Gun Review: Lone Wolf Dusk 19 9mm Pistol

You probably know Lone Wolf for their gun parts. The company started life as sellers of aftermarket GLOCK parts and become one of the biggest players in the GLOCK aftermarket part ecosystem. Lone Wolf sells literally everything you need to customize your GLOCK or build your own non-GLOCK GLOCK out of non-GLOCK parts.

With the Biden administration’s weaponization of the ATF making life more difficult for 80% and other home builders, parts companies like Lone Wolf are increasingly getting into the complete firearm business. Lone wolf started out as far back as 2015 with the Timberwolf. In 2021 they introduced the more modern LTD in compact and full-size configurations, but their latest — the Dusk 19 compact — is their best and most refined complete pistol offering yet.

There’s a significant segment of the handgun market staked out by so-called Gucci GLOCK clones, pistols based on the GLOCK platform but with the bling and upgrades pre-installed. The Dusk takes a more reserved approach, offering a GLOCK clone with all of the features most pistol owners want these days in an attractive package that’s very reasonably priced for its feature set.

Lone Wolf’s kept things restrained in the design department. A lot of Gucci GLOCKs go overboard, particularly in their slide design. You don’t see any of that here. The Dusk 19 is interesting enough that no one will mistake it for a GLOCK, but they didn’t go crazy with unnecessary lightening cuts. The front slide serrations are a plus over the GLOCK 19 Gen3 and the deep undercut means you’ll get a nice, high grip.

The Dusk 19 comes in a range of SKUs giving you plenty of options depending on the frame color, slide finish and options that are important to you.

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One of those options is suppressor-height sights and either a standard or threaded barrel.

Here’s the Dusk 19 with a PWS BDE suppressor. BDE, as we all know, stands for Bravo Delta Echo.

My review gun has the lower third height sights from Night Fision that are perfect for co-witnessing with a mounted red dot. The front sight is green tritium.

Unlike GLOCK pistols with their proprietary rails, Lone Wolf has wisely given the Dusk 19 a standard, two-slot length of Pic rail.

Note that Lone Wolf made the wise choice to use a more Gen4-style magazine release button which is a huge improvement over that little thing that GLOCK has on its Gen3 G19 that’s almost hidden and difficult to reach for those of us with smaller hands.

This is 2023 and that means the Dusk 19 — like pretty much all new pistol designs — comes optic-ready. Lone Wolf has chosen an RMR mount rather than the more popular Docter or RMSc pattern, but that’s okay. You still have a reasonable number of good options (from Trijicon, obviously, as well as Holosun and others) in compatible red dot sights.

The Dusk 19 has a flat-faced metal trigger shoe. Its feel is very comparable to a Gen5 trigger (which is better and less sproing-y than the Gen3 in my opinion).

The Dusk 19 pull weight is measurably lighter. My GLOCK averages about 5 lbs, 8 oz on my Lyman trigger gauge while the Dusk 19 registers about 4 lbs, 10 oz with a slightly less stage-able break point. I really like the Dusk’s short, audible, and tactile reset that you can ride for quick follow-up shots.

Lone Wolf has chosen to pack the Dusk 19 with two KCI 15-round magazines. I wasn’t familiar with the Korean KCI mags, but they appear to be at least as well-made as Magpul GLOCK clones and a more faithful reproduction of original GLOCK mags. They performed perfectly during testing.

As for grip texture, Lone Wolf went with a molded pattern that is extremely aggressive. This may be the best grip texture I’ve ever used for hot sweaty conditions. If you have delicate, soy-boy palms, you might think Lone Wolf has gone overboard here. I disagree.

When it comes to carry, however, more than just the delicate snowflake segment of our readership may have issues. If you’re going to carry the Dusk 19 IWB, you will definitely want a t-shirt or wife beater between you and that grip (those may look like removeable panels, but they aren’t). OWB carry with a number of rigs I tried kept enough distance between the pistol and my skin that it was never a problem.

The Dusk 19 ships with two backstraps. I’ve got the flatter version installed here because of my unnaturally small hands. They make the Dusk 19 a much better fit for me than the frame on my G19 Gen5.

