I love affordable guns…
But even if they’re reliable and accurate, you can sometime run into a problem…
And that problem is that they can be very simple and hard to upgrade…
Lucky, that’s not the case with the PSA Dagger…
It is a reliable and accurate little gun, but because it’s based on a Gen 3 Glock platform (and because it’s very popular)…
There are a number of PSA Dagger upgrades that you take advantage of…
And in this post, I’m going to share with you some of the upgrades I’ve done to my personal Dagger, and share with you some of the potential upgrades you can do as well…
Let’s get straight into it!
Note: I don’t cover holsters in this post. If you’d like to see My Top 7 PSA Dagger Holsters Go Here!
PSA Dagger Upgrades – What’s Right For Your Gun…?
As I said before, there are a lot of ways that you can upgrade your PSA Dagger…
Some of the upgrades can come straight from Palmetto State Armory, and some are just standard Glock or PSA Dagger aftermarket parts…
Now, it should also be said that there are a number of different variations of the Dagger that PSA sells…
Some of the models are pretty plain-Jane, but others actually have upgrades included on them…
So just keep in mind as we’re going through that you might already have some upgraded Dagger parts, depending on which version of the gun you purchased…
PSA Dagger Slide
One area that you should think about upgrading on your Dagger is actually the whole slide…
And this may or may not be an important upgrade for you depending on which version of the PSA Dagger you already have…
For example, if you have a slide without an optic cut, the first thing I would do is swap it out for one that does (my blog is called red dot shooters after all haha)…
Iron sights are OK to shoot with, but I love red dot sights on handguns because (with a little bit of practice) they just allow you to shoot faster and more accurately…
Now at the time that I’m writing this, PSA currently offers 8 different versions of the Dagger slide, and any one of them will fit on your dagger frame regardless of whether you have the compact frame or the full size frame…
Out of the 8, my two favorite options are the classic Extreme Carry Cut and the Compact X, but I’ll list all the options on this post a little further below…
I love the Extreme Carry Cut because it has all the things that Gucci Glocks typically have such as front slide serrations, relief cuts, and cool chamfering…
It’s also a compact slide so it will sit flush with the end of your frame, and be a little bit easier to conceal carry…
I also love the Compact X slide which is a little newer. This slide also has front slide serrations and cool relief cuts, but even though it will fit on a compact frame, it gives you a slide length similar to the Glock 17…
This larger slide is more of a ‘Duty’ size, and the extra mass in the slide makes it a really smooth shooter…
You can check out all of the PSA Dagger slide options below (Just remember to look at versions that give you an optic cut):
Other Slide Options…
Now because the PSA Dagger is a Gen 3 Glock Clone, it’s important to remember that you can actually upgrade your gun with any Gen 3 Glock slide…
There are a ton of options out there, but one of my favorites is the RMR Cut Slide for a Glock 19 (Gen 3) by Brownells…
I like it because it’s just a perfect match with the PSA Dagger Frame, and it will give you the ability to mount a red dot sight at an affordable price point similar to PSA’s optic cut Dagger slides.
PSA Dagger Optic
Now, that’s I’ve droned on about getting an optic cut slide, the next upgrade you should consider for your Dagger is a quality optic…
Now, PSA currently offers slides that are cut for an RMR footprint and slides that are cut for a Docter footprint…
Out of the two, my favorite is the RMR footprint because it gives you a lot more options when picking your optic…
But truth be told, there are some high quality Docter footprint optics available as well…
My Personal PSA Dagger Optic…
Right now, you can see that I’m running the Swampfox Kraken optic on my personal Dagger, and I love it!
