing.

It's super common for us to get into the sport and worry about detail parts while missing the big picture. No matter how much tricking out you do, parts won't make you better. Ammo, drills, and reps at the range do that. It's embarrassing to be the guy with flashy pins and colored trigger shoes, only to be the guy stuck at the table trying frantically to figure out why your getting light strikes and reset fails.

Play around with your pistol, it's yours. Just be wary of snake oil parts. Glockstore is full of them, along with a lot of other Gucci parts slingers. Your 34, as it sits, is almost as good as it gets for production. When you're ready for limited get quality parts.

 

[Nepherael]

There are a number of issues with aftermarket triggers, mostly reliability. There are good ones available, but they aren't cheap and they won't magically make you better. I've shot with an open class gm that used a professionally built g17 (loaded to major pf) . He used a factory trigger with a ghost bar. I had one similar to it, but I don't reload so major 9mm was pretty useless to me. The stock trigger shouldn't have much over travel if any. They have an audible reset and short take up. You will never have a single action trigger in a glock. That's not a bad thing.

It's super common for us to get into the sport and worry about detail parts while missing the big picture. No matter how much tricking out you do, parts won't make you better. Ammo, drills, and reps at the range do that. It's embarrassing to be the guy with flashy pins and colored trigger shoes, only to be the guy stuck at the table trying frantically to figure out why your getting light strikes and reset fails.

Play around with your pistol, it's yours. Just be wary of snake oil parts. Glockstore is full of them, along with a lot of other Gucci parts slingers. Your 34, as it sits, is almost as good as it gets for production. When you're ready for limited get quality parts.

Appreciate the info. There's a huge market for firearms upgrading and I get that there's probably a huge helping of crap out there sitting in front of the quality stuff. Especially when it comes to trying to save money. If the G34 starts off that decent I think a good compromise for me will be to maybe do some cosmetic upgrading and get a plan in mind for a second pistol and modify that one. I love tinkering with my stuff, firearm or not.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely understand that training is the majority of what makes me better. I just really dig the upgrade, modify, personalize aspect of the sport.

Another big decision I will need to make, and fairly soon because of how it will affect my training, will be whether or not to move into carry optics and put on a micro red dot. I know it can be difficult to find the dot sometimes so I'm assuming if I'm going to do that I should do it rather soon so I can start training with it. If I do that I'll also need to learn about what other mods are allowed in that division.

I could stick with iron sights for a bit, keep shooting in production, and put the red dot on the second "tricked out" pistol also. The only real issue with making the plan to modify a second pistol is the added cost of purchasing it. I really dove head in on this hobby. In less than 2 months I've got an AR15 (2 uppers), a 1911 .45 competition, and the G34. Phew I need to slow down

 

[NHT3]

I hear ya. The honest to God problem for me is I really want to be tacti-cool (for lack of a better term). I'm from a younger generation and there's nothing more fun to me right now than the thought of tricking out my firearms. Colored pin sets, attachments, comps. Hell I'm even going to do my own laser engraving on my slide and grips (I've been doing custom laser engraving for years).

Maybe I should stick in production with my G34, leave it mostly untouched, and choose another firearm to deck out.





Thanks for the suggestion from all of you to go with dawson precision sights. I will pick one and go for it.

Can you elaborate on the aftermarket trigger? Here's the thing: I love the 1911 trigger. I will do just about anything to improve the feel of the fulcrum trigger in the glock. It's not horrible but I was hoping for an adjustable to at least reduce the over and under travel. Worst case scenario a new connector to lower the pull weight. Can you elaborate on why a trigger change will screw me? Is it a reliability concern?

Tacticool is usually not used in the same sentence with tacti-reliable.. Matches will test your gear and there's nothing more frustrating than a malfunction in a match (or defending yourself) when you realize you have caused the malfunction with some tacticool gear.
Wish you were closer, I would like to show you what can be done with a Glock trigger. A Glock trigger will never be a 1911 trigger because the mechanism is so much different but it can be much improved without losing reliability. A good 1911 trigger is the gold standard so coming a close as possible to duplicating it is always the goal.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&amp]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&amp]

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public” [/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]

 

[Ggreen]

This is my limited class glock 22. Internals are all polished zev parts. Glocks don't usually end up pretty like the 2011s. I've got a 17 set up identical when I don't care about power factor. My triggers get better with reps and I'm just not willing to gamble reliability for a pound. I've got sweaty hands so I melt the living hell out of my frames. I tinker with my guns, but I've learned the expensive way that cheap tacticool is not worth it.

 

[gmcttr]

...The only real issue with making the plan to modify a second pistol is the added cost of purchasing it....

If you are staying with Glocks, you might consider joining the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation (GSSF). You get to buy one gun a year at the blue label price after the first year.

If you join for 2 years you get the discount coupon for the first year right away. $60 for 2 years when I joined. Bought a G45 for $395 out the door including IN sales tax. All Glocks are not discounted the same and all blue label dealers do not discount the same for the GSSF coupon. Got mine from Steven R Jenkins Co in Indy.

 

[cjcycles]

Production division was setup for guns like the Glock with minimal upgrades. Nothing wrong with tinkering and playing with tacticool. The design of a Glock lends itself to parts interchangeability and a huge aftermarket. This just isn’t a good path for being competitive in USPSA. If your not concerned with being competitive and just want to shoot a gun you have tricked out go for it. If you have to run in open no big deal.

If you want to be competitive a Glock 34 w sights is good in production. 2011’s are awesome in limited. You can buy a good used STI Edge for what you end up with in a tricked out Glock.


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[cjcycles]

If you are staying with Glocks, you might consider joining the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation (GSSF). You get to buy one gun a year at the blue label price after the first year.

If you join for 2 years you get the discount coupon for the first year right away. $60 for 2 years when I joined. Bought a G45 for $395 out the door including IN sales tax. All Glocks are not discounted the same and all blue label dealers do not discount the same for the GSSF coupon. Got mine from Steven R Jenkins Co in Indy.

That’s great info.


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[ECS686]

As a Glock Armorer if you do any aftermarket triggers etc keep it for the games. Also from attending dozens of USPSA and other matches I will say anytime a Glock has had an issue more times than not it was either aftermarket triggers, barrels, homemade YouTube I think I'm I'll just do this 50 cent trigger job or reloads that the reloader him/herself had an issue with.

Good luck

 

[crewchief888]

i can state truthfully that a tricked out gun doesnt make you a better shooter.
i started shooting USPSA 25 yeas ago with a used single stack 1911 45acp open gun. got classified, and i shot it for a year or so..
i start thinking "this single stack 45 is holding me back" off to the gunsmith i go, plunk down a bunch of hard earned cash on a custom 38super open gun. this was back when extended mag tubes were $100+ each
i bought dies, brass, bullets, and double stack mag carriers, and i was off to the races
or so i thought

my classifier scores went in the toilet, i hated the gun, tossed it back on a shelf and went back to my old single stack 45.
i eventually sold the gun for parts and never looked back.

i still shoot that old single stack in USPSA open.