Do Aftermarket Mods Help You Shoot Better?

I’m a big advocate of upgrading sights and trigger parts on factory guns, and changing the controls and grips to make manipulation of the gun easier. One giant weak spot of the gun culture is that most of the advice that’s given to others about equipment is nothing but anecdote and opinion. “You should get X instead of Y” or “the gun’s not shootable until you replace A, B, and C” are common statements. I’m guilty of making them myself.

Over the past few years I’ve made an effort to collect comparison data to back up those statements: full size guns vs. pocket gun performance, iron sights vs. red dots vs. lasers (study in progress), and so on. I developed a short shooting drill that could be used to measure the benefits (or detriments) of aftermarket mods and holsters.

The Gun Modification Comparison Test

The GMC test is shot using two IPSC or IDPA targets, one at 5 yards and one at 10 yards:

Drill 1: (4 rounds) Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed (test draw and “hosing” split times)
Drill 2: (4 rounds) Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed (test draw and “medium” split times)
Drill 3: (4 rounds) Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target (moving draw, transitions)
Drill 4: (6 rounds) (insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target. (Reload, additional tests of split times)
Drill 5: (insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. (One hand reload, additional tests of split times)
(4 rounds) Drill 6: Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target. (Draw, shooting with more precision.)
(2 rounds) Drill 7: Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. (Non dominant hand shooting)

That’s a 30 round test that pretty well covers gun manipulation and defensive shooting skills. I would score it using IPSC “minor” scoring (A=5, B/C = 3, D=1).
I would not run par times, instead record raw times and log every shot time.
Goal times are listed below. They assume open carry. Adjust the ‘draw’ time as you see fit for concealment, pocket carry, or using a ready position. Just use the same start position for every string and every time you run the test, so you are comparing similar data.
Drill 1: 2.00 sec (1.25 draw, 0.25 splits x 3)
Drill 2: 2.50 sec (1.5 draw, 0.33 split x 3)
Drill 3: 2.50 sec (1.25 draw, 0.45 transition 5-10, 0.35 transition 10-5, 0.45 transition 5-10)
Drill 4: 4.75 sec (1.25 draw, 0.25 split, 0.25 split, 2.50 RL with step, 0.37 split, 0.37 split)
Drill 5: 8.00 sec (1.5 draw, 0.33 split, 0.33 split, 5.34 sec reload, 0.25 split, 0.25 split)
Drill 6: 3.50 sec (1.5 draw, 0.50 split, 0.75 transition, 0.75 split)
Drill 7: 2.50 sec (2.0 draw, 0.50 split)

Testing the Glock 42

I had recently purchased a Glock 42 to add to my collection of loaner guns. Generally I discourage use of .380 ACP caliber pistols, largely because it fails to meet FBI standards for defensive ammo. However, I’ve had students whose hands were too small, and hand strength too weak to handle any 9mm comfortably. In the past, we looked for 9mm pistols that had the shortest trigger reach, to accommodate those students, and for many the M&P Shield and Kahr 9mm pistols are an option. The challenge with those pistols is slide racking, since the single stack 9mm pistols almost always are subcompact models with heavier recoil springs than their 4” and 5” barrel cousins. (The Springfield XD-S 4.0 was briefly considered, but my dislike of the XD’s grip safety, specifically the fact that you can’t rack the slide without pressing it in, ruled it out. The grip safety “feature” of the XDs added yet another challenge to those already struggling to rack the slide.)

When I resigned myself to buying a .380, I looked at everything on the market and finally decided that the G42 was the least bad option, since it had the simplicity of the Glock, and skills learned on the G42 could someday transition to a G43 or G19, for those students that end up with the G42 due to lack of upper body/hand strength and not hand size. Around the same time I got the gun I was involved with developing the GMC test, so it became the test platform. I got some extended base pads for the G42 mags and used them for the testing as well.

(Note: since this article was originally written, the S&W EZ380 came out. I like the EZ380 better than the G42.)

Baseline Testing

When I started the testing, I was torn between the idea of running multiple runs each time to get average data, or limiting my shooting of the G42 to only the tests, to eliminate the potential that the testing, as I added mods, would be as much from improved familiarity with the pistol as much as hardware. Being short on time and .380 ammo, I opted to run the test once per mod and see what happened. Lacking a belt holster for the G42, I decided to use a ready position as the start position for all the tests.
Note: rather than burden the article with all the raw data, I’ll make the Excel file downloadable for those who want to see the breakdown. I’m going to limit my comments to observations and high level results here. It shows total time, points shot, and hit factor (points divided by time).

