Semi-drop in of Bar sto barrels and other brands of after market custom types?

[His lordship.]

Thinking of getting an after market barrel down the road for my Glock 17.  Bar-sto and others talk about a "Semi-drop in", went to their website and they say 7 out of 10 will just drop right in without gunsmith fitting.  What has been your experience with this and is there a good brand of barrel that will just drop right in other than the Glock brand? 

Would like to get a long barrel with a compensator, but not sure if the hole in the slide would have to be widened as the barrel is longer.  Or could go with the same stock barrel length.  I am new to the Glock subject as I just got my pistol a few days ago.  I know that the Colt 1911 is an art to custom fit barrels and other components, so was hoping to avoid the gunsmith fees for the Glock.

Thanks.

[Savage]

"Lone Wolf Distributors" barrels work as good as any I've tried in Glocks. I don't see any advantage to going to a fitted barrel in the Glock. The LWD barrels drop in, and seem to be " Glock" accurate. There's not a lot of advantage to a compensator on a 9mm Glock with any sane load, but if you have to have one, LWD sells threaded barrels.
Savage

[Keith L]

"Lone Wolf Distributors" barrels work as good as any I've tried in Glocks. I don't see any advantage to going to a fitted barrel in the Glock. The LWD barrels drop in, and seem to be " Glock" accurate. There's not a lot of advantage to a compensator on a 9mm Glock with any sane load, but if you have to have one, LWD sells threaded barrels.
Savage

I have a Lone Wolf with a compensator, and nothing has to be changed.  It is easy to shoot and works well.  For protection I put the Glock barrel back in.

[HAMMERHEAD]

I bought a KKM drop in .40s&w conversion barrel for my Glock 20 a few years back. Fit and functioned perfectly and measured exactly the same as the stock 10mm barrel in every measurement I could take with my calipers. Very impressive barrel, very accurate.
I'm thinking of getting a G-29 and I'm disappointed KKM doesn't make a .40 barrel for that.

[muffindrvr]

yea just go with a lone wolf barrel .they are cheap enough and accurate. i have one for my model 21 it works just fine

[SDGlock23]

I have several Lone Wolf barrels for my many Glocks, and they all drop right in.  The first barrel I ever bought was a Bar-Sto and it had to be fitted, even though it was a semi-drop in version.  I would say it does shoot a bit better than the Lone Wolf barrels, but for the money, Lone Wolf is hard to beat.

[NYH1]

I know I'm a little late here but I bought a Lone Wolf Distributors 9mm conversion barrel for my G22 (40 S&W) and it's been absolutely great.  I've shot 4/500 rounds through it so far and it's worked just as well as the barrel that came in it and the factory G31 barrel (357 Sig) I bought for it.  Now I have three pistols in one.  I highly recommend Lone Wolf Distributors barrels! 

[Coup De Grâce]

I'm going to agree that Lone Wolf Barrels are a good value - They are!  However, it doesn't take more than a brief search over at Glock Talk to discover that, 'trouble-free' many of them ain't.  (This is, probably, the reason why Lone Wolf runs a fix-it program for these barrels.) 

These barrels are made in Taiwan out of very high quality steel.  One of the hardest I've ever examined.  The exterior lug configuration is not quite as tight as other drop-in barrels; proper lug fit has, to my knowledge, never been an issue on these barrels.  Instead it's a very tight chamber diameter and a very sharp mouth edges that too often cause problems.   

I've got semi drop-in, Bar-Sto Precision barrels in all, but one, of my Glocks.  (That will soon change!)  Contrary to what's been suggested in this thread, ideally, you want a semi drop-in barrel to ALMOST fit.  (Within a .001")  The usual places where you're going to have to remove material are on the lip of the barrel hood, and the sides of the barrel lugs. 

Personally, if I got a semi drop-in barrel that actually dropped right in I'd feel as if I didn't get a decent barrel.  This is because a little bit of barrel fitting is a very good thing!  Any of these barrels will improve accuracy over a factory stock barrel; however, a Bar-Sto Precision barrel and decent ammunition can bring a Glock up to (almost) the performance level of a tight 1911.  (I shoot my Glocks, 'even Steven' with 1911 shooters all of the time.) 

Originally, I got into precision barrel fitting after a well-known pistolsmith did an obviously inferior job of installing one of my Bar-Sto barrels.  I said to myself that if he could do it, then, so could I; and, although initially very time consuming, that's exactly what I did.   

[wganz]

You cannot use a Lone Wolf Distributors barrel on the CCF race frame due to the differences in tolerances. Got that directly an email from the President of CCF.

Got two different Lone Wolf barrels for my G33. A 9mm conversion and the longer G32 barrel for it. Next on the shopping list is the LWD equivalent of a G27 barrel for it.

[Glock Doctor]

   OK, first, I don't think you mean, 'compensation'.  I think you're referring to barrel muzzle porting.  The second question that comes to mind is, 'Do you really need a ported 9mm barrel?'  The 9mm recoil is already quite light; and, unless you're an accomplished speed shooter, you're not going to realize any significant advantage from the additional expense. 

This being said, I do use extended and muzzle-ported Bar-Sto Precision barrels on all, but two, of my semiautomatic pistols.  Here's the thing:  The Lone Wolf barrels are a good piece of steel; but, a very high percentage of the chambers are exceedingly tight and the edges around the chamber mouths are too sharp.  Personally, I would NOT use an LWD barrel for everyday carry.  However, 99% of the time, an LWD barrel will simply drop right in. 

And, there's the rub!  I've been buying and hand-fitting my own Bar-Sto barrels for many years, now.  In fact, if you want an accurate pistol you do NOT want the barrel to simply drop right in.  You want it to be carefully custom-fitted in place with all of the excess tolerance (slop) taken out of the barrel's hood and lugs. 

I, also, shoot Glock pistols that will go, 'neck and neck' with all but the most expensive and tightly fitted of 1911 pattern pistols.  (Of course I've made other improvements, too; but a well-fitted barrel is a big part of the accuracy I'm getting.) 

Hand-fitting a semi drop-in barrel ain't that tough a thing to do.  It takes a good eye and a lot of patience - That's all.  The only tools you'll need are a set of flat diamond knife sharpeners, a machinist's square, (or a flat pane of window glass) and a Dremel Tool with an assortment of polishing heads. 

The first one I did took 3 hours to complete.  The most recent took 45 minutes.  I have an armorer friend who's actually had to do more work to an LWD barrel than anything I've ever had to do to a Bar-Sto.  In fact, I'd be less than satisfied with any Bar-Sto barrel that just dropped right in.  (Which is, 'Why' I've ordered all of my Bar-Sto barrels directly from Irv Stone.)   

[1sourdough]

 I was recently looking for a higher capacity lightweight 9mm, mostly for some woods carry & a few other uses. I decided to go with my Glock 23 & a 9mm conversion barrel. I'm still in the process, no testing done yet. I have ordered a KKM 9mm barrel though, right from KKM. I talked to them yesterday & he said they have a fresh batch of barrels ready to ship out in 10 days or so. A little bit more $$ but good reviews & USA made.

  I also have a few 9mm mags coming from Natchez, 15 & 17 rounders. They have a mag sale going on right now. I'm going to start off with the barrel & mags & not change anything else for starters.