G45: Setting up first handgun, seeking advice

Cgarcia

Member
Howdy all.

After over a year of research, I chose a G45
as my first handgun. Thanks to the P&S network I have been able to avoid a lot of pitfalls and subpar products and form an idea of what I am looking for in a general purpose handgun. This will be my only handgun for some time.

I am a southpaw and average-ish pistol shot. Regular dude with some 3-gun and IDPA experience. A little bit of formal training. A little experience shooting optics equipped handguns and comped handguns.
Definitely a believer in comps and dots on handguns.

I know what I want out of the gun and have a build long since planned.

Settled on 147 gr. HST for social use.

Training/practice ammo will be whatever I can run in bulk. A friend tells me Mr. Jedi is fond of Tula for cheap practice ammo. Any recommendations ammowise are welcome.
Mods for immediate future:
Dawson Chargers or Overwatch Precision HB irons
Stipple & undercut from TXT Custom
Reverse mag catch for lefty use
X300U-A
Safariland 63xx for range and hunting use
RCS/Veil/Phlster IWB rig for carry

Mods down the road
Threaded barrel & comp
Balor & RMR v.2 or Unity Atom G.5 slide
Proper height FS
Overwatch Precision TAC trigger

I am looking for info on the OP Have Blue sights, specs are exactly what I am looking for but Dawson Chargers for a Gen 5 glock would be equivalent. I do not like night sights or 3-dots at all.

I plan to acquire a shot timer and begin working basic skill drills as soon as possible. I am sure a few will chime in about spending parts money on ammo and training. I get it. I plan to begin taking formal classes in 2019. For now I want to get this thing completely set up to my liking and go from there.

I write all this to ask the seasoned pistoleros here if there are any tweaks, suggestions, or changes to be made. I want to do this right the first time.
Thanks in advance.
 

spinmove_

Member
Congrats on your first purchase. You certainly could have chosen a far worse option. I’m a huge fan of the Dawson Chargers personally.

As this is your first purchase, I’d say just stick to the basics. New sights, a holster or two, some mag pouches, extra mags (6 total is a good start), a crapload of ammo, a good timer (not a free app on your smartphone), and some dryfire targets.

Have a plan on what you’re going to do when you go to do live fire practice. Have a plan on what you’re going to do when you do dryfire. But mostly, have a plan on how you want to improve, and be very specific on what you want that to be. Start small on one or two things and work your way up from there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

JLL2013

Regular Member
I would forgo the Dawson chargers and get their adjustable sights. It's going to be really frustrating having fixed irons when you inevitably start shooting at B8's at 25yds.
 

Frailer

Newbie
...I am sure a few will chime in about spending parts money on ammo and training...I write all this to ask the seasoned pistoleros here if there are any tweaks, suggestions, or changes to be made. I want to do this right the first time.
Thanks in advance.

You gave my answer before you asked the question.

Seriously, though. My recommendations, in rough priority order:

- a couple of cases of practice ammo (I prefer Speer Lawman or Magtech)

- a good holster

- a half dozen magazines

- new sights (and maybe a grip plug)

- mag pouches

- training

- more ammo

- a different holster (I don’t know if anyone ever buys the holster that’s best *for them* on the first try)

- still more ammo

- a second gun to experiment with modifications and add-on geegaws.

Just my two cents. You gotta do you.
 

Cgarcia

Member
Thank y'all for the input so far!
Update since OP.

Pricing cases of Magtech, Lawman, and American Eagle.
Searching for a 63XX Safariland. Think I found one for a decent price that isn't backordered.
Talked to a buddy who is a certified Glock armorer and master gunsmith. He is guiding me along as well.
Due to unfortunately being a Southpaw I swapped the mag release to the proper/wrong side of the gun. MUCH better but now I see why everyone swears by the Vickers extended release.

Still deciding between Overwatch and Dawson sights. Probably grab a pair by end of the week.

Making and setting up dry fire targets.
Already doing dry fire at least every other day.

Had a few mag pouches lying around. Practicing reloads.

Researching shot timers. Pocket Pro 2 is the only one I have experience with. Any suggestions are welcome.

Still planning when to send the frame out for stipple and undercut at TXT. Will be taking my LTC class ASAP and will likely only have time to get fresh sights installed prior to the class.

Since this gun will be carried as a hunting sidearm as well and I typically hunt at night for hogs, an X300U is in order as well.probably gonna go local-ish and grab one from Big Tex.

VG3 is looking like a good option for a carry rig due to low bulk and compatibility with Gen 5 ambi slide release levers. Probably a BigTex buy as well.

Will update as this goes forward. I know there is a local IDPA match at my local range once a month. Maybe get back into competing again before too long.
 

AmmoHouse

Amateur
My buddy put a 19x mag release in his G45 and loves it.
Pocket Pro 2 is all I use, I like it better than the CED or Pact....probably because I have more experience with it.
 

Tangero

Newbie
PHLster stuff works with Gen 5s, as well. No issues with my 17 or 19 in the Classic, Spotlight, or Floodlight. I've had good results with the Floodlight and I saw at least one Flood in use in class this weekend with solid results. Experiment with a yoga block with your holster--I've got a fat homemade wedge on my Flood that does wonders for comfort.

I really like AE9FP as my training ammo. Mimics HST quite well. Not as cheap as steel, for sure, but that's just my preference.

Get lots of mags. Walking onto the line with 150 rounds ready to go makes practice time just *that* much more efficient.

I chop up my backstraps to mimic Grip Force ones. The GF stuff is made very well, but I found the vertical ribs to come to a someway uncomfortable point at the edges and had to file them down.

I put a TDG Striker Control Device in all of my Glocks now. It's an added "Why not" kind of deal.

Great choice of handgun, btw. You're definitely starting with better research than I did
 
Congrats on your first purchase. You certainly could have chosen a far worse option. I’m a huge fan of the Dawson Chargers personally.

As this is your first purchase, I’d say just stick to the basics. New sights, a holster or two, some mag pouches, extra mags (6 total is a good start), a crapload of ammo, a good timer (not a free app on your smartphone), and some dryfire targets.

Have a plan on what you’re going to do when you go to do live fire practice. Have a plan on what you’re going to do when you do dryfire. But mostly, have a plan on how you want to improve, and be very specific on what you want that to be. Start small on one or two things and work your way up from there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I second this and would like to add a good belt to the shopping list. Also I haven’t been very happy with the vg3 or vg2, YMMV. If the x300 is happening for sure, you should be happy with a PHLster spotlight/floodlight. Like failer said, you might not be happy with your first holster, with phlster, your at least off to a great start.
 
Last edited:
Top