Lone Wolf claims the Dusk 19 is compatible with virtually all G19 holsters. I tried it with mine (including a Safariland SafariVault) and had no problems, although I had to adjust the retention screw on my Bravo Concealment holsters slightly to get more of a snug fit.

Being basically a Gen3 design, the Dusk 19 uses the Gen3 single coil recoil spring. If you’re more of a fan of GLOCK’s Gen4 dual spring design, Lone Wolf has you covered. There’s a removable liner in the dust cover that that you can extract. That will give you enough room to use a Gen4 recoil spring and Gen4 or Gen5 slide if you so choose. But given everything that’s built into the Dusk 19, I’m not sure why you’d feel the need.

I’ve put hundreds of rounds down range now and found some interesting things with the Dusk 19. After an initial break-in period, it ran flawlessly…as long as I fed it brass-cased ammunition (I didn’t try steel-cased) . I had some aluminum-cased CCI Blazer range ammo that gave it problems and the Dusk 19 wouldn’t reliably go back into battery.

I attribute that to the ammunition, as every other brass-cased round I fed it — 115, 124 and 147 grain bullets, FMJ and JHP) cycled cleanly and reliably.

I also shot the Dusk 19 side-by-side with my GLOCK 19 Gen5. With my small hands and the Dusk 19’s flatter backstrap installed, along with the more aggressive grip texture, it just feels better in my hand. That said, I shoot the G19 better than almost any other handgun I own. The Dusk 19, however, was a very close second and did well in terms of accuracy at a range of self-defense distances.

I would have no hesitation at all in using it in a home or self-defense role based on the Dusk 19’s reliability and accuracy.

In short Lone Wolf has designed a versatile, functional, and attractive GLOCK clone at a competitive price for the features it has. That’s a good thing, too, because the Dusk 19 is in an increasingly competitive market with a lot of good options for non-GLOCK GLOCKs. The Dusk 19 threads the needle by giving you a range of popular and useful options, base features, and colors to choose from in an attractive package without any unfortunate Gucci GLOCK excesses.

Specifications: Lone Wolf Dusk 19 9mm Pistol

Caliber: 9mm
Overall Length: 6.95″
Height (without sights): 4.61″
Upper Width: 1.00″
Lower Width: 1.14″
Magwell Width: 1.23″
Non-Threaded Barrel Length: 3.90”
Non-Threaded Barrel Height: 4.94″
Weight (without magazine): 19.8 oz.
Price: $649

Ratings (out of five stars):

Style * * * *
So-called Gucci GLOCKs generally have significantly more flair than the original Austrian guns which, it’s fair to say, are Spartan. Some of those clones go overboard. The Dusk 19 keeps things more restrained with an attractive, functional look that’s an improvement on the Gen3 G19 while not going overboard.

Ergonomics * * * * *
This is where the Dusk 19 really shines versus the G19, at least for me. While I shoot it really well, the GLOCK doesn’t feel as good in my hand as does the Dusk 19. The backstrap options and slimmer grip (and the grip angle, if you’re one of those people) give your more options and will likely work better for more people.

Carryability * * * * *
While it’s dimensionally very close to a G19, the Dusk 19 just feels slimmer and less blocky. Don’t get me wrong, I like and carry my G19 but the Dusk 19 seems to carry a little better (as long as that grip texture isn’t abrading your skin) and G19 holster compatibility means there’s an entire universe of options available to you.

Reliability * * * * ½
Yes, I found some ammo the Dusk 19 doesn’t like, but that’s hardly unusual. You should shoot and test your carry and/or home defense gun with a range of brands and bullet weights anyway to see what it shoots most accurately and reliably. I wouldn’t hesitate to carry the Dusk 19 as a personal defense gun.

Overall * * * * ½
With the ATF making life difficult for parts makers, offering competitive complete pistols is an obvious move for Lone Wolf. The Dusk 19 is a worthy option and one of the better non-GLOCK GLOCKs on the market, particularly in its price range. It has premium features, including a better-than-MOS optic mount, in a variety of configurations. The Dusk 19 has a lot of the upgrades already built in that many owners buy and apply to their stock GLOCK with aftermarket parts. You won’t be disappointed.