Performance Upgrading Pistol Parts and Accessories

Some of us like to tinker with our guns more than others. Beyond personalization and customization, there are pistol parts you can swap out that stand to boost handling and performance. Here are some of the best of them.

Lighter/Skeletonized Slides

The slide of your handgun (for slide-action pistols, that is) constitutes the majority of the reciprocating mass of the platform.

The higher the reciprocating mass, the greater the effects of felt recoil. The biggest counteracting change you can make here is to upgrade to a lightweight slide, a skeletonized slide, or a slide with machined cutouts.

These lighten the overall mass of the handgun, which for you equates to lower felt recoil and faster, snappier cycling.

For what it’s worth, the cutouts can also improve the barrel’s heat dissipation, which keeps the barrel cooler, improving accuracy and extending barrel life.

Optics-Compatible Slides

Some upgrade slides for pistols are made with special cutouts to accept certain optics, like scopes and red dots.

For most handgun shooters, a slide with a red dot-footprint cutout will offer the most value, since a red dot sight will enable you to keep an open sight picture, and make faster and more accurate follow-up shots, even in the dark.

The one thing to mention here is that a red dot can substantially alter the footprint of a handgun, so make sure it’ll still work with your holster before you get one.

Compensators

All in all, this is the pistol part that can likely make the single biggest impact on the performance of your handgun.

Compensators are muzzle devices that typically attach via threads (though some barrels are integrally compensated) which aim to reduce recoil.

They do this by adjusting how the gasses are ported at the muzzle. In most instances, the compensator will port the gasses directly upwards, in others they distribute the gasses around the muzzle or vent them in a “V” configuration to split the front sight, keeping a clearer sight picture.

Regardless, the effect is that a compensator can substantially reduce felt recoil, by as much as 50% in some circumstances, all without adversely affecting shot power.

This in turn will enable you to make faster, more accurate follow-up shots and shoot more confidently, all with less fatigue.

Heavier Guide Rods

Let’s say you shoot a handgun like a Glock, which are some of the most popular pistols in the entire country.

Great as they are, their popularity notwithstanding, they are made with many polymer parts. One of these is the guide rod, which, in our estimation, is a pronounced shortcoming.

The polymer guide rod is functionally as durable as steel (even though it technically isn’t) and is basically corrosion-proof. But it’s also a lot lighter, and therein lies the problem.

The issue of a god rod that’s too light is that it lets the muzzle bounce all over the place. A heavier guide rod, like a tungsten guide rod, will weigh down the muzzle, helping to reduce recoil and enabling more stable shooting.

Triggers

Some handguns, like 1911s, come with great stock triggers. Others come with triggers that are mushy or gritty. It’s up to you to decide what performance suits you well, but if you feel your trigger just isn’t delivering, it’s pretty easy in most models to upgrade.

There are high-tech triggers out there, even triggers that don’t require the use of sliding friction, that are crisper, more reliable, and which have less creep.

All in all, it’s up to you, but if you don’t like your factory trigger, look into alternatives, by all means.

Magwells

A magwell is a gun part that mounts to the bottom of the gun’s mag chute (in many cases, without the need for extensive alterations or modifications (most secure via a single screw) that creates a flared base.

The principle here is that by widening the base of the mag chute, it serves sort of like a funnel to guide the magazine into the gun, making it easier to reload instinctively and speeding up reload times.

Which can benefit you not only in competition, but also in any other situation in which speed matters.

Extended Magazine Releases

Depending on your preferred model of pistol, an extended magazine release may be able to help speed up your mag drops.

In most cases, an extended magazine release is basically just a bigger, more ergonomic release bar or lever that is easier to manipulate, particularly with gloves or via touch, without needing to look at the gun.

Night Sights

Night sights are sights that glow in the dark. Typically, they are treated with a radioisotope of hydrogen called tritium that is radioluminescent and which has a half life of 12 years.

They need no batteries, are easy to install, keep your position hidden, and make it easier to shoot more accurately and confidently in the dark, even without a weapon-mounted light.

This makes them a significant upgrade over stock iron sights, and good night sights can be used for co-witness with a slide-mounted optic like a red dot, too.

Shop Performance-Upgrading Pistol Parts Here

In the market for pistol parts that will boost performance? Get them here at SARCO, and if you have any questions about what we sell, call us at 610-250-3960 and we will help you find the part you need.