Is the Glock 19 a hard-kicking handgun? Objectively, no. It’s chambered in 9mm, which is widely regarded for its mild recoil. Now, the Glock 20 – that thing kicks.
But this article isn’t here to start a war of opinions. The force of recoil, though a hard metric, has a subjective component – the shooter’s response.
So, to make short of this, here are a few things you can do to help mitigate recoil when shooting your G19.
Switch Up the Ammo
The easiest way to cut back on recoil, without making any adjustments to the gun, or to your form or habits, is to shoot a lighter-kicking recoil.
‘But wait, you think, 9mm is 9mm, doesn’t it all produce the same recoil?’
No, not really. By a matter of degrees, the amount of recoil produced by a cartridge varies as a product of bullet weight and propellant charge.
Next time you’re at the gun shop, check the box of ammo you have your eye on for a spec called “muzzle energy.” All else being equal, the lower this number, the lower the recoil will be.
Hold the Gun Properly
It’s also critical to hold your Glock 19 properly. This short guide won’t get too absorbed with the details, but here’s what you should know.
Your shooting hand should come all the way up the gun’s grip to the base of the slide, with all four fingers wrapped around the grip and the thumb lying forward along the frame base of the slide.
Your support hand should fully envelope your shooting hand, with your support thumb bracing your shooting thumb, also resting along the base of the slide.
Extend your arms fully, bend your knees slightly and lean forward. This will not alter the force of recoil but will better position you to absorb it.
Install a Heavier Guide Rod
Glock’s stock plastic guide rod is strong, but light. Some might even say it’s too light.
There are heavier guide rods you can get, either steel or tungsten, that will actually make a significant difference in how the gun handles and shoots.
The reason for this is that a heavier guide increases the mass of the platform, which itself is one of the most important elements that helps absorb recoil.
There is another that has to do with positioning. The guide rod rests far forward in the handgun, near the muzzle, weighing it down under the force of gravity. As a result, it’s not just felt recoil that diminishes, but muzzle flip as well.
Replace Your Glock 19’s Barrel/Slide
This might be the biggest impact you can make – replace your Glock 19 barrel.
Specifically, with a ported barrel and slide combo. Take a look at the Vapor combo via the link above.
It features a G19 barrel and slide with matched porting that splits the gasses around the sight picture, and, importantly, significantly reduces felt recoil and muzzle rise.
By venting some of the gasses at the muzzle up and away – instead of just out the front – the force of recoil can be redirected to help push the muzzle down, keeping your sights on target for faster follow-up shots.
In addition to this, the same company (NineX19) also sells threaded Glock 19 barrels that are compatible with compensators that perform a similar function – redistributing gasses vented at the muzzle to combat recoil.
The Power of Practice
Armed with this new information, it’s now on you. Try some new loads, switch up your barrel, adopt a more proper grip, and maybe switch out the guide rod – or some combination of all of these. They can all help in their own way. Now what you need to do is get to the range.
