Glock 20 Fire Dragon project

S

stagpanther

New member
Here is "stage 1" EFK ported hunter barrel, ISMI heavy-duty guide rod and wolf 22# main spring (Wolf apparently advises start heavy and work your way down). I might test tomorrow weather permitting, and assuming I can make it in to range (2-4 ft deep snow and temperature in the teens). Assuming all goes well will work on getting a lighter trigger pull next.







 
Very cool! I'm jealous of that setup! Let us know how it runs. One of my first centerfires was a 10mm (that I sold due to reliability issues), and I've always wanted another one since.
 
Very cool! I'm jealous of that setup! Let us know how it runs. One of my first centerfires was a 10mm (that I sold due to reliability issues), and I've always wanted another one since.
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Thanks--will do on the progress. I got the Glock mostly because it's the most affordable of all the offerings I've seen and has a good reputation for reliabilty. I would have loved a 1911 style a la delta elite but they are all out of my price range. The other day I saw a para elite 10 mm hunter at a LGS and boy did that one look and feel sweet. Here's an interesting review on the para http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=3930 If you click through to the target results--very impressive.
 
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Just back from a test firing--can't really call it a real target session. The way in was plowed enough so I could shoot at 20 yds into 4 ft snow banks in front of the berms. Being barely into the teens I decided the best thing was to simply set a box on the snow and keep the truck running with everything inside until I was ready to fire--then simply step out and empty the magazine. I shot standing free-hand at 20 yds wearing gloves--it was a bit hard to get a good grip on the plastic which seems quite slick in the cold. So those are my excuses. : )

My first magazine was filled with a mild load of Federal 180 gr FMJ's. Every shot fired and cycled without a hitch through the new barrel and heavy spring--happy about that. All the brass stacked up in a neat pile at my 3:00 4 ft away.

Next up was a magazine of full-power 1300 fps Underwood 180 gold dots. There was only one minor hiccup--after the first shot the next round was jammed in the magazine and the slide locked back as if the mag was empty. After I racked that round the entire rest of the magazine fired and the gun cycled without a hitch. I suspect that there may have been some "settling in" the first three shots sent the cases clear over my truck to about 10 ft away at my 4:00--the rest of the shots were in a neat pile 2ft away at my 5:00.

General observations: it may be due to adjusting my technique for the longer ported barrel--but my shots were typically impacting low compared to when I use the standard OEM barrel. All spent cases were in excellent shape with no signs of any gas blowback or damage. primers were immaculate except for Glock's trademark "zero-in-a-rectangle" imprint. The full-power Underwood loads seemed to kick slightly more than the mild load--but the difference I feel is negligible--I don't think it even equals the bottom end of a mild 41 mag load. So that's the first test--all in all a good one I think.
 
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Methinks you need a long slide for better sight alignment...
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My aging eyesight does suck--I now have trouble getting even the front post in focus. I have to go to the ophthalmologist sooner or later and am hoping a good pair of glasses might help.
 
Houston--we have a problem

Well...things have taken a turn for the worse with project FD. The next two magazines of high-power I shot both had FTF's. Worse yet, when I loaded mild loads I also had an FTF with them. It was the typical "slide lock as if empty magazine" but I noticed upon closer inspection that the round that failed to feed was somehow wedged between the breech face and the feed ramp while slowly returning the slide over the round rather than racking it hard to chamber it. I have to admit I'm pretty stumped.

I just got home and decided to compare the FD barrel to my OEM and Lone wolf barrels. The most immediate thing I noticed was the chamber end of the FD barrel is significantly less thick than either the LW or OEM--by as much as .005" . I googled for FTF's with high power ammo and many hits popped up--usually related to the magizine/follower. However I wonder if that lack of thickness presents the feed ramp higher to the cartridge thereby causing it to jam as well as allowing the barrel to ride high enough to get captured by the barrel lock. My next step to confirm the issue is not with the ammo but the barrel--I will refit the stock barrel and try it out.
 
Fire Dragon goes down in flames!

