GST9 First Time Around

[Bongo Lewi]

Ready for all the lower parts. I like the frames better. 80%A also ships like greased lightning. Couple of days, it's arrived.

I like the grip better as someone suggested I might. The grip extension doo-dad is clever. Use it. Or not, and let the pinky finger stick out like a cultured English lady at high tea.

The triggers, et al should arrive before EOW. Slides and parts for them are also on the way. I'm a little apprehensive that I ordered Timney Alpha triggers. The one I installed in the P80 is giving me fits.
I think I know what's going on after watching the JARG video, He also uses the Timney Alpha trigger on a P80.

Here's the recently completed P80 referenced.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

The mag catches and slide stops from Vickers arrived in the mail today. The slides, barrels, etc. arrive Monday or Tuesday. By mid-week both the GST-9's will be ready to go bang for the first time. The FDE one gets a Viridian RFX35. The black one, irons. Most likely TruGlo TFX.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Finished the FDE pistol last night. I'll put a few rounds thru it today. Overall, I am very pleased with the GST-9 and 80% Arms. I went with their standard lower/frame kit parts. I'll upgrade as I see fit later. The trigger will most likely be the first upgrade I make. It's not terrible, but not great either. My Lyman says it's 6 lbs., which will probably decrease slightly after I shoot it a bit.

From the buying experience thru shipping and assembly, I would give high marks to 80% Arms. In that regard, overall better than Polymer 80. I also prefer the grip on the GST-9 vs. the P80 PF940C. But that's just a preference, not a deficiency in the P80.

The only issue I had with this particular pistol was the slide release spring flew out while I was installing it and disappeared. My fault.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

And... #2 w/ black frame and slide. Finito. Both pistols are otherwise identical. Good thing I had a spare slide release spring

Today, I'll lube them up, put about 50 rounds thru each, then take them apart for a visual inspection.

 

[One Ping Only]

Good job(s)!! Those crazy little slide lock springs can launch and seemingly disappear into a worm-hole, never to be seen again. lol. I keep a few spares onhand just for that reason. FWIW, the OEM springs just fit better in that slot than the aftermarket springs I had. (our first two GST-9's had aftermkt LPK's when they were first built) So many times, it's the little things that can make such a difference. So I swapped both aftermarket springs out on the first two after seeing the difference in fit when I launched one across the room and had to use an new OEM spring I had onhand. And Glock DOES use very good spring steel.

Good choice on the Vickers mag & slide releases. They just work well, and are the right size...always part of the build spec here now.

As you may (or may not) have previously read here in a different post, I too prefer the GST-9 grip to the PF940C by quite a margin...I liked the GST-9 better ergonomically, but for my Large/XL Large hands, the GST-9 just needed a little extra girth. If you want to be adventurous and have larger hands, you might want to try the Hogue Handall Beavertail sleeve for G19 on one of those. While I'd prefer it to be without the finger grooves, for my hand, it fits perfect and really creates a "lock" between hand and sidearm. It was too much on the PF940C, but perfect on the GST-9.

Again, congratulations !!

 

[Bongo Lewi]

It's raining so I'll have to test fire them tomorrow.

I ordered some stainless pins from Lenny (Glockstore). I get a kick out of him. He's the ShamWow guy of Glocks.

Upgrading the trigger on the PF940C I put together at the same time as these 80%A pistols was pretty annoying. The Timney Alpha will not work reliably in that pistol. Back and forth with Timney support. P80 support was no help at all. I took it all out, put the P80 trigger back in and installed the Timney in a Glock 19. Worked like a champ.

Any recommendations on trigger upgrades for the GST-9?

