Barsto Question

[atmar]

hi guys,

early this year i bought a semi drop-in for my g22, ever since i've been having feeding problems, i thought it would go away if i have my shells reloaded by someone using an egw undersized resizing die and a lee fcd, so i sent my shells to a friend who has both, but its the same story, im still having feeding problems.

some of my friends say that i should have my barrel reamed, should i???? if yes, what kind of reamer should i use????

thanks for the help guys!!!!!

[Chuck Anderson]

What type of feeding problems are you having. Where are the rounds hanging up?

[splashdown]

How long are you loading? (Shouldn't be over 1.135 to 1.140 max in a .40 cal Glock.) If it's catching on the feed ramp you're probably loading too long. What type of bullet are you loading? Have you tried factory loads?

If it's semi-drop in, there must be some fitting required. Did you do any fitting? If not, I'd get it to a gunsmith that knows glocks and see if the barrel fits right.

Good luck.

splashdown

Edited May 13, 2006 by splashdown

[atmar]

What type of feeding problems are you having. Where are the rounds hanging up?

3/4 of the bullet is already inside the chamber, what i do is, i slap the back of the slide, then the bullet chambers and is okay to fire.

How long are you loading?

1.140

What type of bullet are you loading?

lead, round nose. or should i call it truncated.

Have you tried factory loads?

no problems w/ corbon 135gr. hollowpoints.

If it's semi-drop in, there must be some fitting required. Did you do any fitting? If not, I'd get it to a gunsmith that knows glocks and see if the barrel fits right.

yes its semi drop-in, i did not do any fitting.

if i decide to ream, what reamer should i use? thanks

[norbs007]

I too got a Bar-Sto on my G22 but it's a fitted one. Try loading to 1.130, I don't think it requires reaming.

[atmar]

wouldnt that be dangerous?? more pressure=kb??

[Flexmoney]

You adjust your OAL for proper feeding. THEN, you adjust your load/powder for proper pressure.

Spec length for 40 is 1.125

Yes, longer is generally better for pressure.

[Flexmoney]

Do you case gage your ammo? New brass? Once-fired brass? Same or mixed head-stamp? Random range brass?

- Your brass may be too wide at the bottom (gauging will tell you).

- You could have a barrel that hasn't been finish reamed and your bullets are contacting the rifling (THAT could be a huge pressure problem). But, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion until you gauged the ammo.

[atmar]

Do you case gage your ammo?

when i guage them in the barrel itself their are some bullets that would not go in all the way, only 3/4 of the way, when i seperate them and shoot only the bullets that chambered during guaging, i dont have any problems....... w/c means some of my brass are already too beat up????

Your brass may be too wide at the bottom (gaging will tell you).

the bullets that did not pass the test, a friend of mine tried inserting them in the chamber primer end first, they went in!! w/c means my friend said the problem is not the bulging of the shells/brass at the bottom end (i.e. 6 o'clock part).

Edited May 14, 2006 by atmar

[Charlie Vanek]

The Bar-Sto's I've had, I've had to go from a .420 crimp to a .418 and that helped. When I went to the tighter crimp, I didn't see any pressure signs to worry about and it didn't hurt accuracy... But some I've had to ream a little.

[Flexmoney]

If the base of your rounds are Ok, then the bullet itself is likely touching the rifling or the head-space (where the should of the brass hits) is a little short.

Take some of your sticking rounds, paint them up with a magic marker, pull your barrel out of the gun, then insert the rounds into the barrel by hand. You ought to be able to get some witness marks on the bullet/brass that shows where it is hanging up.

[splashdown]

I had similar problems when I first started reloading. Try tiny bits more crimp until you get 100% of the rounds to chamber gauge.

[atmar]

But some I've had to ream a little.

what kind of reamer did you use charlie??? thanks

[open17]

All of the OAL/crimp issues have been well covered, but there is another possible cause.

It could actually be the barrel!

If it's a semi drop-in, or even a drop-in Barsto, the problem could be one of two things.

Tight fit on the hood, or too much metal on the locking lug. Either one can slow/bind

the slide just as it approaches battery, and cause just the malf you describe. I've had

to mill as much as .035" off of the lug on a drop-in to get it to work correctly.

Barsto has a DVD on barrel fitting that covers most makes, If you want to try fitting it yourself. Or get it to a good Glocksmith to get the hood fit and lug height checked.

Bill

[benny hill]

The lead bullet dia. is about .002 bigger than jacketed. If the throat is not reamed for lead it won't go in. You need to use a .402 chamber reamer to run in the chamber. Most custom smiths use this reamer so the guns will run anything from jacketed to lead.

[benny hill]

They make 2 reamers, one that's .401 & one that's .403. If your chamber was cut w/ the .401, it was set up for jacketed only & needs to be re-cut w/ the .403 for lead. Lead is about .402 & won't alway's feed in the smaller chamber.

[atmar]

but barsto advertises that their barrels are good for shooting lead on glocks, so im sure they also took that into account and made the chamber for leal bullets..... or did they??? btw its a semi drop-in unit, thanks for all the help, ill try to have it reamed w/ a .403 reamer.

[bountyhunter]

Do you case gage your ammo?

when i guage them in the barrel itself their are some bullets that would not go in all the way, only 3/4 of the way, when i seperate them and shoot only the bullets that chambered during guaging, i dont have any problems....... w/c means some of my brass are already too beat up????

Your brass may be too wide at the bottom (gaging will tell you).

the bullets that did not pass the test, a friend of mine tried inserting them in the chamber primer end first, they went in!! w/c means my friend said the problem is not the bulging of the shells/brass at the bottom end (i.e. 6 o'clock part).

"when i guage them in the barrel itself their are some bullets that would not go in all the way, only 3/4 of the way, when i seperate them and shoot only the bullets that chambered during guaging, i dont have any problems....... "

Match grade barrels are usually made tight to spec for accuracy. Your round diameter may be a shade on the high side. It only takes a couple of thou interference fit to hang it right there.

[hotntot12]

Not that it could be the same problem but--the last time I switched barrels and had a 3/4 hang up I eventually put super strong springs in my clips. I was frustrated and would try anything and----problem solved.Probably just lucky but it worked.

[atmar]

when i use stronger recoil springs, 17lbs., it does solve the problem, but i like shooting w/ 13lb. springs, the gun shoots flatter, the whole shooting experience is better w/ lighter springs.

when i shoot w/ light springs, i have a smile in my face.

[Charlie Vanek]

I didn't ask about the recoil spring. Some Glock's just won't run with a 13 lb. spring. You might try a 15 lb. and see if that helps... I want a gun to run 100% no matter what.

[atmar]

actually its a wolff 15lb., w/ 3coils cut, w/c i feel makes it a 13pounder. it run well before when i was using the stock barrel, the only reason i switch was so that i can use lead.

[Chris Rhines]

Hmmm.

Check the clearence on each side of the barrel hood. My Bar-Sto barrel had to be reduced a little on the sides.

- Chris

[atmar]

i dont think so, cos when i case guage the bullets on the barrel itself and use ony the bullets that passed the test, i dont have any problems.

[Flexmoney]

Take some of your sticking rounds, paint them up with a magic marker, pull your barrel out of the gun, then insert the rounds into the barrel by hand. You ought to be able to get some witness marks on the bullet/brass that shows where it is hanging up.

Have you done this yet? Results?

It is sounding like your barrel may need finished reamed. Then again, it could just be your loads.

If your barrel is a true "drop in", then Barsto should be willing to finish ream it for you (at no charge, if they actually missed that process at production). But, if they didn't miss that process, then it is likely that your loads aren't compatible with the tighter specifications of the Barsto barrel (and, that wouldn't be Barsto's fault, they offer tighter chambers for a reason).

I believe you said earlier that you load with lead? If your bullet casting weren't clean, or you had bullet lube around the case mouth, that could be an issue.

BTW...chamber reamers are in the neighborhood of $60.