School me on Glock interchangeability

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  • bdybdall

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    Can a Glock 10 mm accept a Glock .40 SW barrel, recoil spring and magazines so that I can shoot cheaper ammo in it?
    I want a 10mm but would rarely shoot it. I'd be more likely to shoot the .40 cal.
     

    Ruffnek

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    There are conversion barrels from companies like Storm Lake and Lone Wolf. Everything else you'll have to use the stock parts, magazines included. Someone on another forum had an issue of the .40 rounds being kinda wonky in his G20 magazine, likely because 10mm ammo is longer than .40.
     

    9mmfan

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    There is very mild 10 mm rounds out there from the usual companies. They feel like 9 mm or 40.
    Personally the only rounds out of my G20 are Underwood, usually 180 Gr. Their 'range ammo' is still hot but much cheaper that their carry ammo selection.
     

    Route 45

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    That is very very interesting. Wonder if some INGOers do this also? Wonder if it's possible in other guns?

    Here is .380 in a Glock 17. Works fine, except won't cycle the action. Basically a soft shooting bolt action 9mm short pistol. :):

    [video=youtube;qNbnS30TV7o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNbnS30TV7o[/video]
     

    VERT

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    I have seen .380 fired from a Glock 43 and the gun actually ran for a while. We discovered the issue once the gun malfunctioned and I noticed the deformed brass. Please do not shoot .380 in a 9mm or .40 in a 10mm. Yes they are the same diameter bullet. However the cartridge is designed to be held in the chamber because of proper case length. A shorter case will only be held by the extractor. Yes Glock extractors are robust but I still would not recommended doing this. Potentially unsafe.

    Glocks are cheap. Just buy a 10mm and a .40. People are almost giving away Glocks in .40 right now anyway. Oh, and you can always tell who is shooting 10mm. They are the guys diving into the weeds every other shot looking for the spent brass.
     

    gmcttr

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    I have seen .380 fired from a Glock 43 and the gun actually ran for a while. We discovered the issue once the gun malfunctioned and I noticed the deformed brass. Please do not shoot .380 in a 9mm or .40 in a 10mm. Yes they are the same diameter bullet. However the cartridge is designed to be held in the chamber because of proper case length. A shorter case will only be held by the extractor. Yes Glock extractors are robust but I still would not recommended doing this. Potentially unsafe...

    ^^^This.

    A few years ago I had boxes of .380 and 9mm out on the shooting bench and accidentally loaded .380's in a G19 mag.

    Sometimes it would fire and sometimes it would not fire, I assume depending on whether a round was captured by the extractor or not.

    When I figured out the problem, I removed the mag, racked the slide a couple of times and thought I had visually confirmed an empty chamber. However, when I pulled the trigger, it went bang. Could have been a bad situation if I hadn't followed the 'don't point a gun at anything you don't want to destroy' rule.
     

    DRob

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    I've converted a Glock 23 to 9mm with a Lone Wolf barrel. Also changed recoil springs, extractor, and magazines and it runs perfectly. I was originally told by the Lone Wolf distributor (at the NRA convention in Indy) all it required was changing the barrel and magazines which turned out to be not true in my gun. US Defense Solutions provided the proper recoil spring and extractor to make it run right. I'd turn to them for advice on any Glock issue.
     

    Route 45

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    I have seen .380 fired from a Glock 43 and the gun actually ran for a while. We discovered the issue once the gun malfunctioned and I noticed the deformed brass. Please do not shoot .380 in a 9mm or .40 in a 10mm. Yes they are the same diameter bullet. However the cartridge is designed to be held in the chamber because of proper case length. A shorter case will only be held by the extractor. Yes Glock extractors are robust but I still would not recommended doing this. Potentially unsafe.

    Glocks are cheap. Just buy a 10mm and a .40. People are almost giving away Glocks in .40 right now anyway. Oh, and you can always tell who is shooting 10mm. They are the guys diving into the weeds every other shot looking for the spent brass.

    What is specifically potentially unsafe about shooting .40 in a 10mm Glock? The .40 is a lower pressure cartridge, and I don't see a problem with the extractor holding the case.

    The article I posted has some good info. There are competition shooters that have thousands of rounds of .40 through Glock 10mm pistols without issue. The article explains why it may even be safer to shoot .40 in a Glock 20 than it is to shoot .40 out of a standard Glock chambered for .40 caliber.

    If OP is worried about what is likely a non-existent safety issue, there are "conversion" barrels available for the Glock 20 for about $150 or so. No special springs needed. Personally, I'd just shoot .40 through the standard barrel and clean it well before going back to 10mm, much like shooting .357 magnum after shooting a bunch of shorter .38 specials.
     

    VERT

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    What is specifically potentially unsafe about shooting .40 in a 10mm Glock? The .40 is a lower pressure cartridge, and I don't see a problem with the extractor holding the case.

    The article I posted has some good info. There are competition shooters that have thousands of rounds of .40 through Glock 10mm pistols without issue. The article explains why it may even be safer to shoot .40 in a Glock 20 than it is to shoot .40 out of a standard Glock chambered for .40 caliber.

