After market barrels

[Larry Burchfield]

I'm wanting to change the barrel in my g23 so I can shoot lead bullets(black bullets). What is the best aftermarket barrel is the best and easiest to tune?

Thanks

Larry

[AustinMike]

I've got a KKM drop-in in my G22.

Pros: Fit pretty well - a bit tight, but not so much that it needed any filing down, feeds every bullet type I've tried, accurate.

Cons: Shoots a few inches higher than factory, runs considerably slower so I had to bump my loads .2 grains or so, kind of pricey.

I just put a Lone Wolf in my G24.

Pros: Dropped right in, accurate, hits darn close to where factory did, inexpensive, tight chamber with excellent case support (could be a con with certain bullets, read on.)

Con's: I've had several jams, fail to feed/chamber, with Precision (black moly coated) bullets - but Precision Delta jacketed bullets seem to feed fine. The edges to the chamber are a bit sharp and the soft lead of the Precisions can snag.

I noticed some heavy peening on one side of my slide where it whacks the locking block after shooting the Lone Wolf for a few matches. Actually created a sharp edge that may have been hitting the barrel block. I dropped it off at my 'smith to stone this down and check the barrel fit. I'm going to pick it up today and see what he came up with. Don't know if this is coincidence or not. I bought the gun used and it looked like it hadn't been fired much. I didn't shoot with the factory barrel much before dropping in the Lone Wolf.

I'd love to just leave the factory barrel in, but seeing how much more case support there is makes me want to stay with aftermarket. I'd hate to have a weak case ruin my day. I shoot with the factory barrel in my 9mm Glocks since I'm not so worried about that cartridge.

YMMV.

Update: My gunsmith smoothed out the peen marks and shaved .002 from the locking block where it was impacting the frame. He said he had seen this sort of thing before. I wonder if the barrel dragging on the sharp edges was the cause of my jams with the Precision bullets. We'll see.

Edited August 11, 2007 by AustinMike

[vluc]

Put a Storm Lake in my G22. Runs all I put in it, just as accurate as factory. YMMV

[Jman]

I use my stock barrel with moly bullets. Butter. Match grade after market barrels (Lone Wolf sells nice ones for about $100.00) tend to have pretty tight chambers. Using .401 bullets + the case wall thickness x 2= some feed issues. I'm going to shoot the OEM 'till it's a smooth bore.

Jim

[pstew]

I use a Storm Lake Barrel in a Glock 34. It shoots marginally better (accuracy) than the factory barrel. Velocity is 30-50 fps slower than factory. I don't get any more jams than I did with the factory barrel.