Glock Custom Barrels

My sons grew up with the 1911 handgun. They also grew up with quite a number of other handguns around the home, some of which I was evaluating for various agencies and others in various states of repair. I wasn’t surprised when my oldest son elected to obtain a Glock 36 and use it for a carry gun. My respect for the Glock has grown over the years even though I still prefer blue steel and walnut. As a goanywhere, do-anything defensive handgun the Glock has merit.

My son is a hard working young man on a budget and doesn’t wish to bang up a nice 1911. He is also an enthusiastic handloader and that presents a problem with Glocks. We could debate hexagons and polygons but we will not as the end result is the same when lead bullets are pressed into the barrel. The Glock’s polygonal rifling is seen as an advantage by many as it is not cut as deeply in the barrel.

The gas seal with jacketed bullets is better and Glocks often exhibit greater velocity than equal barrel lengths that are conventionally rifled. Unfortunately, that shallow rifling isn’t compatible with lead bullets. Lead fouling has nowhere to go in a polygonal rifled barrel. As a result, pressure can build quickly, blowing cases or even the pistol. Those wanting to shoot lead bullets out of a Glock need an aftermarket barrel.

Barrels by Bar-Sto Precision yield excellent results and the ability to use lead bullets is worth the price. They tend to be more accurate than factory barrels and produce comparable velocity. Let’s start by considering the ability to use lead bullets. Glock pistols use polygonal rifled bores. The primary difference of this type of rifling is that the bore is rifled

Above center: Although it is a little difficult to eyeball, the Glock’s replacement barrel is slightly over size. with hills and valleys that are quite smooth rather than the traditional lands and grooves. This results in little friction and generally higher velocity than conventional bores of a similar length. Accuracy potential is claimed to be high due to the prospect of little bullet deformation. However, there is no place for lead fouling to accumulate.

Sport shooters using cast lead bullets for economy cannot use great quantities of lead in the Glock barrel. There is also the fact that the Glock has a sharp transition from the chamber to the leade or beginning of rifling, an area which also accumulates lead. This lead build up may prevent the pistol from fully closing and the resulting build up may allow the pistol to fire when Below center: The Bar-Sto barrel offers extra strength and precision where needed.

It also shoots lead bullets better than the factory barrel can. A good crown contributes to accuracy potential. For this project, a ported Bar-Sto barrel was used and proved to be a good choice. Gunsmith-fit Glock barrels area worthwhile investment. The pistol’s intrinsic accuracy not locked up. While the Europeans may think we are mad for using lead bullets, this is the only way for the shooter of average means to afford to fire the piece in the quantity demanded for proficiency in competition.

The Glock barrel as supplied from the factory also has an unsupported chamber in order to insure feed reliability. Almost every aftermarket barrel will offer a more fully supported chamber. A custom grade barrel will typically increase accuracy. This is partly due to careful manufacture with higher tolerances and superior materials than found on some factory barrels and partly due to superior hand fitting by a gunsmith. Another reason to consider anew, custom barrel is if the shooter desires a caliber change.

A shooter may prefer another caliber or simply wish to use several calibers in their Glock. You may convert a .357 Glock to .40 S&Wand vice versa or convert a .45 ACP Glock to .400 Corbon. There are other conversion options as well.

Above center: It isn’t a bad idea to gauge the original barrel in any barrel replacement project. may be considerably improved. The fitting procedure is simple enough. If the hood is oversize, fit it to the slide by carefully removing the barrel sides until clearance is approximately 0.003 on each side. Take it slowly with the cut-and-try method. If you are able to fit the barrel with a minimum of tolerance (about 0.002 on each side) the pistol will be an accurate number.

Occasionally, a barrel will bind at the rear of the hood. Often, simply pressing the barrel into the slide and working the slide will fit the barrel. If the barrel continues to bind, the rear of the barrel hood must be filed. Use a stone, be certain to bear evenly, and finish up with a smooth surface. It is rare for the angled wedge locking surfaces on the bottom of the Glock barrel to need any fitting. When they do the most I have had to work is to slightly file the bottom of the foot.

The slide will usually close without any such binding. My fitting procedure for gunsmith-fit barrels and semi drop-in barrels is as follows. I first drop the barrel in the slide and frame. If the barrel does not fit correctly it is most often the barrel lugs binding. I remove very small amounts of metal from the hood area. Then I check to see if the under lug is perpendicular to the bore as it should be. If off center, material is removed from the opposite of the offending side.

Look toward the muzzle to gauge right and left alignment of the locking lugs. If off to the left, remove metal on the right. When done with the lugs, fit the barrel into the slide for a check. Remember to respect the locking lugs as these lugs con- The barrel shows excellent workmanship and performance. Below center: Very few passes were needed with the file to fit the new barrel. trol lift and chambering angle. The bottom foot controls lift and usually gives a good, tight lockup without any type of modification.

The Glock is a straightforward pistol, simple enough to work with, and durable. The only common reason that you will see a Glock in the shop is for barrel work or barrel changes, which is the most beneficial change to the Glock pistol. For testing the barrel after installation, use good quality factory ammunition. It is difficult to tell a shooter who has spent good money on a custom barrel that his handloads are not up to par. This handgun

Above center: The forward area of the barrel hood seldom needs attention. was proofed with Remington factory ammunition, both Remington UMC 230 grain ball and Remington Golden Saber 230 grain JHP. Once the pistol is proofed with these loads or something similar with knowngood reliability and accuracy, a malfunction or accuracy problem with handloads will be a issue related to the ammunition.

That being said, handloads may be produced that are at least as reliable, accurate, and versatile as factory loads (possibly more so) but save that until after the pistol is proofed. When working with another brand of barrel, I once experienced a feeding problem when working the Glock. Certain dimensions were tighter than the original Glock barrel. In the end, I carefully polished a rounded edge from two o’clock to ten o’clock on the chamber. The Glock ran smartly after this simple polish.

In yet another case I had more difficulty. Glock frames are the same internally without fail through all generations, they claim, so the fault must have been in the barrel. The hood of the suspect barrel presented no problem but the rear lug struck the frame lock bar. I proceeded to cautiously mill and file, and then stone the lug. I removed 0.016 off the rear lug. The rear lug then In the end, the project created a handsome job and a great shooter! cleared the lock bar.

I did not like the amount of work needed on this "drop in" barrel but it worked. This pistol performed well after the barrel fitting. With several hundred handloads fired it has proven reliable. Accuracy is improved to a noticeable extent. Groups with the shooter’s Remington carry load has improved about a half inch at 15 yards. Recoil control is improved due to the ports. Velocity potential is at least equal to the original barrel. Adding this barrel has proven to be a very worthwhile upgrade. AG