.40 to 9mm conversion barrels (M&P,Glock,XD)

[Dorky_D]

I have been on the fence a bit about shooting a .40. I recently discovered that you can get a .40 and put a conversion barrel in it and shoot 9mm. I have done a little research, but I lack the time and money to do the testing and comparing of all of these, so I have some questions that I would like to ask the experts!

I am looking into this for a couple of reasons. I like to have options. I can save some money at the range shooting 9mm vs .40. I have heard the arguments on this, and I am ok with not paying the extra price for ammo, so that is not an issue. Also, 9mm is by far the easiest ammo to get ahold of. It is the most popular, and will probably continue to be for a while. In a SHTF situation, it is nice to have options.

I have narrowed my search the the following 3 pistols (in order of my preference):
M&P 40 Full size
Glock 22 Fill size
XD 40 Full Size
Of the 3 listed do any of these work better in a conversion than the others?

Are the 9mm barrels reliable?

Which brands do you recommend? The ones I know of are below, listed in what appears to have the best reputation.
M&P (Storm Lake)
Glock (KKM, Storm Lake, Lone Wolf)
XD (Storm Lake)

Ejectors??? Some say you need to switch to a 9mm ejector when converting, some say don't. What do you say?

One piece I like about the Glock is that there is a .22LR conversion with the slide that is available too. Yep, it is pricy at around $250, but it gives yet annother option, but when you can almost buy a .22 pistol for that, it makes this less of a good thing.

What have I missed?

 

[grunt soldier]

i run a glock 40-9 conversion from lone wolf and they are suppose to be machined so you don't need to replace the extractor. i have run about 800 rounds through mine w/ out a single problem. its a nice set up. just to be clear i don't change the extractor on my 40's.

 

[jeep911]

i use to carry a 9mm and i just do not like they way they shoot and the lack of knock down power, i know shot placement is key but when someone is doped up or shootin at you it tends to get hard to drop someone with a 9mm. i now carry a glock 23 40cal. and i can honestly say i will most likely never go back to a 9mm. i love how the 40 shoots and the little extra knock down power is nice also. i have alittle bit of an advantage of the ammo prices tho due to how i will never have to buy 40 ammo.

 

[! twitty]

it tends to get hard to drop someone with a 9mm.

Dang, you run around shooting people often?

 

[Amattern]

Lonewolf 9mm barrel for the glock 22.

 

[hemicharger]

i use to carry a 9mm and i just do not like they way they shoot and the lack of knock down power, i know shot placement is key but when someone is doped up or shootin at you it tends to get hard to drop someone with a 9mm. i now carry a glock 23 40cal. and i can honestly say i will most likely never go back to a 9mm. i love how the 40 shoots and the little extra knock down power is nice also. i have alittle bit of an advantage of the ammo prices tho due to how i will never have to buy 40 ammo.

Please tell me in 500 words or less what "knock down power" is

If I hit you with my baseball bat I bet it will knock you down so therefore my bat has a lot of "knock down power".

 

[Dorky_D]

I really do not wish to turn this thread into a 9mm vs. .40 thread. I started one for my own questions, and there are plenty of those. For my pourposes, I would use the .40 for home defense, bad guys and the range to practice with it. I would use the 9mm for the range and bad guys if I did not have any .40.

This diversion was brought to you by the people who love/hate, have opinions or don't care about 9mm vs .40.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, back to the topic of conversion barrels, and any issues, suggestions and experiences.
Thanks!

 

[Mr. Habib]

Don't forget that most .40 cal platforms are the same as the .357 Sigs. You could shoot three calibers from one gun.

 

[DustyDawg48]

KKM Precision has simply incredible barrels. I had one for my Glock 35 but sold the Glock to fund another project. Personally, if I were to buy an aftermarket barrel, I'd only by KKM after the performance I had out of mine.

 

[XtremeVel]

KKM Precision has simply incredible barrels. I had one for my Glock 35 but sold the Glock to fund another project. Personally, if I were to buy an aftermarket barrel, I'd only by KKM after the performance I had out of mine.

Actually, I was just going to say stay away from the KKM's... The issue I had with the KKM was only in 9mm, but in both a G35 and G22 bbl... They are "short chambered" and it seemed just about all the bullet profiles I wanted to shoot would hit the rifling before the slide would go into battery. This was especially true with the heavier 124-125 round nosed with the more blunt ogives such as the Missouri small ball style.

Now in .357 sig and .40 itself, I never had any issues with the KKM.

For the money, the Lone Wolf are hard to beat. In 9mm, they are chambered so I never had any issues with whatever bullet profile I chose to load.

 

[Rong]

I have the setup you talk about in a glock 23 (Lone wolf). Love the conversion! I have several dedicated 9mm mags, but have never had an issue shooting 9 out of my 40 mags. Just make sure you don't mix ammo and barrels!

Also have the advantage arms 22lr upper. It is a little finicky on ammo but it is nice to use all the same gear and have the versatility on one platform.

 

[kickbacked]

Not to steal from the op but is there a 9mm to 40 for the xd's?

 

[Dorky_D]

I do not think you can go up. I imagine the barrel diameter would be smaller on the 9mm frame, and kep you from doing this.
I could be wrong though.

 

[Mr. Habib]

Not to steal from the op but is there a 9mm to 40 for the xd's?

No, you can't go from 9mm to .40S&W or .357 Sig. The breach face on the 9mm is too small. The 40 and 357 are the same size.

 

[Muntz]

Go with the Lone Wolf. You won't know the difference for the cost of the KKM.

 

[shooter651]

just did a some classes with Fortress Defense I ran about 1500 rounds of 9mm from a Gen3 23 w/ a lone wolf conversion barrel. Not a single hickup. I ran another 500 through a Gen4 23 using the same lone wolf conversion barrel with no issues.