XDM conversion, 10mm to 40 S&W and 357 Sig

[Maverick44]

Bar-Sto offers 9x25 Dillon, 40 S&W, and 357 Sig barrels for the 4.5" 10mm XDM, which is what I have. All of these are calibers I'd like to own in a full sized handgun, and considering how much I like my XDM, I think it would make sense to pick up these barrels and have a kick ass multi caliber system. It would also be far cheaper than buying three more XDMs.

Now, I know the 9x25 is a simple conversion. All you need is a barrel. The 10mm springs (especially mine since I upgraded to some heavier springs) and the 10mm mag will work just fine with 9x25.

40 S&W and 357 Sig is what I'm not entirely sure about. I assume they would need lighter springs (which are cheap enough to buy), but I am not sure about the mags. Factory XDM 40 and 357 mags will not fit the 10/45 frame XDMs. Should unmodified 10mm mags work just fine?

 

[Bozz10mm]

They should work just fine. At least they do with the Glock 20 when shooting 40 S&W. Don't know why XDm mags wouldn't work the same. 357 Sig? You won't know til you try it.

 

[BRD@66]

My Glock .357 Sig mags work as .40 mags -only a barrel change to make a model 32 into a model 23 (IIRC).

 

[Maverick44]

Welp, I'm going for it. I'm starting out with a 357 Sig barrel, and then I'll probably go for the 40 S&W. I bought a shit ton of .40 brass, and more than enough 357 Sig brass to get me going.

I looked at the cost of getting some 9x25 Dillon dies, and they are stoopid expensive ($150). I might hold off on getting that barrel until later...

 

[xdmikey]

I shoot 40 in my g20 with the stock barrel.

I also load 10mm rounds in 40 cases. They are NOT nuclear rounds, just 10mm that I shoot at the range.

They are loaded long, 10mm COL long. There is a thread or two on GT on this.

 

[Maverick44]

I gotta hand it to Bar Sto, they are FAST. Their stated wait time for a barrel is 4 weeks MIN on their site. They got it done and shipped in 1 week. That kind of caught me off guard, so I had to hurry up and buy the dies. I also emailed them a question last week, and they responded in less than 2 hours. That is some grade A customer service.

I will do a full review when it gets here.

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[Maverick44]

I got the barrel in today!

They say that 75% of all of their semi fit barrels should just drop in. Guess who got one of the 25%?

After a bit of research and a lot of talking myself up to do it, I fitted the thing myself. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. It was VERY simple. You've just got to think ahead, and take your sweet time. I finally got it to drop in freely, and there is noticeably less wiggle room than in the factory "match" barrel. This thing aught to shoot like a dream.

I'll do a review thread after I get the dies in and put a couple hundred rounds through it.

 

[xdmikey]

The 357Sig and 40S&W are identical cases back to back.

Yours isn’t the first story I’ve heard about great products from Barstow.
I can’t wait to hear about your shooting experience with it.

 

[Maverick44]

50 rounds in, and I am completely ecstatic. I was worried that this barrel might be a bit finicky about shooting lead or powder coated lead bullets due to the right tolerances in the chamber. It's not. It fed the 120gr coated bullets smoothly. There wasn't a single issue, and the accuracy from the get go was fantastic. I can't wait to start working up loads in this thing.

I'll load up a pile of ammo and put it through it's paces next week.

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[xdmikey]

So the 50 you fired were your handloads?

That’s what I ant to hear about is loading the bottlenecks. I’m strongly considering loading X25 as well, depending on how it goes for you.

Thanks for the info Maverick.

 

[Maverick44]

So the 50 you fired were your handloads?

That’s what I ant to hear about is loading the bottlenecks. I’m strongly considering loading X25 as well, depending on how it goes for you.

Thanks for the info Maverick.

Yep, hand loads with hand cast bullets that I powder coated myself. I would highly recommend a Lee factory crimp die. Most places I looked for reloading info recommend one for 357 Sig, and I have a few guns in other calibers that will not feed ammo unless it has been ran through a Lee FCD. They are a cheap investment ($20) for reliable ammo.

It's best to think of 357 Sig as a tiny rifle cartridge, not a pistol cartridge. It uses the same kind of crimp you would use on a 5.56, it headspaces off of the shoulder like most rifles, and you have to lube the cases before sizing because Dillon is the only company making carbide sizing dies for 357 Sig that I know of, and they aren't cheap. You're stuck with steel dies. It's a little picky about bullet selection. Most round nose 9mm bullets aren't going to feed well if at all. They're too long. Truncated cones and hollow points are best, though they can be a bit too long too. It's best to do research before you buy new bullets to load in your 357 Sig.

So far, I like it. It's a little snappy, but certainly a fun round to load and shoot.

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[Maverick44]

I finally got a chance to load some rounds and shoot some more. I've put 250 rounds through it, so a full review is coming soon. I'll link it to this thread when I post it.

 

[Maverick44]

It took 4 hours, but it's done! https://www.texasguntalk.com/threads/review-bar-sto-357-sig-barrel-for-the-xdm.94789/

 

[dannyhunget]

@Maverick44 I just ordered the 40 S&W barrel for my xdm 10mm. Would you recommend I get a different spring?

 

[Maverick44]

@Maverick44 I just ordered the 40 S&W barrel for my xdm 10mm. Would you recommend I get a different spring?

I'd shoot it first and see. Even with a slightly heavier spring, I'm still able to shoot some pretty light loads out of my 10mm.

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[xdmikey]

You don’t need a barrel. You can use to 10mm barrel.

 

[Maverick44]

You don’t need a barrel. You can use to 10mm barrel.

Yes and no. You can, and the gun will feed and fire fine, but there's a lot of debate out there over whether that's safe to do since you are basically head spacing off the rim of the cartridge with only the extractor to hold it in place, and whether or not doing this will cause excessive wear/damage to the extractor. It's one of those things where it's probably ok to do on occasion, but you do so at your own risk. I wouldn't tell someone to do it, but I also wouldn't tell them to absolutely not do it.

If you're going to do it a lot, I think you might as well just get the barrel.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

@Maverick44 I just ordered the 40 S&W barrel for my xdm 10mm. Would you recommend I get a different spring?

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[dannyhunget]

@xdmikey @Maverick44 yes, I had seen alot on the topic of shooting 40 in the 10. For what i want, buying the barrel made more sense.

 

[dannyhunget]

@xdmikey @Maverick44 yes, I had seen alot on the topic of shooting 40 in the 10. For what i want, buying the barrel made more sense.

@Maverick Well, I got one of the 25% too. Found a gunsmith that says he should be able to do it.