Steel Guide Rod for 3rd Gen 17, 22, 31, 34, 35 & 37 Glock Pistols

White Sound Defense steel guide rods for Glock pistols provide improved follow up shot speed, improved cycling, improved CQB reliability, and improved durability.

Adding mass to the front of the gun decreases muzzle rise. The reduced movement of the muzzle reduces the time it takes to recover from a shot and get back on target. Because the guide rod is located far forward of the center of rotation, it is one of the most effective places to add weight. In a non-compensated gun, the improvement in shot-to-shot speed is significant.

The additional mass also reduces the likelihood of 'limp wrist' induced malfunctions. This is especially a concern when operating the weapon while injured or when shooting with one hand. Because the guide rod does not move with the slide, the additional inertia of the rod acts as an anchor for the slide to pull against. This greatly increases the reliability when the weapon is not gripped in an ideal manner.

The guide rod has been slightly extended past the muzzle of the weapon to reduce the likelihood of a malfunction if the muzzle is inadvertently pressed into an opponent in a CQB circumstance. The geometry of the rod has been designed to avoid interfering with any additional accessories such as suppressors.

Stainless steel guide rods encourage galvanic corrosion of the recoil spring. This problem is exacerbated because the guide rod is of much larger mass than the recoil spring. As such, using a material like stainless that encourages corrosion of the coupled spring is not recommend for field environments.

To manage environmental exposure White Sound Defense guide rods are made from 4340 alloy steel which is more corrosion resistant than plain carbon steel. The guide rods are then heat-treated, ferritic nitrocarburized, and then subjected to a post-nitriding oxidation treatment. This results in a guide rod that is as just as corrosion resistant as the rest of the rest of the firearm without causing increased corrosion in the recoil spring. An additional advantage of 4340 alloy steel is that it is more crack resistant than stainless steel.

These guide rods are produced as uncaptured to avoid the engineering compromises that must be made with captured guide rods. The first issue is that any screw type capture system increases the likelihood of a crack developing at the muzzle end of the guide rod. The second issue is that lug type retention requires the use of dead coils (closed ends) on the recoil springs. This takes up space that could be used for active coils. It also makes replacing springs more difficult. After testing dozens of designs White Sound Defense settled on an uncaptured rod as the recommended solution for 3rd generation pistols. However, a transverse hole that fits the standard Glock armorer's tool was added to make assembly easier with gloves or when hands are cold.