Thethreadedbarrel
allowstheuseofa
soundsuppressor
suchastheGem-
techAurora2.feet. The American Eagle ammo gave
a decent grouping and while the Rem-
ington UMC let me down a bit, the real
surprise was the Hornady ammo. My
three five-shot groups had all rounds
touching in a clover leaf that would
make Saint Patrick smile. The pistol
suffered no stoppages or malfunctions
of any kind. My home-built pistol ran
like the proverbial well-oiled machine.Toward the beginning of building this
one, I almost went with an aftermar-
ket trigger and connector. However,
the components in the factory frame
seemed perfectly fine to me and I
could not see the sense of changing
these parts out simply for looks. I
think if more people put at least 1,000
rounds through their new firearms,
those pistols will break in properly.EARLY PROBLEMS
All in all, this build was very satisfying
and aside from a minor catastrophe in
the beginning it was trouble free.When I installed the channel liner and
then the striker assembly, I noticed
that it was protruding just a bit too
far. Rather than walking 10 feet to my
tool box to grab the pusher tool for the
channel guide, I foolishly decided to
use my front sight installation tool as
it was on the bench in front of me and
close to the same size as the pusher.Well, apparently it was not and after I
tapped it with a hammer to set it, the
tool became stuck. I tried to hit it back
out with the hammer and the head
broke off the tool.Anytime something like this happens,
you must know your limitations. I
could have attempted to fit something
through the firing pin hole on the
breech face but realized I would proba-
bly end up trashing the slide. The more
logical recourse would be to attempt
to drill and tap the back end of the
stuck tool head, but I knew that this,
too was outside my ability with the
tools in my small home work shop.I needed the help of an expert with
access to the proper equipment, so
I bribed my local gunsmiths at Reno
Guns & Range: Tyler Norona and
Jarrett Bushey.They concurred with my solution and
used an end mill and a series of sev-
eral carbide bits to break out the stuck
tool head. Apparently, these tools are
made with a harder steel than I would
have given them credit!With the broken part gone and a new
channel liner installed, I was back in
business in a matter of hours. My re-
sult was an accurate and reliable Glock
that was unique and concealable with
the proper holster.REWARDING BUILD
Sometimes the greatest reward is
building something you enjoy: having
a finished product of which you can be
proud, regardless of the time, money,
frustration and energy it took to get
you there. That’s how my first venture
with Rival Arms turned out. If you are
looking at customizing a Glock pistol,
take a look at all they have to offer. CC32 CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS • FALL 2019
SOURCES
RIVAL ARMS
WWW.RIVAL-ARMS.COM
GEMTECH
WWW.GEMTECH.COM
SILENCER SHOP
WWW.SILENCERSHOP.COM
PRO-P GEAR
WWW.PRO-PGEAR.COM
DESANTIS GUNHIDE
WWW.DESANTISHOLSTER.COM