GLOCK GUIDE RODS

[PAT FINN]

I am looking into replacing my plastic stock guide rod with a stainless steel guide rod..
Thoughts on picking from captive and non captive rod , chose a spring weight.
Also, is the tungston worth the extra money ? or even the S S replacement.

[LittleRedToyota]

Also, is the tungston worth the extra money ? or even the S S replacement.

depends on why you want to replace it.

in general, i personally would say neither of them are worth the money. the stock plastic guide rods work quite well. they are very reliable. changing to an aftermarket guide rod, if anything, makes the gun less reliable.

however, some people like heavier guide rods for race (IPSC, IDPA, etc.) applications because they (supposedly at least) help reduce muzzle flip allowing for faster follow-up shots.

other people like to change the guide rods out just because they like to tinker with things (which is a perfectly valid reason).

if it is a carry or home-defense, gun, though, personally i would leave the gun in its most reliable configuration--which is bone stock with the exception of replacing the sights.

[PAT FINN]

Thank you for your input... not sure why to replace, heard / read of the stock plastic rod chip / break . unsure if this is justified or not.
my 17 L has aprox. 2500 rounds thru it and the original rod " looks / appears " to be fine.

[jcabin]

Thank you for your input... not sure why to replace, heard / read of the stock plastic rod chip / break . unsure if this is justified or not.
my 17 L has aprox. 2500 rounds thru it and the original rod " looks / appears " to be fine.

The rod will probably be fine for another 100k rounds. You might need to replace the spring some time inbetween though. Only you can determine that, though I'm sure there is a guide line published by people who shoot 100k+ rounds a year.

[PAT FINN]

100 K rounds on factory stock ... if that is accurate ( and I am not the one to question the accurate of that post ) it looks as though I am worry too much.
thank you, the 100K on original ... wow, I will be dead and gone way before then.. LOL

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

I agree if its not broke why fix it,I have over 20,000 rounds thru my glock 19 first generation,I also beleive if you need you gun in a shoot,the defense will definitley bring up the whys for modifications,even the ammo you used,better to go stock and avoid other problems that may arise !

[LittleRedToyota]

Thank you for your input... not sure why to replace, heard / read of the stock plastic rod chip / break . unsure if this is justified or not.
my 17 L has aprox. 2500 rounds thru it and the original rod " looks / appears " to be fine.

the plastic guide rods really are quite reliable. if you do more research, i think you will find there is no reason to replace them from a reliability standpoint.

i have actually heard/read of more issues with aftermarket guide rods than the stock ones, but that's all anecdotal anyway. there are millions upon millions of glock 17s (alone, not to mention other glocks) in service with stock plastic guide rods that run 100%.

the one guide rod issue i did see documented came from a glock torture test where they fired many thousands of rounds rapid fire--passing the gun from shooter to shooter to keep going after one shooter would get tired. eventually, the gun got hot enough to melt the guide rod. but, it actually kept running even with the melted guide rod.

so, yeah, you probably can melt the guide rod if you really try...like firing thousands of round rapid fire without a break. but, if you do not specifically try to melt it, it is not an issue.

in more anecdotal evidence. i have one glock 17 that has over 50,000 rounds through it from me (and i dunno how many from the previous owner). i replace the guide rod and all the springs (with stock replacement parts) every once in awhile just because they are so cheap, so why not. but i have gone well over 10,000 rounds on a single guide rod/set of springs without any problems.

i also have 2 other G17s i bought used that i have put fewer rounds, but still thousands, through that, after replacing the rod and springs upon purchase, i have again never replaced anything.

i have never had a failure with any of them except a couple of failures to lock back with a single particular old magazine (cleaning it and replacing the mag spring fixed the issue).

glock 17s really are the most reliable semi-auto handgun (and more reliable than many or most revolvers) ever made in their stock form. i imagine 17Ls are at least very close to just as reliable. from a reliability standpoint, pretty much anything you do to them (with the exception of replacing the stock plastic sights) can only make them less reliable.

my two cents, anyway.

[PAT FINN]

this post may have been titled " it's not broke , but i want to fix it any how"

a little humor,,, it seems as though reading your posts , and other posts unrelated to the guide rod, is .... leave the glock alone as it is from factory..

thanks again guys...

[Yoder]

I know IDPA does not allow you to switch guide rod materials. If the stock is plastic you have to stick with plastic. I run my Glock 17 with the stock guide rod un-captured. It makes it easier to swap recoil springs but it's a little harder to put the gun back together. I have around 6-7k rds through mine with original guide rod and it really doesn't have much wear.

[LittleRedToyota]

leave the glock alone as it is from factory..

except for the sights. the stock sights suck, imho.

but, other than that, if the goal is maximum reliability, then i would say leave it alone.

however, if the goal is to have fun tinkering, then, by all means tinker...nothing wrong with that.