hlpressley Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I received my 5" gunsmith barrel on Friday but haven't had a chance to get it fitted yet. Anyone had a chance to shoot one yet? Curious as to the performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmooberry Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I'm pretty curious about this, as well! I'm at the point now where I'm either going to spend money on the M&P or retire it for a new prod gun. Decisions decisions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlpressley Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I'm pretty curious about this, as well! I'm at the point now where I'm either going to spend money on the M&P or retire it for a new prod gun. Decisions decisions! Skils>Tools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmooberry Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 But tools are more fun to buy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 There is a guy on the Smith-Wesson forum that fitted a gunsmith fit barrel himself. Had a chance to shoot it and did see some improvement. I believe he got less than 2" groups at 25 yds off a rest. He mentioned using iron sights, being about 70yrs old and that having an impact on the results. He mentioned someone with better eyesight using more precision sights than the FO he was using would probably get even better results. He was also shooting factory ammo. I would imagine a little ammo development, a precision red dot sight, and a steady hand should result in some pretty dang good groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Watch their fitting video. There is filing involved on the semi drop in barrel. Looks great to me. Also, they are using a ransom rest for the groups. Takes the "shooter" variable out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K31Scout Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/451019-accuracy-coming-apex-m-p-barrels.html It's a long thread but Randy Lee, Apex engineer (and owner I believe) chimes in quite bit on the faults of the 9mm in the 4" and 5" barrels. Mine is a bit tighter than some of them out there so I don't plan on spending the $200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiratePast40 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Wow - great thread. Among other things he discusses, I really appreciate Randy explaining how to measure barrel clearances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USA Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Second. Glad to hear 40S&W barrels and 40S&W to 9mm conversion barrels will be coming out next year too. Sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 That is good to hear. I would love to see a .40 to 9mm threaded barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Went out and shot the new APEX semi-drop-in barrel today, side by side with the gunsmith fitted BarSto barrel. The result? They perform about the same for me. At 25 yards, average 5-shot group size are both 2-3 inches, standing off hands. I don't have a Ransom rest, and don't want to use bags as the sports I participate never shoot from bags. So this will do for me. I am quite happy with the APEX SDI barrel. It costs me $200 and performs as well as the $500 BarSto gunsmith fitted one. The accuracy with my handloads are above what I expect for my applications - USPSA and IDPA. Below are the 2 APEX groups I shot today. The first group is 1.9 inches slightly above POA, and second 2.8 inches after I adjusted the sight a bit. I am not good at shooting groups so bear that in mind. I don't bother posting result form the KKM drop-in I got, because it was doing 5 inches @ 25 yards the whole time and has been sitting on my backup dry fire gun the whole time. The interesting common trait of both APEX SDI and BarSto gunsmith fitted barrel is that they both fit not only to the slide but also to the frame, unlike factory or KKM drop-in barrel. After gently releasing the slide forward, you need to apply 1-2 lbs of force from the rear in order to make the gun go into full battery. Fired 300 rounds today and 0 malfunctions. The extra bonus with APEX for me is that the 1:10 twist rate has totally eliminated sporadic tumbling bullets for certain headstamp brass when shooting with BarSto barrel. This will be sitting in my match gun going forward. Superb job, APEX. My setup - 147gr Bayou coated, N320 loaded with mixed headstamp brass to 130PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 For the life of me I do NOT understand why ANYONE would shoot groups for "accuracy" off hand!!! You have to be kidding me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlpressley Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 (edited) Was able to try my gunsmith fit barrel for a bit on Friday night. The chamber is much tighter so I did have to shorten my COAL quite a bit, but I think with some additional time and load development it will be well worth it. I also need to swap out my sights to a thinner front as I am still using the stock Pro sights which are a bit too wide for precision shooting out to 25 IMO. 25 yards shooting off hand with 147gr Xtreme over 3.1gr TG loaded to 1.115 OAL. First match last night. Little two stage indoor match. If you know competition shooting, you know Morgan Allen, and you also know second to him is really a win for an average Joe like me. Edited December 23, 2015 by hlpressley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 For the life of me I do NOT understand why ANYONE would shoot groups for "accuracy" off hand!!! You have to be kidding me! Ben's dot drill is my favorite drill. I guess I like it so much that I often extrapolate it to shoot groups with a par time at 25 yards too. I think timed and unlimited time group shooting are both beneficial if you are training for USPSA and IDPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 When I shoot groups, it's not about my skill, it's about what my pistol is capable of. Knowing my pistol shoots accurately, to POINT OF AIM, gives me confidence. How my pistol groups is the starting point for EVERYTHING ELSE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaldor Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/451019-accuracy-coming-apex-m-p-barrels.html It's a long thread but Randy Lee, Apex engineer (and owner I believe) chimes in quite bit on the faults of the 9mm in the 4" and 5" barrels. Mine is a bit tighter than some of them out there so I don't plan on spending the $2 Thanks for the link! Excellent info there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USA Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Out of curiosity, are you guys using stock recoil springs and guide rods or aftermarket ones like SSS Tungsten with ISMI spring? Apex said they only tested with stock guide rod. I don't use one and don't want to go back to using one. I presume it should work fine, but curious if anyone else has already tried it with good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 SSS Tungsten + 13lbs recoil spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 When I shoot groups, it's not about my skill, it's about what my pistol is capable of. Knowing my pistol shoots accurately, to POINT OF AIM, gives me confidence. How my pistol groups is the starting point for EVERYTHING ELSE. Makes sense, but I dont' have a Ransom rest. Shooting off sand bags is not my cup of tea. I have repeatedly shot better groups off hands than on sand bags. It is probably just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlpressley Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I am running the stainless guide rod from Speed Shooters and an 11lb recoil spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truborshooter Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I installed a gunsmith 5" barrel in my CORE and also found a very short chamber like hlpressley. So short that most factory ammo (7 out of 8) wouldn't pass the plunk test. My rough measurement is .075" from case end to lands, measuring the scratch marks on the bullet to case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthoefer Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 When I shoot groups, it's not about my skill, it's about what my pistol is capable of. Knowing my pistol shoots accurately, to POINT OF AIM, gives me confidence. How my pistol groups is the starting point for EVERYTHING ELSE. Makes sense, but I dont' have a Ransom rest. Shooting off sand bags is not my cup of tea. I have repeatedly shot better groups off hands than on sand bags. It is probably just me. It's not just you. I shoot much better groups off hand than off bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e5young Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 just under 200 for either barrel.....i really need to find someone to fit this for me or id mess it up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twister Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'd also like to find someone to fit a barrel in my Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpom Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I'd also like to find someone to fit a barrel in my Pro. Apex will, if you ship complete firearm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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