The Kraken is an enclosed emitter red dot (which is why it looks so boxy), but that makes it an extremely durable handgun sight…
It also eliminates any chance of debris blocking the red dot’s emitter, which is a possibility with traditional open emitter pistol optics…
I think the Kraken is a great fit with the PSA Dagger because it comes with an RMR adapter plate, so it’s super easy to get it mounted onto a Dagger slide with an RMR optic cut…
But it also gives you a clear sight window and a nice, crisp 3 MOA dot to help you make fast and accurate shots…
I’m very happy with the performance of the Swampfox Kraken on my Dagger, and right now, I have no plans to change it out for something else…
Holosun 507C
Another amazing optic that will fit the RMR cut Dagger slide is the Holosun 507C…
I currently have one of these bad boys on my Glock 45, and I would have no problem mounting it on a PSA Dagger…
I like the 507C because it’s affordable, super durable, and packed with useful features like ultra long battery life, a Solar panel to back up your battery, and Shake Awake technology to extend your battery life even further…
It also gives you 3 reticle options to choose from including a 2 MOA dot, a 32 MOA circle, or the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle which is a combination of the two…
And let me tell you, the Circle Dot Reticle is awesome because it makes finding and tracking your dot super quick and easy…
But at the same time, you still have the small 2 MOA dot in the center when you need to make shots that require a high level of accuracy…
All in all, you can’t go wrong by going with the Holosun 507C.
Crimson Trace RAD Pro…
Another fantastic red dot option that you should consider if your Dagger slide has a Docter cut is the Crimson Trace RAD Pro…
The RAD Pro gives you a large sight window, long battery life, Shake-to-wake technology which extends your battery life even more…
And it comes with a crisp 3 MOA dot. I’ve recently been testing one out, and it has now become my go-to Docter footprint optic.
There are other sights I could mention here, like the Holosun EPS, the Trijicon RMR, the Vortex Venom, and others, but I could go on all day in this section…
So it’s best if we stop here and move on to the next upgrade…
PSA Dagger Sights
The stock PSA dagger sights are OK (they are better than plastic stock Glock sights), but they can be upgraded…
And I should mention here that if you are getting an optic cut slide from PSA, then you already get upgraded sights which are raised to co-witness with your optic…
But if you’re going to run an iron sight gun, I recommend you go with a fiber optic front sight because it helps you find and track your front sight better (which allows you to shoot faster)…
Luckily, PSA sells an affordable set of sights for the Dagger that come with a red fiber optic front sight…
But keep in mind that most sights that are designed for a Glock will fit in the Dagger, and there are tons and tons of options out there are on the market.
PSA Dagger Barrel
Another area that you can upgrade on your Dagger is the Barrel. As usual, there are many Dagger models that already come with an upgraded barrel…
But if your Dagger just came with a standard barrel, PSA offers:
- Fluted Barrels
- Threaded Barrels
- PVD Coated Barrels
- Stainless Barrels
- Spiral Fluted Barrels
- Honey Comb Barrels
- Copper Barrels
- Chameleon (Oil Slick) Barrels
The different coatings and colors look cool, which is great if you’re going for a Gucci Glock aproach…
But the Fluted barrels will save you a little bit of weight, and the threaded barrels will allow you to mount a suppressor or a compensator…
What’s the best PSA Dagger Compensator?
Like I said, if you have a Dagger with a threaded barrel you can put on a screw-on compensator, which will dampen the recoil significantly when you’re shooting…
Some of the best options on the market are currently: the Agency Arms Single Port Barrel Comp, the Strike Industries Micro Threaded Comp QUAD, and the Strike Industries Micro Threaded Comp CIRCLE…
All offer different benefits in terms of how effective they are verses how compact they are, and you can check them out if you’re interested by looking at the table below…
PSA Dagger Trigger Upgrades
As I said earlier, the PSA Dagger is a Gen 3 Glock clone, and it will take many of the aftermarket parts made for Generation 3 Glocks including trigger upgrades…
Why would you want to upgrade the PSA Dagger trigger?
