Glock barrel: Wilson Combat, Bar-Sto, Storm Lake or factory?

[Big Bad Bob]

Question:

What are yalls thoughts concerning replacement barrels for glocks? Yes it is an added bonus to shoot cast, but does it actually improve accuracy?

Is there that much difference in Wilson Combat, StormLake,Bar-Sto or the factory barrel?

This is concerning replacement barrels not conversion barrels.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I've had a bunch of Glocks and never noticed much need for a non-conversion barrel. The factory barrels always seemed better suited to the task than I was. (Said differently, they're pretty accurate.)

If you must have a top-notch barrel, I'd argue that the only real choice is Bar-Sto... http://www.barsto.com/category_main.cfm?ID=GLOCK They don't come cheap, and will probably need gunsmith fitting.

 

[Hangingrock]

I have used both BarSto and KKM. The BarSto requires minor fitting while the KKM is a true drop in. I have never had a complaint with the KKM barrels and continue to use them.

 

[isaiahc]

I like my factory original

I have a GLock 17L.. the factory original barrel (not ported) can shoot 1" MOA @ 25 yards, I'm not kidding either. I have to lean against something to do it but it will, If I had a vice I'd bet it would be better. Although it would be nice to have a stainless barrel that I didn't have to worry about corroding as much I don't even think twice about how good the factory original is as it's better than my aim.

So I guess I would weigh in on price differences? How much more or less expensive are the others and what are you getting for that price because the factory original was a pretty decent deal to begin with. If I opt for something better it would probably be stainless steel.

 

[GLOOB]

If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

The stock barrels are forged over a mandrel. This makes stock Glock barrels more consistent than any aftermarket barrel you can buy, no matter how much money you want to spend.

The polygonal rifling gives higher velocity than any button cut barrel of the same length.

The tennifer finish makes the barrel last forever without wearing or corroding.

Yes it is an added bonus to shoot cast,

Only if you don't know how to load cast. If you know what you're doing, the stock barrel shoots cast better than any button cut barrel.

If you have an aftermarket barrel hand-fitted, you might get some increased accuracy, or you might not. More than likely you might get increased accuracy with certain loads, and decreased accuracy with others. IOW, you get a different barrel. And that's not necessarily good or bad. If accuracy is all you are concerned with, test accuracy, first. If the gun already shoots great groups, you ought to leave it alone.

Personally, the only aftermarket barrels I have ever touched for a Glock are conversion barrels; and I have never found one to increase accuracy. I would pay more to have a Glock barrel, if they ever decide to make conversion and/or extended/threaded barrels.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Glock after market barrels....

I own a Glock(21 .45acp gen 04). I looked into after market Glock barrels.
The KKM barrel is impressive. The barrel designs from EFK Firedragon, Storm Lake, Jarvis, LoneWolf Dist etc are good too but if you plan to shoot lead bullets or cast load ammunition, Id get a LoneWolf Dist barrel. Several sources have noted minor improvements to the LoneWolf Dist Glock barrels.
EFK Firedragons look good but most Glock barrels are now out of stock. The firm has a few complaints & business problems too, .
I might buy a new KKM after market Glock barrel later this year but I'm not in a big rush.

 

[Bongo Boy]

I have not used any of the barrels you mention other than the factory barrel, and have installed LWD barrels in by G29 and G20. I've seen no difference in accuracy and no difference in leading shooting cast. The LWD barrels are definitely more fussy about what they feed as far as handloads, and do provide some additional case support.

While carefully inspecting my Glock factory barrels just yesterday, it was noteworthy to me that I can see little significant difference in the appearance of the bore between them and the aftermarket 'conventional' rifling barrels I have--other than that the factory lands appear to have a uniform radius to them in section, and are significantly smoother-looking than the more traditional rectangular cross-section lands of the LWD. There is nothing about them I'd ever classify as 'polygonal' in the least--and nothing out of the ordinary about them other than the lovely smooth, rounded contour of the lands. They are land-and-groove barrels, like any other I've ever seen, but with about the smoothest finish of any I've had.

In looking at my stock G29 barrel, I DO see some minor fouling at about 1: from the muzzle of the barrel, and it could be lead fouling. I would call it extremely minor, to the point I'm not willing to say it's even leading. As far as I know, I've never taken a bore brush to the barrel, and I'm not even certain I've ever cleaned it at all, although I probably have. It has had about 5,000 rounds of cast bullets through it--give or take a 1,000.

