[frankt]

I was wondering if it would be feasible to install a Red Dot mount on a G44 using the Glock dovetail mount?
My concern is would the plastic dovetail hold up and would the weight of the optic slow down the slide enough to make it unreliable.
I was looking for an inexpensive way to get some dot training in.

I have a Red Dot and a mount but don't want a G44 unless this would work? I tried searching here and internet with no luck!

 

[HEXE9]

I wouldn’t trust the plastic slide/dovetail to securely hold anything more than the plastic sight it ships with.

Take a look at the Carver mount.

 

[RPMSTL]

I run a Fastfire III using a skeletonized dovetail mount.

All good so far.

Runs great on mini mag 40’s.
250 rounds so far - 50 of them suppressed.

Mount, screws and dot weigh
39 grams or 1.38 ounces.
Stock sight weighs 1 gram.


I’ll let you know if it breaks.

 

[RPMSTL]

 

[wickedbeernut]

I run a Fastfire III using a skeletonized dovetail mount.

Sweet! Now, if someone can successfully cut the G44 slide to directly accept an RMR, I'm in!!!

(Note: I don't care if my ammo choices are severely restricted as with other .22 LR conversions)

I'm only interested in the G44 as a G19 trainer (which is clearly its intended purpose), however, if I can't cut the slide to accept an RMR (rear iron sight forward), it's a non-starter. I can't justify training with a G44 that doesn't match my G19 setup.

I suspect Glock will regret spending three years developing a hybrid plastic / steel slide. From everything I've read and seen, the G44 isn't appreciably more reliable than an Advantage Arms .22 LR conversion with its aluminum slide. I've never heard of an AA slide cracking and the AA slide can be milled to accept an RMR.

 

[Walter Bishop]

The whole reason Glock used the plastic slide was because they felt 22 ammo was not powerful enough to reliably cycle a heavier metal slide. Wouldn't the extra weight of a red dot defeat the purpose of the lightweight plastic slide?

 

[Bradley T]

The little .22 GLOCK is quite a marvel. Very effective the way it comes out of the box. May also be a good candidate for suppressors, optics and other add-ons.
I'm open to anything.

 

[wickedbeernut]

The little .22 GLOCK is quite a marvel.

Help me to understand what makes the G44 a "marvel" as compared to other .22 LR conversions such as the Advantage Arms .22 LR conversion that's been around for a decade (?).

May also be a good candidate for suppressors, optics and other add-ons.
I'm open to anything.

Hey, if someone can demonstrate the G44 is as reliable with an RMR cut as an AA .22 LR conversion with an RMR cut, I'm all in!

 

[wickedbeernut]

The whole reason Glock used the plastic slide was because they felt 22 ammo was not powerful enough to reliably cycle a heavier metal slide.

Yet the Advantage Arms .22 LR conversion metal (aluminum) slide seems to cycle as reliably as the G44 plastic slide.

Wouldn't the extra weight of a red dot defeat the purpose of the lightweight plastic slide?

A 1.2 oz Trijicon RMR shouldn't defeat the purpose of a plastic slide. On the contrary, the plastic slide should make the G44 "legendary" ... an order of magnitude more reliable than the decade-old AA .22 LR aluminum slide. The G44 plastic slide should certainly yield a "margin of error" (above and beyond the AA .22 LR conversion) capable of handling an RMR.

 

[myers129]

Just got my slide back from Mark at L&M today. Beautiful work as always!!

 

[wickedbeernut]

Dude! Un-be-liev-able! I logged into GlockTalk today for the first time in months hoping to find good news in terms of using the G44 as a G19 trainer. And you delivered!

I've been waiting for JagerWerks and Battle Werx to proclaim victory. Nada. Most recently, I've been banking on Nelson Precision's .22 Super X aluminum G44 aftermarket slide. However, I need the slide cut rear iron sight forward. I'm going to reach out to Mark at L&M and see if that's an option.

Please let us know how it cycles. CCI MiniMags seem to be the benchmark. It doesn't look like you're running suppressor height sights, however, that shouldn't make a significant difference.

Thank you for taking the leap!

 

[OdinIII]

Sweet!I can't justify training with a G44 that doesn't match my G19 setup.

