Sorry for another tangent, but did anyone else notice the Shield Arms mags in use on the G48 in the video? Plus, seems to me there was a SA mag release in the frame, as well. Could not tell for sure, but they looked like the revised Gen 2 mags that came out a few months ago.
Langdon did work on classic Sigs at one time.Originally Posted by Hstanton1
What’s special about EL installing parts from other aftermarket companies and people paying a premium? Can’t blame the guy for another revenue stream though.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I knew he shot them for a bit and assumed that since he was shooting them he was also working on them, didn’t know he offered services on them at one point though.
There was also a Langdon Edition P220 (I believe to commemorate Ernest's IDPA victory).
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
It makes sense to offer this. Heck, if I was in the same situation, I'd do it... and I don't even like shooting Glocks.*
*I hated the things for some time, but came to the conclusion that the (second gen then third gen) G19 was probably the best general-purpose SHTF semiauto handgun around. I still don't enjoy shooting them, but once enjoyment is dead as a shooting consideration, that won't matter.
gn
"On the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog... or even a cat."
That's exactly what it is.
At the moment there are literally millions of new gun owners out there who have gone out to get some training and are now seeing some of the limitations of their equipment. I've taught dozens of newbies in the last couple of years.
A particular client is a good example: She started with the single stack Glocks because they fit her small hands. She has had multiple problems with each of the guns she's purchased. Just a couple of weeks ago her G48 with the silver slide finish was giving her fits in a private session. I borrowed the gun from her and pressed the trigger and instantly understood why she was struggling. The trigger press was like dragging an anvil through gravel. I took the gun apart, blasted it with some aerosol cleaner and applied a generous portion of Amsoil's gun lube and that made it better, but the gun itself has problems.
She shot my G17...which is set up really, really well. Naturally she loved it and asked if she could get a Glock her size set up the same way. "Yes...all you need to do is change out this list of parts."
...and that's where she lost interest. She doesn't want to take the thing apart and replace fire control bits because she's not comfortable that she can work on the gun without harming the safety or reliability of it. She didn't buy a gun to get a build-it-yourself project.
A gun that LTT sets up for her is enormously attractive. She puts down the money, she gets a gun set up for her that works and has support if there is an issue. She tried to buy one when it was announced, but LTT sold out immediately. Which I find amusing given how butt hurt some people seem to be that Ernest is doing work on Glocks, now. Like he's personally betrayed them or something. Of course, some of that flak I've seen has come from instructors who don't have Ernest's accomplishments or business success...so there's something to that as well.
Here's why I think LTT is doing an enormous service: There are nearly limitless options for Glock trigger parts out there...and a whole bunch of them are fucking dangerously unsafe. (Anyone remember Haley's Skimmer trigger?) I see guns in class on a regular basis that do everything from failing to function to essentially randomly becoming Glock 18's and there's usually some mish-mash of different components inside the gun that turns it into a fucking mess. And that's not counting the number of not-Glock copycats getting built and sold these days.
Glock knows how their molding and machining processes vary as they produce guns. Nobody reverse engineering a set of Glock parts by examining some production samples knows that. Which is why one guy can buy some Zev trigger bits and they seem to work ok in his gun, but the other guy down the line has a gun that intermittently fails to reset. Both are using Glocks, but the differences in those guns are not accounted for by the reverse engineered stuff.
There's one company out there that is an exception to the general rule of Glocks are best left the fuck alone: Apex. Making parts that are sold on the open market is one of the things Apex does. It's not the only thing they do. One of their main lines is actually doing engineering work for the firearms industry. This gives them insight into how guns are built that most companies lack. Apex was probably one of the last companies to bring replacement Glock fire control bits to market...because they took a lot of time developing and testing them to ensure they'd work right in any Glock you dropped them in. They do a lot of quality control to ensure their parts meet their spec.
All that is likely why LTT is partnering with them. LTT likely buys in bulk getting a good price, performs the installation and safety checks, and the customer gets a gun that comes in not too far off from what it would cost them to buy and build it themselves, only it was built by someone who knows more about building guns right than they do and all they have to do is load it up and shoot it.
