TruthTellers
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These are the two biggest brands out there for aftermarket Glock barrels. One brand normally costs less than the other. Do you notice much of a difference in quality or performance with either?
Lone Wolf vs Storm Lake Glock barrels
- Thread starter TruthTellers
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1KPerDay
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Both work for me, but my Storm Lake is more accurate in my testing. At least in .40. I have a LW barrel for G19 and it's not particularly accurate but it may be me. I haven't shot either pistol from a ransom rest to really test it out.
bannockburn
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I have a Storm Lake barrel and it's been great. Very well made and nicely finished; for a drop-in barrel it's an excellent fit.
I remember reading where LW barrels used to have tighter chambers. But they loosened them up after too many complaints. A lot of the buyers want the aftermarket barrel because they think they need one to shoot cast bullets, and tight chambers were causing problems for their reloads.
My Glock 40/45 stock barrels have nice and tight chambers** and shoot noticeably better than any of my Glock 9's. I have never used a Storm Lake.
If you want flawless functioning with the first oversized reloads you happen to make, then LW might be the bees knees. If you want the best chance for a highly accurate barrel with a tight chamber, I think Storm Lake caters more to that end of dimensions. The actual machining tolerances of either, who knows? My LW appears flawlessly machined, perfect rifling/bore, and the OD properly sized to the slide... and the chamber flawlessly cut to be rather large. They each have their market and are priced accordingly. Not that a Storm Lake will necessarily be more accurate than a stock barrel. My 40/45 stock Glock barrels are among the most accurate of any of my handguns, and they especially shoot cast bullets well.
At the time I bought the LW, it was perfect for me. I just wanted to shoot cheap cast reloads, and it served its purpose in exchange for a single C note. But as I progressed in reloading, I'm able to shoot cheap cast reloads out of stock Glock barrels with better accuracy and even less fouling (practically no fouling/cleaning, whatsoever). So I don't use it anymore. If a Storm Lake is even more accurate than a stock barrel, I don't think I'd be able to notice in 40/45. Maybe in 9.
*This is based on the size of bullet + thickness of brass + OAL + amount of crimp I can use (or not use) and still have the rounds drop in the chamber.
**My stock Glock 40 barrel is so tight I can't load a 401 bullet in several of my headstamps of brass. I have to screen out the thicker cases. They'll fit with enough crimp, but then there's no room for the crimp to open up, and the bullets get shaved on the way out to where they don't fill the bore. Fouling and poor accuracy ensues. (Perhaps it's partly that the bore of this barrel is a tad on the large side, in addition to a tight chamber.) All my Glock and LW 9 chambers are so loose, I can load 358 bullets to a ridiculous OAL with my thickest brass and not even bother to remove all of the flare. But accuracy is pretty good, just not great (other than the LW, which is actually a bit disappointing); and there's no gross fouling even with 356 bullets... so in this case it's the chamber that is loose. I wonder if LW is copying Glock dimensions vs they're this loose in all calibers. My stock 45 barrel is just perfect with cast or jacketed. It takes a firm crimp for the rounds to chamber, and the bore is tight enough to produce great accuracy, regardless of the thickness of the brass.
FWIW, all my 9mm Glock barrels are loose in the chamber/leade,* and my LW 9mm barrel is cut very similarly. And my 9mm LW barrel is noticeably my least accurate Glock barrel.
My Glock 40/45 stock barrels have nice and tight chambers** and shoot noticeably better than any of my Glock 9's. I have never used a Storm Lake.
If you want flawless functioning with the first oversized reloads you happen to make, then LW might be the bees knees. If you want the best chance for a highly accurate barrel with a tight chamber, I think Storm Lake caters more to that end of dimensions. The actual machining tolerances of either, who knows? My LW appears flawlessly machined, perfect rifling/bore, and the OD properly sized to the slide... and the chamber flawlessly cut to be rather large. They each have their market and are priced accordingly. Not that a Storm Lake will necessarily be more accurate than a stock barrel. My 40/45 stock Glock barrels are among the most accurate of any of my handguns, and they especially shoot cast bullets well.
At the time I bought the LW, it was perfect for me. I just wanted to shoot cheap cast reloads, and it served its purpose in exchange for a single C note. But as I progressed in reloading, I'm able to shoot cheap cast reloads out of stock Glock barrels with better accuracy and even less fouling (practically no fouling/cleaning, whatsoever). So I don't use it anymore. If a Storm Lake is even more accurate than a stock barrel, I don't think I'd be able to notice in 40/45. Maybe in 9.
*This is based on the size of bullet + thickness of brass + OAL + amount of crimp I can use (or not use) and still have the rounds drop in the chamber.
**My stock Glock 40 barrel is so tight I can't load a 401 bullet in several of my headstamps of brass. I have to screen out the thicker cases. They'll fit with enough crimp, but then there's no room for the crimp to open up, and the bullets get shaved on the way out to where they don't fill the bore. Fouling and poor accuracy ensues. (Perhaps it's partly that the bore of this barrel is a tad on the large side, in addition to a tight chamber.) All my Glock and LW 9 chambers are so loose, I can load 358 bullets to a ridiculous OAL with my thickest brass and not even bother to remove all of the flare. But accuracy is pretty good, just not great (other than the LW, which is actually a bit disappointing); and there's no gross fouling even with 356 bullets... so in this case it's the chamber that is loose. I wonder if LW is copying Glock dimensions vs they're this loose in all calibers. My stock 45 barrel is just perfect with cast or jacketed. It takes a firm crimp for the rounds to chamber, and the bore is tight enough to produce great accuracy, regardless of the thickness of the brass.
