What Are The Best Glock Upgrades?

Half the joy of owning a Glock is shooting it at the range. The other half is building it out for future range days.

Because, on top of being a top-notch and reliable handgun, a Glock is also one of the most modular handguns on the market. It’s designed not only to be easy to maintain but also to be easy to upgrade with new parts, attachments, and accessories.

But with so many options on the market, where do you start? Well, while there’s no one-size-fits-all loadout for a Glock, we can help you narrow it down. Here are (in our opinion) the best Glock upgrades for your personal Austrian handgun.

The Big Takeaways

• Start with the easiest modifications to your Glock, like back and base plates.
• Optics, lasers, and flashlights improve visibility and accuracy.
• Silencers, holsters, and aftermarket slide releases improve comfort, ease of use, and accuracy.

1. Slide Back Plate

We’ll start with an easy one: a slide back plate. Glock back plates take around a minute to install. Most don’t have any functional purpose, but they do something even better: make your Glock look really cool. You can go with something simple and patriotic, like tri-color back plates featuring national flags, or fancy plates that stand out, like 3D back plates made out of solid brass.

2. Magazine Base Plates

The best Glock upgrades are those that can improve both the look and functionality of your firearm. That’s why we recommend a Glock base plate. There are simple base plates featuring engraved designs that are purely for aesthetics, such as our military mag plates and first responder mag plates. However, you can also swap your factory base plate for a Glock mag extension or weighted mag plate, increasing your round capacity or improving control with repeat shots. You can even make your Glock a critical emergency tool with a window breaker base plate!

3. Optics

Iron sights are fine, but they will never compare in accuracy to aftermarket options. One of the best Glock upgrades for accuracy is an optic. Glock owners often go for red-dot sights, which provide a hovering red reticule for more contrast against your target, and, therefore, a better idea of what you’re aiming at.

4. Underbarrel Laser Sight

A red dot sight provides a reticule with a contrasting color from the target and background. With a laser sight, you know for sure whether your gun is lined up with your target. A tiny beam shines out from underneath your barrel, putting a small dot on whatever your gun is pointed at.

5. Underbarrel Flashlight

All of these attachments are great when you have perfect visibility, but what are the best Glock upgrades in extreme low-light environments with no visibility? Sights are useless in those conditions, and lasers only give away your position. That’s where an underbarrel flashlight comes in.

A flashlight mounted underneath your barrel illuminates the area you’re pointing at, making it easy to take down threats. The sudden change in brightness can also blind opponents, so even though the light gives away your position like a laser sight, it makes it harder for threats to hit you.

6. Silencer

In movies, silencers turn a handgun into an undetectable killing machine that takes down bad guys with nothing more than a “pew pew”. Real silencers don’t do that, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t one of the best Glock upgrades. Not only do they reduce the sound of a gunshot enough that it does much less damage to your hearing than without, but with how it redirects the gas expelled from your barrel after firing a round, it reduces felt recoil and improves control.

7. Holster

While technically not an upgrade for the Glock itself, it’s a borderline necessary accessory for owning one. Carrying your Glock loose in your pocket or bag is not just inconvenient for quick drawing your weapon when you need it, but it also opens up the possibility of a misfire. You shouldn’t rely on drop protection or hope that you won’t accidentally squeeze the trigger when you’re just reaching into wherever you’re storing your pistol.

8. Slide Release

The slide release is critical for safely checking the chamber and reloading. That’s why an upgraded aftermarket slide release is one of the best Glock upgrades. With one that’s slightly longer or more textured, it’s easier to grip and move with your thumb, improving reloading time. It’s small, but just one second can be all the difference in the world for timed shooting competitions or when your life is on the line.

Upgrade Your Glock With MILSPIN

We do more than just share what the best Glock upgrades are. MILSPIN was founded in 2017 by two USMC Recon Veterans with one purpose: to provide high-quality CNC-milled products for fellow Glock owners and patriots. From brass knuckle paperweights to EDC tools to gun accessories, we manufacture everything in our workshop in Columbus, Ohio. Get American-made products made to last with MILSPIN.