For anyone who owns a GLOCK19, they’ll be among the first to tell you that it’s a pretty great pistol right out of the box. Arguably one of the most simple, reliable, accurate and reasonably priced, the GLOCK has been at the top of the pistol market for the bulk of recent history.
GLOCK makes no bones about the fact that they stay true to who they are – even down to the aesthetic of their products. There’s no mistaking what a GLOCK looks, acts and feels like.
That being said, even the most classic models can stand to upgrade. Personally speaking, GLOCK’s triggers aren’t my favorite, the barrels aren’t “match-grade” and the slides are about as exciting as ramen noodles without that spice packet.
Fortunately, the market is becoming more populated with custom-houses who specialize in making GLOCK’s look…well, awesome. However, in order to get this customized look, you have to send your pistol in, wait forever and spend a King’s ransom to get your stock slide machined. Although you achieve ‘cool’ factor, the function and accuracy of your GLOCK is not always increased.
Enter Grey Ghost Precision. Traditionally known for their top-tier rifles, the folks at GGP introduced us to their new line of GLOCK slides while at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
Few companies have been able to successfully make the step as seamlessly as Grey Ghost Gear – and their expansion into the firearms world. The company, which is best known for its gear, garments and packs, launched itself headfirst into what is seen as an already crowded market. The first three rifles that came out of the firearms entity, Grey Ghost Precision, were nothing short of awesome – and anyone who knows the team at Grey Ghost would know, they weren’t satisfied with stopping there.
Grey Ghost has continued it’s clear focus on the end user, creating a thoroughly tested and combat proven product that focuses on quality and affordability. Additionally, they have made the product available and attainable to ‘us guys’ that can’t really afford the ‘gucci’ bedazzled products and made the products attainable. Tightening up the tolerances and using better materials has really made a difference.
The increase in popularity in handgun modifications also increased turn-around time for many mod-shops. Realizing this ever-growing delay in the process, the team knew they had to come up with a better solution. Never compromising on performance, Grey Ghost turned their heads in the direction of pistol modifications – from slides to barrels, and boy, are they sweet!
Grey Ghost has worked hard to maintain a reputation in the industry that is second-to-none when it comes to class, work ethic, quality and innovation. The team not only brings new products to the market on a consistent basis (typically ALL products go to combat before they are available), but they ensure that each product that goes out the door is worthy to carry the brand’s name.
Grey Ghost takes a different approach to GLOCK modification however, as they manufacture their slides in-house! Made from17-4 billet stainless steel, allowing for tighter tolerances than a factory slide, GGP manufacturers an entirely new slide for your GLOCK right on the premises.
To ensure user-satisfaction and ultimate perfection, Grey Ghost deploys their products into the hands of trusted industry partners and professionals. The team relies on their feedback as an invaluable ingredient in improving every product, and ensuring they are exactly what their customers want to carry. Taking every review and critique, in conjunction with thoughts from Special Forces teams and instructors, Law Enforcement, competition shooters and hardcore hunters, the product you will see come out of the box will be the result of legitimate evaluations and honest feedback. These slides are available in two different slide machine patterns for both G19 and G17 sizes, as well as the option of with or without an RMR optic cut.
At their 2017 launch, the slides are initially available as stripped (ready to go after installing internals, sights and barrel) and only costing $424 – so not only are they badass, and driven by feedback from their end-users (just as is the case with all of their products that come out the door), but they’re also affordable and attainable.
I was given the opportunity to test out one of GGP’s GLOCK Gen4 slides, and walked away from the range, right into my place in line – ready to order my own.
The slide arrives in an intriguing black box marked with a minimalistic line drawing of the slide design, with the ominous skull of the company logo on the side. It doesn’t scream at you – it’s subtle.
Upon opening the box, however, an entirely new tune is sung. The slide comes with a manual depicting the RMR slide plate and mounting screws, and the lifetime warranty information. Perfectly presented and ready to go!
