In my opinion, yes. I have several different brands of conversion barrels and all seem to be an improvement with little difference between them.

 

I have had a few SL barrels, mainly for length choices.

It will not shoot any more accurately than your stock barrel, any results to the contrary are just confirmation bias.

Many buy aftermarket barrels so they can shoot lead, but both SL and LW have little free bore, so lead can be problematic, depending on the bullet profile and how long it is loaded. KKM is the only barrel that comes throated for lead.

Like most things like this, when it is time for a change, you will already know it.

 

You didn't specify same caliber barrel or conversion.
If you want to swap for the exact same barrel, I personally would spend my money on something like more ammo, accessories, etc.
If your talking conversion to 9mm, then a $120 for a barrel to give you an extra caliber to shoot out of the same pistol setup to me is worth it.
Add a few mags, and you have another gun at a 1/3 of the price.

 

Have a SL barrel in a G29. Is it more accurate than the stock barrel? I don't know--never shot the stock barrel. Put the SL in for cast bullets & nuclear loads.

The SL has been been reliable w/cast & hot loads.

 

Since we're talking aftermarket barrels... any recommendations for a 9mm conversion on a G22, preferably extended with ports?

 

Here you go:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Storm-Lake-...tormlake-34036-/222319634102?var=&hash=item33c34866b6:m:m6Gu5Hi3ELblYGRvfMvOeGg

 

I saw those, just didn't know if they were any good. Some sources say they need some fitting, which seems like it would be difficult on a coated barrel.

Also not sure which coatings make the most sense.

 

Thanks for all the info.

 

My SL was a drop in. Didn't see that this barrel was coated.

 

They're available coated or not. $10 extra for the coating seems like a deal to me.

 

Plain stainless=nothing to wear off.

 

I put a Storm Lake 10mm barrel in my G30. Drop in barrel, put in 10mm magazine, presto 10mm. My first experience with SL barrel has been a good one!

 

Had a 26 for many years. About a year after I first purchased it, I bought a Storm Lake barrel that was about 3/8" longer than stock and was ported. Shot my lead re-loads with never a problem and no fitting. I later had the useless port cut off and the barrel recrowned. Now it's the barrel that stays in my 26. Works perfectly. Is it more accurate than the Glock barrel, no it just gives me the option to shoot my reloads.

 

In my experience, factory Glocks are significantly more accurate than 90+% of people when it comes to typical shooting. The group size I get off a rest with a scope is WAY smaller (way under half) what I get in real-world shooting scenarios with irons (or even with a red dot)... so improving the mechanical accuracy of the gun isn't that important to me.

 

I run a Alpha Wolf Threaded 40-9 in my G22. Very nice - no issues.

 

Have a storm Lake 9mm conversion barrel for my G22. So far it has never failed to feed, fire, and eject. Very accurate also. I would recommend them highly.

 

Does anyone have opinions on the different coating options on the Storm Lake barrels? Raw stainless, gold TiN, black DLC, rose TiCN are the options.

 

Many buy aftermarket barrels so they can shoot lead.

What is it about the factory barrels that don't do well with unjacketed soft lead?

 

Frankly, I have only seen one case of extraordinary leading that happened in one of my Glock OEM barrels, that didn't happen side by side in a conventionally rifled barrel. I was shooting very hard 225gr LTC plain base lead bullets with a 45 Super loading. I was shooting a ladder with my G21SF and a 1911. Well past book, shooting a rung on the ladder out of my G21SF, bullets started taking on a mind of their own directionally. When I field stripped the barrel I saw the worst leading I have ever seen in any barrel. The same rung on the ladder shot fine out of the 1911 barrel.

All other lead loads I have ever shot out of my OEM Glock and H&K barrels always evidenced similar leading to a conventional barrel. Prior to that one experience, I always thought the "no lead" in a hammer forged polygonal barrel was nonsense. After it, I am pretty sure something is different, I just don't know what it is. I have read a lot of so-called experts that have proffered ideas why, most seem like throwing darts as far as any concrete idea.

I am not afraid to shoot plain base lead in my OEM Glocks, but I do watch it far more closely and clean very carefully after a session where I am working up a load. Once I have a load I know works, it is far less stressful.

Nowadays, with the availability of good coating tech, I really don't think there is a reason to shoot bare lead anyway. It just isn't that expensive to add the coating. A fraction of a penny a round from suppliers I favor.

 

I use Lone Wolf barrels in my Glocks when shooting lead bullets or re-loads in my G22 and G23. Drop right in and work perfectly.

 

I have no experience with Stormlake Barrels. I have multiple Glocks with KKM barrels and have always been happy with them. I reload bullets so I can shoot more.....oh, honey, I meant save money!

 

No, Storm Lake barrels aren't the bee's knees. An OEM factory Glock barrel is much harder than most anything else - including stainless.

You can't possibly tell accuracy differences unless it's cross cut for a modular muzzle break and has burrs from the end cuts or inside the bore.

Conversion barrels are legit to spend your hard earned money on, but Lone Wolf would be much cheaper than SL.

When purchasing a non-OEM, pay attention to the bottom of the chamber square that acts like a lug to the slide below the ejection port. More metal here is desirable for hot loads.

The feed ramp on SL barrels would be another concern. If my memory serves correct, I believe the ramp would be too steep and fully supported so much it would need to be recut for reliability.

