Calling all Glock experts...(Chris Z)

[bk09]

Well I have been tossing around the idea of going the lone wolf conversion barrel route of turning my 23 gen 4 into a 9mm. After perusing the Glock website and seeing the advertised dimensions of the 19 and 23 being exactly the same makes me wonder about interchangeability of slide parts. I know the frames are the same but I'm wondering if I could put a 19 extractor into a 23 slide to keep it as flawless on reliability as a Glock should be (never had an issue with it). And are there any other pieces I should look into replacing to make it a true 19 clone? I have stripped the slide bare before so I'm not afraid to get in depth with it, I love doing stuff like this.

I have wanted the conversion barrel for a while and would love to go to the range one day and put several hundred rounds down range from my 23, Walther PPQ, and Beretta 92A1 and have them all be the same caliber for the test. More or less for curiosity, then probably do a review of them all side by side.

[Gunscribe]

Brad, As LW states the only problem MAY be the ejector. I have had a LW 9-40 barrel as they are called and marked for my 23 for about 5 years. The ejector has not been a problem for me and it has functioned flawlessly through a few thousand rounds and several competitions. I would run it first before making any changes.

I have done some experimenting:

Slide and barrell from a Gen 4 22 on a Gen 2 17 and vice versa with no problem and,

a Gen 3 31 barrel in the slide of a Gen 3 22 and vice versa with no problems.

I am happy with my LW 9-40 and it was an as advertised drop in. Again, buy one and try it before making any other parts changes. You probably won't need to.

[bullit]

There is a profound saying in the universe that the originator of said saying once told me.....  "Never mess or alter with Gaston Glock's creation"  -C.M. Zeeb   

[bk09]

There is a profound saying in the universe that the originator of said saying once told me.....  "Never mess or alter with Gaston Glock's creation"  -C.M. Zeeb   

If the almighty Gaston Glock would have avoided hexagonal rifling I wouldn't have an issue with buying a 19 also. I love straight lead bullets too much

[landon410]

i'm pretty sure the EAA Witness is all interchangeable with all their caliber offerings

[Gunscribe]

IIRC "There are two things that should never be allowed anywhere near a Glock - a gunsmith and a dremel tool" - C.Zeeb

[mbrinks]

I've used the LW 409 barrels in my G23 before and they worked fine with Glock 9mm mags.  I had feeding issues with the Korean 9mm mags so I would avoid them.  (Those same Korean mags worked fine in my G19.)

You can get them slightly cheaper on eBay also...

[Chris Z]

I've converted Glock .40's to 9mm with Lone Wolf barrels before with some success. You will need G19 mags for sure.

My experience has been that mags were the only "must have". Changing the trigger housing (to one with a 9mm ejector) is recommended...... You can use the .40 ejector with a 9mm, but DO NOT use a 9mm ejector with .40 ammo.

I've never changed extractor before for conversions.....


I would never personally recommend shooting cast lead bullets in a factory Glock barrel..... However I know some folks who do it all the time, however they are careful to make sure they clean the barrel well each time.

[Chris Z]

IIRC "There are two things that should never be allowed anywhere near a Glock - a gunsmith and a dremel tool" - C.Zeeb

That I do say all the time!

[Mntnman]

I don't think you will need to change the extractor. I am unaware of anyone needing to after conversion.

My only experience is with a S&W M&P 357 that I have 40 cal (factory)and 9 mm (Storm Lake) barrels for and I have not had a hiccup thus far. I have shot a couple hundred 40 (Tula steel case and hollow point reloads) and probably 300 (mostly Tula steel cased) 9mm. Funny, I have only shot 8 357 sig Hornady defense ammo through it, but I am starting to find it so there will be more in the near future.

[SemperFiGuy]

FWIW, I've used a .40S&W Lone Wolf drop-in barrel in my Glock 33 (.357SIG).

Extractor and magazines all stay same; no changes required.

However, the LW barrel is really picky-picky about ammo and does not like truncated cone (TC)/flat point (FP) bullets.   Jams on feed ramp frequently.   (Now....if you want practice clearing jams.....)

It does feed the round-nose (RN) bullets pretty well.

So---guess what I already got a lotta made up:   TC and FP.   Bucketsfull.   (Had to eat a Lot of Ice Cream to get those buckets!)

Oh, Well:   There's a good alternative:  My Glock 22 will eat anything .40S&W.   Even TC and FP.  Just cram it in mag, tap, rack, pull trigger.  Works.  Bang!   By the bucketsful.

sfg

[bk09]

Thanks for the input guys. Might just try the barrel swap and if there are weak ejections I will replace the trigger housing. I would only swap it back to completely stock once a year when the weather cools down and it becomes my normal carry gun.

[20nickels]

Keep an eye on my thread about 9mm barrel reaming.  Some have had serious CS issues with LW while others have had great success but from what I've read the extractor has never been an issue.  If it is just change it.

[depserv]

Since there are Glock experts lurking around on this thread I have a question.  My practice Glock is a model 19; I don't know which generation.  I bought it years ago as a police trade-in.  I've run well over 10,000 rounds through it, and maybe closer to 20,000.  I've had the trigger spring break twice, a few years and thousands of rounds between the two.  The first time I had a gunsmith fix it because I was really busy back then.  Last time I replaced it myself, this time with a heavier spring that I got from Glockstore.  The spring only costs a few dollars, but when it breaks the gun is out of service.  So what I want to know is this: is this a common problem for Glocks, and is there anything I can do to keep it from breaking again?

[Chris Z]

Not common for the trigger spring sring to break that often although I have seen them break...

My first suspicion would be the spring has been put in backwards. Make sure if looks like an "S", not a " Z". I would only use factory Glock springs.... 

Bring the gun to me sometime when I'm at a local match at The Ike's  or thunder alley and I'll be happy to take a look at it and put a new trigger spring in

Another thing to note.... A nice feature with the Glock, is that if the trigger spring were to break in the middle of use.... The gun is still completely functional. All you have to do is keep the trigger pinned to the rear and rack the slide. Then do not release the trigger, only when it out to the reset point, and you can keep on firing the gun. If you accidentally let the trigger out and it goes dead again..... Keep it pinned to the rear and rack the slide again

[depserv]

Thanks for the input Chris.  I double checked and mine's in right.  Don't know about the one that broke though, since I didn't put it in.  Time will tell how this one works.