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Smith and Wesson M&P


Gary Stevens

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I have an early M&P Pro in 9mm that came with the wrong twist barrel. I had the barrel replaced with a Storm Lake barrel, and while better, is still nothing to brag about.

Has anyone had Bar-Sto fit one of their barrels to an M&P?

We're you satisfied?

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The first aftermarket barrel I got for my MP9 pros was KKM and really loved it. 5 rounds @ 25 yard freestyle groups shrink from 5-6 inches to 3-4 inches consistently.

Then I wanted to try Bar-Sto as an experiment. I wasn't sure what to expect. It took them 6 weeks and $240 to make the barrel. Then I sent in my gun. I waited another 6 weeks for them to fit the barrel. The final bill after about 3 months was $530 (barrel + fitting + shipping back to me). It's an expensive experiment indeed.

The accuracy is better than KKM for sure. 5 rounds @ 25 yard freestyle I was getting ~2 inches consistently, and occasionally sub 2 inches. However, the chamber is really tight and very picky on ammo. My handloads that easily pass EGW gauge got stuck in chamber twice. I had to send it back to increase its tolerance. In hindsight, that was a bad move, because when I got my barrel back after 2 weeks, it started performing just like the KKM... It now eats anything that passes case gauge. Grouping is in the 3-4 inches range. Looks like I just got a very expensive KKM! :goof:

My opinion is, if you are shooting just USPSA/IDPA, KKM would be more than sufficient. For people who do bullseye a lot, Bar-Sto is definitely worth the money for the extra 1 inch squeeze. However, you will have to load the ammo that could pass the chamber gauge using that barrel, which is going to be challenging. It probably involves using specific headstamps of brass, plus very short OAL and very specific bullet profiles. The only rounds I loaded that could consistently feed the Bar-Sto was using only FC brass with 1.090 OAL and Precision Delta CMJ bullets. The cast, coated or plated won't work as they are generally oversized and would easily become sticky in the short chamber even if you load very short OAL.

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5 rounds @ 25 yard ~2 inches consistently,. However, the chamber is really tight. I had to send it back to increase its tolerance. In hindsight, that was a bad move, because when I got my barrel back after 2 weeks, it started performing just like the KKM... It now eats anything that passes case gauge. Grouping is in the 3-4 inches range. Looks like I just got a very expensive KKM! :goof:

Getting good accuracy is difficult and expensive. Getting good accuracy AND reliability is Really tough and Really expensive.

I had an accuracy job on my BHP from EGW with a Barsto barrel, and accuracy was great - but it wouldn't feed Remington green box

9mm 115 gr fmj's. :surprise:

EGW told me to send it to another gunsmith who made it reliable the 2nd time, and accuracy dropped off again.

Tough to have both accuracy and reliability - really helps if you're a sponsored shooter, I bet. :cheers:

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I had a 1 dot barrel in my 5" Pro. Bought a KKM. Groups did shrink slightly as I can get all my shots in a 6" circle at 50" now. I will admit, Im not a great pistol shot, so if you are a good shot to begin with, you will see better results. The KKM barrel also seems to lock up nicer than the stock S&W barrel.

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I had a 1 dot barrel in my 5" Pro. Bought a KKM. Groups did shrink slightly as I can get all my shots in a 6" circle at 50" now. I will admit, Im not a great pistol shot, so if you are a good shot to begin with, you will see better results. The KKM barrel also seems to lock up nicer than the stock S&W barrel.

50 inches is point blank! Im assuming you meant 50 feet?

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I had installed on of bar sto's semi fit barrels in my 9L, My pf increased about 5 pts and the accuracy will do about 1" at 25 yards right now off a ransom rest. when I first installed it, it would not want to unlock when showing clear, and I would have to hit the back of the grip to get it to release. after about 1000 rounds it finally loosened up to where it would unlock easily.

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I had installed on of bar sto's semi fit barrels in my 9L, My pf increased about 5 pts and the accuracy will do about 1" at 25 yards right now off a ransom rest. when I first installed it, it would not want to unlock when showing clear, and I would have to hit the back of the grip to get it to release. after about 1000 rounds it finally loosened up to where it would unlock easily.

Is your semi-fit a drop in, or did you have to send it in for fitting?

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I had a 1 dot barrel in my 5" Pro. Bought a KKM. Groups did shrink slightly as I can get all my shots in a 6" circle at 50" now. I will admit, Im not a great pistol shot, so if you are a good shot to begin with, you will see better results. The KKM barrel also seems to lock up nicer than the stock S&W barrel.

50 inches is point blank! Im assuming you meant 50 feet?

Yep, 50 feet. Sometimes my fingers type faster than my brain works. :mellow:

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