Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Some people have asked me, since the armorers course, what parts to keep handy for the Glock. The course was fairly instructive on that and the attendees contributed their own experiences with what breaks and doesn’t break. (By the by, from what I hear from gun rental ranges the auto that breaks least are the Ruger P series.)

According to the instructor, and this was supported by the attendees, more parts are lost than broken. The Glock has only about 36 parts to the whole gun, a few of those parts are pretty small and can be easily lost. However, the parts that are easily lost are parts that are normally only removed from the gun during a complete takedown which is usually only done when youre fixing the gun or detail stripping for an annual inspection or something. Field stripping leaves almost no part big enough to lose.

Number one on the list is the trigger spring. This is the little coil spring that returns the trigger. Apparently on the 4th gen there have been some minor changes to the surfaces the spring attaches to in order to reduce the chance of spring breakage. The issue of this spring breaking can be removed completely by replacing it with one of the NY Trigger assemblies. These things increase the trigger pull to (supposedly) simulate a pull similar to a DA revolver. However the big plus is that the NYT unit is a zillion times more robust and will not break. So, either two spare trigger springs or two NYT trigger units.
Either unit, according to the Glock catalog, are $1 ea. Total outlay for suspenders-and-a-belt: $4

Recoil spring assemblies have, apparently, been quietly beefed up. Look at the end of your recoil spring assembly. Should have some numbers stamped on it. That same end should have what looks like a nick or notch or groove on it. That notch denotes the newer model. Catalog says $5 ea.

Spring cups are parts that seem to get lost rather than break or wear. $2 per set of two halves. This is a good time to talk about the maritime cups. These things are supposedly to let you shoot your Glock underwater. (Instructor had several stories about this and the foolish escapades people engaged in to demo this feature…notably, several holed swimming pools and bathtubs. Which leads to………….) The maritime cups, ordered from Glock, require LE letterhead to order. However, the instructor told us that the regular cups let you shoot underwater as well..just not as efficiently. He also mentioned that shooting your Glock underwater can lead to personal injury through the conductive nature of the water. Pissing blood and damaged ears were mentioned. While Glock requires some hoopjumping if you order from them, you can find them elsewhere with less hassle. I suppose if youre a SEAL or Ed Norton you might need them over the regular ones.

Various small parts that get lost include:
Pins – there are three (usually). $1-2 each. Trigger pin, receiver pin, locking block pin.
Slide stop lever and spring – $5. Usually damaged from careless reassembly.
Trigger and trigger bar – $10
Trigger mechanism housing with ejector – $5
Assorted small springs $1-2

The major stuff, like barrels and extractors, are a good bit more but other than those almost every part is only a few bucks. You could put together a very comprehensive spare parts kit for less than $50 and if you wanted to go nuts you could make a damn impressive one for about $100. The Glock manual also lists recommended quantities of spare parts to keep on hand per 100, 500, 1000, and 2000 pistols. it is interesting to note that for some parts, the recommended quantity to keep on hand per one hundred guns is three.

So there you have it. Something to take away from the armorers class. Nothing that really changes my plans on what spare parts to keep around, although with the armorers certification i can order the parts straight from Glock so we’ll see if thats any great savings over Lone Wolf, although I doubt it.