KKM Glock 23 barrel

[copperhead]

Wanted to see if any of you had any thoughts on the KKM barrel for the Glock 23....haven't really done any research on them, but I'd like to make my 23 a little more accurate (not that it was inaccurate in the first place)

Anyways, do you really think it's worth the $150 for it? Any cheaper/better barrel suggestions?

[Oceanbob]

I don't think an aftermarket barrel makes your Glock measurably more accurate. Or more reliable. In fact, an aftermarket barrel has a tighter chamber and it more finicky about reloads and proper resizing (if you do reload).

Sometimes the cheap reloads you buy at the range will not be resized full length and won't run 100% in an aftermarket barrel.

A Glock barrel is built for war and has a loose chamber so it will feed just about any ammo you can scounge up.

I know if I shoot (for example) some 10MM ammo in my normal Glock barrel and reload it without a Full Length Resizing with my Dillon 550B, that ammo will not feed or fit into my KKM barrel (or my lonewolf). The shell goes about half way in and jams. So for sure, aftermarket barrels run a tighter chamber.

For me the reasons for an aftermarket barrel are:

1. You can reload with LEAD bullets and shoot lead without issues.
(Glock barrels use special polygonal rifling not found in most handguns. This rifling is one of the main reasons Glocks are extremely accurate guns. However, the same rifling can cause a high degree of leading when not using jacketed bullets.)
So if you shoot alot and reload with lead (less expensive) an aftermarket barrel is a good idea.

2. An aftermarket barrel has better chamber support than a Glock barrel. This refers to the 6 o'clock position where the feed ramp enters the bottom of the barrel. This is normally not an issue, but if you RELOAD hot ammo the aftermarket barrel has a tighter chamber and better support to prevent case bulge or case blowout. (called the GLOCK SMILE).

3. Some states require a 6 inch barrel for hunting. More speed on the round. And an aftermarket barrel does this. Glock does offer a 6 inch factory hunting barrel for the 10MMs. (in the GLOCK 20). But lonewolf really does a better job and costs much less. $.

4. Changing the caliber. On your Glock 23, changing to .357 SIG or 9MM is easy with another barrel.

An example of GLOCK SMILE on a very HOT 10MM round in a normal GLOCK barrel. You can see the bulge where the feeding ramp undercuts the barrel circumference. (less support). This is not an issue unless you're running extremely hot ammo (reloads mostly).



Here you can see the support of various barrels. Actually Lonewolf has the best support.



While I have a couple of KKMs and they are nice, a better deal is Lonewolf for about $100. I would rather change calibers to give me more options. But, Hey..its only money.

Be well.
Bob

[TAS]

You'll probably get a lot of different opinions on this one. Many will say just to leave it alone but I like the idea of getting rid of the leading problem with the stock polygonal barrels, in the event I'm shooting lead instead of jacketed rounds.

While I have a G23, I haven't changed the barrel yet - it's just a matter of time. I do have the KKM barrel in my G20 and I do like the accuracy over stock. Another popular choice you'll hear about is the LoneWolf barrel for about 2/3 the price but I don't have any personal experience with it. I know though if you don't like their logo, you can also get the 'blind' logo option. So, when I go to changing mine out on the G23, it will likely be either the KKM or LoneWolf.

Good luck on your decision - I don't think you can go wrong with the KKM though.

[jdg30]

I have a Glock 27 KKM barrel and also a .40/9mm KKM conversion barrel for the G27. They are high quality barrels and have very nice fit and finish. I noticed that the gun shot very well with either KKM barrel.

The brass ejected out of the KKM barrels has no bulge whatsoever. Brass ejected out of the stock .40 barrel has a slight bulge near the base of the case. The barrel chambers on the KKM's are definitely tighter than stock Glock barrels which can be good and bad depending on how you look at it.

I bought KKM barrels before I started reloading and before I shot the gun with the stock barrel very much, thinking that I wanted to extend the life of my brass and avoid dealing with the "Glock bulge". Problem is that not all of my .40 brass that I collect is fired out of a KKM barrel and much of it is fired from other people's Glocks. What I've found is that reloads don't work as well in the KKM barrels because the chamber is so tight and sometimes will cause malfuntions (Failure to feed). I've had no malfuntions with shooting reloads out of the stock Glock barrel because it is has a slightly relieved chamber for reliability.

I also had a few failures to feed with 9mm reloads in the KKM conversion barrel but perfect feeding reliability with stock Glock 9mm barrels.

With factory ammo my G27 KKM barrel has had a couple failures to feed (out of a couple thousand rounds) but it isn't often. With the experiences I've had I would say that KKM barrels are very good quality and worth the money but the stock Glock barrels work just as well, probably better from a reliability standpoint. I noticed a slight increase in accuracy with the KKM barrels but nothing spectacular.

If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't buy the G27 replacement barrel because I don't need it but I would still buy the .40/9mm conversion barrel because it allows me to shoot two calibers in one. As far as paying to improve accuracy, I would just use the money to shoot more out of the stock Glock barrel.

[BamBam-31]

Oceanbob pretty much nailed it.

For you to really improve the accuracy of your Glock over stock, you'd have to go the gunsmith fit route (and pay an additional $100+ on top of the barrel's cost for the actual fitting). Any drop-in type barrel will in all likelihood not improve the pistol's inherent accuracy by too much (if at all). An OEM Glock barrel is already accurate enough to get consistent hits on 100 yd. gongs, if you do you part.

That said, I do have a 45-10 KKM conversion barrel in my G21sf, and it's been both reliable and accurate. If you're changing the barrel out for any of the reasons Oceanbob listed, I wouldn't hesitate to go with KKM.