LONE WOLF G19 BARREL
Lone Wolf Distributors - Product Detail - LWD Barrel M/19 9mm Threaded 1/2 x 28 Black - $139.95
I bought this barrel for usage with my AAC TiRant 9mm suppressor that I snagged from Talon Arms. It's an extended and threaded model complete with the thread adapter. I opted for the black for the OEM look, in fact, Glock should sell an suppressor ready model, but hey ... that'd be too easy right? It's not like anyone else does it ... *cough*Sig, HK, Nighthawk, FN, etc.*cough*.
So how does it measure up? The thread protector is a bit of a pain in the ass. It rattles loose from just racking the slide, much less shooting it. The threads are cut nicely though, there is zero binding or run-out when the thread protector goes on.
I also experienced a 2" shift in my groups to the right at 7 yards. At first I thought it was me, but I replaced the barrel with the OEM model and the groups moved back to the center. With the big change in rifling and fit I suppose this isn't beyond the norm. I have known others to experience no shift going to Lone Wolf barrels, so your mileage may vary.
The barrel is quite a bit longer than the factory model. I gained a solid half inch of barrel length which makes me drive tacks! Actually, it doesn't ... my group size didn't change at all. I wasn't expecting this to change anything, but hey, it it did ... I'm not going to complain. If anything, I should have picked up a wee bit more velocity.
The lock-up area of the LW barrel is considerably taller. There is also a tighter hoodspace when the gun is in battery, so much so that the barrel is getting worn in and will sometimes lock a bit low in the breech. That should go away with just shooting the barrel in.
It does seem like the higher the round count through the barrel the better the gun shoots. When I first got it the gun was very spray and pray. I confirmed it by letting 3 very competant shooters try it out and getting the same, if not worse, results. At first I was getting 3 - 4" groups at 7 yards, and now I can put them into a 1.5 - 2" group with the occassional flyer out of no where.
From a reloaders perspective this barrel is a home run. The brass is supported MUCH better by the barrel which helps reduce the work load on the sizing die and the brass itself. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but you can tell a difference looking at the brass.
The barrel seems to like everything I feed it, including 147 grain bullets. The only malfunctions I had were due to some old ammo I ran through the gun that had enough gusto to push the bullet out of the barrel and not much beyond that.
The other aspect for reloaders ... the LW barrel uses a traditional rifling cut whereas the Glock barrel uses polygonal rifling. This makes the LW barrel lead-cast bullet safe for those penny conscious reloaders. Me personally, I'll stick to jacketed bullets so I don't have to suck lead fumes. I already have two voices, I don't need a third.
