Glock 19 Accessories & Upgrades: Gen 5 and Gen 6

Magazines, weapon lights, and standard Glock dovetail iron sights carry over. Optic plates, triggers, and barrels do not. That split is the whole upgrade map. Everything else on this page is which SKU to buy once you know which side of the line you are on.

The buy order changes with the slide that is already on the gun. A Gen 6 G19 ships optic-ready, so the first red-dot part is a metal ORS plate, not a new slide. A Gen 5 MOS G19 also ships with a cut, so skip the aftermarket slide and replace the factory MOS plate. A non-MOS Gen 5 still needs a cut or a Gen 5 RMR slide before a dot will mount.

If the G19 is going under a red dot, the plate is the first part to buy. Gen 6 ships with a polymer Optic Ready System plate that has no optic fence. Recoil shear drives into the screws, and the zero walks even at 18 in-lb with thread locker. A machined metal ORS plate is the fix. Gen 5 MOS uses a steel factory plate in a different cut. Swap it for a V2 steel aftermarket plate before the optic. MOS plates do not fit ORS. ORS plates do not fit MOS. For the full footprint matrix, see Glock MOS optic plates and Glock Gen 6 optic plates.

Gen 5 uses its own housing. The Gen 3/4 Timney Alpha will not drop in, and none of these kits will drop into a Gen 6. The Timney Alpha Gen 5 at $125.49 is the 3 lb assembled drop-in. The Apex Action Enhancement kit, MPN 102-116, keeps about a 4.5 lb carry pull. The Overwatch DAT Gen 5 is the flat shoe on the factory bar. Cross-model context lives in the Glock trigger guide.

Gen 6 redesigned the housing and the bar. A Gen 5 kit stops at the pins. The Timney Alpha Gen 6 at $114.99 is the cassette. CMC 76001-NH is the Combat Curve shoe and bar that reuses the factory housing on G17, G19, and G45 Gen 6; it does not fit the G49. Apex Evo 6, SKU 102-306-C, is the carry-weight analog to the Gen 5 Action Enhancement kit. The extra competition striker spring in that box is a range part.

Barrel geometry changed with Gen 6. The Radian RAMJET + Afterburner is the G19 compensator kit that exists on both sides of that line, as two SKUs. The Gen 5 kit is $389.95. The Gen 6 G19 / G45 kit is $389.95. The Afterburner extends past the G19 slide, so plan on a G17-length or compensator-cut holster. A threaded suppressor host is still a Gen 3 through Gen 5 part: the SilencerCo 1/2x28 G19 barrel. Match barrels follow the same stop. Faxon's Flame Fluted blank covers Gen 2 through Gen 5 compact and stops there. Comp-specific context lives in the Glock 19 compensator guide.

Gen 6 G19 already ships with an Optic Ready System cut. Do not buy an aftermarket slide to mount a dot on that gun. Buy a plate. Aftermarket slides on this page are for Gen 5 non-MOS frames and for older Gen 3 guns that still need an RMR cut. The ZEV Z19 Duty is the current Gen 5 SKU. The Brownells Gen 5 slide is the stripped value cut. The Brownells Gen 3 slide is labeled that way on purpose; it will not drop on a Gen 5 or Gen 6 frame. Cross-model milling, MOS versus aftermarket cuts, and older-generation slides live in the Glock slides guide.

The optic can follow you across generations. The plate cannot. A Holosun 507C X3 at $299.99 sits on MOS and ORS once the matching RMR plate is on the slide. Trijicon RMR Type 2 is the same footprint with a forged housing and a top-load battery. The Holosun 509T X2 is the closed emitter; it uses a 509T footprint and ships with an RMR adapter that adds height. For the wider pistol-optic field, see the pistol red dot guide.

Iron sights use the same Glock dovetail on both generations. Night Fision standard-height is the irons-first set: tritium lamps at factory height, so holsters still clear. AmeriGlo GL-456 and 10-8 Performance are the optic-height sets. Both are all-black. Buy those when a red dot is on the slide and you want a front blade in the window if the emitter dies.

The rail did not change. A compact light that fits a Gen 5 G19 fits a Gen 6 G19. The Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X at $195.99 is the high-candela compact: 1,100 lumens and 23,000 candela on the SL-B9 pack, with a CR123A sleeve in reserve. SureFire X300U is the full-size duty light. Streamlight TLR-7 X USB is the compact when the holster is already cut for a TLR-7 body and you do not need HL-X throw. If you want a visible aiming laser in the same housing, we ran 300 rounds with one on a Gen 5 in our Olight PL X GL review.

Magazines are the one stack you can buy before you settle the generation question. Factory 15-round G19 magazines are the carry choice. Glock 17 17-round magazines also run in a G19; they extend below the grip and add two rounds. Gen 3, Gen 4, and Gen 5 magazines feed a Gen 6. Training burns magazines. Carry rotation means one in the gun, one on the belt, and one spare so a worn follower is not your only backup. Competition stages eat magazines in pairs. For everyday carry, three magazines. For range work, six to eight. For competition, eight to ten. For duty, six or more.