Interceptor Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Hey guys/gals, Searched and found this thread - http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...l=glock+barrels , but it didn't address my specific concerns. I currently am shooting limited with a .40 STI. I am a cop and carry a Glock 22, which I shoot A LOT (gotta make up for the officers that don't ) I have access to a lot of training ammo also - we shoot Speer Gold Dot for quals and practice. The thing is, I would like to use all that once fired nice nickel brass to reload for my STI. I know that the unsupported chamber of my duty Glock barrel makes reloading not as safe overall, as the brass from a supported chamber, even though there are solutions to make it work. I also don't want to hammer my STI using that powerful short OAL duty ammo all the time. Soooo, my question is, could a drop in fully supported barrel, say from Bar-Sto or KKM, be used interchangeably in my duty gun with no ill effects to either one? My duty gun is brand new, as of a couple months. And when I say interchangebly, I mean switch barrel, shoot practice session and then drop back in duty barrel....rinse and repeat. Also, are they completely drop-in, i.e. no gunsmithing, as my dept doesn't allow it. Thank you very much for you help in advance! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interceptor Posted April 11, 2004 Author Share Posted April 11, 2004 P.S.....By "ill effects", I talking about uneven wear or peening while using the drop in barrel which would then affect the fit and/or function of the duty barrel, or vise versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I have been switching aftermarket/factory barrels back and forth for quite a few years now and have had no problems that I have encountered. I have a Bar-Sto in my G20 and KKM's in both my G24 and G22. I had to fit my Bar-Sto(I think they have a drop in now?) but both KKM's dropped right in and have been great barrels that I reccomend to someone looking for an aftermarket barrel. Neal in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chp5 Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 You can also use a Lee Factory Crimp die when reloading. It will completely resize the brass and get rid of the Glock "bulge." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 1(*), You should easily be able to do the barrel swap with an aftermarket barrel. If you're having problems re-sizing the bulge, I've had excellent success with just grinding down my Dillon die so that it goes lower on the case. E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 As I understand it, gunsmith fit barrels are fitted by working on the barrel, leaving the rest of the gun as is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interceptor Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 Thanks for the info everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 If you are going to reload 40...chances are...you will be using "Glock brass" at some point (more often than not?). Might as well expect to deal with it from the start. I would change the stock Glock barrel if I were going to be shooting lead. Other than that...I'd look to stick with the stock barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 First there is no such thing as a fully supported barrel. I fire thousands of rounds of reloaded .40 through my stock barrel. Most of my brass has been shot through a Glock. Then again what do I know? I shoot lead bullets through a stock Glock barrel. I find a lot less leading in the stock barrel than I do in an aftermarket barrel. The barrel manufacturers have made a lot of profit with the unsupported chamber/lead bullet myths. Keep your stock barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 First there is no such thing as a fully supported barrel. I fire thousands of rounds of reloaded .40 through my stock barrel. Most of my brass has been shot through a Glock. Then again what do I know? I shoot lead bullets through a stock Glock barrel. I find a lot less leading in the stock barrel than I do in an aftermarket barrel. The barrel manufacturers have made a lot of profit with the unsupported chamber/lead bullet myths. Keep your stock barrel. you might find this interesting Glocks recalled Maybe it isn't a myth, and these were 45's not 40's (which I've seen 3 go boom.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 It's no myth. In fact, I'll bet I picked the leftover casings from one of the suspect guns. I love Glock, but Glock has an undenyable QC issue with the way it's barrels are ramped in larger calibers - most are fine, some are absolutely dangerous. You can identify the suspect barrels by inspecting the brass with the naked eye - no instrumentation required. Those chambers are waaaay undercut and produce grotesquely bulged cases. I wish I could have found the cop while he/she was shooting and warned him/her. Unfortunately, I never met up with the agency while they were on the range. I guess I should have left a note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Let's see I have seen a Sig, Les Baer 1911, Ruger .44 Super Blackhawk and a Mod 29 Smith blow up. I found the remains of a .40 case at the range last week that was blown up. Guess what the firing pin mark was round. I think if we looked closer at the instances of Glocks blow ups we would find in 99.99% of the time it was ammo related. I have been around some of the LE experts and came away underimpressed. The range in Atlanta that I used has numerous Glocks in their rental fleet. I have seen Glock 22s with over 300,000 rounds through them. You would think if there was an issue with kabooms it would occur there. BTW 90% of the ammo used in them is reloaded by Atlanta Arms. Most Glock kabooms were seen by someone's uncle, whose friend's brother heard about it from his cousin, whose dad saw it happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Forgot to mention Mr. Speir is well known as a Glock hater. I put little faith in anything he has to say or report. Eric, I guess you are talking about .40 and larger cases. I buy my brass from Brassman. Most of it has been fired through Glocks. I have never had a problem sizing the cases. I do not have special dies, just standard RCBS in my 550. The only brass I have had a problem with looked to have been fired in a Sig. They are so oversize that the case looks like a belted case when I size it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Come on Cy you need to chime in here. I feel like the Lone Ranger defending Glocks against the Great Unwashed Masses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 The internet is filled with posts debating the Kaboom stories. We don't need to go through all of that here (again and again). Let's get back on topic. The question was asked drop in barrels for a Glock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Eric, I guess you are talking about .40 and larger cases. I buy my brass from Brassman. Most of it has been fired through Glocks. I have never had a problem sizing the cases. [Close up the wrong topic mode ON] Generally, you won't have a problem sizing cases. I'm talking about two very isolated instances with LE guns in the PDX area. Never have seen it again. I load once fired Glock brass all the time. I just sample inspect to see if my cases are coming from an out of spec gun. [Thread related passage] The reason I belabored the "wrong" point is that *some* (very few) people may well have justification for swapping out their Glock barrel (or another make) with an aftermarket barrel. I wish I kept some samples of what I'm talking about (I normally reflexively throw out any brass with huge bulges.) [/Thread related passage] And yes, all the severe bulged brass instances I have seen are with 40 and 45. It all depends on the tolerances of the particular barrel that you are shooting. And yes, this issue occurs with ALL makes of handguns. Even my STI bulges the brass slightly. The "phenomenon" is most associated with Glocks because Glock probably outsells every other maker by 5 to 1 (or more). I think that the real problem is that people who don't reload and never inspect their brass. It only takes a minute or two to police up samples of your brass and realize that you have a problem on your hands. The effect isn't subtle. If your handgun barrel (no matter what make) is allowing your brass to overstress, by all means do what it takes to change it. Now back to the topic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 If you will look at 1* first post he expressed a fear he has about firing his G22 with the unsupported chamber. I was attempting to put aside those fears by explaining that Glocks do not blow up any more often than other guns. There are just a lot more Glocks out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chp5 Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Come on Cy you need to chime in here. I feel like the Lone Ranger defending Glocks against the Great Unwashed Masses. As long as I use the Lee Factory Crimp die, I have no problems with .40 brass and Glocks. The only issue I've ever had was traced to "operator error" in a max load 9mm that I loaded too short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now