Glock 44 with a red dot!! We GON do what they say can't be done....

[Railroader]

Alrighty, this is gonna be a long one, so here goes...

I bought the first Glock 44 I ever saw in person, as a training tool. I never read about it, never researched it, just bought it.

I got a good one and it doesn't care what you feed it, it works. Mine didn't get the internet memo that some of them suck...

I investigated putting a red dot on it briefly, read that the plastic slide wasn't friendly for a dovetail mount, a red dot weighs too much and it won't cycle, the sight will fly off, yadda yadda, and didn't go any further.

Fast forward a year or so, and I have become a "red dot on a pistol fool"...

I decided to try this for myself, after reading ONE guy who said his works pretty good.

I took a chance and bought a Tru Glo dovetail plate. Not intended for the 44, but would fit the slot.

The install was very easy, and there is a set screw at each end to stabilize the plate with.

I stole the SightMark Mini Shot off my Ruger MK2, and mounted it up. I removed the metal shroud on the sight to shave off some weight.



I also cleaned the pistol thoroughly, took a little bore butter and slicked up the rails and feed ramp, then started trying ammo.

It works pretty good with CCI MiniMags, That CCI AR round, and of ALL THINGS Thunderbolts, which pleasantly shocked me... ?

It will not even try to run on Golden's, Winchester bulk, CCI Standards, Federal Bulk, or Winchester M22.

By "works pretty good" I mean that it will function most of the time. I shot up a couple hundred Thunderbolts and Mini Mags, and had a failure of some sort about every other magazine.

I'm good with that, as we all need a malfunction now and then to contend with.

So for now, I am saying you absolutely CAN put a red dot on a Glock 44, as long as you are in it for the fun and cheap practice with a carry size gun.

And take it for what it is...

 

[Dub]

Ingenuity




As far as recovering from the occasional issue....good practice, too.

 

[Railroader]

Today I shot seven magazines of Thunderbolts with nary a failure...This mod is looking like a good one.

Planning on a couple mags a day for a month straight. We'll see how it holds up.

 

[Railroader]

About 325-350 rounds in, and all's well!

Zero malfunctions in the last 10 or so magazines.

No cleaning, either. It seems to run better dirty!

 

[Railroader]

The G44 with the red dot that's not supposed to work keeps rocking right on...

Probably another 200-250 rounds thru it since last post, and have not had ANY failures lately.

The gun is filthy, and it is absolutely running better than clean when I started with the optic.

There has been an approximate total of 1k rounds thru the G44 since new, so wear-in may be playing a part in the better function...

In any case, I ain't cleaning it till it starts acting up.. ?

If anyone has a G44 and would like to try this, I'll be glad to tell you all about it in better detail.

 

[Gator89]

I too bought a G44, it has run everything I fed it, in spite of the naysayers.

 

[Railroader]

Today I discovered that the G44/Optic combo doesn't like Pro Mag magazines when loaded with 20 rounds.

The first several rounds failed to go into battery, and then it worked fine for the last 11 rounds.

I am blaming this on the extra weight riding on the slide, and the extra spring pressure on the first half of the Pro Mag 20 rounder.

Pro mags worked fine before I put the optic on.

There are also slight differences in the magazines, the Glock mag is on the right.



This may have some influence as well...

 

[Mars]

I've tried a couple pro-mag products and had issues with everyone. There maybe something that they do right but I don't think I'm going to give them another change to find out.

 

[Jester896]

I have been using Amend 2 lately and haven't had an issue with the 34rd sticks

 

[Railroader]

The G44 with the red dot keeps on keeping on! I found out another bullet that the gun will shoot reliably...



It seems to like these real well, and they have enough "oomph" to lock the slide back every time, on the last round...

This rig continues to do quite well, for something that most say won't work... ?

 

[Dub]

Today I discovered that the G44/Optic combo doesn't like Pro Mag magazines when loaded with 20 rounds.

The first several rounds failed to go into battery, and then it worked fine for the last 11 rounds.

I am blaming this on the extra weight riding on the slide, and the extra spring pressure on the first half of the Pro Mag 20 rounder.

Pro mags worked fine before I put the optic on.

There are also slight differences in the magazines, the Glock mag is on the right.

View attachment 1139492

This may have some influence as well...

During the covids....was home bored outa my gourd....ran across some for ProMags for M1A. Not only were they in stock (nothing was then...), but they were cheap....even by covid-era standards. Time will tell if they are terrible. Figure they'll work for the range. Won't use 'em in the woods.

I've heard the stories....but jumped on em anyway.

 

[frankwright]

https://youtube.com/shorts/DJdrt_ZZ9Nc?feature=share
Railroader, you convinced me to try it. had a steel dovetail plate from EGW and a Burris FF3 just sitting there so I said why not.
It shot great with CCI Mini Mag HP's. Never missed a beat.
Would not cycle with American Ealgle High Velocity or Federal Standard velocity.
I never tried the Aquila but am going to pick some up.
This will be good inexpensive practice for my G45 with Red Dot!
(Sorry about the heavy breathing. I have a lung issue but I am still out there)

 

[Railroader]

Glad my harebrained scheme inspired ya, @frankwright ... ? ?

 

[frankwright]

I just bought two of the promags, 18 rounders (GLK-A18) and shot them at the range today. They worked great.

I had just found the 250 packs of Aquila Super Extra ammo and those and the Mini Mags all shot fine. I had two friends shoot it and one shot it fine, the other had a few malfunctions until I told him to tighten up his grip even if it is a .22 and it shot fine after that.
Those 18 rounders are a pain to load. I made a tool from one of those worthless Glock loaders they send out with every Glock and then I saw one on Amazon made for the promag so I ordered one to try.