G23 Glock Gen 5 slide on Gen 4 frame?

[Trey Veston]

I bought a Gen 5 Glock G23 a couple of months ago since I am a fan of the .40 S&W and Glock, and wanted the latest and greatest carry Glock.

It is fine. Trigger is OK, recoil is OK, accuracy is OK. Didn't really knock my socks off in any department.

So I bought a Gen 4 G23 to compare it to. The Gen 4 has the thinner slide and just feels like a smaller pistol. I added Dawson Precision sights to it, some trigger work, and it is breaking in nicely.

On a whim, I wondered if the two pistols could swap slides and frames.

So, a Gen 5 slide will fit on a Gen 4 frame, but, a Gen 4 slide will not fit on a Gen 5 frame. Stock. I understand you can swap out a slide plate and it will work. However, the Gen 5 frame does not have the extra pin that the Gen 4 does, which is why the Gen 5 slide is bigger; to reduce the forces on the frame by absorbing more recoil.

So, I took my Glock Frankengun to the range to see if it worked. It did

Uploaded a video on my YouTube channel...



My videos are crude and poorly produced, but honest.

 

[Buckeye63]

I really don’t like the direction Glock went with one of my favorite pistols….I really like my
Gen 3 23

 

[tarosean]

So, I took my Glock Frankengun to the range to see if it worked. It did

Since the locking blocks are different.. I would file this under "just cause it fits does not mean its a good idea".

 

[Trey Veston]

Since the locking blocks are different.. I would file this under "just cause it fits does not mean its a good idea".

Why? I put a Gen 5 slide on a Gen 4 frame. The Gen 4 frame uses a 2-pin locking block vs the 1-pin locking block of the Gen 5 frame.

Why would putting a slide on a beefier frame not be a good idea?

 

[The Glockodile]

How do the barrel's locking surfaces mate with the block?

If they weren't meant to mix, you'd have uneven wear...

Test with some Dykem.

 

[C-grunt]

According to Glock armorers course, this is not a good idea. Like was said above, the locking blocks are different.

 

[12Bravo20]

[QUOTE="C-grunt, post: 12007445, member: 18095"]According to Glock armorers course, this is not a good idea. Like was said above, the locking blocks are different.[/QUOTE]

The Glock armorers course is not always correct either. Looking at the latest Glock part order form, the locking block is the same for all of the Gen 3 through Gen 5 compact frames.

From the Official parts order form dated 11-5-2020

Part no. Description
7894. Locking Block - G19, G19X, G23, G32, G38, G45, G45MOS, Gen3 Beginning 2013, Gen4 & Gen5 (Excludes 26Gen5) (02 Standard)

And I can personally verify to this. The locking blocks are the same. The only difference is if the frame has been drilled for the top 3mm pin or not. Now some of the early Gen 4 locking blocks are different in that the sides are flat, but that locking block has been discontinued by Glock.