(Video) My Glock 22 in its Machine Pistol Mode Part One

They said a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video would be even more so. That's why I decided to take a video of my Glock 22 in what I call its "Machine Pistol Mode" so people can capture a bit more detail that just the words and pictures I have posted here thus far. I intend to make a couple more over the next couple of weeks or months, depending on how much more detail I feel I can share more with videos.

Forgive the mediocre camera focus, I used only a Samsung PL120 Digital Camera. It works very well with still pictures, but apparently not very much with indoor close up videos. I hope I can rectify this on my next videos. So now here is the video itself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4NVUuxLP20

My Magpul UBR for Glock Review

'Magpul UBR Stock'
I was able to buy a China-copy of the Magpul UBR to go with my Endotactical TSA-G. I went with the Magpul UBR mainly because of its looks. I have seen pictures of Glocks with the TSA-G and Magpul Compact Type - Restricted (CTR) stock, and it looked awkward, as the stock looked too big for the pistol. On the other hand, the Magpul Utility Battle Rifle (UBR) looked just about right with the pistol as it is less bulky overall compared to the CTR stock.

In fact, among all the Magpul stocks, as well as collapsible M4 Carbine stocks made by other manufacturers, the UBR looks the most compact, probably after the Ace Ultralight Stock. The Ace Ultralight Stock was actually my first choice, but I just couldn't find anybody selling it in the country, or online.

The seller advertised it as a "Magpul PTS UBR", but I know better, because the unit is marked "Magpul Industries Corporation" on one side, and "Boulder, Colorado, USA" on the other side. A genuine Magpul PTS UBR would've been marked "Magpul PTS" and/or "Professional Training and Simulation". Besides, the unit was priced only have of what a genuine Magpul USA or PTS UBR.

The unit is very well made, though. The workmanship is excellent, very little flashes, no unsightly marks, and the fit of the parts are tight, almost no wobble when the stock is fully extended. The only fly in the ointment is a wayward nut that was not installed properly on one side of the unit, causing it to tilt during installation, of which up to now I am unable to correct. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with the unit.

The unit felt a bit rear-heavy initially, so I decided to remove all the items that I do not intend to use with the unit, namely the:
- Storage Plate and Cover;
- Quick Disconnect (QD) Sling Mounts, both front and rear, and the Screws, Nuts, Washers, and Mounting Cups.

Glock 23 Machine Pistol Configuration Part Four

'FSSG Full-Auto Accuracy'
The Drop-In FSSG that I have been using has worked well in terms of providing select-fire capability to my Glock 23 reliably, but I do have one issue with it, and that is in terms of ACCURACY when shooting it at full auto.

I first noticed when I saw that the spread of shots at 10 meters was quite large. The first shot would be dead on, but then the second and third shots would be way off by a couple of inches from eacch other. A rough estimate would be like this: If I aim at the bottom of the target, the first shot would hit spot on the lower right side of the abdomen, then the second would be on the chest area on the left side of the chest of the target, and finally the third shot on the left shoulder or left side of the face area of the target (see picture below).



I found this a bit strange, because the other metal FSSG that was given to me shot quite good at 10 meters (see my previous blog here). With everything else the same (i.e., same configuration, same distance, same ammo, etc.) from the pictures it looked like the metal FSSG was shooting tighter groups by about 3-4 inches.

I can't really say for sure how this came about, but my main suspect is the problem is in terms of the LOCK TIME BETWEEN SHOTS. I suspect is the issue, because when I do the Dry-Fire Test I described on another previous blog, the slide sorts of pauses a bit when it is near the end of its travel, before it goes right thru and releases the Striker.

My Glock 23 Review Part Five

'Reloads on Stock Barrel'
There has been a lot of written articles about not using Teflon reloads on the stock .40S&W Glock barrel as this would be prone to the kaBoom! or kB! issue. I thought about getting one of those aftermarket barrels which Twin Pines is selling for P7.5k, they are also recommended for shooting Teflon reloads, but then I noticed that a lot of Glock .40S&W owners also has been saying that they have been using Teflon reloads on their stock Glock barrels, so I decided just take a chance and start using reloads. Besides, I just could not afford to keep shooting brandnew FMJ ammo at P21.50 per pop.

As of this writing, I have shot around 950 rounds of Semi-Wadcutter Teflon reloads on my Glock, of which 350 rounds was fired at full auto, and so far I have had no serious issues yet. I do understand the risk, perhaps one of these days I will regret this action and ruin my precious Glock. But, then again, in my humble opinion, as long as I use quality reloads, I should have a good chance of continuing of having a good, shooting experience.

By "quality" reloads, I mean reloads from the major shooting ranges (i.e., those with multiple branches, like Jethro Dionisio, Armscor, etc.). If the shooting range is a small, mom and pop or backyard affair, I think it is worth the risk of buying reloads from major reloaders (i.e., Stronghand, Magnus, etc.), and just bringing it to the range and paying for the corkage fees.

I do make it a habit of cleaning a pistol thoroughly (especially the barrel) within 24-hours of each shooting session. My late father told me you have that amount of time before the corrossive components of the powder residue starts corroding and pitting your barrel. I don't know if that's true, but it does make for a great shooting habit.