 

[One Ping Only]

While I’ve not done an entire "packaged" aftermarket drop-in assembly upgrade such as the Timney you mention, yes I think I can recommend the following to try;

TangoDown/Vickers has a nice polymer trigger shoe I've set aside that you might look into. It's good. But what I went with in the latest GST-9 was this formula:

Glock OEM Trigger housing w/upgraded 30274 ejector
Overwatch Precision (OP from here forward) POLYDAT shoe w/polished OEM bar
OP NP3 coated "minus" connector
OP 6 pound trigger spring
ROOK Tactical Stainless Steel Dimpled pins
It installed with zero hassle in the GST-9.

Is the OP POLYDAT shoe better than the TD/Vickers polymer shoe? IMO they are of equal quality, with the TD/Vickers having a bit of an upturned tongue at the bottom of the trigger blade. Neither compromise the Glock trigger safety system, and both IMO are a HUGE improvement over OEM: both in tactile feel, and trigger performance. Of course, your choice of connector, trigger spring, and polished/unpolished surfaces come to bear on the results.

One last thing: while Johnny Glocks does not recommend the heavier trigger spring- claiming early failures, I've read of plenty who use them with much success and thousands of rounds downrange with zero breakage. Go figure. So I went for it. To me, it's just ever so slightly heavier than standard, but lends a more sure and tactile trigger reset. YMMV.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I liked the GST-9 better ergonomically, but for my Large/XL Large hands, the GST-9 just needed a little extra girth.

My hands are pretty average. Not huge. I like a thin grip most of the time but the shape is more important. There's a bit more palmswell on the GST-9 that just feels better in the hand to me. The P80 PF940C as everybody knows is a bit more square.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

While I’ve not done an entire "packaged" aftermarket drop-in assembly upgrade such as the Timney you mention, yes I think I can recommend the following to try;

TangoDown/Vickers has a nice polymer trigger shoe I've set aside that you might look into. It's good. But what I went with in the latest GST-9 was this formula:

Glock OEM Trigger housing w/upgraded 30274 ejector
Overwatch Precision (OP from here forward) POLYDAT shoe w/polished OEM bar
OP NP3 coated "minus" connector
OP 6 pound trigger spring
ROOK Tactical Stainless Steel Dimpled pins
It installed with zero hassle in the GST-9.

Is the OP POLYDAT shoe better than the TD/Vickers polymer shoe? IMO they are of equal quality, with the TD/Vickers having a bit of an upturned tongue at the bottom of the trigger blade. Neither compromise the Glock trigger safety system, and both IMO are a HUGE improvement over OEM: both in tactile feel, and trigger performance. Of course, your choice of connector, trigger spring, and polished/unpolished surfaces come to bear on the results.

One last thing: while Johnny Glocks does not recommend the heavier trigger spring- claiming early failures, I've read of plenty who use them with much success and thousands of rounds downrange with zero breakage. Go figure. So I went for it. To me, it's just ever so slightly heavier than standard, but lends a more sure and tactile trigger reset. YMMV.

Super helpful. Thx!

 

[One Ping Only]

One thing I forgot to add that we use in our builds is the ROOK Tactical "Smooth Operator" safety plunger in DLC. I knew I was forgetting something. lol It does make a difference.

 

[Tesoro]

One thing I forgot to add that we use in our builds is the ROOK Tactical "Smooth Operator" safety plunger in DLC. I knew I was forgetting something. lol It does make a difference.

I think we get suckered into upgrading 'cool parts' that really dont make any difference in functioning. A good example is the rounded knob of that plunger, if I remember right. The Glock knob has a 30-40deg type bevel on it that matches to the angle of the tab on trigger bar. So does a round knob make any difference in function when the slide slams home? I doubt it. But I trust the quality of the glock steel QC muchl more than for any aftermarket ones. The one thing I do is touch up the glock tab with a micro file and then polish to even out the surface to surface contact. Make a diff after 30,000 rds? probably not one bit as the spring pressure is very light, but I like to to tinker!

 

[axkiker]

Ive built both the GST9 and Poly80. Both to me have pros and cons. I prefer the grips on the GST9 but the fit and finish I Thought was a bit better on the Poly80. The Poly 80 seemed a bit more solid as well.

