SouthernBoy
Regular Member
imported post
Over the past year, and specifically the past couple of weeks, I have switched connectors in my primary carry Glock 23 and thought it might be helpful to report my findings and opinions here on this forum. As with any sort of evaluation of this kind, subjective analysis is always going to be the driving factor. And frankly, when it comes to a self defense sidearm, that's really not so bad. So for some background..
Back somewhere in the mid 90's, I bought my first Glock; a model 23. It soon became apparent to me that I couldn't shoot the thing worth a damn. And I didn't like it. So I sold it and bought a G27. It was a little better, but still not my cup of tea when considering it as a CC gun. I moved on to Kahr's and when Kahr introduced their polymer line, I moved into those.
Then something interesting happened two years ago. In March 2007, I bought another Glock 23. This came from the factory with night sights, the extended slide stop, and a 5 pound (not a 5.5 pound trigger). I LOVED it! It quickly became my primary carry piece and was followed by four more Glocks to add to my collection in both .40S&W and 9mm. Four of my five Kahrs are still in my carry stable, but my Glocks, and in particular the 23 (both of them), have become my mainstays.
Even though my Glock 23 had a decent trigger, as far as Glocks go, I soon found out there is more to this than the obvious. Modifications! So last year, I had a 3.5 Ghost connector installed - the standard variety. I really liked the improvement and I shot it much better - this was my overriding reason for the alteration.
Then along came this year. Now one must understand the Glock trigger and what it does with its supporting components. First, it is a DAO (Double Action Only) design with a 1/2" travel, but rather unique in DAO category. It's trigger has three distinct "feels" to it. The first "feel" is about 1/16" of what I would best describe as freeplay. Then one feels a bit more resistance. This is the point where the drawbar starts to complete the cocking of the striker in preparationfor discharge. Finally, there is a more firm resistance which has about 1/8" travel. This is the point at which the trigger releases the striker to fire a round.
Since the Glock frame is so simple to take down, I decided to experiment with some different connectors to see how they matched up to their hype and admiration of their diehard followers. Over the last few weeks, I have tried three more connectors. Here is what I have found.
The stock connector that came with my Glock 23 was a 5# unit as I mentioned previously. The normal standard trigger is a 5.5# unit. My stock connector actually feels pretty decent for a "standard" Glock trigger with a nice, crisp letoff.
The Ghost 3.5 connector is decent and works quite well. Reliable. There is some resistance when you initially begin to move the slide to the rear. This is caused by the little "tang" that intercepts the cammed section in the slide to keep the drawbar from tripping the striker.. as in multiple discharges I suspect. This resistance is rather common in other after-market 3.5 connectors as well.
The LWD (Long Wolf Distributors) 3.5 connector was next up. I personally do not like this connector at all. A lot of that initial resistance I described above and not any real improvement over the standard Ghost unit. It did not impress me.
The Scherer 3.5 connector was next. This is a very good connector in that its trigger feel is among the best. Less initial resistance from that tang. And another thing. There is distinctly less trigger travel before meeting firm resistance.. about 1/16" less when measured. But the trade off is slightly more travel in the release. Still this is one of the best of the lot in my opinion. A very nice feel to it.
The last one is Glock's own 3.5 connector. Yes, this really is a Glock 3.5 connector. This one's overall feel rates ever so slightly under the Scherer connector for me, but the positive is the fact that the initial slide resistance is the same one feels with the stock OEM installed 5# connector.. probably because it is a Glock part. When comparing it closely to the Scherer connector, the tang is just a hair smaller which accounts for the stock feel to the initial slide resistance I have been talking about. There is slightly more travel than the Scherer before firm resistance (that 1/16" reduction of the Scherer is gone with this connector), but the let off after firm resistance is encounter is a hair shorter. And there is this. Since it is a Glock replacement part, I suspect its reliablily is top notch.
So there you have it. My favorites out of this batch of five are the Glock 3.5 and the Scherer 3.5, in that order.
NOTE: I just now went back and swapped out the Glock 3.5 connector to compare with the Scherer. They feel virtually the same and actually the edge does go ever so slightly to the Glock but they are s-o-o-o close.
