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Guns, Bows, Shooting Sports, and Hunting Need new barrel: Ported or non-ported?

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My Glock 22 was an old cop gun before I bought it and has seen many rounds through it. It has never been a favorite of mine for shooting pleasure or accuracy due to the NY-style XTRA-HEAVY trigger :eek: and poor factory sights.



After years of languishing in defense-gun hidey-holes (the only reason I bought a Glock is I KNOW it will always come up shooting when it has to), I have recently decided to attempt to make it a gun I truly like and can shoot well.



A Ghost Rocket practical/tactical trigger job Ghost Inc. HOW OUR TRIGGERS WORK made a WORLD of difference!! Less than half as much pre-travel, a crisp break, and zero overtravel have transformed that aspect from most-hated to sweet and enjoyable. The cop-installed New York trigger my gun came with, at 8 to 12 pounds pull, was WAY worse than even the crunchy and heavy factory Glock trigger, so the felt difference on my gun was huge. Worth every penny!!



An Advantage Tactical Sight also caught my eye and is now being tested and gotten used to. It is far better than cheap painted white blobs and I think I will like it better every time I shoot once I get the gun to group better. I will especially be watching for the tritium version they are supposed to be coming out with. It gives an immediate and totally instinctive alignment and a point-of-precison at the apex while also offering a much better view of the target. Great daytime and dusk visibility, too.



But I can still only get 3 to 4 inch (at best) groups at just 15 yards. Even then, only 8 out of 10 slow, deliberate shots will be in those groups. At least two will be inexplicable flyers up to 6 inches away. That's shooting from any position I try, including benchrest. For me, that is unacceptable. I can do better rapid-fire with my Ruger, or my friend's Glock 22C, at 20 yards.



I know the Glock barrel is a combat barrel made to feed and fire anything under any condition and is not made for precision shooting. It has that funky european Polygonal rifling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that will not allow the use of non-jacketed lead bullets. The chamber is so sloppy, that it seems a . 45 ACP has a fair chance of fitting in the . 40 caliber hole. Wow, is it ever sloppy!! There is no way every round chambers the same, and, therefore, no way every round enters and exits the barrel the same. Whether it was made this way or is just excessively worn, I cannot be sure.



My friend has a Glock 22C, a much newer factory-compensated version in the same . 40 S&W caliber. I can shoot his gun very well with no flyers. This makes me strongly suspect the barrel on my gun might indeed be the problem.



Other Glock owners, on the brink of disgust over accuracy, have completely changed their dim view of the weapon by changing to a quality aftermarket, broach-cut barrel that cut their group sizes dramatically.



I have found a good price on Storm Lake barrels. I plan to order one this week. However, I cannot decide between a stock-length replacement barrel (non-ported), or a 0. 700" longer 2-port barrel.



I will likely use the Glock for ccw as well as (hopefully) enjoyable recreational shooting.



After shooting my friend's 22C, the ported Storm Lake barrel really has me intrigued.



Will the extra (stainless steel) 0. 700" protrusion of the barrel beyond the slide just look too ugly or maybe even interfere with weapon presentation in an emergency?



Will the 2-ports and slightly heavier muzzle make a noticeable, and welcome, improvement on muzzle-flip and recoil?



Which factor or concern should guide my choice in barrels? While I hope I never need to draw my Glock in self-defense, I also hope to shoot it as much as I can afford to recreationally. The ported barrel is actually $17 cheaper, btw.
 
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It was a good upgrade!

Just in case anyone else is considering an aftermarket barrel, I can now report the one I bought (non-ported, standard length, Storm Lake SS) was worth every penny!

It arrived yesterday and I just got done putting 350 rounds through it at the range. My groups at 25 yards were better than my groups at 15 yards with the stock barrel. Not just a little better; a LOT better. Truly tight groups and no more inexplicable "flyers". If a bullet missed the mark, it was all me and I knew it. That kind of gun consistency really helps identify and correct problems with shooting form.

When you do your part right, the gun rewards you with tight groups. Period. When you screw up, it tells on you immediately. There is no more wondering "how much is me and how much is the gun?". Even my misses were consistently grouped (low) since I seem to have one particular flaw in my form that creeps in when I shoot too fast or get sloppy. It will be far easier to work on that flaw now.

