My Review of the DPM Mechanical Recoil System for Glock

Update History:
- Original posted June 17, 2012
- Updated January 29, 2013, add comparative picture with and without DPM System
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After having some problems with the Lone Wolf Compensator, I decided to give another recoil reduction system a try. I read about the DPM Mechanical Recoil System for Glocks on the internet, and felt it is a good system as it could be used with the Lone Wolf Compensator later. They also have an Electro-Mechanical (which uses a combination of Springs and Magnets) System, but it was a bit bulky and heavy, and used the forward rail of the Glock, which I also use for a front grip on, so I decided to just get the Mechanical (which uses Springs) System instead.

I read some reviews about it on some forums (see the "Sources" section near the bottom of the page), and there were some issues about it, mainly about reliability issues, and also issues about the spring being too hard and not being able to rack back the slide when it is first installed. These supposed issues can be addressed using various methods, so I decided to go ahead and buy one. I bought one for my Glock 22 from the Zahal website for Usd 89, plus Usd 19 for shipping, and the unit arrived at my doorstep after 23 days or more than three weeks. Here is the actual link where I bought the item:
- http://www.zahal.org/products/recoil-reduction-system-for-glock

'Initial Impression and Installation'
The packaging was standardly good, it is composed of:
- A recoil spring guide with a smaller captive spring system at its end, similar to the standard spring systems for Gen 4 Glocks;
- Two Main Springs, a Gold one, and a Silver one. The Gold spring is the standard spring strength for normal shooting, while the Silver spring (which is longer by a couple of turns) is recommended for shooting hotter or more powerful loads (i.e., +P, +P+, etc.). Both are non-captive springs, unlike the factory guide spring and rod.

Some forums say that you need to compress the recoil spring guide a couple of times by hand before you install it to your pistol to weaken that stiffer smaller spring and allow you to rack the slide back easily. So I did that, and while the spring was stiff, I was able to easily hand compress them a couple of times.

Installing the system to the Glock was straight forward, the same way you do the factory spring system. The only difference is that the main spring is non-captive, so you have to manually insert it into both recoil guide and the slide. Despite this, though, I didn't find the Gold Main Spring to be hard to work with, and was able to slide it in easily.

The DPM Recoil System installed on my Glock 22

I was expecting to have a hard time racking back the slide initially, but to my surprise I found no problems with it. Perhaps my handpressing the recoil rod worked, but I doubt it. It is likely the manufacturer has solved the problem. 

Front of the DPM System Rod protruding out of my Glock's Slide

'Recoil Dampening Performance'
Firing my Glock 22 in its "Hand Gun" mode in semi-auto with the DPM System resulted in an impressive improvement in shot recovery. I was most impressed by the fact that I did not have to lose track momentarily of the Red Dot on my Burris Fast Fire 3 anymore between shots, indicating that the DPM System worked very well in lessening the muzzle flip to more manageable levels.

I was able to fire the gun quickly in semi-auto at a rate of around 1 round per second, while still maintaining good accuracy. Below is the video of me firing the gun this way.
http://youtu.be/4bC_Ydxe-W0

More impressive still was its performance in full-auto when my Glock 22 was in its "Machine Pistol" mode. Again, I did not lose sight of the Red Dot on my FF3 during the short 3-4 round bursts, unlike before. I could actually see the Red Dot sort of wandering slowly upwards of the target's torso, it was visible all the while and easy to track. This impressed me the most, that capability to keep the Dot visible on the target even at full-auto bursts.

Here is the video showing me firing the gun in full auto with the DPM System installed (skip to the 1:28 mark if you want to view the firing portion of the video right away):
http://youtu.be/_BBz4xptwDQ

Based on the old forum threads I read, one problem I anticipated was some jams initially, as the system reportedly needed a "break-in" period before it starts to work well. However, during my first 100 rounds thru it in full auto mode, I found no jams, or any other reliability problems whatsoever. Again, whatever problems the unit had before, the manufacturer seems to have fixed it already.

'Conclusion'
I am very, very impressed with the DPM Systems' performance both in semi and full auto, most specially in full auto. The system worked hassle-free in terms of installation and operation. And best of all, it works, and works beautifully. In fact, I think overall it worked much better than the other recoil reduction system I tried, the Lone Wolf Compensator. I had all sorts of problems with that unit, which will be discussed later in a separate blog.

The only thing that needs to be settled is how durable it is. So far I have run 400 rounds thru it both in semi and full auto, and it will take time before I reach a thousand or so rounds with it. I intend to update this blog once I reach that point sometime in the future, and make a note about its durability.

As it is, though, the DPM System worked flawlessly, and worked very well. If you are looking for some system to reduce the recoil in your handgun, this one is VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It is a bit pricey, but definitely worth your money.

SOURCES:
- DPM recoil reduction review, http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/pps/13355-dpm-recoil-reduction-review.html

(Update January 20, 2013)
I just remembered that I do have a comparative photo (see below) of the Target Boards shot at full auto with my Glock 22 with the factory Recoil Spring System (left target board) and the DPM Mechanical recoil Spring System (right target board). As you can see from the result, there is a significant improvement in terms of the grouping when using the DPM System, reducing the group size by a good couple of inches.