Same for mounting optics. While I don't think of mounting optics as a difficult task, a lot of people find it vexing. Of course, I change my own spark plugs and I'll do a brake job on a 25 year old Jeep in a gravel driveway without second thought. Most people ain't like me. So getting the right fasteners and mounts and making it all work together can be intimidating for people who don't know what a torque wrench is. And while I've got a fair number of tools even I don't have a torque screwdriver for inch pounds and I have no desire to buy one. I use my highly calibrated elbow to torque to a precise figure of "enough" when I'm installing optics. So far it's worked out for me.
So LTT has created a service that allows you to input a credit card number and receive a gun that you just lube, load, and shoot. Which is apparently appealing enough that they sold out of their inventory on day 1 and are probably a long way towards selling out their second shipment about now.
It makes sense. And it's a really attractive thing for a lot of people who aren't obsessive gun nerds but want a sorted Glock.
I'm unlikely to buy one because I've already done all that work to my Glocks on my own...but LTT isn't marketing this to me. It looks like they are going after those millions of new gun owners who know enough to want something a little bit better than factory but don't want the hassle. Being the easy button to a sorted Glock that someone just leaves the fuck alone is probably going to be pretty successful in the long term.
3/15/2016
And since I'm feeling ranty, yes...someone can be dead on in their overall criticisms of a particular pistol's flaws and still provide customized versions of the things.
There are significant drawbacks to a pistol with a ~ 5-6 pound trigger, no manual safety, no hammer to block, and that requires a trigger press to disassemble. Those traits have consequences in the hands of human beings.
The market doesn't give a fuck.
Consumers, police agencies, and even the military at this point are all on board the plastic striker-fired pistol with light triggers train. (The 320 is basically a 1911 with no safety. It's ridiculous) I've even encountered sentiments out there that striker-fired guns are "modern technology" because a bunch of people buying these things are fucking clueless to the fact that the first semi-automatic firearm was striker fired. In the same way that kids these days don't seem to realize socialism has been tried multiple times before and it's always devolved into genocidal disaster.
People are going to be buying plastic striker-fired guns. And they're going to be modifying them, often with poor quality parts that take the already thin margins on these things and shave them even thinner. LTT can build a plastic striker-fired gun that achieves the performance enhancements folks are looking for without really lowering the already slim margin of error for handling these things have.
This forum has hosted more intelligent discussion on the real-world implications of Glock's design choices than any other place I know of. (Actual discussion is impossible in most places because of simian shit flinging by mid-wits who don't understand human behavior under stress) Todd and Ernest were leaders in those discussions and we still have the benefit of being able to look at those conversations for the full appreciation of the nuance and arguments involved. (It was never STRIKER GUNS BAD!)
Gun buyers don't give a shit.
Hell, I helped found this place so we could have those discussions. And I haven't changed my positions on any of the issues whatsoever...and I'm carrying a Glock 17 on a daily basis. Because even with its drawbacks it still makes sense for where I'm at right now.
3/15/2016
Meh.
After giving it some time, I'm still seeing little about this that is interesting, original, or in any way different from what anyone else does with Glocks.
With that said, if he can separate fools from their money then more power to him.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
Great rant @TCinVA . I have to admit, I think you've changed my perspective on the LTT Glock.
As a diehard TDA user I felt just a bit betrayed by the idea of one of the big TDA proponents/shops working on Glocks/Hellcats. But the way you put it, it absolutely makes sense to make the move Ernest is making. What I didn't realize before was how the custom Glocks dovetails into LTT's whole new shooter outreach social media thing they just launched. These are marketed to the types of people that might otherwise be buying an overpriced Gucci Glock with questionable safety/reliability, and at least these buyers will be getting a reliable and safe weapon that is ready to go. Furthermore at the prices these are being sold at they compete with factory pistols striker fired pistols from many manufacturers and may be a lot of new gun owners first or second weapon. Finally, selling these types of folks a gun gives LTT the possibility of marketing to them in the future and perhaps selling them on the benefits of a TDA, and may in the long run increase the numbers of dedicated TDA users.
As a small business owner myself, when I am designing my product I don't think about what I would want. I am thinking about the profile/desires of my most likely clients. I have always had envy for those who are able to turn their passion into their vocation, and especially if they own their business. LTT adding something they are (I assume) slightly less passionate about to support the core of their business is perfectly reasonable, and still a tremendous improvement compared to the depersonalized trading of time/energy for money that most modern people experience 9-5.
Reply With Quote