Converting my Glock 23 Gen 3 to a Glock 19

VMass

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I would like some advice before jumping in and buying a complete Glock 19 Gen 3 upper and ejector for my Gen 3 Glock 23. I bought my Glock about 6 years ago for home defense, and settled on the G23 because back then the FBI had switched to the 40 S&W round, figuring they must have had a good reason. But, looking back I regretted not getting the G19. I'm getting on in years, and don't really want to buy a new or used G19. So, I've been thinking about converting my G23 to 9mm with a new complete upper (from Brownell's) and ejector. (I know I can buy a 9mm conversion barrel, and already have one, but I'm not convinced I can count on it in a home defense event.)
Questions: (1) Is it really worth it (total conversion cost will be about $360+/-); and, (2) Will I likely experience feeding/ejection problems since it's not a factory G19?
 
I have the conversation barrel, and have full confidence when i‘m using the barrel. All I have done was purchase the 9mm magazines.

I have put thousands of 9mm through the weapon with zero issues. All while using the G-23 upper. I did not modify the upper.

I also have the .357 Sig barre again zero issues.
 
Personally, I would stick with the Men's Calibre if you can handle it. It's more effective. Pay no attention to the 9mm weakies.

I'm assuming the thinking here is ammo cost? Based upon online prices as of today, there's a $5/box difference between 9mm and .40 practice loads. You will break even for the cost of the conversion after 3,600 rounds.

The extractor, spring and bearing are different between 9mm G19 and .40 G23, as is the ejector. If you want a factory-spec reliable pistol, just dropping an aftermarket "conversion barrel" doesn't cut it. Certainly not for a firearm to stake your life on.

Replacing the entire sear housing is more convenient than removing/replacing the ejector. This is especially so if you are going to practice with 9mm and use .40 for serious purposes.
 
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No it’s not worth the cost. Not sure why you don’t want to buy a complete G19 but you can basically find them in good shape for $350ish if you look.

Conversion barrel and maybe an ejector and MAYBE an extractor and plunger work fine. Personally I get brass to the face with my G23 9mm conversion no matter what combination of ejector and extractor I use. But it works fine other than that. You can get a conversion barrel for like $80 or less.

Ejector just pulls out; easy to swap.

However, it’s YOUR feelings and confidence that matter here. You already said you wouldn’t trust any conversion barrel setup, so either get the complete upper and ejector or a spare G19 IMO.

IME a person rarely finds satisfaction being both particular and miserly.
 
Get an aftermarket conversion barrel and a couple of original or aftermarket (good aftermarket) Glock 19 magazines and experiment a little. If everything works well, good. Otherwise you can always buy a 9mm ejector and extractor for cheap. In my opinion it doesn't make sense to spend $360 dollars for a complete conversion (maybe you also need to add more dollars for two magazines...). With $360 you can buy a used Glock 19 or a brand new Glock 19 clone.
 
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I would like some advice before jumping in and buying a complete Glock 19 Gen 3 upper and ejector for my Gen 3 Glock 23. I bought my Glock about 6 years ago for home defense, and settled on the G23 because back then the FBI had switched to the 40 S&W round, figuring they must have had a good reason. But, looking back I regretted not getting the G19. I'm getting on in years, and don't really want to buy a new or used G19. So, I've been thinking about converting my G23 to 9mm with a new complete upper (from Brownell's) and ejector. (I know I can buy a 9mm conversion barrel, and already have one, but I'm not convinced I can count on it in a home defense event.)
Questions: (1) Is it really worth it (total conversion cost will be about $360+/-); and, (2) Will I likely experience feeding/ejection problems since it's not a factory G19?
Conversion barrel, plus ejector plus extractor. You should be fine.

That;s what I did with the G27 I picked up last fall some time. No problems yet.
 
For those that don't know, there is a size difference between a G19 and G23 barrel. SO putting a standard G19 barrel into a G23 slide will not work, the G19 barrel will slop around too much. And a G23 barrel won't even fit into a G19 slide.

For the OP, You can always try a decent G23 conversion barrel and some actual G19 magazines. There really is no need to change out the 40 caliber ejector, it will work just fine with 9mm cases. Or you can find a Gen 4/5 9mm ejector, which will be better than a Gen 3 9mm ejector. There really is not enough difference between a Gen 3 40 S&W ejector and a Gen 4/5 9mm ejector to worry about it.

