LIFESAVING CARRY AMMO

Along with a quality handgun and holster, I have long considered enough spare ammunition for at least one reload to be essential personal safety equipment. Uniformed law enforcement officers routinely carry a pair of spare magazines, at least one less-lethal weapon, handcuffs, and a portable radio on the duty belt. Ironically, many of these same officers forego carrying any spare ammunition off duty or when on plainclothes assignments. Armed citizens too, erroneously feel that since they are equipped with a hi-cap pistol, an extra magazine isn’t worth the effort.

Armed confrontations tend to be fast breaking, short-range affairs that are over in just a few seconds. But while extended exchanges of gunfire are the exception rather than the rule, are you willing to bet your life on that? I’m not, and that slight inconvenience in carrying extra ammunition will pay dividends should Mr. Murphy call and you find yourself in an unusual event.

ROBARIZED G22 9mm

With the Glock platform pistol set to surpass the M1911 as the most prevalent pistol in circulation, it is only natural that an entire aftermarket and custom industry surrounds the design. Robbie Barrkman and Robar Companies have been making Glock pistols “fit” and “feel” differently for many years now.

I know this fact may be sacrilege for many in the audience, but the Glock platform pistol is set to surpass the M1911 as the most prevalent pistol in circulation here in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of Glock pistols are in the hands of citizens nationwide.

This being the case it is only natural that an entire aftermarket and custom industry surrounds the design. Numerous companies are offering parts and accessories to modify, customize, and enhance the Glock. Custom gunsmiths across the nation have been applying their own unique grip patterns and reconfigurations for many years now.

All the steel components—slide, slide stop, slide lock, etc.—were coated with Robar’s NP3 finish. One of the most striking changes was the fabrication of a beavertail tang where there was none. Meanwhile, both the front- and backstraps were reduced and textured on the frame.

The primary subject for this review would be a standard Glock 22 chambered in .40 S&W. For this piece I would take the stock pistol and have several modifications made, both practical and cosmetic.
Robbie Barrkman, through Robar Companies, has been making Glock pistols “fit” and “feel” differently for many years now. They have an entire menu of choices. These include a grip reduction, to include removal of finger grooves if the owner desires, removing the triggerguard hook, and fabricating a high beavertail.

Their slide work includes forward cocking serrations, beveling/rounding the forward slide face, and custom engraving to name a few. Robar’s custom shop is the place where all of the new/additional parts for this pistol package would be installed and where the transformation would take place.

Custom Upgrades

Ghost, Inc. offers a number of drop in parts for the Glock including back plate covers, mag releases, spring kits, firing pin stops, slide locks, firing pins, recoil springs/guides, etc.

I wanted the pistol to look good and shoot well. In addition to the custom shop work, I shipped a number of aftermarket parts for the Glock along with the pistol. Having previous experience with multi-caliber Glocks, I knew that I could safety and effectively fire 9mm ammunition from the G22 or G23 platform.

KKM Precision offers numerous aftermarket barrels for Glock pistols with fully supported chambers. I’ve used its barrels in the past and been impressed by the inherent accuracy they provided. For this particular project I ordered a G22 barrel chambered in 9mm. KKM catalogs four different barrel options for the G22, as well as dozens of others for various Glock models.

Para USA SSP Gun Rights .45ACP

The name Para USA conjures up visions of high capacity 1911-style pistols, new, huge extractors and their LDA (Light Double Action). Their catalog and website is replete with pictures and descriptions of subcompact, double stack LDA pistols for defense, high capacity/high speed race guns for competition and simple, single-action, single stack 1911 pistols.

I’ve done one or more articles a year on Para guns for several years running. When I’d gone for the biggest part of a year without a Para coming in for a test, I went into “Para withdrawal.” I made contact with them and they promised something special.