According to the round count, it’s time to replace six (6!) parts on my EDC G19. All but one I’ve replaced one or more times already on this pistol, but this’ll be the first replacement of the magazine-catch spring.
I replace the (horribly mislabeled) slide-lock spring every 10,000 rounds. This part will break in half and your slide will fall off of the frame when it fails. Best to just spend $8 every 10K rounds and keep your gun in perfect running order, as a part of required, periodic maintenance.
Black rifles are habitually discriminated against so, as per normal, the new DD rifle got a new skin. Yes, it’s rattle can, as every rifle should get.
The Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 is a lightweight profile with these components:
- Battlelink minimalist stock
- AIM Surplus NiB BCG
- Truglo Trutec red dot optic
- PSA Milspec single-side selector switch
- Protac 1000 lum light w/tape switch
- Cloud Defensive tape switch mount
- Magpul MBUS Pro iron sights
- Blue Force Gear Vickers padded sling
- CMC straight 3.5lb drop-in trigger
- Odin Works Atlas 5 muzzle brake
- Raptor ambi charging handle
Now that the new DDM4 V7 is all setup I took it out to try and make it fail with reloads, mag dumps, and other fast-shooting strings. Part of that was a series of Bill drills. Here are a few runs. I dig how the muzzle stays pretty darn still (Odin Works Atlas 5 FTW!). Hits here at 15 yards were all hand-sized groups or smaller. I’m quite sure I could do fist or smaller if I were trying. Love this rifle!
Muzzle Device is the Odin Works Atlas 5, trigger is the CMC 3.5 straight trigger, all on my Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 lightweight model.
You’ll notice here that my irons are down. That’s an anomaly, as I put them down for when I re-confirmed zero before training. Just didn’t put them back up, but I typically keep front and rear up 100% of the time when using my red-dot optic.
Today’s training involved a lot of wounded-wing, one-handed manipulations. This means that I dropped my gun on the ground 60 or 70 times, getting it pretty dirty.
Partly I drop my pistol so that I can practice picking it up and reloading one-handed (because my other arm got shot and is useless now). So I draw out, put a round on target, “get shot in one arm” and drop the pistol, pick it up and then perform a 1-handed reload and put 2 more rounds on target with that one hand.
The other reason I drop my pistol here is to do a bit of a shakedown vetting of both the new Gen 5 pistol and the new Inforce APLc light. I want to see if anything can’t take normal, everyday punishment. I’m happy to report that everything held up just fine. Though I notice that dropping my gun tends to turn on the light most times. Not unusual, since the activation paddle gets pressed on the drop.
This is a staple drill in my routine, but it can be hard on equipment. I always do it with my EDC rig, but I let backup guns (same setup) take most of the punishment most of the time.
I’ve had the new Gen 5 Glock 19 for a week now and got to spend the weekend running defensive drills from concealment with it. After trying out some Ameriglo fiber-optic i-dot sights, I opted to install my go-to EDC sights: Truglo TFX Pros. Much better.
Sometimes you find perfection as an addition to your EDC kit. This Low-Pro handstop is the shit. The perfect, smooth, just-right component for my rail.
The single ejector on the bolt of my M5 .308 has failed so I’m going to give the dual-ejector setup a try. A .308 is a punishing caliber for the AR platform and components take a beating. I’m hoping this dual ejector will prove to be effective and more durable than the previous setup.
Today I replaced the follower in my Mossberg 500A 12 Gauge shotgun with a Go Gauge LED follower. It is a white follower that has an impact-sensitive LED inside that lights up when you fire. When your magazine runs dry, the light is visible in your chamber, making it clear that it’s time to reload.
The light looks strong, but it does not project, so it does not light up everything around you, even in the dark. But now even a quick glance at the chamber cavity will make it clear if you’re loaded or empty. Neat idea!
I really like a flat trigger and have, since October of 2016 enjoyed the IGFS Enhanced Duty Trigger. In that time I put 19,650 rounds through my EDC Glock 19. This is the only trigger I ever had in this gun, as I bought the frame and the IGFS trigger at the same time. After confirming that the trigger was safe and effective, I made this my everyday-carry gun.
When I noticed last week after 19K+ rounds that the trigger safety was not engaging properly, I removed the trigger and sent it back to the manufacturer for replacement and dropped the stock trigger assembly back in. The pistol no longer worked.
While training at the range yesterday, the trigger began to fail. For the first few rounds it felt odd, but I attributed that to my not being used to the stock trigger anymore. But then it failed completely and would not reset. I got a dead trigger, where I could pull the trigger repeatedly and got no striker fall. Then, after a few pulls, the striker would fall and the pistol would shoot.
I immediately disassembled the pistol and inspected the components, trying to diagnose. Others at the range, familiar with Glocks, joined in; all of us trying to discover what was going on. I carry a components box so I replaced the connector and the trigger spring in succession, and even put a drop of lube on the connector/trigger-bar intersection, re-trying the pistol, in an attempt to find the failure. No joy.
I noticed that the trigger pull articulated 2 clicks: an initial click, then the striker fall. This would prove to be the telltale symptom.
Each or us inspected the frame and slide components, trying to find the culprit. At last, my friend Jason had an epiphany and asked to see the stripped frame again. He looked carefully into the trigger guard and said that he found the problem.
The depression created by the repeated pressing of aluminum against the polymer created a ridge that blocked the stock safety tab from allowing the trigger to reset. The deformation of the polymer can be seen by examining the proper line the polymer in that are should take vs. the line created by the aluminum safety tab:
You can see there how the depression creates a ridge that rises above the proper line for that area of polymer.
So that I could again have a functional gun, I took a small file and removed the damaged-area: the ridge created by the IGFS trigger safety tab. Even so, the damage has been done. I believe it is only a matter of time before the safety mechanism no longer works. A stock trigger now functions, but it feels different. The reset has no telltale “click” like a normal Glock trigger should. So I now have a question every time I pull the trigger. “Will it work this time?” That’s not what a Glock pistol is supposed to give you. Rather, a Glock is supposed to give you 100% certainty; certainty now destroyed by the IGFS trigger. Needless to say, this is no longer my EDC gun.
Luckily I have another Glock 19 frame to use for my EDC. As I now await my replacement trigger from IGFS, I believe I should NOT put it back into the frame. I think this frame is now forever ruined. This is what happens when aluminum abrades polymer. In other words, Innovative Gun Fighter Solutions has a severe design flaw that they must fix, as their trigger will destroy every pistol into which it is installed.
Other Brands of Replacement Triggers
I notice that every flat-face replacement trigger on the market has an aluminum shoe and aluminum safety tab. I cannot say for certain, but it is possible that EVERY replacement trigger will destroy the polymer frame of the pistol. If so, this is bad news.
I don’t have the $ to test every replacement trigger to 19,000 rounds, but I believe every manufacturer should troubleshot its design and ensure their triggers are not destroying otherwise 100%-reliable guns.