Well, after trying to soften the edges a bit on the barrel hood as I had seen suggested on other forums--my barrel simply could not function reliably without jamming or failure to feed. So down went my project in flames (along with the $215 I spent on it). Burn baby burn.

Just to make sure it wasn't due to the stiff mainspring or high-power ammo--I put in a Lone Wolf barrel and emptied 4 magazines of both mid and high-power loads--not a single problem of any kind.
 
After figuring out a fix I'm back in business--a big part of the learning curve is figuring out how to reload for the 10mm--quite challenging.

"Stage 2" was replacing the stock sights with advantage tactical's pyramid v-sights. Assuming all goes well--stage 3 will be trigger work.

 
What are you trying to accomplish with the longer barrel? Seems to me any power increase would be minimal, and you are not increasing your sight radius...???:confused:
 
Good question:
1) Though slight, there is still approximately 30 to 50 +/- fps gain--every little bit helps (almost 100 ftlbs energy in some loads).
2) Tighter chamber tolerance (may or may not contribute to improved accuracy).
3) Better feed ramp and case support. Important for full-power loads and brass logevity
4) ported external of slide. I didn't want to mess with an internal port or the option of having to remove a threaded compensator. Whether or not it reduces recoil is hard to say--but it does help reduce muzzle flip.
5) Conventional rifling for lead cast capability
 
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Thanks for the updates! It's interesting to follow.

For me, an extended barrel would be a must for hunting. In Wisconsin, you need a 5 1/2" barrel. Glock factory barrels (unless you can get your hands on the new long slide) aren't long enough to qualify. I too would prefer a long slide for the extended sight radius, though.
 
I thought about a long slide--but they are pretty expensive and make an already big gun even bigger. I already have two hefty ruger blackhawk magnums and am still trying to keep this one reasonably compact. It still carries easily in a standard OWB holster, a major requirement for me.
 
That's cool, stag. I wasn't dissing your setup at all, and I understand the custom/cost and the holster requirement. I think your setup is super cool.

Did you know, though that Glock is coming out with a long slide 10mm with a 6" barrel? Since it's Glock, I imagine that people will be coming out with holsters for it, too.
 
No offense taken--like I said it was a good question. And it may in fact be a boondoggle in the long run--but I go through similar convulsions with most weapons I buy. I'm new to Glocks and the 10--so it will be a while for me to get used to it. I thought the long-slide 10 was already out? Anyways--I'm pretty happy with the ergonomics of this gun--except the grip. That's going to take some creative thinking--I've seen all kinds of whackiness from tape wraps to dremel-sculpted soldering iron stippled jobs but so far haven't seen anything I thought I'd try.
 
Stage 3 completed--replaced connector rod with a 3.5 lb ghost rocket and replaced the trigger spring with a (I believe) 6 lb spring that came out of my zev competition pack. I did not replace the striker or plunger springs because I did not necessarily want to change much other than the ease of the trigger pull/break.

I'm happy to say everything appears to be a complete success--at least so far. The new sights definitely help with my very poor vision--they need a little minor elevation/windage tweaking--but otherwise a significant improvement over the stock sights for me. The only minor problem I had is that the flouro green/orange colors are a little hard to line up against a backdrop of 7 ft of bright white snow--but that will hopefully not be what I shoot in most of the time.

The trigger is exactly the way I want it--I like the stock travel/take-up because it pretty much feels just like my competition 2-stage on my AR. I like having the safety of the take up and a bit of a wall before the break--especially when hunting when the adrenaline might be pumping and/or i might be wearing gloves. I haven't measure it by I'm guessing the trigger is breaking at around 3 lbs +/-

The shots below were taken bare-handed outside in temperatures in the teens, so all I wanted to do was get a quick test to see how things felt, thus I only shot 5 rounds and skeedaddled. Nonetheless I'm very pleased--my very first shots out of this new configuration are already better than any iron sight shots I've ever had before. Without the flier in the upper left CTC was slightly under 2"--with it just over 2."

It's obvious to me I've reached the point where I have a real shooter--and the rest is up to me to get better results.



PS--I was shooting the underwood 1300 fps 180 gr xtp.
 
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