I think the PSA Dagger trigger is pretty good right out of the box, but that being said, there is room for improvement…
For example, many people don’t like the PSA Dagger trigger shoe because it articulates or bends in the middle to incorporate the trigger safety…
You might be in this group, and you might prefer a bladed trigger safety that is more similar to the trigger shoe on an actual Glock…
If that’s the case there are many options for you, and you can check out my article on PSA Dagger Trigger Upgrades Here…
Timney Alpha Glock Competition Trigger…
Without a doubt the most popular trigger upgrade is to put a timney trigger in your PSA Dagger…
These triggers give you a crisp, 3 pound trigger pull, which will definitely help you shoot faster and more accurately…
The Timney Alpha Glock trigger also gives you an aluminum, straight trigger shoe with a wide safety blade, which makes it very comfortable to use…
And it can be installed into your PSA Dagger without the need to actually take it to a gunsmith, which is nice…
Apex Trigger For PSA Dagger…
Another great option is an Apex trigger for your PSA Dagger, specifically the Apex Tactical Specialties Glock Action Enhancement Trigger…
This trigger is awesome, first of all, because you get the Apex trigger shoe which has a trigger blade safety and is extremely comfortable to use…
Aside from that, this trigger gives you a shorter take up and a smoother pull than the stock PSA Dagger trigger…
And it has a much more crisp break that the Dagger trigger as well…
It’s also drop in part, so no need for a gunsmith, and overall it’s another fantastic trigger upgrade that you should consider for your Dagger…
PSA Dagger Magazine
The PSA Dagger comes with a Magpul Glock magazine. These magazines are good, and I’ve never had any problems with the ones I own…
But they are made from polymer, and they’re simply not as rugged as a stock Glock magazine…
OEM Glock magazines have been proven for reliability and durability over many, many years now…
And they have functioned perfectly in my PSA Dagger…
So if you intend to use your Dagger as a defensive pistol in anyway, I recommend you upgrade the magazines you’re using to stock Glock magazines (I like to have 5 per gun)…
And reserve the Magpul magazine that the pistol comes with for training or recreational use on the range.
PSA Dagger Weapon Light
I always like to put weapon lights on my handguns if they have a rail to accommodate them (which the PSA Dagger does), and there are 2 reasons why…
The first reason is obvious. A weapon light gives you the ability to use your Dagger with both hands in low-light situations…
This is actually a super important reason to have a weapon light on your gun…
…because often times defensive shootings do occur at night, and you absolutely MUST identify your target before making a shot.
The second reason is because a weapon light adds weight to the front end of you handgun and it actually dampens recoil and makes the gun easier to shoot…
Having said that, here are a couple of weapon light options that are a great fit for the PSA Dagger…
Streamlight TLR-1 HL…
The Streamlight TLR-1 HL is my go-to weapon light for many reasons…
First of all, it’s a very powerful and bright weapon light which gives you 1,000 lumens and a wide candela…
On top of that, it’s also easy to actuate the light from either side with the toggles…
And it’s also easy to mount on your gun with the screw on system (if you have a rail on your frame like the one on the PSA Dagger)…
In addition to that, the TLR-1 HL is a very ruggedly built weapon light, and it also has wide holster compatibility which is a pretty big deal for me…
Creative XP Glass Eagle…
If you’re wondering what weapon light I have on my PSA Dagger in the pictures…
…it’s actually a budget light that I have been testing called the Creative XP Glass Eagle, and so far I’ve been very impressed.
The Glass Eagle is modeled after the Surefire X300, and I really like that because it means there are a ton of holster options that are compatible with this light…
But aside from that, the Glass Eagle gives you 1,000 lumens (which is perfect for identifying targets at night)…
And it’s also built pretty ruggedly so it can handle the recoil from being mounted on your gun…
So far, I think it’s a fantastic option if you want a budget light with good build quality, 1,000 lumens, and great holster compatibility to go on your PSA Dagger…
PSA Dagger Magwell
If you want to upgrade your Dagger with a magwell, there are a few options that are currently available….
First of all, it’s important to keep in mind that you won’t be able to use a Gen 3 Glock magwell because the grip on a Glock is significantly different from a PSA Dagger…
But here are a couple of options that are currently available…
GG Magwells Polymer Magwell…
These magwells are polymer, affordable, and easy to install. Just be sure to get the model that is compatible with the Dagger frame that you have because they are not cross compatible…
>> GG Magwells PSA Dagger Compact Magwell
>> GG Magwells PSA Dagger Fullsize S Magwell
SLR Rifleworks Aluminum PSA Dagger Magwell…
If you’re looking for an aluminum magwell for your PSA Dagger, you should check out the options from SLR Rifleworks…
Again, be sure to select the one that is compatible with the Dagger frame that you have…