Best Glock Gen5 Upgrades for Everyday Carry

I view the Glock pistol like a family member—I love it in spite of its many small faults, most of which could be easily fixed if Glock would just listen to the people who love it… Anyway, despite Gaston’s claim of perfection, as they come from the factory Glocks are still nothing more than reliable tools built for the borderline incompetent, and anyone better than that knows there is still plenty of room for improvement. So, for this column (and because I just got a smoking deal on a factory refurbished Gen 5 G17), let’s look at the Glock Gen 5 pistols, their weaknesses, and how they can be improved upon.

Connectors

Gen 1-4 Glocks are equipped with 5.5-pound connectors, which produce trigger pulls around seven pounds (not ~5.5-pounds as Glock has claimed for decades). However, the Gen 5 Glocks are made with a new “dot” five-pound connector advertised as providing a trigger pull of 26 Newtons, which equates to 5.84-pounds. Good news—every 5th gen Glock trigger I’ve tried has provided a trigger pull right around 5.8 pounds. Bad news—every 5th gen Glock trigger I’ve tried has provided a trigger pull right around 5.8 pounds. A nearly six-pound trigger pull is not what anyone who knows what they’re doing wants.

Sights

The basic factory sights haven’t changed. They are both plastic (unacceptable) and have a defective sight picture—if you position the front sight where you can see the entire dot in the notch, you’ll be shooting high. At least some factory models are available with proper sights such as AmeriGlo day/night sights, the commercial equivalent to the sights found on the FBI contract pistols. Glock has also added forward cocking serrations and a minimal mag well, both excellent improvements. Now for upgrades—while the plastic factory sights work, they are insultingly referred to as “dovetail protectors” for a reason. Get yourself some steel sights. TTI (Taran Tactical Innovations) makes the best fiber optic competition sights in my opinion, but day/night tritium sights are the best choice for carry guns. These feature glow-in-the-dark tritium inserts combined with a highly visible front sight. Trijicon HDs and R3D 2.0s from XS Sights are good options, in addition to the above AmeriGlos.

Glock Triggers

If you’re tricking out a Glock for competition, you have nearly endless choices when it comes to triggers—TTI, Apex Tactical, Timney, CMC, Johnny Glock, Ramm, etc. You can get a Glock trigger pull down to three pounds, but that’s about it, and any Glock trigger pull under four pounds can be finicky. I’ve never used aftermarket springs that didn’t fail, and don’t trust set screws, so I don’t trust or recommend any trigger setup which uses them for a carry gun, where reliability is the only thing that matters. Another thing I don’t recommend for a carry piece—the new factory Glock Performance Trigger for Gen 5 guns.

Reasonably priced at $99, the Glock Performance Trigger (GPT) converts the Glock “safe action” to a single action trigger system, adds a flatter-faced trigger shoe, and provides a trigger pull between 3.75 to four pounds when installed, although it doesn’t really shorten take-up, which is disappointing and at least as important to an improved trigger pull. The GPT adds parts and requires regular oiling. They provide a diagram with the trigger and point to three spots you need to keep oiled, which is why (in addition to the single action operation) they’ll never stick the GPT in their factory pistols, which are built to withstand abuse and neglect. Yes, Glock recommends applying oil to the standard trigger unit, between the connector and trigger bar, but you don’t need it—the standard trigger system will run forever dry as a bone (although lube between the trigger bar and connector will lower your weight and smooth out your pull). Someone high up at Glock told me “If you’re going to put the Performance Trigger in a carry gun, blow the lint out regularly and keep it oiled.” I know pro shooters who have experienced reset failures with the GPT after just a thousand rounds. All that, to me, eliminates this trigger from consideration in a carry gun. You are free to disagree. However, you’re in luck—there is an easy way to take weight off your trigger pull without affecting reliability, and that’s by swapping out the connector. The Gen 5 Glocks use the same dimension connector as all previous gens (we’re excluding the small G43, 43X, and 48), and swapping out your connector for a 3.5 will shave between 0.5–1.5 pounds off of your trigger pull, depending. This only takes a few minutes, and no tools other than a punch.

Other Improvements

I would carry my new Gen 5 G17 as is, but why would I when it’s so easy to make it better? I tried out two 3.5 connectors, the TTI (Taran Tactical) Ultimate Connector and the Ultimate 3.5 from Ghost, Inc. Both brought my trigger pull down from 5.8 to 5.0 pounds, but with different feels. The TTI connector provided a smoother pull-through, with a very soft, almost rolling break, and the Ghost connector had a harder break, which I prefer. I didn’t need new sights, as my gun came with a set of AmeriGlo BOLDs, which are great. Additional mods beyond sights and a trigger job provide only incremental improvements. Stippling is always an option if you want a more aggressive grip. I decided to stipple the smooth parts in-between the factory texturing, didn’t like the look of that, and ended up stippling the entire grip. I did this with a soldering iron and it took me just over 90 minutes. Aftermarket guide rods are available which allow you to swap out your recoil springs, or add recoil-reducing weight, or both, but truthfully provide little bonus unless you’re running your Glock in competition. That didn’t stop me from installing a Glock Store Pure Tungsten guide rod with an uncaptured 15-pound recoil spring in my gun, to reduce muzzle rise just a bit. There are aftermarket magazines available, but none of them are as good as Glock factory mags, and Glock mags are pretty inexpensive, so buy those. The Glock pistol is one of if not the most popular carry guns in this country, and just a little bit of work can elevate this reliable workhorse to something more.

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