EFK Firedragon Barrel report-BHP

[browningguy]

I bought a 9mm replacement barrel from them for one of my .40 BHP's so thought I would give a quick report. It's a long story, but I already had sights installed on this pistol for IDPA so wanted to try a 9mm barrel in it. These are made specifically for converting a .40 to 9mm and the lugs are so machined. As well as the barrel they thoughtfully provided a spare 9mm recoil spring in case I needed one.

First, the barrel looks great, inside is as smooth as any barrel I've ever seen, almost looks like it's already been lapped.

I've tried it in two different .40 slides and the lockup is at least as good, if not better, than the factory barrels. I only ran some of the cheapest Remington ammo through it tonight but was very pleased with the accuracy at IDPA type shooting.

I tired to run the .40 recoil spring as they suggested but the slide would not lock back. Swapped springs and that problem disappeared. I do have a problem with FTE's now, specifically seemed to be happening with an older 13round factory mag out of my competition model, and two new 13 round Mecgars. With the factory 10 rounders it ran fine. I'm going to try some different loads to see if it is ammo related, and change the mag spring on my older mag. Hopefully that fully solves the problem.

 

[BHPshooter]

Hmmm...

Please keep us updated -- I've long been tempted by the thought of getting a .40 BHP and putting a 9mm barrel in it.

Hopefully you'll get things sorted out in short order.

Something to remember -- I don't care what they say, BHPs like their ammo a little hotter. Was the Remington ammo you tried the UMC yellow box? If you can, stop somewhere that stocks their 100-pack 115-gr JHP in the green and white boxes. It's a touch hotter (but still in standard-pressure range), and might help with your function issues. You might even consider some +P stuff while you're at it.

Good luck!
Wes

 

[browningguy]

Yep, the UMC yellow box, they had the 250 packs on ale for $27 at Bass Pro.

I'll try the green box, thats what I shoot in my .40 HP's for range work. I was also thinking about perhaps a slightly heavier bullet, maybe a 124 gr. to see what it does. I don't ant to shoot +P's though, the whole reason was to tame it down a little for IDPA shooting, a couple of nights we run 120+ rounds in 2 hours. With a little arthritis in the hands it's starting to bother me.