My Review of the Aimtech APM-1 Glock Mount Part One

'Optic Sight Mount Selection'
There are about a dozen or so different designs from different manufacturers of Optic Sight Mounts for Glock Pistols, but I decided on the Aimtech APM-1 Mount as my preferred one for a number of reasons. The first and main reason is that it is a STATIC mount, meaning it is independent of the movement of the slide. The previous mount I used for my Burris Fast Fire 3 was a Slide Mount, but over time I discovered some issues with that type of mount after firing a couple of hundred rounds in full auto with it. I plan to discuss this more in detail at a future date somewhere in my blog, but suffice to say for now I decided to use one that would not require the FF3 to be mounted on top of the slide itself.

The second reason is the fact that it leaves the Glock's frame rails free for use with other accessories. Most Glock Optic Mount designs use the frame rails to anchor on to, but I use Vertical Front Grips (VFGs) on my Glock, hence I wanted that rail free. Some mounts that use the rail also allow VFGs to be mounted on them, but I found these to be ineffective (again, further discussion on my blog at a future date). The APM-1 uses the Trigger Pin and Trigger Housing Pin to anchor on to, leaving the rails free for use.

The third reason is that it anchors itself to two points (as mentioned earlier), making for a much more secure attachment. Be careful of using mounts that secure itself to only one point (i.e., like those using the Frame Rails only) as they are less secure and will likely tend to move around during actual firing and/or handling. Here is a close look at the mounting pins as they are attached to the frame.

And last but not the least, this mount design allows the Glock's Polymer Sights to be used as a backup. That means even if the Optic Sight fails for some reason, or I am not able to activate it right away before use, I will still be able to aim the gun effectively using the Polymer Sights. Here is a good view of both the Optic and Polymer Sights of my Glock.

'Packaging and Installation'
Packaging was simple, just a transparent plastic box, with black and white details which seemed to be just printed bond paper manually cut out and put into the box. The package includes:
- APM-1 Mount
- Replacement Trigger Pin
- Replacement Trigger Housing Pin
- Allen Wrench

All the materials are in black, and the finish on the APM-1 Mount is impressive, it seems to be a very durable black hard chrome. The material is made out of Aluminum, making for a very stiff and sturdy platform.

Installation is relatively easy, once you get the hang of it. The key things to remember during installation is to first, always install the Replacement Trigger Housing Pin first. Once you have the unit attached to this, then it will be easier for you to install the second pin, the Replacement Trigger Pin. The second thing to remember is NOT to try to punch the Replacement Trigger Pin in. You will need to be patient enough to try to align the holes of the mount to the holes of the frame while pushing the Trigger Pin in. You need to find the "Sweet Spot", which is accomplished by moving the Mount and Frame around slowly. Once you find that spot, the Pin should slip thru in easily.

'Reworking Some Features'
The unit is far from trouble-free, however. There are some issues which fortunately can be reworked. These issues are:
- Sharp Head of the Trigger Housing Pin
- Sharp Edges of the Mount itself
- Trigger Housing Pin won't screw in all the way thru to the other side.

The Head of the Trigger Housing Pin is relatively tall, and tapers into an opening for the Allen Wrench, which has sharp edges. As a result, it will protrude out of the left side of the mount, and will irritate your palm immensely if you hold the gun with your left hand. It won't bother you when you are using it right handed, but once you switch to your left hand it is almost unbearable.

Fortunately, the metal of that Pin is relatively soft, and can be easily filed down using a rough Steel File. What you will need to do, is to file it down to about 1/3 of its height, enough so it will not protrude anymore out of the mount. After filing it down, you can use Sand Paper to break off sharp edges off the reworked head, and also smoothen down its surface. You can use the rough P120 grade Sandpaper for breaking off the edges, and then smooth P1000 Sandpaper for finishing and smoothening. Here is a picture of the reworked Head of the Pin by itself.

The issue of the Trigger Housing Pin not screwing thru the other side can be fixed by using sandpaper to take off the threads on the other side of the pin. Once you break or smoothen off the threads, you won't be able to screw the unit to the other side, but then you don't need to. All you need to do is insert that pin to the other side, and it will hold and keep that mount in place just as effectively. Here is a picture of the reworked Trigger Housing Pin. Remember that you will have to reworked both ends of the in, the Head of the Pin and the Threads of the Pin.

If you do the reworking properly, then you should be able to push the pin thru, and its head should end up flush down the Pin Hole on the other end. 

'Chamfering Edges'
The other problem is the sharp edges of the mount, which will tend to rub and dig into your palm and index finger. There are two areas you will need to break off the edges:
- The areas of the mount that comes into contact with your index fingers, which is the underside of the mount.
- The hole on the left side of the mount where you insert the Trigger Housing Pin.

What needs to be done is to CHAMFER or break off those edges, so you won't feel any discomfort because of them. This can be done using a Steel File, as the Aluminum material can be easily reworked using this. The reworked area will have their black Anodized finish removed showing the bright silver-colored area underneath, and I was thinking of having them refinished, but the result seemed nice, giving that mount a bit of an "accent". Here is a closeup of the area that contacts with the index finger, with the bright area being the area that was reworked. 

The other area to be reworked is the hole on the left side of the mount. This area can be reworked using cut-up and tiny, rolled up Sandpaper. 

'Parting Shot'
Here is the picture of the steel file and sandpapers used to do the reworking so far on the unit.

Still a lot more to be discussed, but I will leave this for now. The next update might take awhile because of the resulting Gun Ban until June 2013, and I intend to include on Part Two how the mount performed during actual shooting. In parting, let me just leave you with some shots of the pistol itself with the mount in place, and with the protective cap installed on the FF3.