Slipstream and the Tacsol Kit

A long while ago, before all the .22 dried up in panic buying, I bought a Tactical Solutions Glock conversion kit for review and training.  Do you know why I never wrote that review in over three years of having the kit?

Because it never worked.  Failures to feed, failures to extract, it mauled nearly every round I put in it, and it fired maybe 10% of the rounds it didn't chew up.  When I tried to shoot it, I spent more time with a multi-tool prying out stuck casings and unfired rounds then I ever spent firing the thing.  In short, I hated it.  With a passion.

I called the company, and got some tips for making it run but they never worked.  Finally, I shelved the kit and the review in disgust.  I couldn't write a review if I couldn't get it to shoot, well I could write something but it wouldn't be good.

By sheer luck, I had the TacSol kit in my Jeep at my last range session, and decided to give it one last try.  I took my Glock slide off and put on the TacSol kit and prepared for a new round of disappointment and irritation.

I loaded a few mags with CCI Mini-Mags and got online.  I had a few jams the first mag, but I was surprised that the gun started to cycle more reliably as I shot it.  Pretty soon I was doing mag dumps with no issues.  So what had changed?

In between getting the kit and now, I started working with Joe Chetwood and his excellent Slipstream lubricant.  Every gun in the KCT arsenal runs like it's been greased with micro ball bearings and angel spit.  And so there was a slurry of the Slipstream lube and grease on the slide rails of my gun when I ran the TacSol kit.

My friends that have gotten the TacSol conversions to work had suggested that you run them very wet, as they need the extra lubrication to keep friction at bay.  I'd used CLP and a few other lubricants, but it never worked.  Slipstream fixed that.  When I'd shot all the .22 I had with me, I thought maybe it was just the CCI ammo that worked so well, even though it hadn't helped the kit last time I was out.  So I went around the range and picked up all the loose .22 I could find, loaded it into a mag, and let it bang.  If it wasn't rusty to the point it wouldn't chamber, it fired and extracted like the kit was supposed to do.

Color me impressed.  Slipstream makes guns better, I already knew that.  But I never knew it would take something from POS status and turn it into a working kit.  But now I do.  And so do you.

Now, maybe I can get on to writing that review...

And you should head over and get some Slipstream.  Yes, this is a shameless plug.  But Slipstream took a $300+ investment and transformed it from a paperweight to an enjoyable range piece.  If you have a gun that you're struggling with, you owe it to yourself to try it.