Glock pattern pistols are on their way to joining the AR 15 and 1911 on the most produced firearm hall of fame. Specifically, the Glock 19 is being reproduced from non-Glock sources at a rapid rate. PSA has the Dagger, ZEV has the OZ9, Lone Wold has the LTD 19, and now Adams Arms has the AA19. Adams Arms comes out of Florida and is known chiefly for their piston-driven AR 15s. The AA19 departed from tradition, but that’s a good thing.
The AA19 doesn’t just copy the Glock 19 and call it a day. In fact, it’s about as far as you can get from a Glock 19 while still being a Glock 19. The AA19 comes completely Gucci with all the parts and features you could ever want. Lots of people take a Glock 19 and create the gun they wish by swapping triggers, sights, etc. The AA19 comes from the factory with all those added upgrades.
Gone are the terrible Glock sights, the average trigger, and the European-style grip angle. You can take Glocks in a multitude of directions when you begin customizing the pistols. You can go competitive or defensive. Adams Arms built the AA19 to be a defensive pistol outright, and it shows.
Going Gucci
There is a lot to break down with the AA19. All the features bear mentioning and help explain the $999 MSRP. When you break down most of the parts of the AA19, it comes up to $995 if you did the same with a Glock 19 MOS. For four extra bucks, someone is doing the install for you and giving you a custom slide.
Getting a Grip
The AA19 utilizes a custom grip frame akin to a P80 pistol from Polymer80. that uses an 18-degree grip angle, making it akin to a 1911 like grip angle. Grip angle doesn’t necessarily affect performance and is a personal ergonomic choice. I prefer the 18-degree grip angle. That same grip comes with a highly aggressive grip texture.
The custom texture clings to your hands and mixes two distinct textures. The front and rear of the grip are super aggressive, with a slightly more subdued grip texture on the sides. On the back of the grip, we get a somewhat longer beavertail that works with a double undercut trigger guard to get a very high grip on the gun.
The AA19 provides top-tier ergonomics in the grip department. The magazine release is also extended and insanely easy to reach. We also get a standard Picatinny rail at the front of the gun.
Sliding In
Right above that rail sits a threaded barrel for adding a muzzle device or suppressor. Behind the barrel sits a lightning cut and a sight of Ameriglo Defoor all-black all-metal sights. Between those sights sits an optics cut.
The optics cut allows you to mount any of a wide variety of red dots from all the companies you know and love, including Vortex, Trijicon, Leupold, Holosun, and beyond. It uses a plate system like the Glock MOS guns, so everyone is covered.
To get the most out of that red dot, you have a Tango Down Vickers Carry Tactical trigger. The trigger features a metal trigger shoe, a flat-faced, and a much more comfortable trigger safety. Along with the gun, you get two Magpul Glock 19 magazines and a hard case to tie it all together.
Splitting Cards With the AA19
With the AA19 loaded up and ready, I hit the range, ready to shoot, reload, and get a little training in. I warmed up with the classic Dot torture drill that is a must-have in your training regiment. Dot torture involves draws, reloads, single-hand shooting, target transitions, and more. For testing a pistol, it just makes sense.
The all-black Ameriglo Defoor sights take some time to get used to. I’m a bit more used to something to focus on with the front sight besides the sight itself. It’s not bad, and it just takes some time to get used to. With a good presentation from the draw, you won’t have an issue getting the AA19 sights on target.
The front sight is nice and thin, and the air between the rear and front sight makes it easy to see your target. These sights don’t cover a massive amount of your target and make it easy to reach out and touch a target. For Dot torture, I’m shooting small 2 inch sized dots. The air between the front sights also makes it fast to get the sights on target. I’ve become a fan of the setup throughout my testing.
That Trigger Y’all
This isn’t some scary lightweight trigger made for gaming. It’s a defensive trigger that keeps the same rough pull weight of a Glock trigger but smoothens the whole thing out. The Vickers Carry trigger slides rearward without grit or grime, and when you hit that wall, all it takes is a little bit of a push and bang the gun goes.
The AA19’s mag release button is also very lovely and makes sending those empties to the ground nice and easy. The magazines drop-free without issue, and tossing a reload is intuitive and straightforward.
The grip design works in spades when it comes to control. Getting your hand high and up on the grip and more in line with the bore ensures the gun is straightforward to handle. Keeping the gun low and on target is easy even when rapid firing. That beavertail protects my hand from slide bites, which is common with my hands and Glock slides.
Blasting through several hundred rounds revealed no inherent reliability issues and was quite pleasant to do so. The AA19 handles well and shoots straight. Once I get a new dot for the gun, I plan to take it for a spin at longe ranges and see how it stacks up at 50 yards. At 25 yards, it’s dead-on accurate, and I can consistently put 9mm holes into the A-zones of an IPSC target and do so quickly.
Ultimately the AA19 doesn’t just give you a pretty gun. It’s a highly functional gun that’s easy to control, accurate, and very ergonomic. The AA19 provides you with a whole bunch of goodies prepackaged into a compact, combat-ready handgun.
“Ultimately the AA19 doesn’t just give you a pretty gun”. Actually, they don’t even give you that… Only real way to incorporate “pretty” into the equation might be to say…”pretty ugly”, because it really is.
Lone Wolds are very collectible.