Do handloaders always use replacement barrels in Glocks?

I have reloaded for my 10mm for a while. For the longest time I only had the factory barrel. Gen 2.5 and Gen 4 G29s. I typically loaded from moderate to heavy and even shot some heavy Underwood through it. Had zero safety issues and I always checked my brass before loading it again.

I do load for .40 but I do not push them hard. Still I inspect my brass to make sure I don't have any smiles or cracks.

1. Safer only if you are careless or pushing the limit.

2. Most guns are more accurate than the person shooting them. I noticed no increase in accuracy going from my stock barrel to an aftermarket barrel.

Lead is a no-no through the Glock's stock barrel. You will hear of some people doing it successfully, but I'm not into risking my safety for a few pennies.

Most manufacturers do not recommend reloads.

I shoot reloads almost exclusively in all my pistols, including a fair number of Glock .40s which all use the factory barrel (several 22s, a 35, and a 27, with a 23 soon to be added). I have not had brass bulge in any of them, but they are all gen 3 or 4 so relatively recent manufacture. I also shoot powder coated cast boolits without leading or any other problem, although the alloy i use is somewhat soft so I don't push them too hard.
If you want an aftermarket barrel, buy one. But there really isn't a need unless you are actually having a problem.

The factory barrels in my Glocks shoot reloads almost always. One is a Gen 2 G22.

While I only own 9mm's, all of them get my plated ammo reloads through their original barrels with zero issues

Negative. I know lots of reloaders personally, and only 1 shoots an aftermarket barrel. Almost all of them run reloads through glocks. The only reason one of them has the aftermarket barrel is because he won it in a3 gun match. It’s a nice barsto in a Glock 17.

I have more than a half dozen Glocks and had others, only owned one aftermarket barrel and it wasn’t as accurate as the factory one.

Some of them have never fired factory ammunition.

Original barrel Model 31 357 SIG ... I have put a few thousands reloads though mine with out any problems what so ever ... I have not shot any lead bullets in it ...

I replace the barrel in every range-use Glock that I own, because I commonly shoot cast bullets and in some cases (40S&W, 45ACP) case support provided by the factory barrel was pretty sketchy. Carry guns use the factory barrel.

As a FWIW - my Gen4 barrels displayed good case support in 40S&W, but less so in 45ACP.

My g23’s gen 4’s eat a steady diet of plated reloads never an issue, I rarely buy factory ammo , all have factory barrels , I think the glock 40 bulge was with early gen’s not so much an issue with the newer gen’s ,

To date I have roughly 10K rounds on my OEM G19 barrel. 90% of that was reloads. That 90% was all FMJ RN and I have never had a single issue.
SCD

JO JO said:

My g23’s gen 4’s eat a steady diet of plated reloads never an issue, I rarely buy factory ammo , all have factory barrels , I think the glock 40 bulge was with early gen’s not so much an issue with the newer gen’s ,

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If you shoot lead go aftermarket .

Short answer, NO.

The reality is, unless you are shooting uncoated cast lead, there is no reason.

BDS and I , i think between the two of us, have stuck just about everything you can imagine down the barrel of a Glock. Last i heard, he was using Lone Wolf replacement barrels, but he does shoot a high volume of inexpensive projectiles, and I believe thats the reason.

If Glock barrels are doing something wrong that aftermarket barrels are doing right- other than the lead issue- I certainly couldn't find it. We only went through about 16k rounds that summer, g19-g42, so its possible we got all absolutely perfect super factory barrels, but given how cheap glock is, I really, really doubt it. There has been a lot of chatter about slide and frame breaks regarding the unsupported chamber issue.... But the only ones i've been able to research were either LE only loads, or extremely sketchy handloads. Glock has known about the RANGER/G22 Compatibility issue for some time, and I'll discount those.

Given what people have tried to regularly do to the 40, and blame on glock.... I can only imagine whats going to happen with 357 SIG now gaining the traction it should. If they try the same antics in 357 sig that they tried in 40, there willl be a LOT MORE "horrible glocks".... 60kpsi doesn't leave a lot of room for negotiation....40k doesn't either, but it didn't stop the yahoos from going all ballistic missle on the 40SW... I envision a lot of boo-hooing when the same gambits get tried again.

If the metallurgy in your cases was sufficient, and the load was not overpressure, your chances of glock bulge are low. They do happen, but not regularly. Over pressure ? Bad cases ? All the time! Given the remarkably poor understanding of non-linear pressure curves in reloading and charging operations, its of no surprise to me that we hear of glock reloaders with the bulge problem. Frequently. Always seems to come up in 40......
huh.....

If you want to shoot uncoated cast lead, standard ballard cut rifling is superior in performance to the polygonal glock rifling, in terms of both accuracy and longevity.

If you are shooting anything other than cast lead, and dont feel like playing "supercharge the 40, but it'll work this time I swear", leave those remarkably well crafted barrels right where they belong.

I bought into the need for an aftermarket barrel to shoot cast years ago, so I got one. I've noticed a slight increase in accuracy using a storm lake barrel in my G23 with cast loads. Not enough to justify buying one though. I still use it today, but not for the perceived belief that it's safer. I still use it because my G23 is my main carry and it's so much easier to just throw the aftermarket barrel in the range bag and clean it at my leisure if I get a little leading.

My cast loads in a gen 3 and 4 G22 work fine. If its a safe load and the lead isn't too hard this is a non issue. Proceed with the factory barrel.

99% of the ammo Ive shot through my glock 17 gen 4 with a factory barrel are reloads. Ive reloaded the same brass over and over again, I plunk test my rounds 115gr plated Ranier hollow points over 4.3gr of Bullseye not the hottest load but cycles the gun great and Ive yet to see a smile.

Yes, I do use several aftermarket barrels in my Glocks..
Mostly though for a conversion. I have .357 Sig barrels for each of my 3 different size .40 S&W's.

I have a .40 S&W conversion for my G-20 (10MM)

You will hear most all Parrot "Got to use an aftermarket barrel for lead in Glocks"!!

Well, yes and no...The draw back for lead/aftermarket barrels is that the chamber is normally smaller (tighter) in the aftermarkets..This REALLY shows up with the .001" (as a rule) larger projectile, when loading lead.

Glock barrels will usually run anything...Aftermarket-Not so Much...Bill.



























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