View Full Version : After market Glock barrels?
Just wandering about peoples experience with after market Glock barrels either fitted or drop in?
I've had plenty of success with Lone Wolf, Jarvis, Barsto, and KKM. Some were threaded. They all worked well and didn't have any issues with any of them. I must have put 1000 rounds or so thru each of them over the years.
I will say that I feel the most confident with a Glock OEM barrel.
I ran a SS Lone Wolf barrel in my G19 for a couple of thousand rounds with no problems. Noticed no difference from the factory barrel.
Same with a Storm Lake in a G34, dropped it in, worked just fine.
Just wandering about peoples experience with after market Glock barrels either fitted or drop in?
^ What are you trying to improve on, get out of a new barrel? Goal?
I had a Storm Lake and Lone Wolf and they were unrealible in my Glock 20.
Voodoo_Man
08-13-13, 08:15
I have heard that unless a barrel is custom fitted for a gun, the accuracy will not improve over OEM. So barrels like KKM are no more accurate than factory.
Any opinions/experience on this?
I have heard that unless a barrel is custom fitted for a gun, the accuracy will not improve over OEM. So barrels like KKM are no more accurate than factory.
Any opinions/experience on this?
I would generally accept this theory. First, lets break down barrel accuracy into its three main areas:
1. Width fit between the hood and slide.
2. Length fit between the hood and slide.
3. Twist rate.
Glock barrels TYPICALLY have all three of these areas covered pretty well. There isn't a lot of play in there. Is there room for improvement? Always, but are you are typically getting into semi-drop in (where you have to do some finish sanding in order to get them to fit) or they are a full fit (with a file).
I spec'd out some oversized Storm Lake barrels for Glock G19 and G17 and installed one onto my G19. While its factory barrel was more than adequate (3"-3.5 at 25yds), the fitted barrel dropped accuracy down to 2" at 25yds). That is a pretty noticeable improvement. I would also assume that if my Glock was fitted with target sights or an RMR (like my M&P), group sizes would drop down to 1" (just like my M&P).
C4
HalliganJoel
08-13-13, 08:38
I have a threaded barrel for my G17 so I can shoot reloads sans paranoia.
I feel like I'm an intermediate shooter, I have not seen an appreciable difference in accuracy. Not saying its not there. Just not sure I can outshoot the inherent accuracy of the OEM barrel.
Honestly just wondering if anyone has had the gotta have it experience with any barrels. It seems as though most go back to a factory barrel I was looking at a BarSto barrel and was just curious to whats peoples take.
Just wandering about peoples experience with after market Glock barrels either fitted or drop in?
I had a gunsmith fit a KKM in my G34. My reason was to increase accuracy for USPSA. He told me prior to the job that he couldn't gaurantee anything with a glock.
Lucky for me my ave groups at 25yds went from 4-5 inch to 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 inches
No decrease in reliability
YMMV
Just wandering about peoples experience with after market Glock barrels either fitted or drop in?
There are three reasons to try an aftermarket barrel in a Glock pistol: to use cast bullets, to convert calibers, and for better accuracy. I can’t comment on the first two, but I have used three Wilson barrels to improve accuracy.
Barrel #1 was a 40 S&W barrel that I used in a G22 parts gun. I didn’t test it enough to draw conclusions. TigerSwan installed barrel #2 in a Gen3 G17 as part of their “TigerSwan Glock” package. You can read more about my experience with that pistol here: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=105291&highlight=TigerSwan I installed the third barrel in a Gen3 G17 that became my EDC. Do a search for my posts on Glock accuracy if you want to learn more.
There are a lot of things you can do to make a Glock shoot better, but replacing the barrel is the last one I’d do.
The first (and cheapest) is to find the load that your pistol shoots the best—this can shrink groups by up to 50%. Most FMJ ammo is crap, especially bulk reloads. Good FMJ ammo is nearly as accurate as good JHP ammo in some pistols, but most of it just makes the gun go bang. The second is to increase your core strength, upper body strength, and grip strength. This helps you shoot everything better, not just Glocks. So does dry firing. The third is to absolutely nail the fundamentals of technique—stance, grip, sight alignment, trigger control, and follow through. The fourth is to find the sights that help you shoot the best groups—which is highly subjective—and zero your pistol at 25 yards.
I found that fitted barrels did improve groups in my guns. Most of my accuracy tests were based on 20- and 25-shot groups at 25, 50, and 100 yards. Both Wilson 9mm barrels tended to shoot groups with Extreme Spreads 1/3 smaller than groups with the OEM barrels. But Extreme Spread says more about the shooter than it does about the gun. What’s more important is the percentage of shots that landed in the center of the group. Over and over, the Wilson barrels put more shots into a smaller central cluster than the OEM barrels. In a typical 20-shot test at 25 yards, the Wilson barrels put 13 shots in a 2.25” cluster, while the same guns with their OEM barrels put 11 shots in a 4.25” cluster. In both cases, the flyers were my fault.
