DPM Mechanical Recoil System for Glock Review

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I’m always on the lookout for a decent recoil reduction compensator for my Glock, but was rather disappointed with the performance of the Lone Wolf Compensator. I read good reviews on the DPM Mechanical Recoil System for Glocks, and decided to give it a try since it seems like a good system and can be used alongside the Lone Wolf Compensator. DPM also makes an Electro-Mechanical System, but it looked too heavy and bulky for my liking, and would take up the forward rail of the Glock. I already use the forward rail of my Glock for a front grip, so I decided to stick with the Mechanical, spring-based recoil system instead.

From the reviews I read, the DPM Mechanical Recoil System does not seem to be without its flaws, especially in the realm of reliability issues and issues with the spring being too hard and not able to rack back the slide when it’s first installed. According to what I read, those issues can be addressed using various workarounds, so I took the plunge. I found a DPM Mechanical Recoil System for my Glock 22 on the Zahal website for $89 USD, plus $19 for shipping, and received the unit after three weeks of waiting.

First Impressions

The packaging for the recoild system was pretty good, consisting of a recoil spring guide with a smaller captive spring system at its end, very much like the standard spring system for Gen 4 Glocks. You also receive two main springs (one gold, one silver). The gold spring provides standard spring strength for normal shooting, while the silver spring (longer by a couple of turns) is recommended for shooting more powerful loads, like +P or +P+. Both springs are non-captive, unlike the factory guide spring and rod.

One of the keys to working with this recoil system is to compress the recoil spring guide a couple of times by hand before you try installing it. You need to weaken the stiffer, smaller spring so you can rack the slide back easily. I did that, and while the spring was still stiff, I was able to easily compress the spring a couple of times.

Installation was easy and straightforward, the same method you would use to reinstall the factory spring system. The only difference between the DPM Recoil Spring System and the factory spring is that the DPM spring is non-captive, so you have to manually insert it into both the recoild guide and the slide. The Gold main spring was surprisingly easy to work with, though, and I was able to slide it in easily.

Handpressing the recoil spring seemed to have done the trick, because I had no problems at all racking the slide back. Either that, or DPM has resolved the problem that others had noted.

Performance

With the DPM System installed, firing my Glock 22 in its “Hand Gun” mode in semi-auto displayed impressive improvement in shot recovery. Most impressive, though, was the fact that I did not have to lose track of the Red Dot on my Burris Fast Fire 3 anymore between shots, which indicates that the DPM System worked quite well to lessen the muzzle flip to a more manageable level. I was able to fire my Glock 22 in semi-auto mode at around one shot per second, while still maintaining excellent accuracy.

When I switched my Glock 22 into full auto mode, though, in its “Machine Pistol” mode, I really saw some improvement. Again, I kept sight of the Red Dot on my FF3 during 3-4 round bursts, unlike previously. I could see the Red Dot wander slowly upwards of the target, but it was visible the entire time and easy to track.

Summary

Overall, I am very impressed with the DPM System performance in both semi and full auto. I did not experience any of the jams that some reviewers have noticed, and the system worked flawlessly and hassle-free from installation to operation. Being able to maintain tight accuracy in full auto is most impressive, and is something I would not have thought possible before trying out this recoil system. Overall, it seems to work much better than the Lone Wolf Compensator.