Tungsten Guide Rods for Glocks

[johnnyace762]

I've been hearing about Tungsten and steel guide rods for Glocks. I was searching through older threads but not really finding an answer to my questions. 1) Are they more durable in the long term as far as breakage?
2) Does the increased weight noticeably reduce recoil? I already have a weapon light on my Glock 22, so I'm thinking that the additional weight of a steel guide rod would be negligible. I'd appreciate any experience or feedback specific to Glocks. Thanks!

 

[Blueduck]

I've got one for my Glock 20 and my Glock 34 I shoot USPSA and IDPA with.

It does of course reduce muzzle flip (more weight out front equal good for that), the amount however is the issue of debate... To me if your a competition shooter very close to moving to the next class, tungsten might be worth your money, because those microseconds between shots add up a bit over an entire match. If your not looking for every 1/10 percent you can get, you will likely be disappointed. It's not going to make a full power 40 feel like whitebox 9mm by any stretch. It's not going to make a "B" shooter into an "A" shooter on it's own. Regular steel might be an option as well, just a bit less weight than tungsten, but often significantly cheaper.

Another major reason a lot of competitors use steel or tungsten guide rods is the ability to easily change spring weights to tune to their reloads to make the lowest acceptable power factor, and still be reliable, or for shooters shooting bit more powerful than factory ammo, who need greater than factory spring rates.

Durability?, could not tell you. Both my tungsten guide rods are fine after thousands of rounds, the steel one I got for my G-19 in the early 90's is still running fine, and I've yet to have a factory one fail either, so not much I can say there.

 

[Artofgolf]

I have one in both of my G-19's Gen3 & Gen4; they do not reduce recoil IMHO, but muzzle flip is minimized.
The additional weight doesn't bother me. I prefer the tungsten guide rods over the plastic stock version ~ just a personal preference.
Both in service over several years with zero malfunctions

 

[RustyShackelford]

Glockstore.com .....

I've seen Lenny Magill of www.glockstore.com talk about drop in guide rods for Glock gen 02/03/04 models. I own a LE trade in 21 .45acp gen 04 but I'm in no big rush to replace the factory guide rod. If I did get a after market part, Id buy the tungsten version. With a Glock 41 or 21 I don't think the wt would be a big issue but to help lower the muzzle rise during rapid fire strings might be useful.

 

[johnnyace762]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Those are the best answers I've heard so far. Sounds like its not something I need to spend the money on. Appreciate it!