I pay no attention to the composition of my lead bullets--I cast from whatever I have on hand, and I have never measured lead hardness. I do generally take a bore brush to my barrels, once or twice a year whether they need it or not. I do look at them carefully, though, and I must say, this Glock stock barrel is one of the nicest looking I've had in terms of bore finish. My M&P barrels are significantly worse, my Sig P220 barrel maybe a bit better.

I likely won't ever buy an aftermarket barrel from anyone for a Glock other than to protect my brass a bit better--I simply don't see any other reason to. My biggest concern at the moment, by far, is that I leave an after market barrel in my G29 when I carry it, through forgetfulness. My concern for carry is about 'feeding', not accuracy, and I have nothing to indicate my LWD barrels make me shoot more accurately.

Anyway--the fit and external finish of my two LWD barrels is excellent, IMO, but I have no experience with the Storm Lake or Barsto products.

 

[tarosean]

If your just going to buy a one size fits all drop in barrel you likely wont notice any real improvement.

Need a barrel custom fitted to your gun to notice real differences...

Im running a Briley in my 17.

Ordered a threaded Barsto for my Limited G22 recently.. but havent had a chance to put it through its paces..

 

[Captain33036]

I have run Storm Lake and Lone Wolf barrels through a G17 and G 19. Compared side by side with the stock barrels. I think the after market barrels have a slight edge in accuracy.

At first, I would have suggested SL, but the RUMOR is now that they have widened the chamber a bit to accommodate customers that are reloading lead ammo (RUMOR is that the company got customer complaints that the chambers were too tight).

Currently, I run a threaded LW barrel in a G17 now with a Carver compensator, and am very satisfied. This is for a just for fun gun, and possibly Steel Challenge.

I fit a Bar Sto barrel in a SIG P226 and it is a target gun (also changed the sights out, grip, and put in a new hammer strut and reduced power mainspring. Polished internals).

I got the Bar Sto when it was in stock at Brownells. Otherwise, a 12 week wait (and even their semi drop ones MUST be fit). LW, SL and KKM are usually in stock.

Since a SL barrel is $160 and a KKM is $160, for a drop in barrel, I would go with a KKM, especially if getting the most accuracy you can, is the goal.

If not shooting BE or for a threaded barrel for something like Steel Challenge, I would go with a LW, for the price.

Hope this helps

J

 

[Storm]

I have used Lone Wolf barrels and have been very pleased. I'm about to acquire a nine inch barrel for a G17 and will not hesitate to go with Lone Wolf.

 

[Captain33036]

Storm - when you get a 9 inch barrel for your Glock, would you consider posting a review? I would be very interested. Accuracy, change in POI, etc.
Thanks!

Hijack over

 

[LiveLife]

What are yalls thoughts concerning replacement barrels for glocks? Yes it is an added bonus to shoot cast, but does it actually improve accuracy?

Glock lists barrel twist rate of 1 in 9.84" for their barrels except 1:15.75" for 45ACP/45GAP and 1:15.98" for 357Sig. Most aftermarket barrels now run 1:16 twist rate except for KKM which has slower twist rate of 1:20:

Bar-Sto - 1:16
Briley - 1:16
KKM - 1:20
Lone Wolf - 1:16
Storm Lake - 1:16
Wilson Combat - 1:16 (was 1:10)

I use KKM and Lone Wolf 40S&W replacement and 9mm conversion barrels in my Glocks and depending on the bullet/powder charge, KKM barrel has produced slightly more accurate shot groups for me. - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=745656

You asked about replacement barrel and accuracy improvement. I think accuracy improvement will depend on the bullet type and number of rounds fired. IMO you will get greater accuracy from aftermarket barrels with lead loads. Both KKM and Lone Wolf barrels will remain clean without leading using various commercial lead bullets even after 500+ rounds and maintain accuracy, which is a key difference for me where factory barrels will start to build fouling along the rifling after 200-300+ lead rounds which will start to decrease accuracy (depending on the bullet/lube used, fouling build up will start even after only 100+ rounds).

With jacketed/plated loads, IMO I don't think accuracy improvement over factory barrels is significant or noticeable.