Here are some photos showing 9mm and 40 S&W in G19 and G23 magazines. Tan mags are G19 and black are G23 magazines.

From left to right: 9mm in G19, 9mm in G23, 40 S&W in G19, 40 S&W in G23

IMG_8144.jpeg

Left 9mm in G23, right 40 S&W in G19

IMG_7461.jpeg
 
I put a $99 Lone Wolf conversion barrel into my LE turn-in G22 and bought a couple of G17 magazines.

It works fine. Zero malfunctions.

Feel free to go to elaborate lengths, but my pistol is a run-of-the-mill used pistol, and the barrel was the cheapest one I saw for sale. Everything works flawlessly.
 
I have the conversation barrel, and have full confidence when i‘m using the barrel. All I have done was purchase the 9mm magazines.

I have put thousands of 9mm through the weapon with zero issues. All while using the G-23 upper. I did not modify the upper.

I also have the .357 Sig barre again zero issues.
Did you change out the ejector, or are you still using the original G23 ejector?
 
Did you change out the ejector, or are you still using the original G23 ejector?
I still have the original G23 ejector and extractor on the pistol. I'm now thinking of switching them out for the G19 versions, and then using the 9mm conversion barrel I already have to see how reliability stacks up. I suppose if I can put a couple hundred rounds thru with no issues, it's likely safe enough. I already have several G19 mags, so I would be set to go.
 
Thousands of rounds thru my G22 and G23 with a 9mm barrel. Never had an issue. Only issues were ammo related and would have stopped any handgun.

Only thing I changed was the barrel. I guess you can start there. If you have feeding issues, switch to 9mm mags. If you have extraction issues, you can switch the extractor.

FYI, these are with gen 3 glocks
 
Conversion barrel and 9mm mags.

I personally also did the extractor. Ejector didn’t make sense to swap.

Used to be able to find naked slides for $99…..

A stock 9mm barrel absolutely works. I accidentally ordered one and shot about 2000 rounds through it before I realized it wasn’t a “conversion” barrel, saw no issues with accuracy nor unusual wear on either the barrel or slide. 40 mags work too, but felt as though the 9mm rounds were a little loosey goosey.
 
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Did you change out the ejector, or are you still using the original G23 ejector?
I didn’t need to change anything,

I change the barrel and use the Glock mags that’s all…..

Alpha Wolf-9mm barrel

Storm Lake -.357 Sig barrel
 
Well a G19 barrel in a G23 slide will definitely not be very accurate since the end of the barrel will have quite a bit of play. There is a 0.020" difference in diameter between the two. An OEM G19 barrel measures 0.570" at the muzzle while a G23 barrel measures 0.590" at the muzzle. Plus the G19 barrels are narrower at the back of the hood where it fits into the slide. The G19 barrel is 0.392" wide and the G23 barrel is 0.430" wide. Again this can/will cause some play in the barrel.

Yes, technically you can use a G19 barrel in a G23 slide and it will function. But it is like shooting .380 in a 9mm barrel, it will work but it won't be very accurate.

And the size differences will keep you from putting a G23 barrel into a G19 slide.

As far as extractors go, there is no need to change the 40 S&W extractor out when using a conversion barrel. Most quality conversion barrels have the chamber slightly offset to make up the difference.

When it comes to the ejector, again no need to change them out either. The Gen 4/5 9mm ejectors are really close in shape to the Gen 3 40/357 ejectors.

When it comes to magazines, some people get by with using the G23 mags with 9mm and others do not. Only way you will know is to try.

To each their own. I am only trying to help so that the OP has a safe and fully functioning and accurate pistol.
 
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I specifically looked for a deal on a used G22 in order to convert it to 9mm. Found a 4th gen police trade-in with bright night sites that looked unfired for $300 OTD. I ordered a 9mm conversion barrel from Midway for $150. I already have a couple of G19's with several G17 magazines for spares. I think $450 for a like new pistol that I can shoot either 40 or 9mm is a deal.

9mm ammo worked OK in the 40 S&W magazines with 10 rounds or less in them. Loaded with more and I got a few jams. Mine is extremely accurate with the 9mm barrel, much more so than the factory 40 S&W barrel. I'd trust mine for SD.

I don't envision using the 40 S&W barrel much, but it's nice to have it. Against 2 legged predators there is zero difference in effectiveness.
 
