Lone Wolf Distributors has long been a respected supplier of quality aftermarket Glock barrels. But recently the company branched out doing what it does best and made a full pistol based on the Glock 19, but with many exclusive components. Meet the LTD19.
The LTD fits the basic footprint of Glock's wildly popular compact. It even takes 9mm Glock magazines and employs Glock sights (which can be changed if desired). Its slide lock strongly resembles the extended but tidy one of the Glock 19—though the Lone Wolf model is only present on the left side.
Similarities between the two pistols begin to diverge after those points. The slide, for example, is strikingly custom on the Lone Wolf LTD. On both available LTD19s, called V1 and V2, the slide has thinner walls than on the Glock, with deep serrations in front and back. It also has large lightening cuts to reduce recoil. The V2 model sports a “Jaws” - like triangular cut-out on the front and sides of the muzzle end of the slide. And all over, the slide sports beveled edges for lightness and concealment.
The frame of the Lone Wolf LTD sports a Glock-like beavertail to protect the thumb knuckle. Like a Gen 5 Glock, it has no finger grooves on the lower part of the grip. The surface is lightly pebbled. Some may find this slippery to hold, but compensating for it to some extent is a sporty flared magazine well that lends a handle-like feel to the grip, encasing the lower three fingers between the undercut trigger guard and bottom of the grip.
A stainless steel, four-inch barrel shines through either a black nitride or stainless finish slide. It's exquisitely machined and its quality is immediately obvious. Matching it is a stainless steel, captive guide rod.
Shooting the LTD19 is a pleasure. The gun ran flawlessly for me and a couple of associates who also ran a few magazines through it. It cycled different grain weights and brands of factory new, brass-cased ammo. All the gun's recoil reduction features combine to make it very controllable despite the compact size. Its magazines—which are any Glock 9mm variety—drop free upon release from the extended, reversible magazine release. The LTD ships with one 15-round G19 magazine.
I did find the gun shoots high in my small- to-moderate size hands. Other shooters didn't experience the same, so I'm chalking that up to a personal anomaly. Due to the current ammunition shortage, we didn't do an expansive ammo feeding test and focused our shooting at distances this defensive/sporting gun is primarily made for—10 yards and less. It was easy to be accurate at those typical combat distances, and I've no reason to think it wouldn't also perform well at much greater distances.
Unlike many new guns for 2021, the LTD is not yet available with a slide that’s milled for a red dot optic. My concern running a red dot on this gun may or may not matter depending on one’s custom for racking the slide. The thin material on the slide does get hot with use. So grasping it in front of the ejection port, as many people do to rack a red dot-equipped pistol, could become painful or require gloves. Of course using the red dot itself as a charging handle is fine, but could weaken the mount over time.
For the person who wants a refined shooting experience but still demands no-fuss operation and reliability, the LTD could be the perfect choice. At $699.95, it’s priced in the top half of the moderate range, a reasonable deal for a pistol that took all that’s right about a Glock 19 and made it better.
Eve Flanigan is a defensive shooting and concealed carry instructor living in the American Southwest. Today she works full time as an instructor and writer in the gun industry. Flanigan loves helping new and old shooters alike to develop the skills needed to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
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What is the difference between the V1 and V2 versions? Thanks.