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So a while back I was looking into buying a compact frame Glock for HD and for my wife to shoot at the range, IPSC, etc. I wanted to share ammo and mags with my G34, but was a little leery stepping down from a full frame .45 to a compact 9mm for an HD gun. I read a ton of different opinions on which caliber to get when I found a thread on .40 to 9mm conversion.
After reading through this thread and searching many others on multiple websites, I decided this was the way to go. Get a G23 and use the .40 barrel for HD and switch to 9mm for the cheaper ammo, sharing mags, holsters, etc. at the range. It didn't really seem like there was any real info on these barrels, just opinions and one liners; mostly "Love it", or the occasional "It sucks". The reviews were mostly positive however so I decided to go for it.
After a quick trip to my new friends at Pro Force, the Mrs.'s G23 with Glock night sights went into gun jail. This allowed me time to get the Storm Lake .40 to 9mm conversion barrel. It had pretty much all positive reviews, not quite as passionate as the KKM barrel buyers, but way more than the Lone Wolf conversion. It was at my door for about $120, or about the price difference in 10 boxes of ammo.
There were a number of threads where people claimed to have needed to change out springs and extractors to get the barrels to work correctly. A quick visit of Wolff springs website revealed the G19 and G23 have the same weight recoil spring and another thread stated they shared the extractor. I left it alone. The barrel dropped right in and actually gave it a clean look with the stainless barrel peaking out.
We went to the range and put about 50 rounds of 180 grain Remington UMC .40 FMJ through the factory barrel with no problems. Changed the barrel to the Storm Lake 9mm, loaded up a mag from my G34 with 115 grain WWB 9mm FMJ and put 100 of those through it... without a single issue. No FTE, FTF, nothing. I don't know why, but I was sort of expecting it to have some sort of issue. Put the factory barrel back in and sent another 50 .40 cal down range with no problems. Add in the fact you can shoot lead and reloads out of it and it makes it an incredible deal.
I always hear that the G23 feels snappy compared to the G19. So after switching barrels and my wife shooting a few mags of 9mm I asked her what she thought. Being the true gun connoisseur that she is (<-- lying) , she stated, " I don't know, they feel the same."
So now when I see the question, "Which Glock should I buy, .40 or 9mm?", I say "both".
After reading through this thread and searching many others on multiple websites, I decided this was the way to go. Get a G23 and use the .40 barrel for HD and switch to 9mm for the cheaper ammo, sharing mags, holsters, etc. at the range. It didn't really seem like there was any real info on these barrels, just opinions and one liners; mostly "Love it", or the occasional "It sucks". The reviews were mostly positive however so I decided to go for it.
After a quick trip to my new friends at Pro Force, the Mrs.'s G23 with Glock night sights went into gun jail. This allowed me time to get the Storm Lake .40 to 9mm conversion barrel. It had pretty much all positive reviews, not quite as passionate as the KKM barrel buyers, but way more than the Lone Wolf conversion. It was at my door for about $120, or about the price difference in 10 boxes of ammo.
There were a number of threads where people claimed to have needed to change out springs and extractors to get the barrels to work correctly. A quick visit of Wolff springs website revealed the G19 and G23 have the same weight recoil spring and another thread stated they shared the extractor. I left it alone. The barrel dropped right in and actually gave it a clean look with the stainless barrel peaking out.
We went to the range and put about 50 rounds of 180 grain Remington UMC .40 FMJ through the factory barrel with no problems. Changed the barrel to the Storm Lake 9mm, loaded up a mag from my G34 with 115 grain WWB 9mm FMJ and put 100 of those through it... without a single issue. No FTE, FTF, nothing. I don't know why, but I was sort of expecting it to have some sort of issue. Put the factory barrel back in and sent another 50 .40 cal down range with no problems. Add in the fact you can shoot lead and reloads out of it and it makes it an incredible deal.
I always hear that the G23 feels snappy compared to the G19. So after switching barrels and my wife shooting a few mags of 9mm I asked her what she thought. Being the true gun connoisseur that she is (<-- lying) , she stated, " I don't know, they feel the same."
So now when I see the question, "Which Glock should I buy, .40 or 9mm?", I say "both".
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