    If OP is worried about what is likely a non-existent safety issue, there are "conversion" barrels available for the Glock 20 for about $150 or so. No special springs needed. Personally, I'd just shoot .40 through the standard barrel and clean it well before going back to 10mm, much like shooting .357 magnum after shooting a bunch of shorter .38 specials.

    Because per the same article you referenced the cartridge “headspaces off the extractor instead of the case mouth”. In my opinion No Bueno. I am also surprised the shorter cartridge doesn’t lead to feeding issues. But I shouldn’t be surprised because a Glock doesn’t really control feed like other handguns and the chamber is as loose as a Kansas City Prostitute. Probably why it is so accommodating for length and girth.
     

    Route 45

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    Because per the same article you referenced the cartridge “headspaces off the extractor instead of the case mouth”. In my opinion No Bueno.

    Why? Seems to work, no failures in thousands of rounds. A .40 cartridge is in the exact same position that a 10mm case would be in, with the exception of the case mouth. What's the issue?
     

    VERT

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    Why? Seems to work, no failures in thousands of rounds. A .40 cartridge is in the exact same position that a 10mm case would be in, with the exception of the case mouth. What's the issue?

    Other then the cartridge being held in place only by the extractor? I suppose nothing.

    Edit: After a little bit of internet reading and thought it seems a lot of people shoot .40 in 10mm Glocks. Closest gun world analogy I can think of is using an OEM 9mm M&P barrel in a .40 slide. It seems to work fine even if everything doesn’t fit quite right. A non gun world analogy would be fat chicks wearing yoga pants while shopping at Walmart. Yoga pants in Walmart would not be my first preference.
     
    Last edited:

    IronsKeeper

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    Not today, ISIS
    Why not just buy a glock in 40? They're pretty cheap right now.
    You can find police trade-in cheap G23s all day long, for about the price of any conversion which doesn't work with only a barrel change.

    Try to fine a well-priced G19, used or new, though... Hen's teeth.

    Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
     

    Route 45

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    You can find police trade-in cheap G23s all day long, for about the price of any conversion which doesn't work with only a barrel change.

    Yes it does work with only a barrel change. A 10mm/40 conversion barrel is about $140. Not that you even need a conversion barrel, as already discussed.

    Please send me a link to the G23s available for $139.95. I have no use for .40 at all, but I'll take 5 of them. I'll even pay reasonable shipping. :):

    Capture.jpg


    https://www.lonewolfdist.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=920321
     

    VERT

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    Yes it does work with only a barrel change. A 10mm/40 conversion barrel is about $140. Not that you even need a conversion barrel, as already discussed.

    Please send me a link to the G23s available for $139.95. I have no use for .40 at all, but I'll take 5 of them. I'll even pay reasonable shipping. :):

    Capture.jpg


    https://www.lonewolfdist.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=920321

    He did say any conversion other then just a barrel change. The 10mm to .49 conversion should be fine. I have used several .40 to 9mm Glock conversions with great success as well. Maybe not $139 but used Glock gen3 22s and 23s can be had for around $350 give or take.

    Ad far as used Glock 19s. What people consider to be reasonable and what people want to sell them for are two different matters. Truth is real world street prices are somewhere in between and there are plenty of reasonably priced used Glocks available.
     

    Route 45

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    He did say any conversion other then just a barrel change. The 10mm to .49 conversion should be fine. I have used several .40 to 9mm Glock conversions with great success as well. Maybe not $139 but used Glock gen3 22s and 23s can be had for around $350 give or take.

    Ad far as used Glock 19s. What people consider to be reasonable and what people want to sell them for are two different matters. Truth is real world street prices are somewhere in between and there are plenty of reasonably priced used Glocks available.

    You're right, I misread it. Still, the difference between $139 and $350 is a good amount of ammo. If someone wants a 10mm and wants cheaper ammo to shoot at the range, there is no reason to spend another $350 on a police trade-in .40 that he didn't want in the first place.

    I've also put a lot of rounds through .40/9mm conversion barrels in Glocks, with excellent results. They work fine, especially for just range work.
     

    VERT

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    You're right, I misread it. Still, the difference between $139 and $350 is a good amount of ammo. If someone wants a 10mm and wants cheaper ammo to shoot at the range, there is no reason to spend another $350 on a police trade-in .40 that he didn't want in the first place.

    I've also put a lot of rounds through .40/9mm conversion barrels in Glocks, with excellent results. They work fine, especially for just range work.

    Yeah I would suggest the conversion barrel for range work only. The conversion barrels are also traditional rifling and fine for lead bullets. Although I shoot the HiTec coated reloads all the time in both Glocks and Walthers.
     

    Asdf

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    Jan 22, 2019
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    Reno
    Can a Glock 10 mm accept a Glock .40 SW barrel, recoil spring and magazines so that I can shoot cheaper ammo in it?
    I want a 10mm but would rarely shoot it. I'd be more likely to shoot the .40 cal.

    If you really want cheap ammo you could always go with a 22lr conversion. Ammo is reeeaall cheap!
     
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