Learn me on building a Glock

I live in Alaska and I am planning to spend a lot more time hiking and hunting in the backcountry next year and beyond. My current trail buddy is a Ruger LCR 357. It’s light and easy to carry and conceal, but man it’s no fun to shoot and practice with full power magnums. And I’d like more than 5 shots.

I’ve considered getting a 10mm; lots of folks up here swear by Glock 20’s for woods carry and it’s hard to argue with 15+1 rounds of something between 357 and 41 magnum in power. The problem? The large frame Glock (20/21/40) grips feel like holding a 2x4 and the finger grooves are wrong for my hands. The 1911 style 10mm are intriguing, and feel far better when holding in the shop, but I’d rather have a polymer gun for weight and weather resistance.

I did a google search about smaller grips for glocks and came across the world of DIY Glocks, including the Timberwolf Large lower. They claim it to be nearly the same size as the 19/17 grip frame, which would be a huge improvement to me. But now I’m kinda lost in the woods...

Say I start with a complete lower:
https://www.lonewolfdist.com/TimberwolfConfig.aspx

What all do I need to complete the gun? I assume barrel, slide, guide rod and recoil spring and/or a slide parts kit, and magazines... am I missing anything? Can someone point me in the direction of good aftermarket parts or a good source for OEM Glock upper parts? I’m leaning towards a 6” barrel and long slide, without getting too far from the price point of just buying a Glock 40 and dealing with the massive grip. Ultimately I want to have a great trail gun that’s lighter than a steel 44 magnum revolver with nearly 3x the capacity. Concealed carry isn’t a concern.

 

Complete slide would include slide, barrel, guide rod/spring, but don't forget you also need sights, firing pin/spring/cups/spacer sleeve, extractor/spring/plunger/cap, drop safety/spring, there's also a polymer firing pin channel( i believe this should be included with the slide?) and the backplate.

this link should help as I probably forgot something and used incorrect terminology
https://www.midwayusa.com/schematics/glock-pistol

I'd get the glock 20sf as I don't care for gen 4. You can probably get a decent used one as people buy them and find out 10mm is too expensive or they just don't carry/shoot it enough.

I knew a guy who sold his for $350 after my buddy kept making fun of him for paying full price for a used gun( they thought the factory copper grease on the rails was rust)

 

The GP100 has six shots

 

Taurus ultralite titanium 44.

I cant say if done much if any research. But if always heard modified glocks are not all that reliable.
And it best to leave them stock.

 

I would look at a Glock 20SF. I've got one I bought used and am very happy with the size/grip. Honestly, its probably one of my favorite pistols period. You can find them pretty cheap. I bought mine at a pawn shop for 300, no barrel or finish wear at all. Just a few minor Knicks on the grip, but grip wrap solved that. Mine already had tru glo night sights as well.

 

Buy a used g21 stripped frame (police trade in or such ) . Send it to someone who does grip reduction work and tell them to go for broke . If you love it afterwards , buy a new g20 or g40 and put the upper on your reduced frame .

If you don’t love it , redirect .


If you do , you’ll come out cheaper than the Timberwolf , with the ability to put it back to factory and sell it or whatever.


I’ve built three glocks from scratch and I could have bought used factory guns cheaper .

The large frame guns do fit me best though

 

Or 7, depending on the model. I never liked the GP100’s though, they feel bulky and cumbersome. If I were sticking with a 6 shot a 4” Model 66 smith or a 3” Kimber K6 or Colt King Cobra (new production) would be the guns I consider.

N Frames (and I do like the 327 R8) canhave 8. That’s still half the capacity at similar or more weight.

 

How many shots can you expect to accurately get off in a predator attack?
Personally if blindsided I'd expect none to 1.
If I see it unfolding/stand off. Buy the time you have decided you take the heat from the police. 2-3.
But griz are fed protected down here and from what I've heard is you better have some bite Mark's if there a dead griz.
Obviously idk you and you could quite possibly be real live john wick.
But other then warning shots.
You you think you can get 8 + off on target.

Also the weight of a loaded glock is way more then empty when comparing weights.
Ultimately I think what you can shoot accurately under pressure is the best option.

 

Smith and Wesson 500 mag... the short one obviously . If I were walking around like a cheeseburger in grizzly country, comfort be damned honestly.

 

G17 is 32mm wide
G20sf is 34mm wide
Lone wolf says that their grip is 0.007 inches bigger than glock 17/19
2 Millimeters = 0.07874015748 Inches

so the glock 20 grip is 0.071 larger than the lone wolf. That’s not a whole lot of difference, but I understand if a gun feels “right” in your hand. Maybe it’s not the size but the angle of the grip? Glocks have a much different grip angle compared to well everyone else. $124 for a bare frame not including internals and slide plus whatever sights you decide to put on. Chances are you will spend much more on making this clone then getting yourself a previously enjoyed g20sf. However if you have F@#$ you money laying around and it’s burning a hole in your wallet. Then heck yea go for it! Make the gun you want and not have buyers remorse on settling on a g20 when you actually want the lone wolf frame.

 

FYI just dremel the finger groves off if it’s a bother. Or you can do a trigger guard undercut with a dremel to align your fingers to the groves.

 

I don’t really know how many shots I would be able to get off in a bear attack, but there’s enough stories out there that have me leaning towards having more capacity, better control, and an easier reload than one gets from a featherweight 5 shot revolver. Ideally in something that’s not so heavy that I won’t mind hiking with it and won’t pull my waders down fishing.

 

If you want a semiauto get a FNX 45 with a 460 Rowland conversion. You can buy the complete package including a chest holster down at Granite View in Delta. As many rounds as a full-size Glock 10mm but more energy at the target. In areas with large concentrations of brown bear my 44 magnum was my main carry gun, otherwise it was the FNX 460.

 

The Glock G20 SF is what you're after then. I hate any Glock other than the 9mms but the 10mm Short Frames make them fit my hand fine. Try to hold one at a dealer and see what you think. I built a couple from kits and they were pretty unreliable.

 

There are other, non-1911 style options in 10mm such as the Springfield Armory XD-M series, the Tanfoglio Witness series, Sig Sauer's P220, etc. if you'd prefer.

I agree about the Glocks just not fitting my hands well. If I were looking to buy a large framed Glock style gun I'd take a serious look at the Polymer80 large frame offering. Their (polymer80) 9mm/40 frames are the frames Glock should have made in my opinion; everyone who has tried mine thought it felt better to much better than a factory G19 (and my G19 has been slightly modded to be more comfortable). You're not going to save any money building one over a factory Glock, it's just a different feel (and no transfer paperwork).

 

Just get a G20. You wont notice the grip when a bear is trying to kill you. Reliability is is first.

 

This is a very good point!

 

Better off with good bear spray.

 

Disagree, but you do you. I can afford (and enjoy) practicing with a handgun; can’t say the same with bear spray. Either is better than nothing.

Glock put on a demo day at the AK F&G’s indoor shooting range yesterday and I got to actually shoot most of their 9mm lineup and all 3 10mm glocks. The G43X and G48 were too small. The G29, G20, and G40 felt a lot better once i started pulling the trigger; I found them all almost equally easy to shoot. A g20 frame with a g29 slide and barrel I think would be ideal. The G19MOS felt damn near perfect.

I also learned I really really like red dots. Never shot with them before yesterday and I can see why people like them so much.

 

Have read many a study attesting to this. It takes a fairly large round to be effective against a bear's thick hide. This means no 9mm or 40s&w. A .45 maybe or .44mag, .50ae? Not sure since I'm not familiar with the impact velocity or force imparted by those particular cartridges plus they need some penetrating power.