Initial Impressions:
The GGP G19 V1 RMR Slide looked and felt great. Immediately I could tell that the top and side serrations would make gripping and charging the pistol instantly easier; and the rear serrations were cut deep enough to effortlessly power stroke the weapon, without fear of my hand slipping off. It was also already cut to be RMR ready, and an intricately designed plate made the slide look not only intimidating, but statuesque.
I quickly installed the slide onto a stock Gen4 frame and began to dry-fire, racking the slide from both the front and the serrations. The deep-cut groves in the metal seemed to bond directly to my hands, adding a degree of confidence every shooter can appreciate. The slide exterior was Black Nitride coated, offering years of protection against corrosion and abuse. Adding this slide only made the GLOCK feel more comfortable to handle. Once the initial lust for this elegant piece of machinery wore off (and I took a break to go to the store and bought more ammo), I knew it was time to actually put it to work and rip as many rounds through it as my trigger finger could handle.
Range Time:
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of pretty looking guns on the market – guns that just catch your eye. Those fancy guns are a total waste of time, money and effort if the gun doesn’t shoot or improve performance! So I put it through the paces at the range.
Running drills at 5, 10, 15 and 25m, I started with the stock GLOCK, with American Eagle 115gr FMJ ammo, to make sure I had established a base line to judge the GGP Slide from. Adding drills with multiple target indexing, reloads and dummy rounds would ensure I would have to rack the slide a truck load of times.
I incorporated shot clocks and standard 25m bull’s-eye targets, so that I would be able get extra data to compare and to test the accuracy and performance in stress shoot situations.
The next day, I set up to perform the same drills I did the day earlier. Using the same ammo, but now the GGP slide took the place of the standard issued stock slide.
I immediately found it was easy to clear dummy rounds faster, thanks to the serrations, and the ease in sending the slide forward by power stroking it.
I also discovered that having the Grey Ghost match grade barrel, I recorded a better distance score than that from the previous day – shaving seconds off non-dominant hand reloads and failure to fire drills were a huge plus. From my understanding, both the barrel and slide from Grey Ghost Precision were manufactured with tighter tolerances to achieve better harmonics and lockup with each other, while retaining complete compatibility with a stock lower frame. I was told the average accuracy increase was over 30% from a stock slide and barrel.
To verify the accuracy improvement, I setup a pseudo “Pepsi Challenge” using identical targets side by side at a range of 10 meters. For the test, I put 10 rounds of Winchester 115gr FMJ on the left target using a completely stock Glock 19 Gen4. Next, I swapped the slide for the Grey Ghost Precision with a GGP barrel and shot the right target using the same ammo, keeping the same stance, trigger squeeze, and cadence across the board. I performed this test 5 times over, keeping every step consistent. The results for each test were also consistent, with the GGP slide and barrel combo drastically tightening the shot group on target.
Conclusions:
I firmly believe if you buy anything for a weapons system, it should increase your accuracy, make the weapon more efficient to use or increase your ability to employ that weapon. The Grey Ghost Precision slide easily puts a check in the box of all three of these categories.
I will be purchasing one not only for EDC but also for competitive shooting. I not only look forward to the release of these slides to the public for everyone to enjoy, but selfishly, I’d like people to quit asking to shoot mine.
The Grey Ghost slide enhances the GLOCK 19, making it an effortless to use, easy to look at and affordable firearm. There is no need for me to purchase stock GLOCK’s anymore – I’ll be buying 80% lowers and doing builds with these slides from now on. And with them being manufactured in-house, in the US, you can’t go wrong with this set-up!
About SSG B. Brabant
Brent Brabant has attended the Squad Designated Marksman Course, Advanced Marksmanship Instructor Course, Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat, and the Advanced Low-Visibility Shooters Course. He was a Senior Instructor at the I Corps Advanced Markmanship Instructor Course for two years and got to serve as a guest instructor at the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course. B Brabant has served multiple combat tours. Additionally, he has served as an Instructor and taken multiple non DOD course on rifle and pistol.
