Victory Gun Blog rounded up a bunch of aftermarket Glock barrels to find out which one is the most accurate. The results are interesting!!!
http://www.victorygunblog.com/blog/barrelrace17
http://www.victorygunblog.com/blog/barrelrace17
No Barsto? No Lone Wolf? KKM barrels are nice, so that doesn't surprise me.
No Barsto? No Lone Wolf? KKM barrels are nice, so that doesn't surprise me.
No Storm Lake either. I have several Lone Wolf & Storm Lake barrels in different Glocks, they are excellent barrels and considerably better than the factory Glock tube IMO.
They are missing some of the most popular brands, also seems to show the factory barrels stack up well, any of the 3 loads shot better than most shooters can hold. I've found them to punch paper with the best once you find a usually midweight load they like, but with larger feedramps and chambers they should be more reliable when a pistol is dirty or fouled. Aftermarket are nice though for alternate calibers, hardcast, different lengths or threading, but at least for GLOCK, replacing the barrel doesn't really gain much if anything in accuracy, and gives up some features.
You lost me on the "giving up features" part...? What features would I be giving up for example by swapping my stock Glock 22 tube for a Lone Wolf or Storm Lake replacement..?? I'm not trolling you, I just honestly can't think of anything I'm "giving up" by doing a swap like that.
With regard to accuracy... I can only speak to my own personal experiences with my particular Glock guns (models 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, & 30) but I've found the LW and SL barrels to be somewhat more accurate in general, it's not a "night and day" difference mind you, but it's noticeable nevertheless. They also have slightly tighter chambers and slightly better case support than the Glock tubes, which is an extra measure of safety for me, as I reload quite a bit of my ammo.
Just about all aftermarket barrels use cut rifling where hammer forged/polygonal rifling has a smoother surface without machining marks, can give a little more velocity, less fouling, easier to clean. The Nitriding finish is harder, less reflective, stays cleaner compared to stainless, less likely to peen on the locking surfaces. The larger chamber and deeper feed ramp can be more reliable in dirty conditions, factory support, and probably the best feature, it comes with all new GLOCK pistols for free
I reload too, there is a big difference between later 3rd and 4th gen models and early models, MUCH more case support, and slightly tighter chambers with improved chamfering at the breech end. They are still tough on brass, but not ridiculously so unless you push the higher pressure calibers to their limit. Aftermarket barrels with traditional rifling do have their place, i have a couple for various reasons, but improving accuracy isn't one of them.
You're in Frederick I'll give you fiddy bucks for your stock Glock barrels.
I was hoping to see a Zev in the comparison since I just put one in my 19.
OK, fair enough. Don't get me wrong, I'm not "dissing" the stock factory Glock tube, it seems to work well enough for the average bear, but I personally just prefer the stainless Lone Wolf & Storm Lake replacement and conversion barrels for my Glocks, and I'm satisfied they they give slightly improved accuracy in my particular guns. I'm not currently running a stock factory pipe in any of my Glocks, and don't plan to.