No, they are not. They are made to tighter tolerances, and therefore less reliable. If you want to trade some reliability for something in the LWD design, that may make sense. But if overall reliability is your main concern, stick with the OE barrel. It's the most reliable part on the gun.
Sample of one here- I've a 6" KKM drop-in for a G20. MUCH more accurate than the OEM barrel.
Looking forward to trying more barrels/calibers in the future.
Edit: I missed the fact that we were speaking of Lonewolf barrels specifically. Sorry![emoji15]
Nope. I clean and lube all of my guns and scrutinize my Glocks' performance. Lone Wolf claims that its a "drop-in" barrel so no need to change any parts besides a 9mm magazine.
I have four or five lone wolf barrels for my Glocks including a 40-9 conversion for my 23 and 27. They have been very reliable for me. I also clean my gun after every range session.
I had two of them a few years ago and they were a POS. There is a long thread on here about many lads trying out their barrels and having major major problems. If you are really interested I would do a search and read away.
I have stock Glock barrels that have handled cast lead reloads just fine and had some others that would lead up very quickly. I would recommend trying out the stock barrels on all kinds of ammo factory and reloads before buying ANY after market barrel.
After having two Lone Wolf barrels that were a POS I bought KKM barrels to replace them and they have functioned perfectly and seem to be maybe a whisper more accurate than the Glock barrels.
I've got several (G17, G34, G35, G23 and G21 long slide) and a couple of conversion barrels (G23 and G35). All have been perfectly reliable. I don't really use anything but the conversions any more though. Running BBI's coated bullets have eliminated the need for anything other than Glock OEM's.
The fact that they're considerably cheaper than factory replacement barrels, as well as the other aftermarket barrels, is very telling as to the quality.
I can't contribute much 'cause I only have one LW barrel and it's in a G35 (G24 .357 Sig barrel cut to fit with no gap and threaded with thread protector). The only thing with it is it will not walk a round into the chamber as easily as the OEM 35 barrel will. No big deal though. Never was interested in conversion barrels, but I'm glad I did this one.
My buddy owed me a couple favors, so he threaded and shortened the barrel for me FOC.
I have four lone wolf barrels for my G19, G20, G23 and G40. I run them all with lone wolf stainless steel guide rods and have never had any problems with them besides an occasional round not fully chambering. As some have said previously, this is due to the tighter chamber. I use the lone wolf barrels for shooting reloads at the range. I only carry with OEM barrels. This is the best of both worlds for me given the barrels are so easy to change out.
I have a lw 357 sig conversion barrel for my g29. Ran it through a 600 round pistol course with zero issues. With full power reloads. Stock 17lb gr assembly.
Jus bought a 4.6" extended for it. Have 100 trouble free rounds through it. Going to run a 350 round pistol course with it in April. Again using max load reloads. With a ss gr and 21# Wolff spring.
I like to train with ammo I carry. I only water down loads for gaming. Hopefully this barrel is as reliable as the conversion barrel.
I normally carry with the stocker and the 21# wolff setup. But I wouldn't feel worried to carry with the conversion barrel.
I love how people think that since it came from the OEM factory that is some how more better and more reliable then if it comes from some where else.
Barrels are made of metal not magic. They are machined with certain tolerances these tolerances can be replicated or improved on by others.
If you have the right tools you can make a barrel that is as good or better then OEM.
There is nothing special about he tooling at the factory. The engineers and technicians at the factory are not some how extra special nor do they sprinkle each OEM part with pixy dust.
All designs are compromises. OEM barrels have looser chambers and will eat anything, LWD barrels have tighter chambers keep brass from bulging as much and could be more accurate.
As a consumer after market barrel purchases allow you to decide what is most important to you.
Lone Wolf barrels have a few advantages over factory barrels.
Tighter chamber which keeps hot loads from bulging as much.
Traditional lands and groove rifling allows lead cast bullets to be shot with more accuracy.
Stainless steel is pretty easy to keep clean.
