Which barrel should I get?

[Craigaz]

I plan on getting a G20 in the near future and will immediately replace the barrel to reduce "Glock smiles" on hot loads. I will be loading full power rounds with Longshot and 800x but want decent life out of my brass.

Now for the loaded (pun!) question, which aftermarket barrel should I get? Which one has the best casing support and reliability? There are so many out there my head is spinning...

Thanks in advance!

Craig

[Objekt]

I have a Lone Wolf Distributors replacement barrel in my G20.

The Lone Wolf barrel has a very tight chamber. Lone Wolf doesn't call it a "match" chamber but it's hard to see how it could be any tighter. Case support is as good as it gets in a semiauto. Your brass won't acquire "Glock bulge" using a LW barrel.

The flipside of that is, if you have brass which was already shot in a Glock barrel, it may need special work to get it to go in the Lone Wolf barrel. Something like a EGW U-die, or a Redding G-Rx.

Better yet, start with brass which has never been fired in a Glock barrel. I like Starline. It's the best price and they are offering free shipping.

Conventional rifling means you can shoot whatever - lead, plated, or jacketed. That's the main reason I bought mine, although the better case support is a very good thing as well. Brass should last longer, from not being repeatedly bulged & then reformed near the case head.

Lone Wolf calls theirs a "match" crown, but it's hard to say whether it's any more accurate than the Glock barrel. A stock G20 isn't exactly a target gun.

I hope some others can comment on other brand replacement barrels. Lone Wolf isn't the only choice, it's just one of the cheaper ones.

[alwaysshootin]

Lonewolf is what I use, best bang for the buck, pun intended!:supergrin:

[etravix]

I like my Storm Lake barrel. Fit and finish is excellent, perfect drop in and full case support.

[MakeMineA10mm]

There are a lot of good after-market barrels. Jarvis and Bar-Sto are probably the highest quality (Ultra Match-Grade), but they have pretty proud prices too. I think that's why so many people gravitate towards the Lone Wolf (LWD) barrels. They seem to have just about as good match-quality accuracy with tighter chambers and good rifling and muzzles, but LWD also knows Glocks and you have a much better chance of total reliability with an LWD barrel vs. one of the match guys. (They tend to put 100% into accuracy with some sacrifice to reliability.) Best part is they are not that expensive, either. Another brand with a decent reputation is KKM. Pretty close to LWD quality, possibly a slightly looser chamber, giving even better reliability, but with a small sacrifice in tightness of chamber, so the brass may swell a tiny bit more. Sometimes the differences can depend on which cutter was used and who was running the machine.

[crsuribe]

And I thought KKM was higher quality and closer to match grade than LWD..

[deeHKman]

I have a LoneWolf and JR helped me with a s/s spring and ISMI recoil spring. The barrel has been great. I was not looking for the best price but the LW and the Customer Support worked out great for me. The price is just a bonus,d

[Craigaz]

Thanks Guys! I will be loading new Starline brass (2k on-hand) that is unfired. I really want to get a new barrel slapped in before I start shooting to preserve my brass. Any additional suggestions are welcome!

Craig

[etravix]

Just thought I'd let you know that Midway USA has the Storm Lake for $134 right now. It usually goes for $160. I have the .357 SIG barrel for my G22 but I might pick up the .40 while the price is down. Now the only reason I want the .40 barrel is because it makes my Glock look pretty. :rofl:

[alwaysshootin]

Like I said Lone Wolf best bang for the buck! A sponsor on this sight, order one right here!

http://www.lonewolfdist.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=943&CAT=238

:wavey:

[whenmonkeysfly]

I've got eight or nine LWD barrels and find them to be of excellent quality. Prices are easier on the wallet in most cases. Company stands behind their products too.

[xdmikey]

i have: kkm, barsto & lwd. the only barrel lwd makes(iirc)is for a glock. and the price is good!

[xdmikey]

kind of a thread 'jack but:
how do you keep the thread protector on your barrel?
i was shooting my g20 w/lwd threaded barrel. got home and was starting to clean it up and the barrel nut was loose; good thing i didn't lose it at mickey's in the mud!
suggestions?
i use the barrel more for brass care than lead projos.
tia

[crsuribe]

From what I've read KKM is a great brand.

[Kegs]

KKM had what I wanted in stock. So I bought one from them. It is a fine barrel. It does not have a fully supported chamber, but it is a lot better than the stock Glock chamber.

For comparison, I have measured these:

Distance that the feed ramp intrudes into the chamber of the barrel:

Stock Glock: 0.110"
Federal arms .40 s&w conversion:0.096" (lesser around a wider area on either side adjacent to the feed ramp)
KKM:0.072"

You might not think these tolerances are much, but with enough pressure in there, the brass will push into the feed ramp area and extra pressure will cause a case rupture where it is not supported by the barrel. The more case support you have, the better and support w/ a reasonably tight chamber with 360 degrees around the web to the mouth is best.

I think that if lone wolf would have had an extended length barrel in stock, I may have bought it from them instead. I have no reason to believe they aren't equivalent in quality to KKM.

Still, I would much rather have a barrel that has a fully supported chamber with absolutely no barrel ramp intrusion into the chamber. Bar-sto may very well do this, though I am not sure. I know such a barrel will work in a Glock with 100% reliability so long as the cartridges are loaded properly. Why some of the manufacturers don't do this is beyond me.

Maybe they think the world could use a few more smiles? :supergrin::supergrin::supergrin: