Glock question

[23 Blast]

Q: Why can't they just make a darn 1911?

J/k

Here's my question: If the G22 and G23 can be turned into 9mm guns by a simple swapping of the barrel and using a 9mm magazine, why isn't the reverse true with a G17 and G19? If the 9mm barrels can simply drop in on a 22 or 23 and not cause functioning issues, then it seems reasonable to assume the outside dimensions of the 9mm barrel and the .40 barrel are identical. So, why can't you do the reverse, i.e. drop a .40 barrel into a 17 or 19 and use a .40 magazine?

[GoingQuiet]

In theory, it might work but the breechface is 1mm wider than neccessary and the extractors and ejectors are both different.

You can't install a 40 barrel on a 9mm slide because the breechface is cut for a 9mm case, and not a 10mm case.

[JTROKS]

If you want to convert your 9mm Glock into 40 you'll have to get a complete top end and replace you ejector.

[Voo]

Q: Why can't they just make a darn 1911?

J/k

Here's my question: If the G22 and G23 can be turned into 9mm guns by a simple swapping of the barrel and using a 9mm magazine, why isn't the reverse true with a G17 and G19? If the 9mm barrels can simply drop in on a 22 or 23 and not cause functioning issues, then it seems reasonable to assume the outside dimensions of the 9mm barrel and the .40 barrel are identical. So, why can't you do the reverse, i.e. drop a .40 barrel into a 17 or 19 and use a .40 magazine?

Not to sound like a hardass.. but are you asking cause you're interested in wanting to convert this or are you just asking just to ask..?

If you understand the platform or gave it some reasonable thought, you'd realize what was needed for the conversion and why they simply can't be swapped.. It's nice that people can exchange ideas and knowledge, but when you ask like this, it somehow reminds me of my 6 yr old nephew who wants to know why everything is the way it is..

If you want to continue to ask "cute" questions, it's not my place to tell you otherwise..

[23 Blast]

I already have a G34 - I was interested in the feasibility of/ease of converting it to shoot .40 by simply acquiring a G35 barrel.

But, in the future, I'll PM you to be sure my questions are Internet-worthy before posting them. M'kay?

[tuna quesadilla]

Even if it was possible in your situation, swapping out your barrel to a conversion barrel is questionable at best. It may work but it will not be optimal. The extractor and ejector are designed for the specific caliber. You'd have to change those out too, (hypothetically speaking because the slide wouldn't even work with the barrel) or just get a new G35

[Whatisthis?]

^^^^ I've read plenty of threads where people just swap out the barrel and it still runs 100%. Sure the brass may not eject uniformly, but most people won't really even notice. There are also cases where some people swap out the barrel only and it doesn't run 100%, but it runs good enough for range use.

We don't know if he wants it for fun, range use, competition, or SD. If it's fun/range use and even competition, just swapping out the barrel would suffice IMO. If you do swap out the barrel, you at least want to run ~50 rounds through it to make sure you don't have some serious issue where you need to swap extractor and ejector (but that's a very very rare case imo)

[sirgiles]

a picture is worth a thousand words.

[23 Blast]

^ 34, 17, 19? Or 35, 22, 23?

Yeah, I know the lugs are different between the longer ones and the compact models (19/23), so I know that you couldn't put a g17 barrel in a G23 (or even a G19 for that matter)

GoingQuiet made a good point that I hadn't thought of, wrt to the breech face being sized to accommodate a different sized round (although the difference is "only" a scant 1mm) which could cause extraction and ejection issues.

I'm just curious if anyone has tried to make a 9mm Glock into a .40 before.

Edit: Ah - I only saw the first picture of the different barrels at first - the picture showing the different extractors and ejectors took a while to download. Thanks for that. Upon seeing that, it seems like even doing the .40-to-9mm conversion isn't optimal. Seems like the only "good" conversion would be .40-to.357 as they are basically the same casing with the .357 just being necked down.

Looks like I'll be in the market for a G35 or a G22 soon!

[sirgiles]

^ 34, 17, 19? Or 35, 22, 23?

Yeah, I know the lugs are different between the longer ones and the compact models (19/23), so I know that you couldn't put a g17 barrel in a G23 (or even a G19 for that matter)

GoingQuiet made a good point that I hadn't thought of, wrt to the breech face being sized to accommodate a different sized round (although the difference is "only" a scant 1mm) which could cause extraction and ejection issues.

I'm just curious if anyone has tried to make a 9mm Glock into a .40 before.

the answer goingquiet provided is correct. that is why there is a market for conversion barrels (but is still unreliable compared to just changing the complete upper) aside from being able to shoot lead out of glocks.