Is Slide Milling a Thing of the Past?

With the advent of the sixth generation of their pistols, Glock has killed irons-only guns moving forward. As far as we know, it’s optics-ready guns from now on, no exceptions. This came as a bit of a surprise, but also was completely unsurprising for me. Virtually all duty and carry style pistols come optics ready nowadays, from Canik to H&K, and most everyone in between. In short, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

Of course there are some guns which will likely always come optics-free. Small pocket pistols, or certain models of 1911 are good examples, although those are increasingly optics ready as well. Anti-optic gun toters are a shrinking minority, and I doubt we’ll see a reversal any time soon.

Custom Slide Milling

While still a popular option, custom slide milling is likely to soon be a thing of the past. Or at least at the scale we have seen for the past decade or so. As more and more guns come ready for optics, and those optic ready slides improve in quality, it’s less and less necessary to have a custom shop cut your gun to fit a specific dot.

Yes, there are millions on irons-only pistols in circulation right now. Folks will also always want some customization such as modified slide serrations, or adjusting the placement of their optic. However, the heyday of custom slide work is likely past, at least in its current form. As someone who has had a few custom jobs myself, it’s a little sad to see things change. As a practical matter, it’s a relief to no longer require the additional time and money it took to have a shop setup your slide properly.

Looking towards the Future for Slide Milling

What does this mean for the dozens of shops who do this kind of work? I’m not sure, though I imagine some will realign their focus, while others may shut their doors completely. Times are changing before our eyes, and who knows what changes people will make to new designs to keep themselves afloat. Hopefully hard times pass us all by, and folks adapt to change with skipping a beat.

Is custom slide milling a thing of the past? No, not yet, but time may change that sooner than we think.

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