 

[M1key]

KKM chamber is tighter than factory in my G20 and minimizes case bulges with hotter loads. Shoots more consistent groups as a result.

The G22 and G35 both shoot better with KKM barrels than factory barrels using WWB FMJ and Speer Gold Dot 180 HPs. Barsto was a bit tight for my G24 long slide. Feed issues, so I sold it. I'm sure I shot better with it though when it worked.

No significant change in 357 Sig (Briley) or KKM 9mm chamberings.

The LoneWolf in 45 ACP was too tight and caused feed issues with anything but factory FMJ.

M

 

[PO2Hammer]

I like KKM. Excellent quality and perfect drop in fit.
In .40 and 10mm the KKM was noticeably more accurate with plated bullets. The stock barrels don't seem to shoot plated that accurately in those calibers. With jacketed bullets I saw no difference.

 

[Elkins45]

I have a couple of Storm Lake and a couple of Lone Wolf for my G20, and a Storm Lake for my G33. My experience has been that the Storm Lake barrels are both more accurate and somewhat more reliable. I have an extended 10mm G20 Lone Wolf barrel that has a really tight chamber with a really short throat. Ammo that fits and feeds in the stock barrel, and in my S&W 10mm won't allow the slide to close with the LW barrel installed.

 

[omcf]

Just to be sure, if I get a ported barrel, about an inch longer than the factory barrel on a glock27, the flames won't jack up the front of the pistol or anything, right?

 

[SDGlock23]

I doubt you'll see any real improvement in accuracy since the stock barrel is more accurate than we are although in a ransom rest you might. I use KKM barrels, the better case support extends case life and the traditional rifling makes cleaning out lead easier.

 

[sauer1911]

I put a Wilson combat barrel in my 2nd gen Glock 17. It is very accurate.

Then I found Bayou Bullets, with a 150gr coated lswc projectile. They shoot from any barrel, including the polywog's that come with a glock.

Any who both barrels shoot more accurate than i can.

be safe.

 

[highlander 5]

Though I don't own a Glock I do have a Barsto drop in for my 92 fs. It has a 1 in16 twist better than for shooting cast bullets than the 1 in 10 factory barrel,add to that a match grade chamber and the pistol shoots better than I'm capable of shooting.

 

[GLOOB]

I would sure like to see some data on twist rate to see what difference it makes for accuracy and fouling under 100 yards and under 1800 fps.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Like others have said above, I bought KKM. Very mild fitting required. Just a few strokes of the file to get it to drop in with a near perfect fit. Excellent accuracy and fully supported in the G20.

 

[Hangingrock]

I have used Bar-Sto barrels which are a semi drop in my experience required minor fitting. My examples of KKM barrels are true drop in with no fitting required. Others may a differing experience in regards to KKM barrels.

 

[JDR]

I just had my Gen3 17 armored by my gunsmith. I brought up the subject of Glock aftermarket barrels. He told me that he can get a little better benchmarked Ransom Rest accuracy with no effect on reliability, using fitted KKM barrels. I actually get a little better accuracy with my CZ 75B, but that's another story!

 

[JFrame]

I have used both BarSto and KKM. The BarSto requires minor fitting while the KKM is a true drop in. I have never had a complaint with the KKM barrels and continue to use them.

Funny -- BarSto and KKM are the two companies I've used, on 9mm conversion barrels for my SIG 229 and Glock 27. I thought they both shot wonderfully accurately for me, but I can't make an absolute statement about accuracy improvement because I was switching calibers.

Also, maybe somewhat surprisingly, the function for both have been flawless with their respective guns (SIG/BarSto, Glock/KKM). I was one of the fortunate BarSto purchasers whose "semi drop-in" barrel worked fine with no additional smithing required (as Hangingrock notes, YMMV).

.

 

[Lycidas Janwor]

I've had a bunch of Glocks and never noticed much need for a non-conversion barrel. The factory barrels always seemed better suited to the task than I was. (Said differently, they're pretty accurate.)

If you must have a top-notch barrel, I'd argue that the only real choice is Bar-Sto... http://www.barsto.com/category_main.cfm?ID=GLOCK They don't come cheap, and will probably need gunsmith fitting.

Yah, if it's not a conversion barrel I'm not sure why you'd replace it? As for a conversion barrel, I'm a no-hassel guy, so I prefer a barrel that does not need any gunsmithing, that is, you can just drop it in.