Disassemble a Glock (basic)

This photo blog entry goes over how to disassemble a Glock for maintenance and cleaning. This information also generally applies to most modern handguns on the market today. (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click any of the photos to enlarge them.

The first step in disassembling a Glock is to make CERTAIN it is unloaded.

Then, as always, the dead horse gets a say...

#1 ALL FIREARMS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

# 2 NEVER POINT THE MUZZLE AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY

# 3 KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

# 4 - BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Once you are CERTAIN the Glock is NOT loaded, proceed by gripping the Glock in a very particular way. Using your strong hand, grip the Glock as the photo below illustrates...


... thumb arcing around and all four fingers overlapping the top of the slide.

Now place the thumb of your weak hand over the Disassembly Lever. In the next photo, we will move it downward while moving the slide back slightly.


The photo above shows the direction the Disassembly Lever needs to move for the next step. It might help if you use your index finger on the other side in a pincher motion to get the Disassembly Lever to move downward.

This next photo looks more complicated than it actually is. While sliding the Disassembly Lever down with the thumb of your weak hand (and your index finger on the other side in a pincher motion), move the slide backward slightly with your fingers of your strong hand, using your thumb of your strong hand to steady the Glock.


You don't want to move the slide all the way back. Just maybe 1/4 an inch. You will feel when it is ready to take apart.

Now press the trigger. This will disengage the slide and you can begin to move it forward.


The slide will come completely off the top of the Glock! You have just successfully completed a major portion of the disassembly of a Glock.


The next photo is a top view of the frame of the Glock on the right and the slide turned upside down on the left (the muzzle is facing down).


In future blog entries I will discuss how to disassemble the Glock a little further for cleaning and maintenance.

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What Are Grip Extenders?

Grip extenders are lifesavers for those full to mid-sized firearms that just do not fit perfectly in some people's hands. The following photos show a Glock before and after grip extenders are installed. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

This is the same Glock 19 that has been used so far throughout the blog.


In some of the photos, you may have noticed my pinkie finger was a little low on the firearm. This is because I was using a grip that felt natural to me on the Glock, and as a result, sometimes one of my fingers was hanging over the grip at the bottom. Its a strange feeling and doesn't feel "right".

There's nothing wrong with the Glock. But to get my pinkie finger up to where it feels comfortable, I need to tighten up my fingers a little on the grip like in the next photo.


That "squished" grip isn't too comfortable for the rest of my fingers. Catch-22.

So what can be done? I changed the bottom plate of the Glock's magazine to a grip extender. A grip extender is either an addition to your magazine that adds some room at the bottom, or a complete overhaul of the magazine that adds one or two more rounds of ammunition capacity.


I went with the Pearce Grip Extender on this Glock. It is just a addition piece and did not add any more rounds of ammunition to the magazine.

As you can see in the next photo, the grip extender adds a little length to the bottom of the firearm and fits the magazine inside the Glock the same as the original magazine floorplate did.


With a grip extender in place, my fingers fit better on the firearm and are not crowded together at the top. Much better!

Grip extenders are not made for every firearm, and you do need to order a model specifically made for your particular firearm. And getting a grip extender on a brand new magazine from a Glock will be a real test of your patience. But if your hand is cramped, five seconds holding the same firearm with a grip extender installed will be all the sales pitch you need.

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Loading a Glock when the slide is closed

This blog entry discusses how to load a Glock firearm with a magazine when the slide is closed. This information can also apply to most handguns for sale on the market today (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click on any of the photos below to enlarge them.

Loading a Glock firearm when the slide is closed is even easier than loading when the slide is open. First, take the magazine with ammunition and align it at the bottom of the firearm. Then press the magazine upward into the Glock.


Press upward on the magazine until it "clicks" into place. You do not need to slam or force the magazine into place. Just press up until you hear the "click".

Now grab the rear of the slide and pull it directly back away from the muzzle of the firearm in one strong motion. If you are new to firearms, don't be afraid to exert some force to get the slide to move on the Glock.


Once the slide has moved as far to the back as it can, let go of the slide. At this point, when the slide moves forward, a round of ammunition will be loaded from the magazine into the chamber. The Glock is now ready to fire.

You can see the light reflect off a round of ammunition that has been loaded into the firearm in the next photo.


As always, here comes the dead horse...

DO NOT FORGET THE FOUR RULES!

#1 ALL FIREARMS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

# 2 NEVER POINT THE MUZZLE AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY

# 3 KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

# 4 - BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

-end-

Loading a Glock when the slide is open

This blog entry discusses how to load a Glock firearm with a loaded magazine when the slide has been locked open. This information can also apply to most handguns for sale on the market today (IE: Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, H&K, etc). Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Loading a Glock firearm when the slide is open is a fairly straightforward task. First, take the magazine with ammunition and align it at the bottom of the firearm (NOTE: In the photo below, the magazine has been turned to face the camera for illustrative purposes only)


Now, press the magazine into the Glock firearm using a smooth upward motion. Press upward on the magazine until it "clicks" into place. You do not need to slam or force the magazine into place. Just press up until you hear the "click" of the magazine locking into place.


After the magazine has been inserted, you can see the first round of ammunition in the magzazine from the top of the firearm through the open slide. Releasing the slide will force the first round of ammunition into the chamber of the firearm.


The easiest way to release the slide is to press downward on the SLIDE STOP LEVER. This will require some strength for some models of firearms as the slide is locked open and is resting on the SLIDE STOP LEVER.

In the photo below, I am pressing downward with my right thumb. You can also use your opposing hand's thumb to assist.


Another way to release the slide is to use both hands. This is easier to do for those people with insufficient hand strength to release the SLIDE STOP LEVER for a particular firearm.

To start, use your weaker hand to pull the slide back slightly. Then, with your strong hand's thumb, press the SLIDE STOP LEVER down. Then let go of the slide with your weaker hand. The slide should move forward, loading the first round of ammunition into the firearm.


After releasing the slide, the firearm will be loaded. If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the initial round of ammunition in place.


The firearm is now loaded and ready to use. And let me pull out the dead horse once more and say...

DO NOT FORGET THE FOUR RULES!


#1 ALL FIREARMS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

# 2 NEVER POINT THE MUZZLE AT ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DESTROY

# 3 KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

# 4 - BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

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