One problem I do see with using reloads, is how dirty the gun can be afterwards, especially since I average firing 100 rounds per shooting session. The dirt gets into the nook and crannies of my unit, so I have to detail strip it every time I clean it, to remove the smell and the soot. Strangely, though, the barrel doesn't seem to be excessively fouled up after a shooting session. The barrel remains in excellent condition, with no pittings on it.

Glock 23 Machine Pistol Configuration Part Two

'Heavier Recoil Springs'
I was thinking of putting an extra power recoil spring to reduce wear and tear on the gun especially since I am now firing full auto on it, it sort of makes sense. However, it turns out that there are some adverse effects when using heavier recoil springs, like increased muzzle flip and felt recoil based on this advise from Springtech: http://www.custom-glock.com/springtech.html

They recommend using a LOWER strength recoil spring to reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip, but that would increase the wear and tear on the gun, especially if I use it at full-auto. As it is, I think I will stay with the stock recoil spring for now.

'Alternative Extended Magazine Option'
They are selling those 22 round .40S&W magazines at Makati Cinema Square (MCS) at insane prices, so on alternative to getting higher capacity magazines at cheaper prices for your Compact-sized Glock would be to:
a) Buy magazines used for the full-sized Glocks;
b) Buy magazine extensions for it.

Magazines for full sized Glocks will fit into the compact units, meaning a Glock 22 mag will fit into a Glock 23, if you don't mind the bottom of the mag extending out from your magwell. But then again, if are going to replace and extend the basepads, it wouldn't matter anyway. Trust Trade seems to offer the cheapest Glock magazines, I bought Glock 22 (with "Austria" markings ) Generation 4 magazines (with ambidextrous locking depressions) from them for only P1.7k (with flat basepads).

Take note, though, that removing the baseplates on the stock Glock magazines can be a pretty difficult thing to do, thanks to the over-zealous locking protrusions. In the end, I decided to just remove those protrusions using a cutter to make it easier to remove/install those basepads. I don't think this will affect the functionality of the unit, as the magazine spring tension should be enough to lock those basepads in place.

Glock 23 Machine Pistol Configuration Part One

'Glock Full Auto - Initial Shots'
I had an all-metal Fire Selector Switch for Glock (FSSG) that was given to me by a gunsmith (see "My Fab Defense KPOS Review Part 3" for the full story), and I wanted to try it out, just to see how full auto fire would be with a .40S&W caliber round and a compact frame like the Glock 23. The FSSG is currently stuck on full-auto mode only, I dare not have it fitted again to have select fire capability for fear that it will be ruined again.

I wanted to fire it free hand (i.e., without the help of a shoulder stock and/or front grip), only using my two hands. I haven't fired any pistol in full auto before, so I decided to take it slow, loading only three rounds into the magazines for every shot. I was afraid that if I load a full magazine, the worst will happen and I will start shooting the ceiling if the recoil was severe. I used my standard shooting settings: 13 meters, SWC-TC reloads.

When I fired the first shot, I was surprised at the violence of the recoil. Since I'm firing a .40S&W round, the recoil of three shots was severe, I could feel a tingling in my right hand. Muzzle climb was severe also: I aimed at the center, and the first shot was at center, the second higher, and the third out of the target board. I shot nine more rounds of three rounds per magazine for a total of twelve, and out of those twelve rounds, only seven hit the target board, two of which hit both ears of the target. I even tried aiming at the bottom of the target to compensate for the muzzle climb, but to no avail.



Lesson learned is you definitely cannot fire full auto using a .40S&W caliber in a compact pistol free hand, and hope to have decent accuracy, at least not at 13 meters. At this point, I decided to take a break, go outside, and buy a Fab Defense GLR 440 Stock. I wanted to see how much control a shoulder stock will give me when I shoot the pistol.

My Fab Defense KPOS for Glock Review Part Three

'FSSG for the KPOS'
My one and only biggest frustration about the KPOS right now, is making an FSSG work on it. First problem, is that you will need a special FSSG (Fire-Selector Switch for Glock) for it, instead of the usually cheaper, flat, sliding or rotary FSSGs that are more readily available. This is because you need a backplate that will act both as an FSSG, and also as anchor for the removable cocking lever. This means you will have to get the rarer, and more expensive variant of the FSSG.

As for installing the FSSG on the Glock: They replace the backplate, and instead of my usual routine of removing the slide from the frame and replacing the backplate, you needed to replace it while the slide is still attached to frame. This is because the FSSG is bulky, and if you install it on your slide and slide it to your frame, it will snag with some of the frame's protrusions.

The way to install it is to lock back the slide using the slide release, then replace the backplate with the FSSG. This would also mean that you will NOT be able to disassemble the slide from the frame easily, you will have to remove that FSSG first, before you can remove the slide from the frame.

'FSSG Fitting Problem'
I was able to buy an FSSG from Bro Spitfire, and it needed gunsmith fitting. There is a sword-like protrusion on the FSSG that goes forward and backwards, and it controls whether the gun goes full-auto or not. The depth or distance of this protrusion seems to vary per model, and is built oversized so the gunsmith can slowly file away by trial and error the length of that protrusion. So what the gunsmith did was file it down a little, assemble, then test by firing a couple of rounds off.

The second problem was that the Gunsmith didn't turn out to be very familiar with the product, and made a crucial mistake: He got confused on when the FSSG was supposed to go full, or semi-auto. So he put the gun on extended or full auto settings, and then filed it down to semi-auto. The result: The FSSG won't go full auto anymore.