Glock 23 with LW or KKM 9mm barrel - works ok?

pinne65 · Mar 19, 2014

I'm pondering it. It seems like the perfect combo. .40 and 9mm or even 357 Sig in the same gun. I'm thinking .40 for carry and 9mm for practice. (Of course these days .40 is way easier to find than 9mm). Anyone with experience - pros and cons?

TIA!

CJ1089 · Mar 19, 2014

Have a couple of LWD barrels, after a few FTF's in the first 100 rounds they have worked flawlessly. Only had one give me a lot of trouble, had to take a whetstone to a couple of edges to get smooth function.

ozmosis · Mar 19, 2014

I bought a Storm Lake (23/33 to 19)barrel from a member here and its been flawless in conversion to 9mm . I thought I may have to change out extractor/ejector but so far no issues. My next barrel will be in .357 Sig just to try it out, but like everything ammo is hard to find.

Modeler · Mar 19, 2014

I've had a few Lone Wolf conversion barrels, they've all worked great except for the most recent one. A couple boxes of hot 9mm ammo and all was well. I just got a 9mm extractor for it too, but haven't had a chance to test it out. The extractors are super easy to change out, BTW.

PuddleMonkey · Mar 20, 2014

I prefer KKM over LW

Bxc53 · Mar 20, 2014

I've had good luck with two Lone Wolf conversion barrels. On my 22 gen 4 it just dropped in and ran with 124 gr standard loads. I'd use a gen 4 spring for a g17 when I run light target// action shooting light reloads.
For my G23 gen 3 the standard spring is fine for all my reloads down to mouse fart ones that spit the brass about 2 feet. As a bonus the 23 conversion barrel also works in my gen 3 G27, if you don't mind the extra barrel length out the front.

For about $110 each, it's like another gun.

biggie24420 · Mar 20, 2014

I have converted a G23 and a G27 into 9mm by using LWD conversion barrels. With low powered 9mm (Russian surplus) I had some FTF and FTE. With a little better quality ammo, I did good. +P ammo seems to run better.
If you just wanna swap calibers and shoot a smaller round, I say just run the barrel and correct mag for caliber and you should be fine. If you get some FTF or FTE, you can just practice your tap, rack, bang skills

If you plan on EDCing converted, I'd convert everything to a 9mm by changing out the Extractor, Ejector, RSA (if there is a difference in recoil spring, glock told me there was in Gen4 G23/G19), and the plunger pin (on the upper right of the back of the slide, after you remove the rear slide plate. .40 cal is white, 9mm is black). For self defense, if converted, I'd use +P JHP...... little more juice to cycle the slide better.

Also you can shoot lead bullets and if you reload your own brass, the shot brass out of a LWB is easier to reload since it doesn't expand as much or something.....

pinne65 · Mar 21, 2014

Thanks for the input every one!

I was mainly thinking of using the 9mm for cheaper and lighter practice ammo. And I like the thought of getting another gun for $110!

Bxc53 · Mar 21, 2014

I think you will like the conversion. Have fun!

bwchase · Mar 25, 2014

Glock 23 gen 4 with LW conversion to 9mm. Works great only problem was with some 9mm commercial reloads from the gun show. A few had glock bulges and would not go completely in to battery. The chamber is a bit tighter than a glock 19 or 17 factory barrel.
Also use a LW for my reloads (40 s&w) with no problems. It too has a tighter chamber than a factory glock.

CHLChris · Apr 11, 2014

I had a G23 with a LWD conversion barrel. I never had any problems with it, not a single failure of any sort. I switched the barrel, magazine, and a G19 recoil spring assembly.

On the other hand, I ended up trading it for a real G19 and I also bought a G22 for my 40S&W needs. I just decided that carrying with it converted wasn't the best idea, even though I had no problems.

Even if you changed everything out, the breech face is still going to be larger on the G23 than the G19. If your plan for the conversion is plinking with the (theoretically) cheaper 9mm, then go for it with only the barrel/mag/RSA.

If you are going to carry it in 9mm, then seriously consider adding a G19 to your family. As a bonus, they are also an ounce lighter!

MrSunday · Apr 12, 2014

I have a G-23c that I bought a KKM 9mm conversion barrel for. It has been nothing but reliable. No issues whatsoever.

I did eventually change out the ejector and extractor for the g19 parts for peace of mind in case I wanted to carry it. But honestly it worked fine without them.