Glock Rear Sight Installation

I've had some problems installing the Polymer rear sights on my Glocks, so I decided to write a long article here about some of the lessons I've learned during those instances. I have had to remove the factory sights on my Glock 23 and Glock 22 to make way for my Burris Fast Fire II Reflex Sight. Now the Burris FF2 will be with the Glock 22, and I ruined one factory sight installing it on my Glock 23 before finally succeeded.

'Glock Rear Sight Tool'
I haven't found a way to remove those factory sights without ruining them. I tried twice, and each time just destroyed both sights. The best way to remove and/or install these factory sights, would be by the use of a Glock Rear Sight Tool. It consists of a vise and some inserts to hold the sight properly and tightly as it is being removed or inserted, and allows accurate and easier installation/removal of the sights without ruining them.

However, these Sight Tools are pretty expensive, starting at around USD 90 and up if you buy them online. If you find any lower than USD 90, then that's a bargain already. Its even more expensive at the Makati Cinema Square Gun Stores, where they are selling them for P12k (USD 280) each. The price is just too high for something you will seldom use, so if you are not awash with cash, then you will have to just find some other way to do it.

My Review of the Burris Fast Fire 3 Part One

I was relatively happy with my Burris Fast Fire 2 (FF2), but when the Burris Fast Fire 3 (FF3) came out, I saw that they had made some important and significant improvements that could make it a worthwhile upgrade. So I waited until the price dropped down, and bought one.

'Reticle Size'
One of the main and obvious improvements they made with the FF3 is that it now comes in two reticle sizes, 3 Minute of Angle (MoA), and 8 MoA. You cannot have both reticle sizes on one sight, you have to specify which one you would like to get when you buy it. The FF2 came with one reticle size only, at 4MoA. It was okay, but I found it a bit small, and hard to quickly find sometimes, especially when you are moving your handgun with your sight on it around.

The advantage of relatively small reticle sizes, is that you can hit further with it, because the sight will not be covering much of the target. However, since I will be using my FF3 on my Glock which I don't generally intend to shoot more than 100 meters, I would prefer a bigger reticle size, and that is why I decided to get the FF3 with the 8MoA reticle size.

My Glock 22 Review Part One

I owned my very first Glock about six months ago, and now I have my second Glock. They are just fantastic guns, they are light, and engineered so well that they are reliable, durable, and accurate, enabling me to easily hit tight groups with it when I need to. 

They also have so many accessories and parts that you can buy off the market, and they are almost all drop in, something you do on your own, at your own leasure. And it also enables you to customize your gun to your own liking or whim.

Also, I felt I can build a better Machine Pistol with it since some of the critical accessories for doing so only available for full-sized Glocks like the Glock 22. 

Color Filling Your Glock's Engravings with Nail Polish

I found some videos on Youtube with instructions on how to add colors to your firearms' engravings. Some use Crayons, some with Modelling Paints, but I chose to do mine using Nail Polish because I felt it would be more durable than using Crayons, and yet easier to find than other paint materials. Here is the video that I used for instructions:

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

This works not only on the slide, but on the Polymer magazines as well. Here are the end results on my Glock 22:



Just follow the instructions on the video, and you should be fine. A couple of important notes, though to remember, though, based on my experience doing this:

'Choosing the Materials'
I used the "Caronia" brand for the Nail Polish, and "Bobbie" brand for the Nail Polish Remover, although any other brand you can find will do. These can easily be bought at your neighborhood SM Department Store. If the Saleslady starts giving you strange looks, just explain right away that you are using these for your gun's engravings. Of course, she will probably just think, "Yeah, right". The polish and remover are dirt cheap, I was able to buy 2 colors and 1 remover for under P100.

When choosing the Nail Polish colors, remember to choose "bright" colors (i.e. White, Yellow, etc.) as much as possible. If you are to use "dark" colors (i.e., Red, Blue, etc.), try to use the "brighter" versions of these dark colors, like "Bright Red", for example. Or "Neon Blue". The reason is that if you don't use them, you won't be able to see much the colors once it dries against the flat black background of the slide. One suggestion is that if you can't find a bright version of Red, then Orange is a good substitute.

My Glock 22 in Machine Pistol Configuration

I was generally satisfied with the Glock 23 Machine Pistol configuration that I assembled, it can easily contain short full automatic bursts into a man-sized target at around 13 meters. However, I felt I could build a better Machine Pistol, one that would enable me to shoot full automatic bursts accurately at even longer ranges. For this reason, I decided to buy a Glock 22, as I felt the recoil-reducing accessories and/or parts necessary for building a better Glock Machine Pistol are only currently available on the full-sized Glocks. 

These recoil-reducing accessories are mainly the Endotactical Tactical Stock Adaptor - Glock (TSA-G), coupled with a Magpul Utility Battle Rifle (UBR) Stock. I have reviewed these separately, you can find them here and here. Aside from this, I also used the CAA Tactical Folding Grip Glock - Small (FGG-S), and a Lone Wolf Compensator (coupled to a Lone Wolf Threaded Barrel).


'First Firing Range Session'
With everything more or less ready, I took my Glock 22 in its Machine Pistol configuration into the shooting range for the first time. I used Target Boards, at my standard range of 13 meters. First test was using the STOCK or FACTORY BARREL, with 50 rounds of Semi-Wadcutter, Teflon-Coated (SWC-TC) reloads in standard .40S&W loadings. Recoil was quite noticeable, with the UBR Stock jumping up and into my shoulders with some vigorousity. 

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.