Over the past year, and specifically the past couple of weeks, I have switched connectors in my primary carry Glock 23 and thought it might be helpful to report my findings and opinions here on this forum. As with any sort of evaluation of this kind, subjective analysis is always going to be the driving factor. And frankly, when it comes to a self defense sidearm, that's really not so bad. So for some background..
Back somewhere in the mid 90's, I bought my first Glock; a model 23. It soon became apparent to me that I couldn't shoot the thing worth a damn. And I didn't like it. So I sold it and bought a G27. It was a little better, but still not my cup of tea when considering it as a CC gun. I moved on to Kahr's and when Kahr introduced their polymer line, I moved into those.
Then something interesting happened two years ago. In March 2007, I bought another Glock 23. This came from the factory with night sights, the extended slide stop, and a 5 pound (not a 5.5 pound trigger). I LOVED it! It quickly became my primary carry piece and was followed by four more Glocks to add to my collection in both .40S&W and 9mm. Four of my five Kahrs are still in my carry stable, but my Glocks, and in particular the 23 (both of them), have become my mainstays.
Even though my Glock 23 had a decent trigger, as far as Glocks go, I soon found out there is more to this than the obvious. Modifications! So last year, I had a 3.5 Ghost connector installed - the standard variety. I really liked the improvement and I shot it much better - this was my overriding reason for the alteration.
Then along came this year. Now one must understand the Glock trigger and what it does with its supporting components. First, it is a DAO (Double Action Only) design with a 1/2" travel, but rather unique in DAO category. It's trigger has three distinct "feels" to it. The first "feel" is about 1/16" of what I would best describe as freeplay. Then one feels a bit more resistance. This is the point where the drawbar starts to complete the cocking of the striker in preparationfor discharge. Finally, there is a more firm resistance which has about 1/8" travel. This is the point at which the trigger releases the striker to fire a round.
Since the Glock frame is so simple to take down, I decided to experiment with some different connectors to see how they matched up to their hype and admiration of their diehard followers. Over the last few weeks, I have tried three more connectors. Here is what I have found.
The stock connector that came with my Glock 23 was a 5# unit as I mentioned previously. The normal standard trigger is a 5.5# unit. My stock connector actually feels pretty decent for a "standard" Glock trigger with a nice, crisp letoff.
The Ghost 3.5 connector is decent and works quite well. Reliable. There is some resistance when you initially begin to move the slide to the rear. This is caused by the little "tang" that intercepts the cammed section in the slide to keep the drawbar from tripping the striker.. as in multiple discharges I suspect. This resistance is rather common in other after-market 3.5 connectors as well.
The LWD (Long Wolf Distributors) 3.5 connector was next up. I personally do not like this connector at all. A lot of that initial resistance I described above and not any real improvement over the standard Ghost unit. It did not impress me.
The Scherer 3.5 connector was next. This is a very good connector in that its trigger feel is among the best. Less initial resistance from that tang. And another thing. There is distinctly less trigger travel before meeting firm resistance.. about 1/16" less when measured. But the trade off is slightly more travel in the release. Still this is one of the best of the lot in my opinion. A very nice feel to it.
The last one is Glock's own 3.5 connector. Yes, this really is a Glock 3.5 connector. This one's overall feel rates ever so slightly under the Scherer connector for me, but the positive is the fact that the initial slide resistance is the same one feels with the stock OEM installed 5# connector.. probably because it is a Glock part. When comparing it closely to the Scherer connector, the tang is just a hair smaller which accounts for the stock feel to the initial slide resistance I have been talking about. There is slightly more travel than the Scherer before firm resistance (that 1/16" reduction of the Scherer is gone with this connector), but the let off after firm resistance is encounter is a hair shorter. And there is this. Since it is a Glock replacement part, I suspect its reliablily is top notch.
So there you have it. My favorites out of this batch of five are the Glock 3.5 and the Scherer 3.5, in that order.
NOTE: I just now went back and swapped out the Glock 3.5 connector to compare with the Scherer. They feel virtually the same and actually the edge does go ever so slightly to the Glock but they are s-o-o-o close.