Making the Gen 3 rival the Gen 4 Glock

I don't want to beat a dead horse with this post.  I own a G22 Gen 3 RTF (Rough Texture Frame).  Gen4 was not available yet when I purchased mine.  I wanted the reduced recoil the new dual-spring guide rod offers, but in my Gen 3.  The new springs are not backward compatible however.  This is my look at how to achieve that reduction in a Gen 3 frame.

The summary of changes from 3 to 4 as I understand is as follows:

• Backstrap size modifications
• RTF texturing on frame (less aggressive)
• Regular frame serrations (The dumped the RTF 'fish gill' cuts)
• Enlarged magazine release, now reversible
• Enhanced dual-spring guide rod, reducing felt recoil

I like my Gen3 'Fish-gill' RTF slide, and I really like the RTF grip texture as well.  It feels solid and secure.  I don't care about the backstrap or mag release because I'm a right handed shooter.  Where I noticed the big improvement as many others have noted is the dual-spring guide rod.  The reduced felt recoil makes for a less snappy gun and allows faster sight realignment for follow-up shots.  Grace doesn't like my .40 due to the snappiness of it.  If I can reduce that, it would make sense to do it.

EFK Fire Dragon for Glock 22

The first option that came to mind was from reading a post on ITS Tactical, Breathe Fire into your glock... where they discussed installing an offering from EFK Fire Dragon.  EFK manufactures a wide range of accessories for multiple firearms, focusing on barrels and guide rods.  The product of interest is billed as the Frame-Saver Dual Action Recoil Spring.  It is of steel construction and advertises to slow the cycling to reduce wear on the weapons frame.  The springs are designed for many other pistols as well.  The ITS Tactical review mentions it works as advertised and I consider them a unbiased and trustworthy source review.  They do mention that the effort to manually rack the slide is noticeably heavier.  The price is set for $65 and I will consider making the purchase.

The other option that crossed my mind was to just increase the spring weight by a few pounds.  I don't know for certain that is the correct solution and would not recommend doing this without some positive answers.  I'm just not sure what weight would be ideal for the purpose.  On Glockmeister.com I found a Stainless Steel Captured Guide Rod for $18 and a Extra Power 22lb Spring for $7.  That makes for a relatively cheap combo, but uncertainty of whether this will work leads me to extreme speculation.  Anyone that knows about this care to help?

I found another option while looking for answers.  Sprinco makes a product they bill as a Recoil Reducer that works very similar to the EFK Fire Dragon above.  It uses a secondary spring to slow the slide just as it comes to its most rearward movement.  This option looks well made but cost is a tad higher at $79.  The product they offer is also available for a large number of other pistols.

I'm not certain I will make the investment to see how these products work out but my leaning is on the EFK Fire Dragon due to the ITS review giving it positive marks.  If I ever go for it I'll certainly update.