Glock17 grip cut to G19 length Question [Archive]

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BTS

03-10-13, 10:12

Gutshot John

03-10-13, 10:23

I don't have one though I'm thinking of making this mod.

A gunsmith friend of mine does this modification and he says there aren't any issues. In fact he's quite enamoured with the mod.

If you'd like I can put you in contact with him if you have some questions.

http://www.tacticalshooting.com/glock-customizing/

Norman

03-10-13, 10:38

I suggest trading your 17 for a 19. Or, keep the 17 and buy a 19. If you do the modification your self, it’s always going to look that way, no offence intended. If you pay someone to do it, you’ll have way more in the gun than it’s worth.
Just my .02

twistedcomrade

03-10-13, 11:56

86 slo-vo

03-10-13, 12:27

This is pretty easy thing to do yourself, buy yourself a Dremel. Measure twice cut once and file to the finish.

My old chopped m&p.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l106/jonhagan490/guns/38e29f53.jpg

Magsz

03-10-13, 12:42

Cold Bore Customs and Boresight Solutions offer the best grip chops in the industry.

If you like the sight radius and the recoil impulse of the 17, cut it up and dont look back. No one can determine the "worth" of a firearm so dont buy into that pukey. If its what you want, do it, life is too short to get wrapped up in resale values of 500 dollar plastic pistols...

larson1122

03-10-13, 12:52

If I were to have it done I would send it to Cold Bore Customs.

NeoNeanderthal

03-10-13, 13:21

I cut mine down and have NO regrets. I would not pay someone to do it. especially on an older gun. (Unless you have a lot of disposable income and want it to look uber sexy). Mine looks pretty good and no one ever sees my concealed carry gun anyway.

I also wanted to fill in the back void, as grip plugs wont work anymore. I used epoxy, then sanded it.

Measured twice, then added a quarter inch, and cut it. I used an angle grinder so i could "sand" it flat. Then put a g19 mag in, and see if it seats. Sand a little, test it. Sand a little, test it. Sounds like a pain but it took me under 20 min with an angle grinder. Just gotta go real slow! Once the mag seats with a great deal of force, i used a orbital palm sander (a sanding block would work) and smoothed it out/took it down slightly until it would seat easily (but none of the mag body was exposed.

Then i plugged the gap with playdough, and filled with epoxy. Just like if i was doing a grip reduction (which you can also do). DO NOT FILL WITH EXPOXY unless youve plugged the gap, it opens up to the disconnect/trigger spring and housing area and can f*ck some shit up.
You dont NEED to fill the back void but i find it adds reliability to the gun and helps smooth up your reloads.

The only downside to cutting down a 17 (as opposed to buying a 19) is that it makes it more difficult to sell, and more difficult to fill the grip gap. And i guess it not coming with g-19 mags so you need to buy 1-2.

The pros are that besides the money you spend on 19mags its free. AND you get the longer sight radius and holster compatibility of a g-17.

My range/bedside gun is a g17, and my cc gun is a g17 cut to a g-19. I can interchange g17 mags, holsters, slides, anything. The only thing i cant interchange is my 2-g19 mags which i only really use for carry. I cc with an appendix carry and find the added length of the g17 slide actually helps conceal the gun. It pushes the grip in closer to my body. Just my .02 cents.

Sorry for the thesis. But ss you can tell, i dig cut down 17's and think glock should make a gun that is a glock 17 slide and a 19 grip (two bad the glock 18 name is already taken cuz thatd make sense). And a glock 19 slide with a 26 grip for deep concealment.

*Edited to ADD. Make sure you get a g-19 mag BEFORE you cut it down. This way your not just guessing on where to cut.

DOA

03-10-13, 13:33

Does the grip mod affect the balance of the pistol at all? Doesn't it seem more front nose heavy?

SPDGG

03-10-13, 13:48

Does the grip mod affect the balance of the pistol at all? Doesn't it seem more front nose heavy?
Not at all, balances very well imho

one

03-10-13, 14:00

I did it years ago with a G21SF. Cut it down to a G30. I did eventually get a little tired of it on that gun. The nose heavy aspect mentioned was more paramount on the heavier .45 than the lighter slide 9mm.

