As we debate the finer points of handguns and technological advances, one that has become more common outside of competition are compensators - the majority of them being aftermarket.
Being a user of the utilitarian Glock 9MM pistol in the G19 and G45 form, I decided to check out some of the newer models that are easier to install and remove; namely the Agency Arms / Sage Dynamics Comp for the G19 / G45 Gen 5s and the Radian Afterburner / Ramjet for the Gen 4 (although the make models for Gen 3 / 4 / 5).
I received the Agency Arms / Sage Dynamics Comp first, about 3 months ago and have put 700 rounds through it a G45, combined with a Zev Duty RMR slide & 507-ACSS optic. The kit includes an Agency threaded barrel, the steel compensator which threads onto the barrel and is held in place by a recoil bushing and new rod / spring assembly. It has a flat wire spring which is quite stiff. All the parts can be seen here.
This comp took a bit of break-in to run with lighter 115gr range loads; they would fire and eject but not load the following round from the magazine at first. I put some more 124gr and 147gr through them (which worked from jump; HD / JHPs worked from jump as well) and after about 300 rds, it would function with anything as the recoil spring broke in; also since it was working with a non-Glock Gen5 slide, there may be some tolerances which caused some of this too - I'm not sure but it runs 100% now after 700+ rounds, including another 100 today.
The Radian Afterburner / Ramjet is similar in the fact that is is easy to install; the new barrel isn't threaded but made in such a way to time the comp on the gun and it is retained with a tapered screw and uses the OEM recoil assembly. So unlike the Agency, it's isn't a 'tool-less' install but it is still very easy. I installed it on a G19.4 with an OEM slide with an aftermarket cut for a 509-ACSS optic.
I shot it for the first time today and put 117 rounds through it - 32 Federal HST 147+P and the rest an equal mix of 115gr / 124gr S&B and PMC range ammo. The frame of this gun has 3K through it but the slide / recoil spring only 300-ish rounds, but the setup worked 100% from start with zero issues.
One can debate the need for comping a 9MM elsewhere but having shot them, you can certainly tell the gun is recoiling less and keeping the gun on target when shooting fast (especially full power loads) is easier to accomplish.
I can't say that I prefer either of these two right now but maybe over time one will prove better than the other. Subjectively they both felt 'about' the same in the recoil department. The Radian setup is available for all Gen 3-4-5 Glock 19s (and I assume it would work on G19X and G45s), so that is definitely a plus, in addition to not using a threaded barrel for people in commie states outlawing those dangerous weapons of war... (sarcasm). The Agency / Sage comp is nice with the ability to install / disassemble for cleaning without any tools. The Radian is a tad shorter than the Agency / Sage, but they both work in multiple G17 holsters that I have from Red River Tactical and Safariland (which is a huge plus over some other, longer comps which may or may not fit different holsters). Price wise they are about the same, with the Agency / Sage MSRP of $400 and the Radian $379.99.
Hopefully this info is helpful, I'll try to snap some photos of the guns side by side in the near future.
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Originally Posted by gaijin
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