Reliability of a G20/29 with .357 or .40 barrel

[Pheonix]

I am thinking of giving my G26 to my wife, and I will get a G20!

Problem is what will I get for a carry gun? I always thought the G26 was a little too thick. I would like something better than 9mm, that leaves .40, .357, and 10mm. The G29 is thicker than the 26 . Due to varying availability/price of ammo both the 29 & 20 would be used with different calibers. How reliable are they with the aftermarket barrels?

To answer your next question I do reload but will need a new machine to make the volume I would need for an autoloader.

Maybe for a carry gun I should just get a Sig or something.

 

[Rich357]

Congrats on the G20!

You might ask Bar-Sto about the reliability of .40 barrels for a G20 or G29. You could also get a complete upper assembly for the G20 or G29 to shoot .45 Auto. Speaking of .45s the G36 is slim.

If you got a G33 or G27 you could switch cartridges with just a barrel change. Don't be surprised if you get them mixed up with
your wife's G26. They look very much alike.

SIGs are outstanding but they don't come in 10mm. The P229 will shoot either the .40S&W or .357SIG with just a factory barrel change. The P239 can be switched too, but you may want to get
a different magazine.

Good luck,
Rich

 

[agtman]

.40 barrel in G-20.


My Federal Arms .40S&W barrel runs without a hitch. Decent accuracy, too. FA also sells one in .357Sig, as do KKM and Bar-Sto.

1 gun shooting 3 calibers. Ditto on the 10mm G-29's ability to morph into 2 other calibers with nothing more than a 5-second barrel swap needed.

The stock 10mm mags for the 20 & 29 work fine with these other cartridges - both the preban hi-caps and the postban 10-rounders. I've had no FTFs with mine.

There are similar reports from others who picked up aftermarket barrels in .357 Sig. You might go over to GT's 10Ring and do a Search for all the posts on this topic. Lots of info there.

HTH.

 

[mons meg]

How does that work with the shorter .40 cartridges? Do they slip and slide front to back in the 10mm magazine?

My next pistol will probably be a G29.

 

[agtman]

"... Do they slip and slide front to back in the 10mm magazine?"

No.

The .40's COAL is 1.120, whereas the 10mm's is 1.250. But where it matters for feeding, extraction and ejection purposes, the other dimensions are the same. 40S&W cartridges feed reliably from my Glock 10mm mags.

Both the .40S&W and .357Sig are case-derivatives from the parent 10mm cartridge. The .40's case is but a cut-down 10mm (.850 v. 992, respectively), and the 357Sig is a .40 case that's been necked-down to 9mm/.355 caliber.

Check out the posted info over on GT's 10Ring. Owners of 20s & 29s who've gotten aftermarket barrels in both calibers have posted their experiences. Do a Search, but the reports I've seen indicate no problems with this easy and relatively inexpensive barrel-swapping "conversion" with the Glock 10mms. The cost of 2 aftermarket barrels together (even from Bar-Sto) is still cheaper than the cost of a new Glock in either .40S&W or .357Sig.

 

[Rich357]

You're right from the point of view of case feeding and ejecting.

However, people should check their reloading manuals before they try to convert one case into another. The factory specs for these three cartirdges are different from what you would get by transforming one case into another.

Rich

 

[denfoote]

I bought an EFK kurz conversion barrel for my G29. No problems here!! Just cheaper plinking/target ammo!!

Top Glock