I actually think you’d get more payback just using 9mm ammo. It’s not that much more expensive these days. Shoot what you can afford and make up the rest with dry practice. I get almost nothing shooting a .22 Glock that can’t be got through dry fire.

I have an AA kit that hasn’t been used in years.

 

[wickedbeernut]

Bummer! Looks like I'm back to Nelson Precision's .22 Super X aluminum G44 aftermarket slide.

On Sunday, June 21, 2020, 05:00:47 AM MDT, Mark Housel <snip> wrote:

Joseph,

While I suspect it can be done I didn't investigate the general case for optic installations on that slide. I just slowly whittled away plastic to see if cutting a regular RMR pocket would be possible.
Since there is o way to disassemble the slide if there is something weird under the factory dovetail then I can't say for certain.
Also, I don't know if I can get an RMR far enough back to have a new dovetail clear the firing pin block. I'm not sure a shallow dovetail above that pocket would work like it does in a steel slide.
Thank you,
Mark
<snip> CELL

USPS Shipping/Mailing Address (NO Firearms):
Mark Housel
L&M Precision Gunworks
PO BOX 36
Lakeview, NC 28350

 

[wickedbeernut]

I actually think you’d get more payback just using 9mm ammo. It’s not that much more expensive these days. Shoot what you can afford and make up the rest with dry practice. I get almost nothing shooting a .22 Glock that can’t be got through dry fire.

I have an AA kit that hasn’t been used in years.

It's a fair point and possibly worthy of a thread all its own, "Glock 44 Owners: What do you use your G44 for?"

• Glock 44: $350
• Trijicon Type 2 RMR: $420
• Trijicon Tritium Suppressor-Height Sights: $110
• RMR Cut: $135
• Total: $1,015

Let's call it $1,100 with transfer fees, shipping and the like. The last case of 9 mm ammo I bought (CCI Blazer Brass from Natchez in February - pre-Kung flu) was $0.17 per round. To simplify the math, let's assume a round of CCI Mini-Mag's is $0.07. So to your point, I'll need to burn through 11,000 rounds of Mini-Mag's to recoup the cost of my G44.

I think my wife and kid's will appreciate the reduced recoil of the G44. And I simply see it as fun.

I'll continue to follow Nelson Precision's .22 Super X aluminum G44 aftermarket slide. He doesn't plan to offer it rear iron sight forward (at least not initially), however, he plans to offer a "gunsmith" version without serrations and RMR cut. I'd just pay to have it cut rear iron sight forward. There should be less concern cutting an aluminum slide.

It's too bad Glock opted for a plastic slide. I much would've preferred an aluminum slide with a far more narrow choice of ammo. Advantage Arms recommends CCI Mini-Mag's. I'm hoping Nelson Precision will recommend specific ammo. There's no need to claim that'll eat anything. Recommend what works.

 

[OdinIII]

It's a fair point and possibly worthy of a thread all its own, "Glock 44 Owners: What do you use your G44 for?"

• Glock 44: $350
• Trijicon Type 2 RMR: $420
• Trijicon Tritium Suppressor-Height Sights: $110
• RMR Cut: $135
• Total: $1,015

Let's call it $1,100 with transfer fees, shipping and the like. The last case of 9 mm ammo I bought (CCI Blazer Brass from Natchez in February - pre-Kung flu) was $0.17 per round. To simplify the math, let's assume a round of CCI Mini-Mag's is $0.07. So to your point, I'll need to burn through 11,000 rounds of Mini-Mag's to recoup the cost of my G44.

I think my wife and kid's will appreciate the reduced recoil of the G44. And I simply see it as fun.

I'll continue to follow Nelson Precision's .22 Super X aluminum G44 aftermarket slide. He doesn't plan to offer it rear iron sight forward (at least not initially), however, he plans to offer a "gunsmith" version without serrations and RMR cut. I'd just pay to have it cut rear iron sight forward. There should be less concern cutting an aluminum slide.

It's too bad Glock opted for a plastic slide. I much would've preferred an aluminum slide with a far more narrow choice of ammo. Advantage Arms recommends CCI Mini-Mag's. I'm hoping Nelson Precision will recommend specific ammo. There's no need to claim that'll eat anything. Recommend what works.

