[wiiawiwb]

Looking to get a 10mm Glock for woods carry. Normally, I would just buy a G20 but I was hoping to get it in FDE (already have a G17 in FDE) and none are available that I or my dealer can find. There aren't many out there and I live in a state that requires a 10-round magazine (not 15) and that seems to be the problem.

My two options are:

1) Buy a G21 FDE and then a KKM or LW 10mm conversion barrel, mags and extractor.
2) Buy a G20 and forget about the FDE.

If I buy the G20, I would also get an aftermarket 40&W barrel so I could shoot less expensively when I go to the range. So I will be buying an aftermarket barrel anyway.

Am I nuts to go to all this trouble just for the FDE? In the end, what would be the best setup?

 

[17glock17]

Raw deal. I have two Gen 4 G20s now in DE (one full, one two tone). If you wan't DE, I don't think it is stupid (or nuts) to convert the 21.

 

[AZ Husker]

I think it is silly to worry about the color. When does anyone see it? On the range table? Even then who cares?

 

[wiiawiwb]

Many people put on special exotic wooden grips, choose stainless steel, have their gun cerakoted, install a custom slide plate cover, or otherwise customize their gun for purely esthetic reasons.

It's the issue I'm struggling with over the FDE.

 

[Cred's Cariad]

Not nuts at all. I am sending my G37 Slide/Barrel in the next couple of weeks to get Cerakoted.

My .02 = Buy the G20 and get it Cerakoted? You may be spending more $$$ than you expected/wanted, but you'll have what you wanted in the end...and that has no price tag.

 

[ras47]

I would be extremely hesitant to convert "up" in caliber. I got a Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel for my G23, but that's going down from .40 to the less powerful 9mm.

Get the G20 - that's my recommendation.

 

[17glock17]

I think it is silly to worry about the color. When does anyone see it? On the range table? Even then who cares?

He clearly does and it's his gun. Real question would be why do YOU care what he does with HIS gun?

 

[China boy]

I agree that you should make the gun how you like within reason with cost. I think with enough searching you may fond what you want in time. But if you are in a hurry do up the g21 into a 10mm. A lot of people buy expensive 1911s just to modified them to run perfect. Do up your glock. But also painting the black g20 isnt a bad idea either.

 

[wiiawiwb]

I spoke with an aftermarket company, whose name shall remain anonymous, who said that I can't just add a drop in 10mm barrel, extractor, and maybe a stiffer recoil spring assembly to the G21. They recommended I buy entire assembled 10mm slide and replace the entire G21 upper when I want to shoot the 10mm.

That does not comport with what Mrgunsngear Channel shows on his video on YouTube:

Who's correct?

 

[GRT45]

I spoke with an aftermarket company, whose name shall remain anonymous, who said that I can't just add a drop in 10mm barrel, extractor, and maybe a stiffer recoil spring assembly to the G21. They recommended I buy entire assembled 10mm slide and replace the entire G21 upper when I want to shoot the 10mm.

That does not comport with what Mrgunsngear Channel shows on his video on YouTube:

Who's correct?

Hi wiiawiwb,

The short answer is both sources are correct. The approach necessary to convert the pistol and make it function reliably can vary depending on factors that are hard to quantify and predict beforehand.

I'm aware of two manufacturers of aftermarket barrels, Lone Wolf and KKM, that discontinued offering a 45-10mm conversion barrel for the Glock 21 and 30 because the customer support hassle of dealing with extraction reliability problems (no fault of their barrels) outweighed the profit from the barrel sales in a small portion of the converted pistols.

Lone Wolf's owner (member JR at Glock Talk) explained the situation in this post from October, 2014:

LWD used to offer the 10/45 conversion barrels for G21 & G30 pistols. We performed extensive testing with the participation of many GT patrons. The intended use was focused on firing 10mm cartridges from your 45 ACP pistol. Over the years we found a basic Failure To Extract (FTE) rate of 10%. Yes this FTE issue could be improved by changing extractors and followers and mag springs and, and, and.....
In most cases this 10% failure is acceptable for target shooters and guys who simply like to tweak their guns. They simply accepted it for what it is. We found the customer support exceeded the profit of a barrel sale and therefor droped the line.

If you want to learn much more about your alternatives for the conversion, I recommend reading my post here >>> Converting the Glock 21 to 10mm Caliber

That post includes all the various approaches, issues and fixes you might encounter. It includes the option of the complete upper swap recently recommended to you by the aftermarket vendor and also the process described in the Mrgunsgear Channel video (the author of the video is member plouffedaddy at Glock Talk). I think the post will answer most, if not all, of your questions and you can make a good decision on how to proceed.

 

[glide]

I'd choose option #2. Get a Glock 20 and rock out. Buy lots of magazines and ammo or reload. Enjoy.

 

[4949shooter]

I spoke with an aftermarket company, whose name shall remain anonymous, who said that I can't just add a drop in 10mm barrel, extractor, and maybe a stiffer recoil spring assembly to the G21. They recommended I buy entire assembled 10mm slide and replace the entire G21 upper when I want to shoot the 10mm.

That does not comport with what Mrgunsngear Channel shows on his video on YouTube:

Who's correct?

Don't do it. Just get the entire upper if you are going to use it for self defense in the woods against dangerous animals, or whatever. You want the utmost in reliability. Uppers are not too expensive. You can get them from Glockmeister (Glock uppers) or Lonewolf, etc.

Let me add, the conversion done by GgunsandGear is fine for the range.

 

[fasteddie565]

If your G 20 has to be Gen 4, FDE will be hard. Otherwise, there is a G 20 for sale in the classifieds in FDE.

 

[17glock17]

I would be extremely hesitant to convert "up" in caliber. I got a Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel for my G23, but that's going down from .40 to the less powerful 9mm.

Get the G20 - that's my recommendation.

While generally good advice, that's silly advice here. Especially if he replaces the whole upper half.

 

[happie2shoot]

I have not shot 10mm in a g21 but following GRT45s thread on the g30
I shoot 10mm in it all the time, it has been more reliable than both my
g20sf and g20 gen 4.

You might get a 6'' LW barrel in 10mm and do the mod to the extractor
and see if it works for you, if it does not when you get the 10mm slide
you will have a good barrel that will give you more fps than a stock
g20 barrel, don't be afraid to try it.

 

[ras47]

While generally good advice, that's silly advice here. Especially if he replaces the whole upper half.

The OP only mentioned conversion barrels. That's who I was responding to. Others have talked about entire uppers/slides, which makes sense.

 

[wiiawiwb]

I've decided against an entire upper as the price tag is too much for my taste. I'd buy a G20 and G21 before I'd do that.

I think I'll just get a Gen 4 G20, a LW 6" 10mm and 6" 40S&W barrel and have fun with it. If the FDE thing is still a bee in my bonnet, I'll send out the frame for cerakoting.

Thanks for all the fantastic advice. Everyone here is awesome.