Red dot sight improved groups. Storm Lake barrel made them worse.

[Idaho45guy]

Installed my new Burris Fastfire III red dot on my Glock G19 Gen 5 MOS and took it to the range today to sight it in.

I had a bunch of other loads I've been working on, but didn't bring them since I only had a couple of hours before my shift tonight. But I did bring 2 handloads and 2 factory loads. I also brought my old Storm Lake barrel that I bought for my old G19 Gen 4 to see if it helped.

Internet is slow, so only a couple of the photos have uploaded.

Bottom line is the pistol has officially met my criteria for a carry gun by breaking the sub-2" barrier at 25yds with a best of 1 7/8" 5-shot group at 25yds using a sandbag rest.

Groups shrunk using the red dot with all previously tested ammo. So, it was my eyes. 7yd offhand groups saw no improvement with the red dot, confirming that my eyes are the limiting factor in accuracy.

Put in the Storm Lake barrel and groups expanded nearly 100%. It's pretty much garbage compared to the stock barrel. Had the same results with the older G19 as well.

Best group of the day was using 115gr Hornady FMJs with 5.5gr of Ramshot Silhouette...

232800

Best overall factory ammo was the Remington UMC 115gr JHP ammo. It would do close to 2" and was consistently between 2-3"...

232801

Storm Lake Barrel performed poorly with everything...

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[Silvercreek Farmer]

Interesting, keep the posts coming! I'm looking at a Red Dot for a Smith 69. Wonder what is wrong with the Storm Lake barrel?

[35remington]

Since the SL barrel is protruding, I am somewhat curious whether its diameter where it contacts the end of the slide is the same diameter as the very end of the barrel itself.

It is possible that it may have been intended for a pistol with a longer slide.

[GARD72977]

I have a Storm Lake BBL in A 24 and it sucks

[erdyalx]

I too have switched back to Glock stock barrels. I have tried many aftermarket brands and they didnt improve my groups.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Looks like you got your self a real good shooter

[ghh3rd]

Red dots are my savior, since my old eyes kinda suck. I’d love to be able to see iron sights, but red dot sights have kept shooting fun. Glad it’s working out for you.

[Idaho45guy]

Since the SL barrel is protruding, I am somewhat curious whether its diameter where it contacts the end of the slide is the same diameter as the very end of the barrel itself.

It is possible that it may have been intended for a pistol with a longer slide.

No. The part that is protruding is ported. It is specifically designed for the G19.

[lefty o]

bought a storm lake barrel years ago, absolutely not impressed with it. only aftermarket glock barrels ive seen that were worth anything are KKM, and Jarvis.

[Idaho45guy]

bought a storm lake barrel years ago, absolutely not impressed with it. only aftermarket glock barrels ive seen that were worth anything are KKM, and Jarvis.

My KKM barrel for my G29 was purchased solely for the extended length to maximize woods carry loads and peace of mind for shooting lots of cast. I haven't noticed accuracy changes either way and it has been a great barrel.

I called Storm Lake customer service after the first range session with my barrel to ask what weight bullets work best with their barrels and to tell them how bad the groups were. The person I talked to was dismissive and disinterested in making things right. I should have pressed him on taking the barrel back and either getting it to perform as advertised or replace my money.

Any online thread I see about aftermarket barrels, I share my negative experience with Storm Lake. I hopefully have cost them in sales about what I lost in purchasing one of their crappy barrels.

[FergusonTO35]

Strange! My experience with SL customer service was the complete opposite. I asked them to throat my 19 and 26 barrels and they were too happy do so, in fact turnaround time was less than a week door to door.

[35remington]

Could not see the ports in the photo.

Would be interesting to measure the relevant places on the SL barrel to see if it differed dimensionally from the Glock barrel. Lug feet to top of lengagement at the front of chamber, breech hood gap when locked in slide if any, and barrel diameter adjacent to front of slide

[Petrol & Powder]

Proving once again that Glocks come from the factory with barrels (I swear, there was a barrel in every new pistol I've seen :p) AND that factory barrel actually works ! No kidding, bullets will actually come out the end of that factory barrel and will hit the target pretty close to where you point the gun.


:kidding:

With the exception of night sights, most "improvements" I've seen performed on Glocks are not actual improvements.
I don't know why some people feel a need to replace parts on Glocks but it has been my experience that the overwhelming effect is that Glock "upgrades" just make your wallet lighter.

[35remington]

Well, likely the trigger also.

[missionary5155]

Yea... the 3.5 pound triggers do work nice.

[Idaho45guy]

Proving once again that Glocks come from the factory with barrels (I swear, there was a barrel in every new pistol I've seen :p) AND that factory barrel actually works ! No kidding, bullets will actually come out the end of that factory barrel and will hit the target pretty close to where you point the gun.


:kidding:

With the exception of night sights, most "improvements" I've seen performed on Glocks are not actual improvements.
I don't know why some people feel a need to replace parts on Glocks but it has been my experience that the overwhelming effect is that Glock "upgrades" just make your wallet lighter.

There are a lot of things you can do to a Glock; they are the small block Chevy of the gun world. But there are very few things you should do to a Glock...

[FergusonTO35]

My Storm Lake tubes are more forgiving of problematic boolits and warm loads than the OEM barrel. When working up a new load I always start with them. If it leads the SL barrel, then I know its a definite no-go in the factory barrel. If it does well in the SL, then I give the latter a try and compare.

[ThomR]

If anyone is searching for a Glock barrel with traditional rifling I can recommend www.80pbuilder.com. Of course I only have a sample size of one, but it shoots a ragged hole while standing unsupported at 7 yards.