First Shots- Glock 44X Nelson Manufacturing Optic Cut Slide

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Allen Zant

When I heard about the Nelson Manufacturing aluminum X slides for the .22LR Glock 44, I immediately ordered one. I did not get any consideration from Nelson Precision Manufacturing, other than great service. I ordered the OEM style slide. OEM Style Slide for G44 | Nelson Precision MFG

I was one day late for the cutoff for spring delivery and had to wait for a late summer projected delivery. They were a little behind that, but it is to be expected in the custom gun accessory space. They contacted me at delivery time to ask if I wanted a cover plate for the optic cut, or a faster delivery. I glanced at the optic, I was going to put on the gun and asked them to ship it immediately.

The slide appears to be machined very well, with posts projecting into the screw holes on the Holosun K optic footprint I specified. The screws were provided, with instructions to use the shorter of the two screws on the right side of the slide, so that it does not project into the extractor depressor plunger channel. They were specific to not torque the screws, which makes sense when putting steel screws into aluminum threads.

It would have helped if I had taken a picture before mounting the optic.

I installed the slide internals from my factory slide, but I used the provided slide cover plate. I also installed an OEM threaded barrel in anticipation of using an Otter Creek Labs Titanium K .22 suppressor. The threaded barrel came with a 1/2-28 thread adapter.

Because I have no patience, I shot several 5 round strings, suppressed, from various kinds of ammunition in my stash of .22LR. I was hoping for a high velocity load that was just under supersonic, preferably a hollow point that might open up on pests. While checking velocities, I adjusted the red dot, so I was reliably hitting a pepper popper at 40 yards.

All of the hollow point loads I had on hand were supersonic, for at least some of the rounds. These included Winchester 40 gr High Velocity HP and CCI Mini Mags. Even with the supersonic crack, none of the loads tested were painful to the ears.

With light loads, there were some failures to go into battery and failures to lock back. With high velocity loads, the Nelson 44X slide ran perfectly. After establishing the appropriate power level, I have had no stoppages that were not dead .22LR rimfire primer related.

Next, I wanted to check accuracy at 25 yards for a couple of the loads I was leaning toward. Both were reliable and I had the largest quantities of them on hand.

Top target Federal and bottom target is Winchester from 25 yards, standing unsupported. I was shooting quickly and not trying for maximum accuracy. Off to the right are three rounds, one from Federal and two from the Winchester loading, that are obviously tumbling. I saw no evidence of baffle strikes in the suppressor.

Just before shooting the groups with the G44X, I was shooting a Glock 49. I saw about the same size groups with the G49 and Winchester 124gr T series, as with the G44X. On this day, at this shooting pace, I was about 3″ capable.

I decided to pull the suppressor off and check for the tumbling issues. I saw no evidence of the tumbling when shooting the same ammunition at the same range and in the same manner.

Suppressed groups are marked with gold lines and unsuppressed groups are unmarked. POI deviation to the left is not unexpected between the two. I could not detect any tumbling rounds from the second groups.
The rod is running through the barrel and suppressor. It is obviously off center at the suppressor muzzle.
The next check was if it was the suppressor or barrel. The rod is obviously off center in the thread adapter. It looks similar in the barrel, but it is harder to see.

The OEM Glock threaded barrel appears to the be the problem. I replaced it with the barrel that came in the gun, for now.

For me the Glock 44 was intended as a low-cost single round drill practice gun that duplicated my carry Glock 19. High-volume, low-cost practice of target transitions or presentations was the intention. Saving money and having low-recoil feedback for shooting on the move, or at moving targets, was valuable to me. I found that it was too light to feel right on the draw, but it worked fine from the ready. It languished after I went to optics and served only as a pest eradicator for the last several years.

Once I learned of the Nelson X optic cut slides, I wanted to bring that low-cost training gun back. I am curious as to what kind of bullseye work I can do with the G44. I will see what ammunition I can find to get the level of precision I want out of this gun.

Federal Punch 29gr JHP. The two marked holes to the left are the first two shots with the OEM barrel from 25 yards. The four unmarked shots are the next four shots at 25 yards after an adjustment. The two marked shots in the center are from 12 yards.

For now, I am excited to have a red dot solution for low-cost practice and pest eradication. The raccoons and possums that tear up bird feeders and get into the chicken pen with murderous intent must be engaged in low light and often they have ascended high into the trees before I can get to them with the pistol. Central nervous system shots are always the goal because the wife does not want the cute little critters to suffer. That has gotten harder with my older eyes. If I can get the suppressor working correctly then I won’t even need to grab ear pro!

More to follow on this Nelson X slide on the G44.