Overall I would build either again.

 

[One Ping Only]

IMO if Polymer80 would just tweak their grips a bit (maybe like the Strike Industrie's variant they produced for SI), they would have a superb 80% frame. I like their PF940SC with Hogue Handall Beavertail sleeves installed; but the PF940C is, IMO not as ergonomic as the GST-9. Maybe if they came up with some swappable backstop options or something.

 

[Tesoro]

IMO if Polymer80 would just tweak their grips a bit (maybe like the Strike Industrie's variant they produced for SI), they would have a superb 80% frame. I like their PF940SC with Hogue Handall Beavertail sleeves installed; but the PF940C is, IMO not as ergonomic as the GST-9. Maybe if they came up with some swappable backstop options or something.

I would like to fatten my pf940sc grip a tad. What hogue beavertail sleeve did you use?

 

[One Ping Only]

I would like to fatten my pf940sc grip a tad. What hogue beavertail sleeve did you use?

It's the one that's for a Glock 26. Works SUPERB.
I won't build a SC without them. It just adds so much controllability to this model, and add a mag extension for your pinky or to +2 rounds and the pinky support, and it's a winner. Any questions go ahead and shoot me a PM. While I may or may not have started this trend (as it was said in cyberspace 'it couldn't be done' and it can very well, actually) we have a few others here running those with the platform as well that can offer their experience, too.

Now back to our OP. No hijack intended Bongo Lewi!

 

[Tesoro]

Oh wait i have the compact g19 size. sc must be the 26. I will just order one for the 19. thx

 

[One Ping Only]

Oh wait i have the compact g19 size. sc must be the 26. I will just order one for the 19. thx

On a P80 Compact frame, I found the Hogue to be too much...(for the G19 clones)...but on the GST9, it's perfect, IMO. I removed it from my PF940C (Compact) and put it on the GST-9.

 

[Tesoro]

On a P80 Compact frame, I found the Hogue to be too much...(for the G19 clones)...but on the GST9, it's perfect, IMO. I removed it from my PF940C (Compact) and put it on the GST-9.

thats strange because the grip on the gst9 is fatter than the p80c

 

[One Ping Only]

thats strange because the grip on the gst9 is fatter than the p80c

it may be at the rear, but the contour is very different and narrower at the front; certainly less "blocky" than the P80 (G19) Compact. I'm not a P80 basher nor GST-9 fanboy as I have both, and am familiar firsthand with the owner of P80. He's a great guy!

I have large/XL large hands...maybe the Hogue won't be too much for you on the PF940C (compact) but it was for me, so I removed it and on a hunch, installed it on the GST-9. The less blocky and more narrow at the front grip of the GST-9 must be the factor that made it work better with the GST-9.

But again, on the SubCompact, the Hogue sleeve IS the shiznit. Fills the hand perfectly, and eliminates the 'squirm' that the SC naturally exhibits when doing double or triple shots. Really locks your hand in with the grip, and comfortably so.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Couple of upgrades to these since I first put them together around 3 years ago. Better barrels and optics added since then. They both run like champs. I took them out yesterday, putting about 100 rounds of random ammo thru them just for yuks. A mixed bag of hollow points and FMJs, various makes and weights I had sitting around. Not a single FTE/FTF. Ate it all with no complaint. Even some steel case - which a lot of semi auto pistols don't like.

I had almost forgotten how much I like the feel of the 80% Arms grip frame. Way better in my opinion than the P80 Dove Bar. I dont obsess about grip angle and triggers. Even so, some guns just fit your hand better than others. These 80% Arms guns check that box.

The pic is a little distorted due to the angle. They are the same size. I was attempting to show the slide cuts. I'm too cheap to buy a stand for taking pics. I never bothered to put taller, co-witness sights on the black one. Even though I don't carry either of these pistols, the black one should have a front sight post just in case the optic fails. Unlikely, but Murphy suggests that will only happen at the worst possible time.