glock 23; .357 sig conversion ???; defense load ???

[kmrcstintn]

after careful consideration, I decided to include a semiauto in my CCW options; after wearing my Beretta 92FS around the hunting camp while doing chores a few times, I decided to go with a lighter weight semiauto; went to my favorite shop intending to get a polymer frame 9mm, but came home with a Glock 23 in .40 S&W after getting some good feedback from some shop personnel;

the owner who serves as a voluntary deputy for the PA Game Commission was a Glock hater; since then the PA Game Commission has issued Glocks in .357 Sig (salaried personnel are issued & deputies buy their own); the deputies have the option to buy & use the compact & subcompact variants as long as they can qualify with them; he now owns a Glock 31, 32, and 33 and is very happy with the .357 Sig after shooting fresh road kill deer carcasses for terminal performance testing (carcass is hung with an old ballistics vest on back side to stop thru-n-thru bullets);

the 'elder' salesperson is a die hard wheelie fan like me; he bought a trade-in Glock 23 and is also very happy with his purchase; so after nearly 4 years without any .40 S&W semiauto, I plunged and traded my Beretta on a Glock 23; now I have a few ???'s;

I want to create a conversion kit to shoot .357 Sig...what do I need besides a barrel? do I need different mags? do I need a different recoil spring assembly?

defense load considerations...I'm a bit poor right now and leaning toward an economy (ie: not the latest designer hollowpoints) load to get started with; I have decided to use 180gr loads; I have picked up a Remington UMC 180gr jhp value pack at Wally World; I also bought a box of older Fiocchi 180gr jhp (before I went to Walmart); the Remington jhp looks very menacing; would you hesitate to use these loads in a pinch?

thanks

 

[platform]

for 23 .40 to .357 conversion
I believe barrel is all you need
(I know for sure that for sig 229 it is all you need)
I am sure a quick net search will result in more
detailed description.

However, I think you sight adjustment will be off
as .357 bullets are printing differently ( I do not know
which way though)

as an example a glock 23 with 9mm conversion barrel
will print low (that is you center on the target, the bullet
holes will be lower)

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Legit question that I hope is on topic for this thread, I am not attempting a hijack here.... but would it be wise to ccw a "conversion" for self defense?

Myself I have a 9mm conversion for my XD40sc, it's been flawless but not sure I'd carry it for SD and I'm not knocking the 9mm cartridge.

 

[michiganfan]

All you need is the barrell. You can use your 23 mags with the 357 sig cartridge. That being said I would not trust a conversion as my carry gun. It is not 100 vper cent reliable. I say this from experince with my G23 and my Lone Wolf 357 Sig barrell.

 

[Arc-Lite]

...the only point to address, make sure your G23 is a 3rd generation with 3 pins on the grip...the 2 pin is said to be..not up to the conversion task. I shoot the 357 sig in a 40.... so far, 100% !!!

 

[zulu6]

Reliability problems? Nonsense.

100% all you need is a stock Glock 32 barrel. No new magazines, no new springs, no new parts. The 32 and the 23 are otherwise identical pistols. You will have zero reliability issues resulting from the switch. Glock intended for end users to have this option and is intentionally engineered into the design. But be sure to use a Glock factory barrel, no need for an after market brand. Look here:

http://glockparts.com/store/item/ghcx/Glock_Non-Comp/G-32_Barrel.html

 

[justinvoigts]

Best defense load

Hi how are you you should keep the glock 23 in 40 caliber i have a glock 23c but ended up disliking how the compensated barrel blackens my front sight so i switched it up with a lonewolf non compensated barrel. But listen up buddy go with the winchester ranger t series that is the best ammo for defense go to the winchester website do the research i did already. Most police depts carry the winchester ranger sxt which is the black talon without the black nose. I have some black talons myself but they are collectors items now. The ranger t series is a redesigned black talon the black talons is good but 20 yr old technology winchester needed to come up with better so they designed these. You can get them at mah supplies and g and r tactical they are less than 30 per 50 rd box i have 150 rds of 9mm for my sig 250 and 150 of 40 caliber for my glock and just ordered another 100 rds of 165gr 40 caliber. I just ordered the 165 gr because i had all 180 gr and the 165 gr travels at 100 ft per sec faster. Check it out O AND GET SOME 1000 GRIT SANDPAPER AND POLISH YOUR FEED RAMPS THIS HELPED ME WITH THE JAMS I GOT AT THE RANGE FROM UMC AMMO. THE 40 CAL AMMO IS ONLY 200 FPS LESS WAY BIGGER BULLET THAN THE 357SIG. REMEMBER IF IT IS A 1ST GENERATION GLOCK 23 A CONVERSION TO 357SIG WONT WORK GUN WILL FALL APART NOT REINFORCED ENOUGH ONLY 2ND OR 3RD GENERATION GLOCKS WILL WORK NOBODY TOLD YOU THAT CAUSE THEY DONT KNOW. PEOPLE TALK ABOUT STUFF THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT. EDUCATE YOURSELVES PEOPLE !

 

[Zerodefect]

All you need for a Gen3 Glock 23 is the barrel from Glock for the 32.

Might want to look into a 20 pound recoil spring and steel rod. The 23 and 32 are a bit undersprung with the 18 pound stock spring. Will help that feed problem some. Allthough Rem UMC deosn't feed well in any of my guns.

.357 is a fine round and is worth having a barrel for. Eveybit as effective as .40

Stick to Speer lawman, Rem Goldemsaber, Win Ranger T for carry ammo.

 

[Jed Carter]

Besides it's flat trajectory and similar ballistics to the proven .357 magnum, the real benefit to the .357 SIG is that the tapered cartridge virtually eliminates all failure to feed problems. A .355 bullet into a .40 chamber, fits every time. I have shot many different factory loads and have yet to have any feed issues with the .357 SIG, unlike 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP.

 

[Runningman]

I would have bought the G32 if that is what you wanted.

The Glock factory barrel for the 357 Sig is more expensive than the Glock 40 S&W barrel. Glock 357 Sig barrels have been hard to get for six months. Most places are out of stock. Aftermarket conversion barrels are not always as reliable as the Glock barrels from my experience with a few brands. The more expensive KKM barrels do seem to work well from my experience with them. But they cost more than a Glock barrel.

do I need different mags?

In a word Yes. Contrary to what I keep reading on so many posts Glock 357 Sig and 40 S&W magazines are different. Glock uses a unique magazine follower on the 357 Sig magazines, you should buy Glock Magazines for the 357 Sig for best reliability as they have their own part numbers compared to Glock 40 S&W magazines.

Glock keeps changing the magazine followers on the 40 S&W currently they are up to #8 follower at least the last latest and greatest I looked at were #8. Not all of the 40 S&W followers play nice with the 357 Sig all the time. In case you are interested 40 S&W magazine followers #6,#7,#8 are not interchangeable with #5 and below magazine bodys.

do I need a different recoil spring assembly?

No The recoil spring is the same on the G23 and the G32.