Personally I have 8 pistols and never changed a thing on any of them. I have a Colt 45 1911 I bought new in 1993 and never modified it. Most people I know think that’s crazy. I love them all just the way they came. I used to tell myself I didn’t do it for resell purposes. The reality is I have only sold one pistol because I simply never liked it. (It was a Walther PPK. After holding a Sig P230, I knew it was the .380 I wanted)

Question:
Do you buy a pistol and then alter it or leave them unmolested?

Choices:
Yes, I always tinker with them
No, I never tinker with them
Sometimes I tinker with them
Just Depends
I just tweak the triggers

 

When I buy a Glock, I put on a non serrated trigger, replace the plastic sights and install a grip plug and extended slide release.
On other guns, I may swap some things around, mainly better sights.

Grips, stocks, and sights are routinely changed for preference. Springs and action jobs on some because I like nice triggers. I have never sold any that I had work done on by Grey Guns, Cajun Gun Works, or Sig custom shop because I like all of those. The Gen 5 Glocks have triggers that are completely serviceable from the factory. I like my guns as shooters and have been selling off a bunch of my dust collectors. The collectible guns stay unmolested, but I’m slowly running out of those.

I make the pistol do what I want it to do for what I use it for. Sometimes that's not much and sometimes that a whole lot. Use and context matter in this discussion. Any of my competition pistols I'm willing to do whatever is required (drill,mill, adjust, modify, whatever). My 'collectables' and unique pistols they just get to stay the way they are.

Some of my firearms are bone stock unmodified but most of them have some work done

Everything from just cleaning up the trigger pull to doing all out caliber conversions



Others have little personal touches added. Things like grip changes or upgraded sights or changes to the finish or just adding color to the lettering



Then several have been built from the ground up

Grip change and/or better trigger on some.

I've done springs, triggers and added comps.

I don't screw with cutting anything up.

Most are just fine from the factory.

So few of my guns have not been altered, because I enjoy working on them almost as much as shooting them.

Grips, sights, trigger and spring upgrades. Refinishing and cerakoting. Honing/polishing internals. Sometimes I'll do a complete teardown of the weapon to it's individual parts just to clean, inspect, re-lube--my sons really enjoy this as they like seeing how everything works.

Most recently, I did some upgrades to ad SBR'd GSG MP40: stock, barrel nut, front sight, takedown screws, safety, charging handle, trigger bar. Before that it was a sight upgrade on an old Hi-Power.

My workbench always has a gun waiting for me to spend time with it in the evenings. Currently have a Matrix frame waiting for CCR to refinish the slide. Also got 3 combloc rifle parts kits. Gosh, I have a lot of work to do!

The way I do it is simple. I tinker on those that need tinkering. As much as I love CZ, they all need some love out of the box. Same with HK triggers, great guns mediocre triggers. Glocks need sights. Dan Wessons are great out of the box and stay stock.

If I can markedly improve a gun without impacting reliability in any quantifiable way then I do it. I say it that way because some guys don't understand the difference between theoretical and practical in reliability terms.

Plus it is fun to take guns apart. (and a useful skill to have)

The VAST amount of the time grips, lights and sights only. So I said no.

If something breaks I might tinker with it but beyond sights I’ve never really had a gun that I couldn’t learn, wear in or that I couldn’t eventually get along with and on any defensive guns I want to stay as stock and “normal ammo’d” as I can. I realize “a good shoot is a good shoot” and I’m not preaching to others it just makes me feel better staying as close to stock as possible.

Now for .22’s, or competition guns or guns never likely to be used defensively the sky is the limit. Like most of us here I have a 10/22 or 2 that are 10/22’s in name only at this point.

Almost every pistol I own is modified to suit my preferences. Apex triggers, 10-8 Performance parts, Ed Brown safety, Wolff springs, Magpul items, etc etc. Never created a reliability issue unless that was my goal

It depends what you mean by "Modified". And it depends how the gun is from the factory.

Defensive guns I like to keep stock, or at least factory parts, assuming they're ok from the factory. My P320s get large grip modules and curved factory triggers to fit my hand, and that's it beyond possibly sights and optics.

My P229SAS I swapped the E2 Grips to factory plastic panels. Otherwise it's stock. My P220 compact had a pitted hammer strut that I replaced with a good factory hammer strut, but it's otherwise completely stock. My P245 got night sights, and otherwise left alone.

Revolvers may get a light action job, and usually grips that fit my hand (I'm picky about grips). My L and N frames get shimmed Wilson Combat Mainspring, but I leave the rebound spring alone because I like a strong, positive reset.

Range guns like my MkIV or SA Loaded 1911 get all kinds of messed with. The internals on both of those guns are almost completely devoid of factory parts at this point.

Aluminum trigger to replace the flexi plastic unit that came in the P11.
That's the only pistol I've changed anything major. Did night sights on the 357Sig slide of the P320.

Outside that, AR not included, changed out the trigger & guard on my Marlin 60, and that's about it.

Did quite a bit to the Ruger 22/45 Mk3, some Volquartsen parts, eliminate the mag safety, made it a bit more fun to shoot.

The Glocks get a connector/trigger upgrade, Did a few things on a P226 in 40, converted it to 9mm, some Grey Guns parts, trigger, solid recoil rod.

I'm in the "just depends" camp. Grips, trigger, sights when needed. Front strap checkering on 1911's that don't already have it.

quote:

Originally posted by colt_saa:

Then several have been built from the ground up

Love the grips on this. Do you know if they're available?

Yep.

Lots of guns with optics (a couple dozen), lots of aftermarket grips or stippling (maybe a dozen), a few with porting or compensators (maybe 8-10), and a lot with various extended controls, magwells, magazine extensions, etc. All of my Glocks get extended magazine releases, for example.

If you are smart about what you do or have done to your guns, reliability will not suffer.

Usually grips on my Sigs. I have had some action work on a few of my range guns but nothing done on anything I carry. Those I leave stock for just in case legal questions.

1911's get extended slide release and a quick trigger job. Sigs all I've ever done is caliber conversions & grips. Revolvers....sometimes much more.

Guilty!

So I just can't seem to leave some of them alone. A Desert Eagle and Glock are easy to customize.

Seems that 'modifying' can entail everything from swapping parts to making your own components.

I converted two Glock model 20s to run on .38 Super. Another model 22 is currently in 7.65mm Para.

My most recent modification was a P227 to .38 Super and customizing several magazines.

As far as selling them later, I could have sold at least fifty of these: