G34 Or G35 With 9mm Conversion Barrel?

[Cuz]

Help. I was about to buy a Glock 34, when it was pointed out to me that I should consider a G35 with a 9mm conversion barrel. Is there a big (or any) difference between them? I must admit it would be nice to be able to go back and forth between the 9mm and 40cal with just a quick barrel swap. Does the barrel have to be fitted? Or are the Storm Lake barrels for about $100 a drop in fit?

Would I also need to swap out recoil springs as well? Not that it would be a big deal.

I guess my question is if there is any difference between the G34 and a G35 with a 9mm barrel conversion?

Thanks,

-Cuz.

[Chris Keen]

You can get barrels (like you said Storm Lake, or KKM, etc) they will drop in, but the real problem is the ejector and extractor. Although I must say I have on occasion forgot to switch ejectors and had no real problems to speak of.

But for safetys sake you should switch ejectors. Extractor would be more of a fail to extract issue. Easy to buy on the net, and easy to change.

[Micah]

If you shoot 40, or think that you would want to in the future, purchasing the G35 wouldn't be a bad idea. The ejector and extractor is about $30 for both...not too pricey.

One thing to consider is that you can shoot your stock G35 in Production, but not your G35 with a barrel conversion.

[bountyhunter]

I have a G35 with a 9mm barrel. I have shot a lot of 9mm out of it. Never changed the ejector to date. It cycled fine as stock, but I put in the 9mm extractor just because it was so cheap and easy to do. I am not convinced it's necessary since mine ran fine with all the .40 parts in place. YMMV

[Cuz]

So far there doesn't seem to be any reason not to get the G35 since I can convert it to 9mm relatively cheap. I can't use it for IDPA, but that's not a problem for me.

-Cuz.

[Merlin Orr]

Why can't it be used for IDPA?

[Micah]

So far there doesn't seem to be any reason not to get the G35 since I can convert it to 9mm relatively cheap. I can't use it for IDPA, but that's not a problem for me.

-Cuz.

Did you mean IPSC? (Production)

[Chris Keen]

G34 / G35 are illegal in IPSC

[Cuz]

Why can't it be used for IDPA?

I was told I couldn't use a G35 with 9mm conversion barrel in IDPA. I don't know why, its just what I was told. Since I don't shoot IDPA it didn't really matter to me.

-Cuz.

[Jim Taylor]

Why can't it be used for IDPA?

Merlin:

IDPA Rule Book Page 20. Barrel replacements are allowed in original caliber only.

I have a G35 with an EFK Firedragon 9mm barrel and no other mods. Shoots like crazy and never malfunctions. It has more than 20,000 rounds through it.

This rule is unfortunate, but that why they call it a rule book.

Best regards,

Jim Taylor

[Joe D]

There is nothing in the IDPA rule book that prevents you from shooting the gun, with the 9mm barrel, in ESP. Cannot shoot it in SSP. I have shot thousands of rounds through my 9mm conversion barrel without any issues. The only thing I have changed is the mag.

I have a Federal and a Lone Wolf 9mm barrel. No problems with either. I do like the LW feed ramp design better. The LWD barrel at $89 is the best buy in an aftermarket barrel without question. Maybe some of the other barrel makers will get their overpriced barrels in line.

I have installed dozens of aftermarket barrels and the LWD barrel is just as accurate and is finished just as well as any of them - Bar-Sto, KKM etc.

Edited November 27, 2006 by Joe D

[Micah]

Joe D,

Do you feel that there is an advantage to be gained by adding a 9mm LW barrel to a G34 for Production? I have always been too stuborn to swap out the stock barrel, feeling as if I would be loosing some feeding reliability.

[Joe D]

My buddy JR at Lone Wolf may not like my response, but I have always tried to tell it just like it is. My wife's G34 and my old G34 are very accurate. Both will group well under 1 1/2" at 25 yds. An aftermarket barrel is not going to shoot much better, if any, than that. How much more accurate of a gun do we need to shoot IDPA and IPSC? The targets are huge. The bullet always goes where my front sight is.

I don't have any aftermarket barrels in my Glocks. Exception being the two 9mm conversion barrels.

Most folks don't spend enough time developing loads to find the most accurate one for THEIR gun. My old G34, my wife's G34 and my G17 are more accurate than I am. I have a pretty standard load of 3.0 gr of Titegroup and a 147 gr plated bullet that just shoots the center out of a 2" Shoot-N-See at 25 yds. I benched the G17 the other day just to see how well it shot. If I still have the target I will post it. I had 4 rounds touching and 1 just a bit out of the group. Bear in mind I change my front sight when I am shooting for groups. I put a .090" front on.

Some things are psychological. You may shoot better with a "Match Grade" barrel. Most of that will be between your ears.

[Micah]

Joe D, thank you very much for your honest answer.

[Flexmoney]

I've always enjoyed reading the posts from Joe D as he rebutted the claims that a lot of the guys that sell Glock barrels make (mostly over on the GT forum).

[bountyhunter]

There is nothing in the IDPA rule book that prevents you from shooting the gun, with the 9mm barrel, in ESP. Cannot shoot it in SSP. I have shot thousands of rounds through my 9mm conversion barrel without any issues. The only thing I have changed is the mag.

I have a Federal and a Lone Wolf 9mm barrel. No problems with either. I do like the LW feed ramp design better. The LWD barrel at $89 is the best buy in an aftermarket barrel without question. Maybe some of the other barrel makers will get their overpriced barrels in line.

I have installed dozens of aftermarket barrels and the LWD barrel is just as accurate and is finished just as well as any of them - Bar-Sto, KKM etc.

Where can one get a Lone Wolf barrel?

[Micah]

Where can one get a Lone Wolf barrel?

Link to Lone Wolf

If you are a Glock person, it's a fun site to look through

[Cuz]

You can get barrels (like you said Storm Lake, or KKM, etc) they will drop in, but the real problem is the ejector and extractor. Although I must say I have on occasion forgot to switch ejectors and had no real problems to speak of.

But for safetys sake you should switch ejectors. Extractor would be more of a fail to extract issue. Easy to buy on the net, and easy to change.

What ejector and extractor would I need to get to install? Is it a standard G17 parts? Can you please explain why the ejector is a safety issue?

So if I replace the barrel, ejector and extractor do I have a 9mm shooting G35 that's every bit as reliable as a G34? The only difference would be a little extra weight up front because of the thicker barrel right?

-Cuz.

[Flexmoney]

BTW,

I didn't think you were legal in IDPA (at all) with a caliber conversion. I asked, a long time ago, about running a G20 with a 9x23 barrel in ESP. The thoughts were that it wasn't legal.

Reading the rule book (which I'm not expert on), SSP speifically mentions no caliber changes. ESP says something like "the barrel needs to have the same configuration".

[bountyhunter]

Where can one get a Lone Wolf barrel?

Link to Lone Wolf

If you are a Glock person, it's a fun site to look through

Thanks.

[eric nielsen]

Another difference is that the G35 slide is heavier than the G34 slide. You may need to run a lighter recoil spring to shoot it reliably one-handed, around barricades, etc.

Search other posts like "Vertical Test" on the subject of what's TOO low a Glock recoil spring.

Another difference is the G35 breachface won't hold the 9mm case tightly on the side across from the extractor. From above posts this doesn't look like a bad problem with the conversion barrels, maybe the bore is cut to one side a little??

[Rik]

I recently got the lone wolf 9mm conversion for my G35. Couldn't be happier. So far I have only changed the magazines and it runs fine.

SSP rules spcifically mention configuration and caliber. The ESP rule mentions configuration only.

Rik

[ihatepickles]

If you take a G35 and put a 9mm conversion barrel in it, you will be over the 2 oz restriction in US D9 part 16.

also

The 9mm conversion barrel walls are thicker than the .40 barrel or the stock Glock 9mm barrel, so it's a 'heavy barrel' per US D9 part 21.3. Essentially, the conversion barrel is a bull barrel.

Using a 9mm conversion barrel in a G35 in Production division is illegal. I agree it's nit-picky, but the rules are the rules.

[Cuz]

I recently got the lone wolf 9mm conversion for my G35. Couldn't be happier. So far I have only changed the magazines and it runs fine.

SSP rules spcifically mention configuration and caliber. The ESP rule mentions configuration only.

Rik

Rik,

Is the lone wolf 9mm conversion just a barrel or does it include other parts like extractor and ejector?

-Cuz.

[Rik]

Rik,

Is the lone wolf 9mm conversion just a barrel or does it include other parts like extractor and ejector?

-Cuz.

It's just the barrel. I did not change anything else except to get 9mm mags. I have the parts bookmarked at Brownells to change every thing out, pretty cheap to do. My brass is coming out pretty weak, about 2 inches in the air and falls right at my feet. Makes it real easy to pick up. I had one piece fail to clear yesterday ( about 400 rds) so I will proably order the parts and have them on hand if it gets to be a habit. Most of the threads I have read on this, people are having no issues at all.

Rik