GLOCK CONVERSION
- Thread starter johncross
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ugaarguy
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- Mar 19, 2006
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You'll need a 9mm barrel made specifically for use in a 40/357 guns to match the larger caliber slide's breech face. KKM is a well liked supplier of these. If this is for anything but range use you'll also want to change to a 9mm extractor for best reliability. Some folks have been able to use their 40 mags with 9mm, but 9mm mags are best. Hope that all helps.
Thanks UGAARGUY,it sure helped.
Following your advice I checked into Glockmeister.com in wich they sell this KKM conversion barrells,however they state this configuration should be use for practice and are is not intented for a defensive gun,any idea on why they say that?
Thanx again.
Following your advice I checked into Glockmeister.com in wich they sell this KKM conversion barrells,however they state this configuration should be use for practice and are is not intented for a defensive gun,any idea on why they say that?
Thanx again.
Kor
Member
I've done this with my Glock 23 and a Lone Wolf brand 9mm conversion barrel(www.lonewolfdist.com). I talked with Lone Wolf's jefe, J.R. Shepard when he first introduced them, and he said they had function-tested the barrels by just swapping them in without changing the extractor or ejector. They found an almost infinitesimal occurence of stoppages(something like 2 out of 10,000), so that's why they don't recommend the conversion be used for self-defense. Mine works great as long as I use 9mm G19 mags, since the 9mm extractor and ejector are both inexpensive and easy to install, I'll plug them in for extra peace of mind when shooting with the conversion barrel in an IDPA match.
I see, I thought they were saying that even if you change the extractor and ejector it was not to be used as a defense weapon,and I couldn't understand why.
Of course I will change those parts too.
Kar you use it for competition so I assume it works very well...
Of course I will change those parts too.
Kar you use it for competition so I assume it works very well...
HorseSoldier
Member
I think Barsto also does conversions for .40 cal Glocks to shoot 9mm.
Kor
Member
Clarification:
There is no difference in the feed ramp as far as I can tell, my gun will feed fine as long as I use 9mm mags to feed 9mm ammo from(my .40 mags didn't feed 9mm worth sour apples, but that's not what they were designed to do).
The difference is in the 9mm extractor getting a better bite on the 9mm case rim than the gun's original .40 extractor would, and in the 9mm ejector being angled inward to properly impinge on the 9mm case head as opposed to the .40 ejector, which is not angled to avoid the possibility of the ejector impinging on a live primer instead of the case head when clearing the chamber
(during the R&D of the G22/23, Glock found that this could happen with the then-standard G17/19 ejectors, hence the different .40 ejectors).
Basically, a .40S&W gun with the correct extractor and ejector for the original caliber MAY have a SLIGHT-but-undesirable chance of failing to extract or eject properly when the gun is fired with 9mm using a conversion barrel - hence the injunction to not use the gun in that configuration for self-defense. Installing the appropriate 9mm parts reduces that slight chance even further.
I don't see the .40 slide's wider breechface being a problem, because each 9mm round will self-center on the breechface as it is chambered(assuming that the conversion barrel is manufactured correctly, and the chamber is not off-center with respect to the firing-pin hole in the breechface).
That said, I still use the 9mm-converted gun only for practice and competition - not because of reliability concerns per se, but because I prefer .40S&W as a defensive caliber over 9mm. However, if circumstances were such that I were completely deprived of the correct .40S&W ammunition for the gun, I would convert it so that available 9mm ammunition could be used in extremis as a last resort for defensive purposes.
There is no difference in the feed ramp as far as I can tell, my gun will feed fine as long as I use 9mm mags to feed 9mm ammo from(my .40 mags didn't feed 9mm worth sour apples, but that's not what they were designed to do).
The difference is in the 9mm extractor getting a better bite on the 9mm case rim than the gun's original .40 extractor would, and in the 9mm ejector being angled inward to properly impinge on the 9mm case head as opposed to the .40 ejector, which is not angled to avoid the possibility of the ejector impinging on a live primer instead of the case head when clearing the chamber
(during the R&D of the G22/23, Glock found that this could happen with the then-standard G17/19 ejectors, hence the different .40 ejectors).Basically, a .40S&W gun with the correct extractor and ejector for the original caliber MAY have a SLIGHT-but-undesirable chance of failing to extract or eject properly when the gun is fired with 9mm using a conversion barrel - hence the injunction to not use the gun in that configuration for self-defense. Installing the appropriate 9mm parts reduces that slight chance even further.
I don't see the .40 slide's wider breechface being a problem, because each 9mm round will self-center on the breechface as it is chambered(assuming that the conversion barrel is manufactured correctly, and the chamber is not off-center with respect to the firing-pin hole in the breechface).
That said, I still use the 9mm-converted gun only for practice and competition - not because of reliability concerns per se, but because I prefer .40S&W as a defensive caliber over 9mm. However, if circumstances were such that I were completely deprived of the correct .40S&W ammunition for the gun, I would convert it so that available 9mm ammunition could be used in extremis as a last resort for defensive purposes.
Kor
Member
Johncross, you're welcome - just quit calling me dirty names(like "expert")...
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