OEM barrels have a few advantages.
Oversized chamber means it will eat anything even out of spec handloads
OK that is about it.
I run LWD barrels in my Glocks and have fired 1000's of trouble free cartridges.
I've had no issues with mine. I have LW SS in G20, G29, G29 ,G17, G19 and I recently picked up a 40/9mm concersion LW for a G27 Gen 3. Can't speak to the conversion as I haven't messed with it yet.
I originally picked up LW to shoot Buffalo Bore Lead Cast in the Gen 3 G29 as my hiking/fishing partner in black bear territory. I liked it a lot and ended up buying more.
My G23 gen 3 is 100% reliable with the LWD conversion barrel..... no other changes......... I do use the G19 mags though the G23 mags work also..... not a single issue with over 2,000 rounds...... as some say YMMV but this has been my experience.....
I think Glock should offer their models with conventional rifling in addition to polygonal rifling. As a reloader, having to buy a separate barrel for every Glock I intend to shoot lead and copper plated reloads is expensive. Polygonal rifling is best for full metal jacketed rounds and has the edge for longevity and some say a slight accuracy and bullet velocity advantage. Conventional rifling is more flexible. Glock would gain customers if they offered more choices instead of relying so much on the aftermarket.
LW Barrel in my 27 shooting 357 sig no problems with factory or re loads. LW Barrel in Gen 4 21 no problems. About 1000 rounds out of the 21 on the LW Barrel and no hiccups. Both just dropped in and began spitting out lead. Also have LW barrel in my 30 sf for lead reloads, no hiccups.
I've been using Lone Wolf barrels in my 20C without any failures. I used to use the 40S&W in GSSF matches. I also use the Lone Wolf 10mm unported and 357 Sig barrels without any problems.
I bought a LW barrel, (for my 30S) i surely wasnt impressed. It actually measured out sloppier in diameter than the OEM barrel. The top where it locks up into battery, had to be fitted to the slide. If not, the gun would NOT go into full battery. Now, for the chamber... i had to use a chamber tool to deepen the chamber so that the case would go in to proper head space depth. When done, after several hundred rounds to break it in, nothing spectacular there either. There is a good reason why LW barrels are cheap in price compared to the higher priced barrels. Sometimes you DO, get what you paid for.
Glock recommends not shooting non jacketed lead bullets in their guns as lead can build up in the polygonal rifling and create the possibility of unsafe pressures. I think this is debatable but I prefer to be cautious and take Glock's advice so I use aftermarket barrels to shoot lead.
Watching the Super Bowl and reflecting. You can smoke, you can drive drunk, you can shoot lead out of your Glock, and all can say nothing negative has happened, and it's possible. I have seen posts about those that have lived and skirted danger from situations that could produce pain and misery.
Congratulations in your accomplishments over the prescribed actions of what most recognize as common sense.
In reviewing those that live on the edge and follow your actions it reminds me......do not buy used weapons from these people, if you buy, buy new. I appreciate the insight from your comments.
Watching the Super Bowl and reflecting. You can smoke, you can drive drunk, you can shoot lead and copper out of your Glock, and all can say nothing negative has happened, and it's possible. I have seen posts about those that have lived and skirted danger from situations that could produce pain and misery.
Congratulations in your accomplishments over the prescribed actions of what most recognize as common sense.
In reviewing those that live on the edge and follow your actions it reminds me......do not buy used weapons from these people, if you buy, buy new. I appreciate the insight from your comments.
Has the mystery of where Lone Wolf manufactures their barrels ever been solved? China? Korea? I've always wondered this but never seen a definitive answer.
Has the mystery of where Lone Wolf manufactures their barrels ever been solved? China? Korea? I've always wondered this but never seen a definitive answer.
Not for their regular barrels. The new Alpha Wolf line proudly touts the made in the USA branding, but the origin of the standard barrels is never mentioned.
I have no canine in this fight, I'm simply curious as to where they're made.
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