Tip/FYI: In order to improve the feed, a slight angular feed ramp to throat cut breaking the top of the feed ramp edge can cause the rounds to rotate from off of the mag and into the chamber. In this fashion, the rounds would roll into the extractor claw and up the top feed ramp surface into the chamber.

I have a modified OEM G17 barrel that does this.

 

No, Storm Lake barrels aren't the bee's knees. An OEM factory Glock barrel is much harder than most anything else - including stainless.

You can't possibly tell accuracy differences unless it's cross cut for a modular muzzle break and has burrs from the end cuts or inside the bore.

Conversion barrels are legit to spend your hard earned money on, but Lone Wolf would be much cheaper than SL.

When purchasing a non-OEM, pay attention to the bottom of the chamber square that acts like a lug to the slide below the ejection port. More metal here is desirable for hot loads.

The feed ramp on SL barrels would be another concern. If my memory serves correct, I believe the ramp would be too steep and fully supported so much it would need to be recut for reliability.

Tip/FYI: In order to improve the feed, a slight angular feed ramp to throat cut breaking the top of the feed ramp edge can cause the rounds to rotate from off of the mag and into the chamber. In this fashion, the rounds would roll into the extractor claw and up the top feed ramp surface into the chamber.

I have a modified OEM G17 barrel that does this.

The Storm Lake barrel I bought was DLC coated. I'm not sure how hard that is compared to the Glock finish, but it should be far better than raw stainless. They also had TiN (the gold coating you often see on drill bits) and TiCN (I'm not familiar with it).

This was a conversion barrel, extended/ported, $145 shipped. I couldn't find a similar LW barrel for that much.

 

Any ex

I put a Storm Lake 10mm barrel in my G30. Drop in barrel, put in 10mm magazine, presto 10mm. My first experience with SL barrel has been a good one!

Any extraction issues?

 

Any ex

Any extraction issues?

None. A buddy that has a 45 win mag grizzly with 10mm conversion thought for sure I'd have to change extractor, but it works fine as is.

 

I have an SL conversion (9m) for my g22 and it works fantastic, never had a single problem with it.

 

Titanium Nitride is a beast all to its own, because it galls bad against stainless.

Don't know about TiCN, seems redo-able thereby preserving the base metal in form.

DLC should be harder than stainless but it's still new. Wonder if it chips off barrel hoods?

The Glock OEM barrel is hard despite any applied finish.

If it helps cleaning the barrel bore, then it should be alright no matter what finish you like. That's the real goal.

There's this phenomena with inferior barrels...

It happened to me when shooting a Czechoslovakian made CZ75B. Shot 900 rounds through and the bullets dropped like a garden hose from center. The barrel lost pressure and everything looked okay. It happened again when shooting a H&R .22 revolver. I wasn't flinching and it wasn't the ammo either because I had to aim way above the target at 20ft to hit it.

You got a good deal on that one toten.

 

Titanium Nitride is a beast all to its own, because it galls bad against stainless.

Don't know about TiCN, seems redo-able thereby preserving the base metal in form.

DLC should be harder than stainless but it's still new. Wonder if it chips off barrel hoods?

The Glock OEM barrel is hard despite any applied finish.

If it helps cleaning the barrel bore, then it should be alright no matter what finish you like. That's the real goal.

There's this phenomena with inferior barrels...

It happened to me when shooting a Czechoslovakian made CZ75B. Shot 900 rounds through and the bullets dropped like a garden hose from center. The barrel lost pressure and everything looked okay. It happened again when shooting a H&R .22 revolver. I wasn't flinching and it wasn't the ammo either because I had to aim way above the target at 20ft to hit it.

You got a good deal on that one toten.

They're available for that price to anyone: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Storm-Lake-...tormlake-34036-/222319634102?var=&hash=item33c34866b6:m:m6Gu5Hi3ELblYGRvfMvOeGg

I'm hoping it works well, we'll see. It fits into my current Gen2 G22 and locks up without a problem (although I haven't shot it up), significantly tighter than factory (similar to the S3F I have), hopefully it fits the other slide I have coming (which will be used with an 80% frame, and will get a red dot sunk into it).

 

So funny the feed ramp is not pictured in that ebay listing.

Wonder if COAL wound be an issue with tapered or splitzer rounds.

9 MM can be forgiving due to being a tapered round, but can create feed ramp jams when the oglive smashes into it, not to mention set back issues.

Set back would cause frame chipping from slide slap.

I'm still not sold on SL.

[FYI] If it doesn't fit, you may need to file back the flat opposite of the hood in order to get it to fall into the slide, by reducing the front of the chamber hood - not the back. As long as a correctly loaded 9 MM round does not extend past the barrel hood outwardly - not considering irregular case mouths or crimps, head space should not be a issue.

A Glock headspaces from the extractor claw, but always check by the barrel.

[FYI] The bottom of the before chamber flat would control the height of the barrel into the slide when the slide lock yields to mate with the barrel's bottom lug catch. So you'd want to be careful not to deepen this flat unless necessary. If deepened too much, it can mess up the slide lock and pop over the lock causing a serious problem.

I wish the best for your endeavor and please consider that a finish should be done when all modifications are already completed. Few people can fit parts without damaging the finish in respect to functional necessity of the part needing to be fit.