Gen 3 "-" connector vs. Gen 4 "-" connector

[JonInWA]

In my experience, things vary somewhat from Glock to Glock/connector to conector. And, of course, one of the cumulative effects of use is to burnish/polish the connector/triggerbar interface, smoothing the triggerpull over time (with the ideal result usually being achieved between the 500-1000 round point). I've never felt the need to polish any of mine beyond what is naturally achieved via use, but I do perform a periodic detail-strip and judiciously lubricate the contact/interface surfaces with TW25B.

My Gen 3 G17 has had a superb triggerpull right out of the box; it has a standard connector/coil triggerspring. My Gen 3 G21 and one of my Gen 3 G19s have the #5/"dot" connector, resulting in minor improvement in the G21, but major favorable improvements in the G19. My remaining Gen 3 G19 and Gen 3 G34 both have Glock "minus" connectors and NY1 springs, but there's a difference in their triggerpull feels, quite possibly primarily due to the greater use on my older G34 compared to the newer G19.

Overall, I'm a major fan of the "dot" connector/coil triggerspring and the "minus" connector and the NY1 spring-but the OEM standard connector/coil spring setup of my G17 isn't going anywhere, and will remain unmolested.

If I decide to get a Gen4 (and either the .357 G31 or G32 are temptingly on my purchase horizon) I'll initially remain with the OEM "dot"/standard connector (appropriately lubricated), but may experiment with a "minus"/NY1 configuration; I might be tempted to try one of Charlie Vanek's OEM polished "minus" connectors-just for science, of course.

Another factor to be kept in mind with Gen 3 Glocks is the specific triggerbar; recent production Gen 3 Glocks (at least the 9mm ones) will come with what I term the Gen 3.5 triggerbar, which is characterized with having a longer "tail" (the attachement point where the coil trigger spring is attached) with a channel/groove for the coil spring (to reduce flexation fatigue in the coil triggerspring); this triggerbar, due to the increased tail length will also have a heavier triggerpull (but this can also vary from triggerbar-to-triggerbar/Glock-to-Glock). In the Glocks where I'm running a NY1, I personally prefer the older triggerbar with its concurrently slightly lighter triggerpull; the preservative benefits regarding the coil spring in the Gen 3.5 are irrelevent when going with a NY1.

As a sidebar comment, all of my Glocks are used for carry and competition (primarily IDPA and GSSF).

Best, Jon