250 rounds were factory bulk reloads; 100 were factory new. Only 1 reload failed to chamber completely and I had to assist the slide forward.

The chamber on this new barrel is MUCH tighter than the factory barrel and I expected more feed problems than that at least until it was broke-in good. It was an absolutely perfect drop-in fit, too. Not the slightest modification or fitting needed.

This Glock is getting more and more fun to shoot as I work my way through the improvements in sights, trigger, and barrel! Few things are as disappointing as owning a gun you cannot shoot well. Few things are as rewarding as a gun that you can shoot very well!

I may now go ahead and buy the longer ported version of this barrel as well. Use the short one for carry and the long ported one for pleasure. It takes less than 60 seconds to change them.
 
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If you get a ported barrel, IMHO it shouldn't be used as a self defense/carry weapon.



Too much muzzle blast, muzzle flash, and the chance of the ports hooking on clothing, etc.



Use the ported barrel for shooting, and the regular barrel for concealed carry. It takes less than 30 seconds to change barrels in a Glock.
 
The only thing a ported barrel does is reduce muzzle flip / recoil. It will not enhance the accuracy of a shot only the speed in which an accurate follow up shot can be fired.
 
I agree with both of you. That's why I got the standard, non-ported barrel for now. No regrets.

If this gun continues to be more and more fun and accurate to shoot, I will gladly buy the ported version for target shooting in the future. Maybe even do the progressive porting and have the slide ported to match. It won't affect the gun at all with a non-ported barrel installed.

I would actually like to try a Glock 24 sometime for target shooting. Longer barrel and slide, better factory trigger, factory compensated. Made for punching holes in paper and bowling pins!
 
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I just tried yet another new "toy" to reduce muzzle flip and felt recoil WITHOUT resorting to porting and, so far, it works just as well, maybe better, as the factory porting on my friend's Glock 22C (C is for "compensated"). I am amazed at how much it tamed my Glock 22!



It's the 2-stage Sprinco recoil rod and spring. If it holds up well (lifetime warranty), they have a winner there, folks.



And the groups keep getting smaller... The best kind of of "Group Therapy"! ;)
 
I know this is old but In my Glock 36 The ramp took a chunk from my own dumb arse doing. The BEST move I ever did was drop it! I bought a Jarvis and at first looks I thouht how could all the rave come about this barell. After talking to the guys at LoneWolf I bit and am glad I did. The ramp angle is already at the "Modified" style that some plate shooters have done to theirs and I no longer have that "settle in" feel as the chamber gets fed.



My buddies 26 has the same feel as the slide comes home pushing the next round in. Maybee it is me (And I have been told that) but it is something I do not feel in other guns.



Energy transfer somehow is better as I TRIED a limp wrist shot and the . 45 single stack Glocks need a firm grip or you may be stovepiping your next round. Nope ... Bang and next bang and next. I swear I don't feel that last "hump" of the slide coming forward anymore.



Also my 2 cents on Compensated barrels are good for reducing flip. anything from 40 , 10Mil on down I wouldn't do it as in a night time thing, heaven forbid, you are giving up your location and B forget followup shots as the flash may end up distorting your immediate view.
 
Hey Tim, this may be off-topic a bit, but when you say "stovepiping", what exactly are you talking about? Is it the failure to fully chamber the next round and having it fire with the chamber partially open?

The reason I ask is because of an empty . 45 acp brass casing I found at the public range on the ground yesterday. One look, and I think whoever fired it would have been very fortunate not to have been seriously hurt!

The case is blown out halfway around it's circumference just above the rim shoulder. You can see where it looks like the top 3/4 of the brass was contained by the chamber, but that bottom 1/4 or so is a blown-out, ballooned mess! Yikes! I can't imagine having that happen inches from my face!!

Is that possibly the result of "stovepiping"?

BTW: There was no fresh blood anywhere, so I'm assuming the shooter got lucky.
 
could explain but...
#ad


IMO Glocks tend to be susceptible to this. Due to the flex in the polymer if it is dirty or you are not holding it firmly there is enough recoil absorption to not fully extract the spent round. My old duty one would do this often if I did not make sure I grasped it with the grip of death
 

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