Function and reliability was always fine with it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v162/goddamnit/Handguns/G21gripreduction.jpg?t=1303028772

jonconsiglio

03-10-13, 14:00

Forum members, DocGKR, nyeti and The Janitor all run this set up. They all seem to really like it as well, and I trust their judgement.

I know DB (nyeti) loves to talk, so shoot him a PM....

chuckman

03-10-13, 14:04

A couple of questions for those that know:

Any issues with long term reliability or durability?
Any regrets from those that have done it?
Do you feel the grip needs to be reshaped or reprofiled?
Any shop recommendations to do the work?

No
No
No
Do it yourself

Ironman8

03-10-13, 14:34

I've thought about going this route but I was wondering if the Gen4 G19 and G17 finger groves match up exactly?

The Gen4 finger groves on the G19 fit my hand perfectly (guess I'm just lucky) but I was wondering if it would have a different "feel" to the grip if I were to cut down a 17.

Shawn.L

03-10-13, 14:59

Ben at Boresightsolutions did the work on mine.
Carries like a dream
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n606/shawn235711/D6CE1426-D42F-4036-8049-122D21286982-2352-0000014B0CBE080B.jpg

NeoNeanderthal

03-10-13, 15:21

Does the grip mod affect the balance of the pistol at all? Doesn't it seem more front nose heavy?

Not at all. Think about how little an inch of plastic weighs. Your gun doesnt feel unbalanced when your mag is half empty right?

SPDGG

03-10-13, 17:12

Post from: Pg.149 #2962
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?p=1503061#post1503061

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j122/fkim2003/FTK%20JK%20G17%20G19%20Chop/G17G19CHOPBW2800x600_zpsb1606d62.jpg

misanthropist

03-10-13, 17:38

No
No
No
Do it yourself

Goes for me as well...although if you can find one used, they're usually dirt cheap, as most guys use their pistols more for looking at than for shooting.

My G17k (as they are sometimes jokingly called, K for kurz or short) gets more use than any other gun I own. I have nothing against the 17, but if I didn't think I was going to sell one, I'd chop it it a hot minute. It's an improvement, if you ask me.

Literally the only downside: you need to find a way to plug the grip other than "stick a grip plug in it" because you can't do that anymore. I like metal epoxy, myself.

The only non-resale arguments I have ever heard against this are basically: "it looks ugly".

That's the stupidest argument I have ever heard against doing something that's going to make a gun more effective for you.

Rattlehead

03-10-13, 17:44

That's the stupidest argument I have ever heard against doing something that's going to make a gun more effective for you.

Lol, exactly. Who would have thought that it costs money to upgrade something.

okie john

03-10-13, 21:03

I have two of them. One is cut like the one shown here, or a lot like a stock G19.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j122/fkim2003/FTK%20JK%20G17%20G19%20Chop/G17G19CHOPBW2800x600_zpsb1606d62.jpg

You can also do the "HK cut" or "G26 cut", which leaves the heel a little longer than on a stock G19. This one is not mine, but it gives you an idea of how the HK cut looks: http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee68/okie_john/G19L.jpg

If a G19 tends to blister the heel of your strong hand in reloads, then the HK cut can make a difference.

I cut both guns myself. I did the straight cut (like the upper gun) first, then carried it for a couple of months. I also put a couple of thousand rounds through it on timed drills, including shooting ESP in a couple of IDPA matches. I found that the chopped gun conceals better than either a G17 or a G19 for the reasons that NeoNeanderthal mentioned, and that I was slightly faster with it than I was with either a stock G19 or a G17. I cut the second gun once I realized how much I liked the chop. Of the two, I prefer the HK cut slightly, but there's not a lot of difference in them. I've also used this frame with a G22 top end, and the same benefits apply.

If you like a Glock with a grip reduction, you could do that as well. I've got a reduced G19 and I used to own a G23 that Robar had reduced, and it's a great idea if your hands require that. I've found that the cut-down G17 is a great compromise, so I'm not sure that I'll ever have another Glock grip reduction done.

