Custom Gun Tiger Stripe
Our Custom Shop got a free hand this year with one of our Shot Show 2018 custom display guns.
“Just make us some cool guns,” was Lenny’s instruction, with little else for direction. With a full blown custom Glock easily hitting 4 figures, that just shows the trust he has come to put in our Custom Shop creations.
Kate, our Custom Shop Manager, immediately put out a request for suggestions on “cool” designs. Our co-workers from shipping & receiving, packaging, customer service, and the retail store all threw submissions into the hat. Kate was literally inundated with color suggestions, slide cuts, parts options, and frame modifications
One suggestion stuck out simply because we’d never done it before.
“How about tiger stripes on a chrome slide?” was an intriguing suggestion from one of the gunsmiths. It was intriguing because GlockStore has done many camouflage patterns in CeraKote paints, as well as Hydro-graphic Prints, but never in the metal finish of the slide.
Starting with Glock’s flagship pistol, the model 17, we sent it to our machine shop and had an RMR Red Dot sight mount cut into the slide. We chose to use the “co-witness” style so the shooter could use iron sights if needed. Our gunsmiths then stripped off the original factory finish to expose the bare stainless slide. One of the gunsmiths polished the slide to a mirror shine, and then we sent it out for our Hard Chrome finish. I’d tell you the rest of the details of how we created that amazing finish, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy and I really like my job.
Once the slide was finished, we focused on making the pistol “race ready…”, meaning ready for a shooting match. We added a Vortex Viper Red Dot Optic, and Trijicon Suppressor tall night sights. These sights allow for rapid target acquisition by looking through the sight window at the red laser dot and putting that dot on the target. Seeing your targets faster allows for more rapid movement to the next target, making for faster overall time scores. The suppressor sights act as back up for the red dot, should that sight become damaged or inoperative. The shooter can simply look through the glass at the iron sights and still easily acquire the targets.
Next, we added a polished Double Diamond Dimpled Barrel to accent the shiny slide. The polished look gives the barrel dimples a sparkly presentation when the slide is retracted. The dimples in the barrel are not just for looks, they do aid in cooling of the barrel.
In addition to the barrel, GlockStore recommends replacing the factory plastic guide rod with our Heavy Tungsten Guide Rod. This adds more weight to the nose of the pistol, helping in recoil control.. Our tungsten versions are up to 5x heavier than the factory plastic rod and will not flex nor bind the spring during operation.
A great deal of our customers are competition shooters who rely on our Pyramid Trigger to improve both their speed and accuracy. Our adjustable Pyramid Trigger systems allow the shooter to choose the weight of their trigger pull, and the length of trigger pull. This allows for more rapid follow up shots as well as better accuracy because the crisper, shorter trigger pull will not “drag the pistol” off target.
The lighter trigger pull is created by the Double Diamond 3.5 lb. Connector and the Competition Spring Kit, both of which are included with the Complete, and Ultimate trigger kits. The Competition Springs include a 2lb, 3lb, 4lb, and a 6lb striker springs that allow the shooter to choose the pull weight ranging from factory 5.5-6lb down to competition weight of 2lbs.
We completed our Shot Show Tiger Stripe pistol with a Chrome Metallic Controls & Pins Kit. This 7-part kit consists of a factory extended slide stop lever and, extended slide lock. It also included, a stainless locking block pin, trigger pin, and trigger housing pin… including both the Gen3 and the ( Gen4 long housing pin).
GlockStore offers this kit in our 8 CeraKote colors (Black, Chrome, Gold, Blue, Flat Dark Earth, OD Green, Pink and Red) as well as in custom made-to-order colors on demand. We also added a Teardrop Extended Magazine Release in Gold to match the finish.
Once we got The Chrome Tiger on display at the SHOT Show2018, we had many visitors come up to our booth and take pictures with it. Some suggested other colors, and asked if we could recreate the look for their wives/girlfriends for anniversaries, or birthdays. It rapidly became one of our most popular custom designs at the show!