Polymer80 Glock 19 Builds – What You Need to Know [2020]

Polymer80 Glock builds are all the rage right now, and for good reason. There are a ton of benefits from building your own firearm, so we though we should check it out. While the process was a bit more complicated than we expected, we learned a ton and have a bunch of great information to share with you on the process.

Let’s get into our Polymer80 build, and cover down on what you need to know going into your custom Glock build in 2020.

Why Choose to do a Polymer80 Glock Build?

Polymer80 GLock 19 Build

When it comes to firearms, nothing beats custom. You have a true sense of accomplishment when you finish building your first firearm, and it’s something you’ll never get from simply buying a new gun. On top of this, you get the added benefit of truly knowing your firearm inside and out, because every piece in the weapon was placed there and selected personally by you.

That said, there are some complications that come with building a firearm. The first thing you need to know before you start building out a Polymer80 firearm is that you need to come to the table with patience. Failing to do so, or rushing the build out of excitement could cause serious issues with your new build that will cost you hundreds of dollars in replacement parts. Ask us how we know. (We’re guilty of this.)

With all of that in mind, let’s get into the tools you need to start your P80 Glock build.

What You Need Before You Start.

Polymer80 Glock 19 Thumbnail

Fortunately enough, when you purchase your P80, a lot of the stuff you need comes with the frame. Included in the box is the P80 frame, both drill bits you need to drill out your pin holes, as well as a larger drill bit for boring out your frame, and the jig you’ll ned to get the parts set up properly on the first try.

Even with all of that, some minor tools will be required. If you’ve ever done any handiwork in the past, chances are you have these tools on hand already. If not, you can get the required tools to do custom builds online fairly cheap, or just borrow them from a friend. Here’s everything you need to complete the build in a handy dandy list.

Tools You Will Need.

  • Hand drill or screw gun that accepts bits of varying sizes.
  • Rough files of varying sizes and grit strengths.
  • Sandpaper in varying grit strengths.
  • A bench vice.
  • Standard Glock tool/punch.
  • An extra pair of hands are recommended, but not required.
  • Required Mindset.

  • Patience.
  • Patience.
  • More Patience.
  • The will and ability to learn from others.
  • Meet Your Completed Polymer80 Glock 19.

    P80 Glock 19

    Now that you’ve finally gone through the process of building out your own person Glock, let’s introduce you to the system. It’s hard to say from this perspective what you’ve used to build out your P80 build, because honestly you could have used any number of aftermarket parts. Assuming you used Glock OEM parts however, you now have a pretty standard issue Glock firearm with a few bonus upgrades.

    The Polymer80 frame has an aggressive cut and stippling pattern compared to an OEM Glock frame. This ensures that the system is more comfortable in your hands, and is easier to keep a solid grip on. Depending on how well you removed the last 20% of the firearm in order to get your 80% to a 100% Glock frame, this thing should run smooth as butter. That said, there will be a slight break-in period for the weapon.

    We would not recommend using your Polymer80 Glock as an EDC firearm until you have fed about 1,000 rounds of ammunition through the weapon. Once you have the firearm thoroughly broken in, and you are personally confident in its ability to be a reliable handgun under duress, then, and only then, should you replace your current EDC with this weapon.

    Our Build List.

  • Frame: Polymer80 G19 Lower.
  • Slide: Lone Wolf Distributions.
  • Barrel: Lone Wolf Distributions Threaded Conversion Barrel.
  • Slide and Receiver Internals: Lone Wolf Distributions.
  • Red Dot: Holosun HS407C
  • Range Performance of the Polymer80.

    Polymer80 Weight

    Before we even got out to the range, we ran into a few issues with the weapon. Let me be perfectly clear on something though, the issue we encountered was a result of U.S.E.R. error, and not the fault of the Polymer80 system itself. I had failed to appropriately bore out the block of polymer for the guide rod, and as a result the spring was catching. This was an easy enough fix however, and just cost us a few extra minutes tooling the frame.

    Once that problem was resolved however, this thing ran exactly like you would expect a Glock to run. We had a few malfunctions through the first few hundred rounds, but as the weapon continued to cycle and break in those failures to feed quickly went away. All of that said, you really can’t say much about the Glock platform that hasn’t already been stated a couple thousand times.

    Make sure you give your P80 system ample time to break in before you start carrying it every day. Once the weapon breaks-in and you’re confident in it’s ability to cycle rounds though, and you’re good to go.

    Troubleshooting Common Polymer80 Issues.

    Remember above when we said one of the best things you can bring to Polymer80 build is patience? We weren’t kidding. There’s a myriad of common issues that can occur when you’re doing one of these builds, and chances are your problem may be unique when compared to another person’s.

    With that in mind, here’s a video from Tactical Toolbox that helps demonstrate how to properly troubleshoot your P80 PF940C / PF940V2 build. Hopefully this video can help you as much as it helped us.

    Whatever happens, do not get frustrated, and do not hit it with a hammer. That will only make the problem worse. We promise.

    What We Learned From Our Polymer80 Experience.

    At the end of the day, building a Polymer80 Glock was a fantastic experience. We highly recommend anyone who is interested in learning more about the Glock platform to build out their own P80. While frustrating at times, the amount of fresh knowledge on the Glock system we acquired from this process was insane.

    In fact, I’d wager that coming out of this, I know about 200% more than I did before I started. Knowing your weapon system inside and out makes you better at running the system. Because of my experience with the Polymer80 PF940C / PF940V2 system, I am now far more knowledgeable on the Glock platform than I was before we started the build.

    That’s just the experience of one person however. Let us know down in the comments if you’ve done a Polymer80 build in the past. If you have, what did you learn and what is your advice for someone who is brand new to building out 80% firearms? What issues did you run into, and how can someone doing this for the first time avoid your mistakes? Also, did we miss anything important that you want to see us add to the article?

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