When I first heard about the Vickers Tactical Mag Catch and Slide Stop I thought to myself, this is a solution looking for a problem. Many months later I gave in and bought both of them for my Glock 43 to see what all the fuss was about.

Like several other products I have reviewed while writing for the blog, It appeared I was wrong yet again. Sometimes products turn out to be more useful than they look or work better on the range than they do at the gun store. With Larry’s background, there has to be some method to this madness right? I think there is.

The first step in installing the new parts is to remove the factory slide stop and mag catch. If you haven’t done this before it can seem intimidating but it is really simple. All you need is a screwdriver and a punch (or Glock tool like I used)

The stipple job on this gun was done by my friend over at TXT Custom Gun Works, and we will be doing a full review of his work soon. I have to say, I like the work he did quite a lot.

The first step is to remove the slide from the frame as you would for cleaning then use the punch WITHOUT A HAMMER to push the pin out from left to right. You may need to wiggle the slide stop around a bit to get the pin free, there is a groove in the pin that interfaces with the slide stop to keep everything in place.

To get the slide stop free, you will need to remove the locking block as well. In the photo below you see two lines on the pin that was removed. Those are the cuts that interface with the slide stop keeping it in place.

Next up is removing the mag catch. I prefer to use a pick that has a 90-degree tip on it, it seems to help in getting the spring out of the cutout on the mag catch without scratching the inside of the mag well. Phil Note: Tango Down makes a tool for changing out the mag release. Vickers Mag Release

The two parts compared don’t look worlds different, but once on the gun, you can see how much further the Vickers part sticks out. You might think that there is a risk of dropping the magazine, but you would be wrong. Larry’s catch is contoured to allow easier access without causing any issues.

The slide stop is next. The Vickers part is on the right where as the stock part is on the left. I really like the extra texture on the Vickers part, it seems to really help locking the slide back with wet hands. Why would you need that you ask? If you have a malfunction that requires you to lock the slide back to clear it with bloody hands or even wet hands it could be a huge advantage.

Once installed on the gun and everything is reassembled you can see how much more prominent the mag catch and slide stop are. Once I get it to the range I will have to see how much of a difference I feel it makes.

The only thing left to do is to get out to the range and run some drills, which is exactly what I did. I feel that I was a bit faster on the reload than the stock set up and I found I no longer had to shift my grip as much as I did previously.

So would I recommend picking the Vickers parts up for your gun? Yes. They are low cost with an MSRP of under $20 per part it is hard to go wrong. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised with how good it is.

Check out the full lineup of Vickers Tactical parts on the Tango Down website.