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Hey all thanks for looking, I was at the local gun store yesterday trying to decided on my second Glock to buy. The thing is not too sure what caliber I really want etc. I have a Gen4 26 (more for the wife than myself) I was told that the Gen4 23 would be a good option due to the fact I can switch the barrel to the .357 and still use the same mags so basically making it 2 guns in one. They went on to explain that I could do it with other calibers as well. Does anyone have more info on this and maybe give me some more info on this subject such as what switches I can do safely etc.. I would apreciate any and all input and info I can get. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Rob
 
you can do 40 to 357 with no other changes

to go to a 9mm you need a barrel that has a thicker diameter so a glock 19 barrel cannot swap directly into a 23, but there are conversion barrels to shoot 9mm out of a 23. you also need a guide rod with a lighter spring and a new mag to go to 9mm

the swap takes less then a minute

be very careful as a 357 sig fits in a glock 23 magazine and can be chambered into the 23 barrel. this will probably not turn out well
 
you can do 40 to 357 with no other changes

to go to a 9mm you need a barrel that has a thicker diameter so a glock 19 barrel cannot swap directly into a 23, but there are conversion barrels to shoot 9mm out of a 23. you also need a guide rod with a lighter spring and a new mag to go to 9mm

the swap takes less then a minute

be very careful as a 357 sig fits in a glock 23 magazine and can be chambered into the 23 barrel. this will probably not turn out well

Lone Wolf and Greg Quin (Gunblast) say you don't need the springs unless you will be using light loads.

And there are videos of guys shooting 9mm with a 40s&w mag without a hickup
So (I just looked into this) am going to try just the barrel,the if the mags don't feed right I will buy some 17 mags.If the gun doesn't cycle,I will get the 15# spring

Glad this came up on here.

Convertible Glock
 
my comments are based on if you want the gun working like from the factory. sure a 40cal mag will fit and feed 9mm. will it function ok? sure it can. will it function as well as a 9mm mag? no,

a spring is not required but recommended.

I see a lot of people doing stuff on you tube, but few people post videos of them shooting if the video clip shows their gun jamming and them looking awkward as they try to clear the jam.
 
As a reference, I have a G23 and the LWD conversion barrel, I don't change the spring but do use the dedicated 9mm mags. Have not had an issue yet, fired about 500 that way without failure. Ammo was good old UMC megapacks from Bi-mart.

I have also shot a G27 with both of my G23 barrels, to test functionality. Only 3 mags each but no failures there either.
 
I haven't done the 9MM thing yet with our .40s but I would say from what I have read that it's only useful for target shooting and maybe survival if 9MM is all you have left. This is because various feeding issues can arise. Can, not will.. you only know with your particular gun after you shoot a few hundred 9MM loads through it. Glock sells the .357 marked, caliber specific followers so you can swap the .40 followers out, if you think that will help. I bought a bag of them for an eventual .357 conversion. One last thing is that the Lone Wolf barrels seem to be a liittle tighter chambered and more "supported" so they may not like your handloads unless they are full length resized, which takes a special die. I recently discovered this with a new G23 .40 LW extended threaded barrel I installed in one of our Glocks. One round out of a batch of handloaded Gold Dots barely jammed up when chambered and the slide would not close into battery

BTW .357 is a much higher pressure round than .40 so really, really heed the warnings about .357 getting stuffed into your 40 configured gun if you like your appendages as they are
 
question, with the .357 being a higher pressure round, would that have any effect on the guns internals (mechanics) or its frame for that matter?
 
Glocks are pretty tough and the .40 version is the same, strength wise as the .357

Yes it might wear a bit faster but most gunners will never notice it in a lifetime of shooting. From what I can discern the .357 is about 20% higher pressure than the .40. Not all .40 guns can be safely converted, beware. The BHP is one example that should never be attempted unless you download the .357 quite a bit

The .357 being higher pressure is simply an additional factor to add to the fact that the .40 chamber is not a .357 chamber. Maybe you would be OK and maybe you wouldn't. Don't risk it, keep your ammo well sorted. US ammo cans marked with caliber really help this... don't just leave ammo laying about
 
I use Lone Wolf barrels only, and out of three, two Glock 22s, and a Glock 27, and conversion Glock 22 to a 9mm. All were used pistols, and all tightened up the play between the slide and the lower receiver. They were drop in barrels with no other alterations. The 9mm conversion barrel, I added some 9mm magazines. In all cases, the accuracy was improved, and none of the handguns ever failed to function
 
Did you not get the memo? Glock .40's are the only gun in the history of the World that has enough oomf to KaBoom.
Warning: The previous statement is for entertainment only and void of any factual information. Ha-ha
Mike
 
I have a buddy that has a couple of .357/.40 glock and 9mm conv. he uses lone wolf and .40 mags the only problems come from the .40 extractors don't grab the 9mm case well enough for 100% reliable ejection and the annoying fact that the sights are 3" (between .40 and .357) different at the range because the flight paths are different. (BTW 9mm and .357 are almost exactly the same)
 
I don't think this conversion will work due to the size and power of the 10mm cartridge. However a call to Lone Wolf will give you the answers. I don't believe that I have seen a conversion barrel. Also of the three listed that are convertible, the 9mm magazine must be used with the conversion to .40 S&W's frame, while the 357 will work in the .40S&W magazine and frame.
 

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