Nobody will ever clean house Camp Perry with a Glock, but a stock Gen3 G17 properly zeroed with good ammo will stay on an IPSC target at 100 yards. A fitted barrel like the Wilson MAY tighten groups in the Gen 1, 2, and 3 guns, but is probably unnecessary in the Gen4 guns. That said, I’d do all of the other stuff listed here before I upgraded a barrel. Also, if you go to a fitted barrel, put it through the 2k Round Challenge to make sure your pistol is reliable enough to carry.
Okie John
WhiskyNiner
08-13-13, 15:52
The only aftermarket barrel I've purchased has been one for my 4G G23.
I got a Lone Wolf stainless 2-port extended barrel. One may debate the value in a ported barrel, but there's no denying that it fits well, looks good, and shoots accurately. Price was good, too.
Hey thanks for the write up it was a good read! I was actually curious about the Wilson Glock barrels. Not looking in buying one anytime soon was just curios about results!
There are three reasons to try an aftermarket barrel in a Glock pistol: to use cast bullets, to convert calibers, and for better accuracy. I can’t comment on the first two, but I have used three Wilson barrels to improve accuracy.
4. To use a suppressor :D
Here's an update on my Storm Lake barrel for my Glock 19. I ordered it back on April 9th....still waiting, hasn't even been made yet lol.
Seriously though, should I expect to have to take this barrel to a gunsmith and have it fitted? Not sure I trust one around here for that. Would I be able to 'shoot it in' instead of having a 'smith jack with it? I'm hoping to have it at least a couple months before my suppressor arrives.
kantstudien
08-13-13, 23:21
I've used Bar Sto barrels on GLOCK .40 and 10mm pistols in the past (due to fear of unsupported cases/kaboom paranoia).
Some of the drop in barrels required slight fitting which involved sending the slide assembly to Bar Sto plus a check for the return shipping.
I did see a noticeable difference in groupings, nothing scientific. Some pistols seemed to have the group sizes shrunk in half. Then again, these were police trade-ins, so who knows how many rounds were through the OEM barrels.
For 9mm Glocks, it probably isn't worth it. But in the other calibers it may actually improve the accuracy, this was my experience.
4. To use a suppressor :D
I stand corrected.
Seriously though, should I expect to have to take this barrel to a gunsmith and have it fitted? Not sure I trust one around here for that. Would I be able to 'shoot it in' instead of having a 'smith jack with it? I'm hoping to have it at least a couple months before my suppressor arrives.
The Wilson barrel in my TigerSwan gun came already fitted, and it passed the 2K Round Challenge right out of the gate.
To fit the Wilson barrel to my other G17, I started by researching it on YouTube, etc. Then I stoned the back end of the barrel hood until it fit into the slide with just a bit of play. Then I stoned the bottom of the lug until I could reassemble the pistol. ("Shooting it in" would not have been possible, since I couldn't get the gun back together without the fitting.) Then I test-fired it. It hung up, so I pulled the barrel and stoned the bottom of the lug a little more, going the lather, rinse, repeat route for five or six more iterations before it settled down and started to run smoothly. Then I cleaned it, oiled it, and ran it through the 2k Round Challenge, which it passed.
I don't know whether your Storm Lake barrels is oversized. If it is, then you'll probably have to fit it.
To find a decent gunsmith, ask around at an IDPA or USPSA match. Somebody will point you to one, probably one of the other shooters.
Okie John
Hey thanks for the write up it was a good read! I was actually curious about the Wilson Glock barrels. Not looking in buying one anytime soon was just curios about results!
Based on a sample of two, I'd say that Wilson barrels work just fine. That said, I'd only buy another one if I got a screaming deal on a Gen 1, 2, or 3 gun. If you pay full blow for one of those and then spend $150 for a Wilson barrel, you start getting close to the cost of a P30 (or two PPQs).
If I was starting from scratch, I'd buy a Gen4 and upgrade to an Apex extractor for $60. From what I hear, the Gen4 shoots about as well as a Wilson barrel in an earlier Glock.
Okie John
Yeah I'm not too worried about it, I'm in Commiefornia and a gen4 after SSE and everything was going to run about 400 over a Gen3.
I had a Lone Wolf barrel in .357 Sig for my G35 and it was very accurate and reliable. That's my only experience with aftermarket barrels.
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