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redbullitt
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Storm lake in 9mm and 45 here. Honestly i wish they were a bit looser in the chamber for my purposes, but other than that they have been fine.
TruthTellers
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Seems like most like their Storm Lake's. I'm intent on getting a threaded 9mm conversion barrel for a G35 and only Lone Wolf makes such a thing. Even if Storm Lake groups .5" tighter than Lone Wolf, I don't think I'll notice much difference between the two offhand at 15-20 yards.
I have a standard length Lonewolf and 6" KKM barrels for a G20sf. Mostly handloads, including 200gr WFNs, and there haven't been any issues, going on 2,000 rounds.
Had the same setup on a G20, same round count etc., and no barrel related issues.
Had the same setup on a G20, same round count etc., and no barrel related issues.
atblis
Member
There are more options than just those two
KKM
Bar-Sto
Briley
Wilson Combat
Lone Wolf (regular and now Alpha)
Palmetto State Armory (not sure who's making these for them)
ZEV
EFK
Stormlake
ATI
AAC
SILENCERCO
etc.
KKM for drop in and Bar-Sto fitted get my vote, though I do have several LoneWolf barrels as there so cheap it's hard to pass them up.
KKM
Bar-Sto
Briley
Wilson Combat
Lone Wolf (regular and now Alpha)
Palmetto State Armory (not sure who's making these for them)
ZEV
EFK
Stormlake
ATI
AAC
SILENCERCO
etc.
KKM for drop in and Bar-Sto fitted get my vote, though I do have several LoneWolf barrels as there so cheap it's hard to pass them up.
Hangingrock
Member
After market barrels Bar-Sto either fitted or semi drop in and KKM true drop in. My experience with Lone Wolf was negative and not to be repeated again.
LiveLife
Member
I use both KKM and Lone Wolf 9mm/40S&W barrels in my Glocks.
All the barrels have been true drop in and produced comparable accuracy with factory barrels using jacketed bullets. With plated/lead/coated lead bullets, especially with lead bullets, KKM/LW barrels produced greater accuracy with slight edge going to KKM.
While most aftermarket barrels have 1:16 twist rate, KKM uses slower 1:20 twist rate that I believe attributes to greater accuracy and more compatible with lead bullets - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9939860#post9939860
Glock - 1:9.84
Bar-Sto - 1:16
Briley - 1:16
KKM - 1:20
Lone Wolf - 1:16
Storm Lake - 1:16
Wilson Combat - 1:16 (used to be 1:10)
Like with Glock barrels with longer leade, my KKM barrel has freebore cut before the leade/start of rifling and LW barrel came reamed from Lone Wolf and will accommodate longer than SAAMI max lengths so when loading for accuracy with both barrels, I use longer OAL/COL. Groove diameter for both barrels range .355"-.356".
All the barrels have been true drop in and produced comparable accuracy with factory barrels using jacketed bullets. With plated/lead/coated lead bullets, especially with lead bullets, KKM/LW barrels produced greater accuracy with slight edge going to KKM.
While most aftermarket barrels have 1:16 twist rate, KKM uses slower 1:20 twist rate that I believe attributes to greater accuracy and more compatible with lead bullets - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9939860#post9939860
Glock - 1:9.84
Bar-Sto - 1:16
Briley - 1:16
KKM - 1:20
Lone Wolf - 1:16
Storm Lake - 1:16
Wilson Combat - 1:16 (used to be 1:10)
Like with Glock barrels with longer leade, my KKM barrel has freebore cut before the leade/start of rifling and LW barrel came reamed from Lone Wolf and will accommodate longer than SAAMI max lengths so when loading for accuracy with both barrels, I use longer OAL/COL. Groove diameter for both barrels range .355"-.356".
My KKM and LW barrels have comparable chamber dimensions with Glock chamber being slightly larger with similar case base support. Both KKM/LW chambers will not accept rounds loaded with larger than .357" sized 9mm bullets.GLOOB said:
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Interesting. Maybe they have played around with their dimensions a bit. Or maybe their tolerances are just what they are. I know reamers wear out and chamber dimensions change with the reamer.
I have to admit, my LW barrel (lack of) accuracy is so noticeable, I actually sent it back. They checked it out and returned it as in spec.
NorthGeorgiaHunter
Member
I had a LW. I made my G20 not function correctly. After I bought it I found out they are not US made. I sold it for a fraction of what I gave for it and put the OEM barrel back in. It never malfunctions. I will never own another LW product. Their customer service was terrible as well. Stick with the Glock barrel.
OilyPablo
Member
I have a variety of LW barrels and a LW 20 Longslide. Their parts are definitely not plug and play. Require gunsmithing and troubleshooting to make reliable. That said, it's worth it for the lower cost and the fact they leave them in maximum material condition. I always have to clean the chambers up to make them reliable. With the 10mm Longslide getting recoil spring match was tough, and the slide was slamming the frame. Got it running. Even shoots 9X25 quite accurately. Learned a lot.
All this said I'm keen to try other barrels as well. LW barrels are at least as accurate as Glock barrels for me, but if the others are better, I may see what they offer in 6"+ 10mm.
All this said I'm keen to try other barrels as well. LW barrels are at least as accurate as Glock barrels for me, but if the others are better, I may see what they offer in 6"+ 10mm.
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