Aftermarket G19 barrel options

[jahwarrior1423]

I'm looking for a new G19 barrel for myself. 2 reasons why I want a new barrel...1. Use it for hunting and shooting lead ammo 2. Want it threaded for a future supressor.

This is also a daily carry weapon

That said, there's several manufacturers that I've looked into. S3FSolutions, KKM, Lone Wolf, AAC, Silencorco and Wilson Combat. And some of those (Wilson) don't offer threaded barrels.

S3F claims to have the most accurate barrel and has 0 runout. (Of course they'll claim to have the best)

But out of those barrels, I like the Wilson and S3F from people's reviews and are both match grade.

Can you guys help steer me the right direction on choosing the proper barrel for myself. For example, do you know what one barrel manufacturer offers (design/construction wise) that another manufacturer doesn't?

[glocktogo]

While Wilson makes good stuff, I've never used their Glock barrels so I can't comment. For me the top 3 Glock barrels are Bar-Sto, KKM and Jarvis, in no particular order. I'm partial to Bar-Sto (I have 3 of their Glock barrels, one threaded) and have been 100% satisfied.

[sasage]

Have you watched this yet?
MrGunsnGear Wilson Combat Barrel Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLcsyUXWDE

[jahwarrior1423]

Just watched the video. Good review.

But both S3F and Wilson state on their site they were claiming 1/2" at 25yds. I did read reviews about the Wilsons chamber being tight and not extracting reliabliy

[jahwarrior1423]

And the Wilson "may" need fitting

[hossb7]

In August of last year a member on another forum I'm on mailed me his drop-in KKM barrel to do some testing in my Gen4 Glock 19.

I didn't shoot too much because there was a pretty bad cross wind of ~5-10mph. The KKM barrel did very well from what I was able to do, though.

I only shot 124gr +P Gold Dots and Federal AE9 for testing, but I didn't take any pictures of the AE9 because the horizontal spread was poor. Also, I reduced my groups from 10 shots to 5 shots. 10 is "industry standard" with a rifle but with so many points of contact for stability it's more logical. 10 rounds of slow, accurate fire with a handgun is mentally draining and takes a lot of stamina. 5 rounds is sufficient for testing.

Here are the first 5 rounds of GD's through the KKM barrel at 25 yards/75 feet. 3" - not too shabby:

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/hossb7/shooting/Accuracy%20Testing%203/G19wKKM25ydsGDHP.jpg~original

It's a good group, but it was impacting pretty high on my target. At 25 yards with CAP sights and the KKM barrel, my groups were about 1.5 - 2 feet high. If this were my barrel I would consider getting different sights to account for that major shift of POA/POI.

I took a quick break from that to shoot my M&P15-22 for a bit. After that, I went back to the Glock and decided to push myself out to 50 yards/150 feet (!!). How bad can it be?

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/hossb7/shooting/Accuracy%20Testing%203/G19wKKM50ydsGDHP.jpg~original

Not too bad indeed. A hair over 7" at 50 yards? I'll take that.

After that I felt like I was in the zone, so I moved back to 25 yards/75 feet and posted this final group with the KKM barrel. 5 rounds in 2.6"

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/hossb7/shooting/Accuracy%20Testing%203/G19wKKM25ydsGDHP2.jpg~original

For this group I was holding the top of the sights at the base of the black circle, so it's about 6" high from POA.

At the end of the day I swapped the KKM out for my OEM barrel and shot a final group at 25 yards. My previous best group was 4" with AE9 FMJ, this is slightly under that with GDHP: 3.7"

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/hossb7/shooting/Accuracy%20Testing%203/G19wOEM25ydsGDHP.jpg~original


I think the KKM barrel is a very good purchase. I saw groups of 4-5 inches shrink to sub-3 inches. For $165 I'll take that improvement. I was also very impressed with it's performance at 50 yards; it really makes you rethink how far you COULD make solid hits if you were forced into that situation (how long is an aisle at your local big box store? 100 yards? More? Not that you would ever engage that far, just some food for thought considering some of the environments we're all in during our day-to-day lives.).

Some people don't see so much change from drop in barrels like the KKM vs. OEM barrels, especially on a compact gun like a Glock 19. But, I also suspect they're not shooting at the limits of mechanical accuracy the gun is capable of. I think out of the box the Gen 4 9mm Glocks are some of the most accurate polymer guns that are currently on the market. Add improved sights, a drop in barrel and some good ammo and you get a sub-$1,000 gun capable of 1911 level accuracy but with superb reliability.

[teutonicpolymer]

I have only heard good things about KKM

KKM is also about as much money as I would spend on a Glock barrel
Bar-sto may be nicer but I don't know if it is worth it given the lead time and price

[BuzzinSATX]

I love my KKM in my G23. It has been flawless through several thousand rounds...

[dookie1481]

What does "runout" mean?

[ginzomatic]

I can't speak to any of the brands you've mentioned besides KKM, but...

I have KKM barrels on two of my glocks, and they are great. Noticible improvement in accuracy and they drop right in. One is threaded, on a 17 (Ti-Rant 9) and it has worked very well.

I'll be doing the same to a 19 in the future, and I will go KKM again.

[ginzomatic]

"What does "runout" mean?"


I am anything but an expert, but "0 run-out" as I understand it means that the round is seated in the chamber perfectly aiming down the end of the barrel. Different degrees of runout refer to the round in the chamber being crooked in regard to the rest of the case. So when fired, the round impacts the throat off center, but is of course corrected as it catches the rifling.

I think by nature that all barrels probably have some degree of run-out, but there is some debate on wether or not it impacts accuracy at all.

Maybe someone with more technical knowledge can pontificate on this further, as it is something I would like to understand more as well.

[dookie1481]

"What does "runout" mean?"


I am anything but an expert, but "0 run-out" as I understand it means that the round is seated in the chamber perfectly aiming down the end of the barrel. Different degrees of runout refer to the round in the chamber being crooked in regard to the rest of the case. So when fired, the round impacts the throat off center, but is of course corrected as it catches the rifling.

I think by nature that all barrels probably have some degree of run-out, but there is some debate on wether or not it impacts accuracy at all.

Maybe someone with more technical knowledge can pontificate on this further, as it is something I would like to understand more as well.

Thanks, I've never heard that term before.

[CAVDOC]

A few yars back I shot some groups at 25 yards with my glock 19 ammo testing. The worst was a hair under three inches while the best was about 2&1/4. I was using ten shot groups ( live in ny so used a full mag for each group shot) inside 25 yards the improvement is likely not worth the cost. However as noted above groups in the stock glock ( for me) really open up at fifty yards ( roughly 10-12 inches) and if the aftermarket barrel improves this by 40% then maybe if you expect to shoot beyond 25 yards they may be worth having.
Need threads or a caliber conversion they have a place
Want to shoot lead? Use you regular barrel and brush it out every couple hundred rounds is all that is needed.