Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. If you are reading this to see if a Polymer 80 Glock is easy to build, then let me answer you now. Yes, it is. It is very easy to do, and I believe anyone can do it. The Polymer 80 Glocks are very easy to build, and the one I’m reviewing now was built with the included 80 lower jigs, a Dremel, and a hand drill. It took me a few hours and a little bit of sanding, but now it runs like a champ. If you are on the fence, just take the dive and do it.
Now that we’ve lost a few fence-sitters let’s go ahead and talk about the Polymer 80 Glock I built and give it a quick review. The PF940V2 is a full-sized model that utilizes either a Glock 17, 22, 34, 24, 35, 31, or 17L slide. Most of us will likely be building a Glock 17 or 34. I went with the 17. The Polymer 80 Glocks utilize Gen 3 parts, which are quite common and easy enough to find. I went with a Glock 17 slide that was a Larry Vickers special edition, a Bear Creek Arsenal barrel, as well as a Glock OEM lower parts kit. The Glock kit included an extended magazine release and slide lock.
Getting It Together
I find the Poly 80 frame to be superior to the Glock OEM frame in most ways. It lacks finger grooves, which is fantastic. It uses a 1911 19-degree grip angle versus Glock’s 22-degree grip, which is more comfortable and natural to me. The rail is a true Picatinny rail versus Glock’s oddball rail system. The back of the gun also features a beaver tail that you don’t get with the OEM Glock frames.
The PF940V2 is essentially an Americanized Glock.
As you know, America does it better. All of these lower frame changes make for a more ergonomic and easier-to-handle Glock. The Polymer80 grip angle is more comfortable to me, but that is admittedly subjective. It feels more natural, but if you’ve been behind a Glock for years, it might be odd to you.
One thing I love about the Polymer80 Glock is the addition of the beaver tail. A problem I run into with Glocks is slide bite. If I hold the gun nice and hide, the slide will bite me every round and eventually break the skin. The Polymer 80 frame does not deliver the same slide bite. The added beaver tail protects you from that, as well as providing you more leverage to fight muzzle rise.
Hitting the Bull’s Eye
Once you have the gun-running reliably, you won’t likely notice major differences in accuracy with the Polymer 80. Rarely will the frame influence accuracy. It does make the gun more comfortable to shoot and easier to control. I think Polymer 80 addressed the majority of criticisms the Glock gets. Even Glock eliminated finger grooves on the latest generation of Glock handguns.
The downside to going with a non-standard frame is the aftermarket. You lose compatibility with many different holsters, as well as different frame accessories. Some internals, like triggers, will still be plenty compatible. However, accessories like Magwells will no longer fit.
The other downside is reliability. You need to ask yourself if you trust your skills as a gunsmith. I personally don’t. I wouldn’t use my Polymer80 Glock as a defensive firearm unless I were forced to. Even though I haven’t run into any reliability problems, I prefer a Glock OEM pistol for defensive use. The good news is you can purchase a complete Poly 80 frame, but that will require an FFL transfer on top of all the parts you need to assemble the gun.
What’s the Point?
The Polymer80 Glock is a fun project, and it allows you to produce your very own gun. To me, this is just a project. To some, this might be the easiest legal way to own a handgun. With various state laws making it harder and harder to purchase a handgun, building your own might be your only choice. If you are under 21, you can’t purchase a handgun at a gun store, but there is no Federal law stopping you from building your own. Of course, check your state’s laws.
Let me know if you built your own Polymer80 and what you think about these guns.
COMMENTS
There are on this article.
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.