With more accessories and parts available for it than a 95 honda civic, finding the right modifications for my Glock 34 was the tallest of tasks indeed. The end use of this famed amalgamation of polymer and tenifer finished steel is that of a competition pistol in tac optics (practical) for 3Gun. It could also be used as a limited minor gun in USPSA if I felt like going back to my competitive pistol roots.

 

So what’s a guy with a bone stock Glock 34 and just under a $500 budget to do?

 

MOD One Firearms Slide Work

 

There’s only a handful of things that I don’t  attempt, one of those is machining the slide of my gun. After a week of looking all over the internet, I stumbled on the MOD One page and was instantly hooked on the fact that it’s a one man operation. The owner does all of the carefully crafted work himself, which to me is quite a cool feeling to know that one guy spent his time making my slide perfect from start to finish.  An email or two, one month, and a lot less pesos than I was expecting later and this is how my slide came back. Now the sky’s the limit with what you get done to your gun in their shop but I opted for more function than flash and chose to get the lightning cuts (which reduce weight), angled front cocking serrations (allow for easier press checks or charging the gun on the clock), “Bob” Cut (reduces weight and looks cool), and lastly had it cerakoted wolf gray just because.

 

 

Zev Tech Magwell

 

Unlike IDPA or USPSA, pistol magazine reloads aren’t nearly as common in 3-Gun matches. This big Ol’ hunk of stainless steel serves four separate tasks. The first and most important of which is that it just looks badass. No? The three actual benefits of this specific ZEV Tech magwell are as follows, weight, improved firing grip, and aides in reloading. The weight is one of the biggest factors for me and the 7.6oz weight of it really helps balance out the recoil since it’s adding roughly 30% of the guns original weight to the furthest point on the lightweight polymer frame- physics 101…

Although I won’t need to be doing as many pistol reloads, when one does happen, the magwell is essentially a giant funnel for my fresh mag and helps reduce the “whoopsy” factor. Lastly because of its size and the fact that it encroaches onto the frame, the bottom portion of your palm ends up resting on the magwell when firing. In my opinion this altered grip is better than the infamous poor Glock grip angle.

 

Trigger

Yes I could’ve went out and spent $100/$150 on a drop in Glock trigger but guess what I didn’t do that. Instead I opted for the most economical bang for the buck which is the Lone Wolf ultimate trigger stop, 3.5lb ghost connector and competition spring pack.

Why? The combination of these affordable parts and a little bit of polishing gives you a sub 3lb trigger that breaks cleanly and allows for really fast double taps. Remember I’m not going to be shooting bullseye targets at 50 yards with my pistol and this setup is, for the most part, good enough to compete with for now.

 

Sights

 

Nothing too crazy again here. I went with a HIViz red fiber optic front sight and a blacked out serrated rear sight as it allows my eyes to pick up the front sight extremely quickly.

 

 

Stippling/ Framework

 

Stippling aka adding texture to the frame via little holes burnt into it, truly makes all the difference in putting as much surface area of your hands as possible on the grip of the gun. I also went nuts with my dremel and a sanding bit to remove and round the area under the trigger guard where your middle finger rests. This pretty much gets your hand as high as possible on the gun and ultimately helps mitigate the ferocity of 9mm round’s recoil. (Cleary joking)

In all seriousness this is the one part of the project that I kind of sort of wish I left to the professionals and by professionals I mean the one man army of MOD One Firearms. Before I even found out about the aforementioned pistol custom shop, I went to town on the Glock frame with a soldering iron. While it came out okay and gets the job done, their shop knocks frame work out of the park.

 

 

So does it all make a difference?

 

Does a bear @#$% in the woods? Heck YEAH!  After putting just over 2k rounds of 124gr 9mm through the gun so far, I’ve noticed quite a few things. It shoots unbelievably smooth, so smooth in fact that I can track the front sight much easier when shooting quickly. That’s probably from the balanced weight of the magwell and more importantly the weight removed from the slide. Not only that but the overall controllability of the gun is greatly improved, which I’m happy to say has boosted my own confidence in my pistol skills. I can’t wait to see how she runs in my 3-Gun matches this summer!

 

-Not “Go Fast” enough for you? Let me know below what your dream speed gun is below! As always guys, shoot em straight and be safe…..

 

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