Stock Glock 42 Results

time points hit factor
Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed 2.19 14 6.39
Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed 3.13 16 5.11
Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target 3.26 18 5.52
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target 7.29 26 3.57
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. 11.28 26 2.30
Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target 4.06 6 1.48
Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. 2.34 10 4.27
TOTAL 33.55 116 3.46

Ghost Trigger

The first mod I made was to install the Ghost G42 connector, which promises to be lighter and smoother, having perfect function and being suitable for self defense.

How did it work? I shot about 20% better with the part installed, a combination of faster and better points.

Ghost Trigger Results

time points hit factor
Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed 2.02 18 8.91
Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed 2.87 20 6.97
Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target 2.78 18 6.47
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target 7.41 30 4.05
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. 10.21 20 1.96
Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target 3.53 13 3.68
Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. 2.34 10 4.27
Total hit factor 31.16 129 4.14
Stock hit factor 3.46
Hit factor change 0.68
% improvement 19.74

Trijicon HD sights

I’m not a fan of Glock factory sights. I don’t like the overall design or their cheap plastic-ness. Several students have showed up for class recently with Trijicon HD sights, so I decided to try a set on the G42 to evaluate them.

How did they work? I picked up another 7% improvement over the stock gun. Again, improvement in both points and time.

Trijicon HD Sight Results

time points hit factor
Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed 1.74 18 10.34
Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed 2.56 20 7.81
Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target 2.85 16 5.61
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target 6.35 26 4.09
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. 8.54 22 2.58
Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target 4.29 14 3.26
Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. 2.35 10 4.26
Total hit factor 28.68 126 4.39
Stock hit factor 3.46
Hit factor change 0.94
% improvement 27.06

Mag Release

Slide lock reloads were a problem, so I went looking for aftermarket mag releases, and found the Ghost Tac Mini, promising to be faster and better.

Here’s a close up of the difference in the mag release from factory.

How did it work? The reloads were taking a lot of time, and the mag release made a big difference in reload time. The total score for the run with trigger, sights, and mag release added showed a 52% performance improvement.

Ghost Tac Mini Mag Release

time points hit factor
Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed 1.6 18 11.25
Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed 2.35 18 7.66
Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target 3.13 20 6.39
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target 5.28 28 5.30
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. 7.88 26 3.30
Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target 3.48 16 4.60
Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. 2.04 10 4.90
Total hit factor 25.76 136 5.28
Stock hit factor 3.46
Hit factor change 1.82
% improvement 52.70

Slide Racker

I still found myself fumbling around with the slide doing slide lock reloads. Apparently I was not alone, since Larry Vickers is now marketing this part:

I installed it and ran the test one more time. Again, a big reduction in reload time resulted in a big change in hit factor – a total of 80% improvement over the pure stock gun, with 26% improvement from the slide racker.

Vickers Slide Racker

time points hit factor
Draw, fire 4 on 5 yard target, two handed 1.62 20 12.35
Draw, fire 4 on 10 yard target, two handed 2.22 20 9.01
Step left, draw, fire 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target, 1 on 5 yard target, 1 on 10 yard target 2.4 20 8.33
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. Reload (from slide lock, use power stroke) & step right. Shoot 3 on 10 yard target 4.88 28 5.74
(insert mag with 2 rounds plus one in chamber). Draw, shoot 3 on 10 yard target. Do one handed reload, rack slide by hooking sights on something, one handed, shoot 3 on 5 yard target. 6.44 30 4.66
Step, draw, shoot 2 in head of 5 yard target, 2 in head of 10 yard target 3.58 16 4.47
Start with gun lying on ground, kneeling position. Pick up gun with non-dominant hand and fire 2 at 5 yard target. 1.88 10 5.32
Total hit factor 23.02 144 6.26
Stock hit factor 3.46
Hit factor change 2.80
% improvement 80.92

Analysis

Reloading a subcompact gun is slow compared to reloading a full size pistol. The mag release made it easier to get the mag out, the slide racker made it easier to finish the reload after the new mag was in. Had I chosen to use the slide lock lever as a release, that would have changed the outcome. I stuck to the “power stroke” method for all the tests on purpose.

If you were looking at results and trying to choose which mod was most important based on percentage improvement, you’d start with the mag release and slide racker, then the sights and finally the trigger work. That’s not what I would recommend, though. My order would be sights first, trigger second, slide racker third and mag release last. My reasoning for this is that the G42 stock trigger is not as bad as the G42 stock sights, and the data showed I got more improvement from the sights than the trigger upgrade. Sights and trigger matter on every shot, and the odds that someone will reload during an actual defensive use are very low. Why the slide racker before the mag release? The slide racker will be more useful in clearing a malfunction and for basic loading/unloading of the pistol.

The test protocol and the test itself aren’t perfect, certainly not from a pure science and statistics perspective. However, I think the general concept of doing an A/B comparison test is important, and I encourage others who upgrade their guns to try the test before and after the modifications.

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