The directions that NeoNeanderthal posted will get you a nice, clean job. I will only add two things. First, use a new hacksaw blade with very fine teeth. I cut my first gun with an old, dull blade that wandered a little, and it took forever to clean up the edges with a file. Second, remember that the angle on the bottom of the magazine (and thus the grip) is different between the G17 and the G19. This leaves the border of the factory texturing a little off, which you can see in the lower photo. I think that's why most people choose to stipple their guns after a chop. If you stipple well, which isn't difficult, the result can look nice and clean as in the upper photo.

Resale value can vary with these guns. If you do sloppy work, then you'll reduce the value. If you do a nice clean job, then you may have to wait a little longer for the right guy to come along and realize what a favor you've done for him, but the gun should sell for a solid price.

Whether you should do this yourself is up to you. I hate myself for some of the things I've done to 98 Mausers over the years, but I'm delighted with how my chopped Glocks turned out.

Okie John

one

03-11-13, 13:37

Beautiful job John. And I agree on the "Hk cut" style.

Vlobb

03-11-13, 14:29

I’m considering cutting my old Gen 2 G17 frame down to G19 length. I like the idea of being able to use both G19 and G17 mags as well as improved concealment.

A couple of questions for those that know:

Any issues with long term reliability or durability?
Any regrets from those that have done it?
Do you feel the grip needs to be reshaped or reprofiled?
Any shop recommendations to do the work?

Any other suggestions?

I've had two GEN3 G17's chopped down to fit G19 mags.

I've had no issues with reliability so far. A few thousand rounds through one, the RTF2 was recently chopped so it's round count post chop is low. However, I would have never sent another frame to be done had I thought there could be reliability issues.

I do not regret it even in the slightest. I have no concern about resale value, these won't be going anywhere, ever.

In terms of reshaping or grip reduction... that's a tough one. I have one 17 that's had a "Partial Reduction", the other doesn't. For me, the partial reduction feels way better than without. However, the RTF2 frame I just had chopped with NO reduction still feels really good in my hand too. I just give the slight edge to the reduced. I didn't opt for a full blown reduction, mine is about half of what a full reduction would be. I do recommend you have the grip channel filled in and shaped for a mag-well. That makes a world of difference.

I highly recommend you check out Cold Bore Customs! Lane does fantastic work with a really decent turn around time. His prices are fair and his customer service is very good. I've had both these 17's and a HK USP Compact done by him.

I like my chopped 17's so much that I'm going to have one done by both Bowie Tactical and Boresight Solutions also. I'd like to have a chopped 17 from what I think are the three premier GLCOK grip-smiths out there. I'm going to do a Bowie this year and a Boresight next.

Here are some pics so you can get an idea... If you have any questions, let me know.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1636/chop17011.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/689/chop17011.jpg/)

(Top pistol has "Partial Reduction". Bottom has NO Reduction.)http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/9686/chop17008.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/chop17008.jpg/)

Five_Point_Five_Six

03-11-13, 20:23

I'm really diggin' those G17's cut to G19 grip length.

Vulture38

03-11-13, 20:32

Big fan of Cold Bore's work.

willowofwisp

03-11-13, 20:45

The 17-19's work great. I don't feel an advantage with the 17 sized grip. Ben at Boresight solutions did the work on the gun below.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8509/8460693271_5ef7d7b29f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8460693271/)
604067_10151418574836141_1648270982_n (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8460693271/) by SiDave (http://www.flickr.com/people/53409939@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8040/8031248210_5b95f30b67_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8031248210/)
DSC_8638.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8031248210/) by SiDave (http://www.flickr.com/people/53409939@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/8024449443_e73d7b39f6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8024449443/)
DSC_8626.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8024449443/) by SiDave (http://www.flickr.com/people/53409939@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8024452401_72e7f577a2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8024452401/)
DSC_8629.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53409939@N06/8024452401/) by SiDave (http://www.flickr.com/people/53409939@N06/), on Flickr