I've been toying with the idea of building out an 80% pistol for a while. 10 or 12 years back, I bought a Polymer80 kit on a ridiculous sale from Brownel's. Then I found out that buying the rest of the gun would cost more than a factory built Glock. So, the kit just sat in a box for a decade.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago and PSA was blowing out some Dagger uppers on clearance for about $160. So, I picked one up, planning to finally finish the P80 kit I had. Well, then I found that the kit had gone MIA in my move from Austin to Charlotte. Story of my life! Anyway, nothing to do but buy another lower. I found a $99 sale price on the GST-9 from 80% Arms. I like the design on this frame better than the Poly80 anyway. So I ordered the new frame and all the parts to complete it.
I got the upper in first. It has the forward sights and is cut for a Docter pattern optic (which is probably the reason for the clearance price). I also got the Docter patterned Trugo red dot they had on clearance for $69. The slide has tall enough sights to co-wintess and the various cutouts and milling are pretty cool, imo.
The parts kit I ordered is nothing special. Just the basic Polymer80 completion kit.
The GST-9 (Ghost nine) frame is nice. It has swappable bottom pieces to go with a shorter or longer grip (Glock 17 or 19 length). The frame came with the short version and it cost an extra $10 for the longer one. The grip texture is really nice and the shape is MUCH better to hold than a Glock. The trigger guard has a pretty high undercut and there are textured "gas peddle" thumb rests on both sides, as well as an extended beavertail. I ordered the frame in FDE and the grip extension in OD. The FDE has a lot of green to it and he color difference between it and the OD is pretty slight.
The jig for this frame is really nice! It has extended drill guides and I like how it bolts together to keep everything secure. The jig kit includes your front and rear rails, and the 2 drill bits and the Dremel bit needed to finish the frame. The entire process for drilling and milling the frmae took me maybe 15-20 minutes. And that was working slow since this was my first build of this type.
From there, it's just assembling all the parts. Unfortunately, I got the wrong slide lock spring (got a 17 instead of a 19) which was too long to work. So, I'm on pause until I get the right spring. Knowing myself and my modding tendencies, I went ahead and ordered an upgraded trigger, transfer bar and connector, and extended mag & slide releases while I was at it.
So here's how it sits as I wait for more parts to arrive:
Fast forward to a few weeks ago and PSA was blowing out some Dagger uppers on clearance for about $160. So, I picked one up, planning to finally finish the P80 kit I had. Well, then I found that the kit had gone MIA in my move from Austin to Charlotte. Story of my life! Anyway, nothing to do but buy another lower. I found a $99 sale price on the GST-9 from 80% Arms. I like the design on this frame better than the Poly80 anyway. So I ordered the new frame and all the parts to complete it.
I got the upper in first. It has the forward sights and is cut for a Docter pattern optic (which is probably the reason for the clearance price). I also got the Docter patterned Trugo red dot they had on clearance for $69. The slide has tall enough sights to co-wintess and the various cutouts and milling are pretty cool, imo.
The parts kit I ordered is nothing special. Just the basic Polymer80 completion kit.
The GST-9 (Ghost nine) frame is nice. It has swappable bottom pieces to go with a shorter or longer grip (Glock 17 or 19 length). The frame came with the short version and it cost an extra $10 for the longer one. The grip texture is really nice and the shape is MUCH better to hold than a Glock. The trigger guard has a pretty high undercut and there are textured "gas peddle" thumb rests on both sides, as well as an extended beavertail. I ordered the frame in FDE and the grip extension in OD. The FDE has a lot of green to it and he color difference between it and the OD is pretty slight.
The jig for this frame is really nice! It has extended drill guides and I like how it bolts together to keep everything secure. The jig kit includes your front and rear rails, and the 2 drill bits and the Dremel bit needed to finish the frame. The entire process for drilling and milling the frmae took me maybe 15-20 minutes. And that was working slow since this was my first build of this type.
From there, it's just assembling all the parts. Unfortunately, I got the wrong slide lock spring (got a 17 instead of a 19) which was too long to work. So, I'm on pause until I get the right spring. Knowing myself and my modding tendencies, I went ahead and ordered an upgraded trigger, transfer bar and connector, and extended mag & slide releases while I was at it.
So here's how it sits as I wait for more parts to arrive:
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