It’ll scare you to price RMRs and sights right now. I need an RMR06 and it looks like I’ll have to buy from an unknown site to get one under $480. Trijicon sights seem to have increased to stupid levels also. I’m seeing RMRs priced for more than you can get SRO’s for on some sites.

You’ll enjoy the 44 if you get one.

You will have to be careful with the kits and adding slide weight. My AA kit is flawless with Golden Bullets but won’t feed 1 mag with some others.

 

[wickedbeernut]

It’ll scare you to price RMRs and sights right now. I need an RMR06 and it looks like I’ll have to buy from an unknown site to get one under $480. Trijicon sights seem to have increased to stupid levels also. I’m seeing RMRs priced for more than you can get SRO’s for on some sites.

I've paid $442.50 (June 2018), $447.99 (September 2018) and $419.99 (September 2019) ... sometimes with added tax and / or shipping. You can currently find one on gun.deals for under $450. I've bought one from GrabAGun.com. No issues that I can remember.

You’ll enjoy the 44 if you get one.

I'm sure I will. I just need the rear iron sight forward to justify it.

You will have to be careful with the kits and adding slide weight. My AA kit is flawless with Golden Bullets but won’t feed 1 mag with some others.

Understood! The Nelson Precision .22 Super X aluminum slide is actually being sold with an RMR cut, so I hope they'll adequately test it and accurately / honestly report the results. As I mentioned previously, I don't have a problem if I'm limited to a narrow choice of ammo.

I've seen an Advantage Arms .22 LR conversion kit with an RMR cut. I've seen a G44 with an RMR mount in the rear iron sight dovetail. As I recall, they both yielded reasonable success with the right ammo.

 

[myers129]

Cost is definitely a deciding factor for a dedicated rimfire trainer. I’ve had advantage arms uppers before and never used them because they required simple disassembly to put into use. I have a cz455 precision trainer and this Glock 44 trainer because I can safely shoot 22lr at my house everyday of the year. For 9mm and up I have to travel and that seems to happen less and less. So for me it was totally worth it and I’m shooting a lot of $.05 22lr that makes it 4:1 for 22 vs 9mm.

I chose not to buy suppressor height sights yet because I feel they are currently my crutch for finding the dot upon presentation. After a couple of months I will likely add them but they will be cheapies, not tritium.

 

[ViperR]

Something I ran into with the Advantage Arms kit when I got one for my 17/22 frame, was since the slide is all aluminum with no steel breech insert at the firing pin hole area, was the soft aluminum degenerated and pitted really bad in that area. Looked shiny flat new like an all steel one, but looked terrible, rough & pitted only after a few hundred rounds.
Sold that one off soon after.

 

[wickedbeernut]

I chose not to buy suppressor height sights yet because I feel they are currently my crutch for finding the dot upon presentation.

Hence my motivation for the rear iron sight forward. I opted for black front and rear (tritium) iron sights for the same reason. Iron sights serve no purpose with a MRDS except in the highly unlikely event your $450 RMR fails. You want to minimize the likelihood of your eyes being drawn to the iron sights. The sight radius is shorter with the rear iron sight forward, however, you'll find you're still proficient with the iron sights at a self-defense distance.

 

[wickedbeernut]

I asked John Jager at JagerWerks whether he's RMR-cut a Glock 44 slide. John said,

We have, and it seemed to hold on really well, the issue was the recoil spring needed to be upgraded for reliable cycling.​

I then asked John whether the G44 RMR cut was rear iron sight forward. John said,

It was not.. One of the biggest issues with the 44 is the plastic rear sight dovetail, if you install a steel sight it basically broaches a new dovetail. I don't think that problem will change if you mill a new sight in front of the optic cut.. You would essentially have to mill off the whole top rear portion of the slide and glue/screw a new steel part onto it. Not impossible, but I didn't think anyone would want to pay as much for the steel insert as they did the whole gun.​

I'm throwing in the towel in terms of getting an OEM G44 slide RMR-cut rear iron sight forward.

Keepin' my fingers crossed for Nelson Precision's .22 Super X aluminum G44 aftermarket slide.