Any Glock style gun not in a "factory original" configuration can have feeding, ejecting or similar issues. Putting a new slide on a G23 does not really make it more trustworthy than a 9mm conversion barrel. Fire enough ammo through the gun with the conversion barrel to see if it is trustworthy. If not, then do something (relace ejector is one item) to see if the problem can be corrected.

Another option is to use the 9mm barrel for practice and the 40 barrel for the actual defensive role.

I have a 3D printed Glock 19/23 lower built into a gun with a low cost G23 gun kit. It is very reliable with both a 40 S&W barrel and a 9mm conversion barrel. I also have a very similar setup with a 9mm conversion barrel used with a G22 gun kit & 3D printed frame. Although I shoot the full sized gun much better, I do get occasional jams where fired cases are not ejected clear. My son has a a number of G17 style guns with mix & match parts. Most are pretty reliable, but some required work to get them that way.

If you really want to go down the replacement slide path, I am not sure that going for a higher price point will do that much to improve assurance of good function. Going with a "plain" version should be adequate and much less costly. I would guess that for you, it would be a good idea to make sure that you are dealing with an outfit that has a good return policy. Inspect the heck out of it before firing it, then fire it a lot soon after getting it. If it does not work out, do not hold onto it.
 
I would like some advice before jumping in and buying a complete Glock 19 Gen 3 upper and ejector for my Gen 3 Glock 23. I bought my Glock about 6 years ago for home defense, and settled on the G23 because back then the FBI had switched to the 40 S&W round, figuring they must have had a good reason. But, looking back I regretted not getting the G19. I'm getting on in years, and don't really want to buy a new or used G19. So, I've been thinking about converting my G23 to 9mm with a new complete upper (from Brownell's) and ejector. (I know I can buy a 9mm conversion barrel, and already have one, but I'm not convinced I can count on it in a home defense event.)
Questions: (1) Is it really worth it (total conversion cost will be about $360+/-); and, (2) Will I likely experience feeding/ejection problems since it's not a factory G19?

For the cost your conversion you can almost buy a Gen 3 19 .... And have no problems with it.
 
This is a Puerto Rico Policia trade in Glock 22 with the RTF2 frame. I added a Brownells 9mm conversion barrel, a 9mm extractor and use 9mm Glock 17 magazines. It’s been flawless for me for a couple of years. :thumbup:

IMG_0719.jpeg IMG_0721.jpeg IMG_0720.jpeg

IMHO, I agree with the others above; you don’t need to buy a second complete 9mm slide/barrel/spring set up to convert a G-22/23 to 9mm. It’s just an added expense that you really don’t need to spend.

Stay safe.
 
Personally, I would stick with the Men's Calibre if you can handle it. It's more effective. Pay no attention to the 9mm weakies.

I'm assuming the thinking here is ammo cost? Based upon online prices as of today, there's a $5/box difference between 9mm and .40 practice loads. You will break even for the cost of the conversion after 3,600 rounds.

The extractor, spring and bearing are different between 9mm G19 and .40 G23, as is the ejector. If you want a factory-spec reliable pistol, just dropping an aftermarket "conversion barrel" doesn't cut it. Certainly not for a firearm to stake your life on.

Replacing the entire sear housing is more convenient than removing/replacing the ejector. This is especially so if you are going to practice with 9mm and use .40 for serious purposes.
“Personally, I would stick with the Men's Calibre if you can handle it. It's more effective. Pay no attention to the 9mm weakies.”

Well said with zero f* given for political correctness.
 
I have a 9mm barrel for my 23 ..when or how I acquired it .. I don’t remember.. it works
I have a crap load of 9mm pistols .. so I doubt if I will ever use the barrel.. I’d like to trade it for a 357 Sig barrel
 
Thanks for all the input. Very much appreciate it. I decided to keep my Glock 23 as is. Giving it more thought, if the only real difference between the G19 and the G23 is a stronger kick from the more powerful 40 S&W round, I know can handle that. Add to that, I can probably buy a decent used G19 for nearly the same price as the complete slide/barrel assembly plus a G19 ejector. And, the larger mag capacity of the G19 vs. the G23 doesn't help when we're limited to a max of 10 rounds here in California. Again, thanks for all the great input and insight.
 
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Try out your conversion barrel if you haven't. I find the 9mm Glocks SIGNIFICANTLY more pleasant to shoot than the pre-gen 5 .40s. But I agree with your decision... for defensive use, a dedicated G19 (or stick with your G23) would be the right call.
 
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