Starting in 1998, a company known as Lone Wolf Distributors started making aftermarket parts for Glock pistols. I made my first purchase from them in 2010 to get a stainless-steel guide rod for my first Glock 19.
At that point, I could have overhauled my whole pistol with offerings from their website. Shortly thereafter, they started offering their Timberwolf line of Gen 3 Glock frames. They have since jumped into full pistol production with the TWC3 along with other models like the LTD19.
The TWC3 is a Glock-pattern pistol that shares its roots with the Glock 19. Lone Wolf took their knowledge of all the great available aftermarket parts and assembled this unique amalgamation. Breaking this pistol down, I don’t think there’s a single part they haven’t put their spin on except for maybe the sights, but more on that later.
Within the case, you have the firearm, an optional magazine well, a different backstrap size, and two magazines. Since the internet always likes to ask: Yes, of course, it takes Glock mags. I tested a few variations, some factory Glock 19 mags, an ETS Group mag, some Magpul PMAG 15 GL9s, and even an extended Glock fun stick, otherwise known simply as the factory 32-round mag.
The slide features some lightening cut windows around the barrel and a lot of serrations to give you a better grip. This particular model was a coated stainless-steel version.
The TWC3’s trigger doesn’t appear at first glance to be out of the ordinary. It’s not some flat-faced aluminum shoe. Instead, Lone Wolf kept it simple with what looks like a near factory replacement polymer unit with a trigger safety. That is, until you pull it out and look at it. Lone Wolf has upgraded the internals with a 3.5-pound polished connector and a 6-pound spring. While it looks like a factory trigger, it is worlds away from even my Gen 5 G19. The Timberwolf frame changes the grip angle compared to the standard G19, and I, for one, appreciate that greatly. By making it steeper, I find less of a break in my wrist in order to align the sights. This will vary between individuals, but the angle of the Timberwolf frame positions the gun in my hand far more comfortably. The good news is that if you pick it up and it feels a bit slim, you can swap out the interchangeable backstraps for one more to your liking. Other features of the Timberwolf frame include an undercut trigger guard, an additional rail slot to put your favorite pistol light right where you want it, and an integrated beavertail to prevent slide bite during firing.
The included optional magwell helps you funnel the magazines in during high-stress movements like competition or defensive situations. The mags seat solidly with a firm thrust even with a wider-based magazine like the PMAG. The magwell does add some width to the base of the grip, which some might find a bit wide for use while carrying concealed.
The sights were one of the only things untouched by Lone Wolf. They’re just the plastic factory Glock-style sights. While Lone Wolf offers a large variety of slides, the TWC3 does not come with an optic cut, which is unfortunate given the cost of the pistol at around $700.
On the range, once I was able to get the gun on paper with the sights, it ran like butter. It feels very transparent. By that, I mean it feels like someone took a factory G19 and added their preferred aftermarket parts. The crisp trigger makes follow-up shots quicker with less effort. To test the effectiveness of the slide cuts, I loaded up the 32-round magazine and ran it as fast as I could. This could be purely my own bias, but it did seem to hit slightly lighter at the back of the recoil cycle before returning back into battery.
Barrel accuracy is a tough metric to measure on a pistol because there are so many variables imparted by the shooter to definitively state one barrel is better than the next. I can say that through the several hundred rounds I fed through it, there were no failures to feed, fire, or extract. The feed ramps handled both full metal jacket and jacketed hollow-point ammo without a hiccup.
Those slide serrations that I previously mentioned did become important during shooting because I had to make good use of them to manipulate the slide after loading. The gun would shoot and cycle fine, but when attempting press checks or manually racking the slide, I had a tough time clearing the lockup of the barrel. This was not just a matter of putting muscle into it, I thought the pistol was jammed.
The Lone Wolf Distributors TWC3 is not a Glock, but in so many ways it is. That is where the line gets blurred on whether the gun is worth the premium price tag for you. Are all the added features and enhanced parts worth it? The only way for you to find out is to pick one up and try one for yourself.
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