Gen 4 Glock Tungsten Recoil Spring Assembly

One of the disadvantages to running a Gen 4 Glock in competition right now is the lack of custom weight recoil springs and guide rods to put in the gun. If you’re running a Gen 3 Glock, you can go to one of a dozen online retailers and order a dwarven mithril guiderod for your Glock and put a hand wound recoil spring from the pistol-fighting monks of Siberia in there. If you have a Gen 4 Glock on the other hand, you’re pretty much SOL…until recently.

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In the foreground is the new Gen 4 Glock tungsten recoil spring assembly from the guys at Glock Store. You can see the rest of the photos at the Caleb Giddings Facebook page. It really is quite a bit heavier than the standard Gen 4 RSA. According to my kitchen scale, the stock Glock RSA weighs 0.80 ounces (22.68 grams), and the tungsten RSA comes in at 1.90 ounces (53.86 grams). Now, I have to say right off the bat that I haven’t fired a single round with this RSA installed in the gun, because my schedule has been pretty crazy lately. I’m actually headed to the range today with a case of BVAC ammo and a bunch of targets, so I’ll have a report on felt recoil and other differences tomorrow.

The big advantage to having a tungsten RSA is that according to the people who swear by them, heavier guide rods, even in as small numbers as 1.1 ounces can make a huge difference in the way the gun cycles, keeping it flatter in recoil. That means faster follow up shots, which lead to quicker transitions and can shave time off a stage. I’ll do some serious shooting with the tungsten RSA and report back on how well it does.