Glock, Glock, Glock, everyone loves Glock. Glock has become so popular that you can make an entire personality out of hating Glocks.
I’m a natural contrarian. I don’t know why, but it always hurts to say that Glock makes one of the best combat handguns on the market. There is a Glock for everything, and their dominance in the law enforcement and military markets around the world is a testament to their reliability, capability, and popularity. They are modular and today we are going to examine five Glock upgrades that are actually worth it.
Glock owns a healthy amount of the firearms market. They are everywhere. They are also very simple guns. All you need is a punch to completely take one apart. The Glock Armorers course is only eight hours long last time I checked. Popularity and simplicity make the gun ripe for the upgrade market.
Glock also has a massive aftermarket. There are accessories for every single part of the gun. You can swap everything! With that said, you don’t need to.
Glocks are fine as they come in most cases, and I’m not a big fan of trading out OEM parts unless there is a substantial improvement to be had. With that said, there are five upgrades I can recommend to take your Glock pistol to the next level.
1. Swap the Sights: The First Glock Upgrade You Should Make
Glock imports these guns with plastic sights that are fine for casual use at the range. It’s a white U notch and a front dot. The sights aren’t bad and won’t affect your overall accuracy. However, if you only replace one part of your gun, replace the sights. The polymer used for the sights is soft and weak. The sights break easily, and one solid drop can kill them.
For that reason, I’d always suggest swapping sights. Swap to a nice set of metal sights. Metal sights are more rugged and can take some serious abuse. Guns, especially duty guns, don’t live a soft life. A good set of high-quality sights can make a big difference. Which sights? There are plenty of excellent options.
Trijicon offers many great options. Night Fision and Ameriglo also offer good options. I tend to prefer a high-visibility front sight and an all-black rear sight. If you plan to add our next accessory, go with taller, suppressor-height sights.
2. An Optic
I can’t understate the benefits of a red dot on a handgun. A red dot allows you to shoot faster, straighter, and further.
Glock makes most of their guns in a MOS configuration. MOS stands for Modular Optics System, and the guns come with a series of plates to accommodate a ton of different footprints, so you can mount nearly any optic to these guns.
The Glock MOS Series is so popular that multiple companies now produce optics that don’t need a plate and mount to the Glock MOS slide directly.
The red dot can be seen in any lighting conditions. The dot is smaller than a front sight and hardly obscures your target, which makes precise, long-range shooting possible. The dot’s glow makes it easy to track, which makes it easier to shoot fast.
Much like sights, we have tons of great red dot sights out there. Trijicon has three awesome options and have long been the professional standard. The EPS series of optics from Holosun have proven to be pretty tough and surprisingly affordable. I prefer an enclosed emitter optic, but there are lots of options out there.
3. A New Trigger Shoe
The Glock trigger market is massive, and I find a lot of the triggers to be excellent but unnecessary. A lighter trigger won’t really help you shoot straighter if you can’t shoot in the first place. A lighter trigger can help a little and can help you shoot faster, but on a duty gun, it can be a bit of a crap shoot.
What I would swap is the trigger shoe. A trigger is an entire system. The portion of the trigger your finger interacts with is called the trigger shoe.
The factory Glock trigger shoe is mostly fine for regular use. However, if you plan to train you’ll quickly see why people swap the trigger. It rubs, can pinch, and can be irritating, but it’s not noticeable until you get into those higher round counts.
A trigger upgrade makes things more comfortable which helps shooter performance.
I prefer a metal Glock trigger shoe that’s flat, but there are lots and lots of good options out there. Glock trigger shoes are equipped with a safety device, and it is important you keep that safety device. Other than that, swapping the trigger shoe is easy and cheap and just provides a more comfortable experience for that in-depth training we should all focus on.
4. A Weapon Mounted Light
A light is mandatory, but a weapon-mounted light (WML) is not. A cheaper handheld light can work just as well as a WML for most people. That’s why it’s last on this list. I think the above upgrades are more important, but a weapon-mounted light can still be very beneficial.
The majority of Glock pistols come with an accessory rail, and pretty much every modern weapon light is designed to be mounted on a Glock.
A weapon-mounted light’s biggest benefit is allowing you to establish positive identification. It’s not designed for navigation but for finding and identifying threats. If you use your Glock for home defense, a WML can be extremely beneficial. WMLs simplify life when you hear something go bump in the dark, and you don’t need to try to find a handheld option to respond. It’s one of the less necessary Glock upgrades, but can still be beneficial.
Which WML? I like Streamlight and Surefire, but Cloud Defensive, Modlite, and Holosun are putting out some interesting lights. I avoid Olight due to durability and power issues. Like most things, you have plenty of options in plenty of sizes.
5. Don’t Forget the Holster
Upgrading your gun can cause it to grow out of its holster. This is just how it works. If you’re looking for holsters that can accommodate lights, optics, and suppressor-height sights, we have you covered at Safariland.
We have options for concealed carriers that can accommodate these accessories, like the Incog X, and an entire catalog full of modern duty rigs like the 6304RDS.
Going Glock
Glock isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They are the dominant force in the massive handgun aftermarket. Plenty of Glock upgrades are available, but only a few really matter.
Don’t overthink it. It comes down to one simple thing. Does this upgrade increase the gun’s capability in a way that matches your goals? If the answer isn’t yes, then it’s no. That’s my guiding light for gun upgrades and the reason why I chose the above accessories.
