Best Glock Barrels
GLOCK handguns are some of the most popular in the world. A large part of this is because of the reliability and sheer availability of the platform. You can find GLOCK handguns on every continent. In just about every country, and in almost every military or police unit there is.
A large part of that is the prolific amount of the things that are available, and an even larger part of it is because you just can’t kill them. They go bang always, all the time, in every possible earthly set of conditions besides being in an actual oven.
There’s something that’s often overlooked though: customization.
With the exception of maybe the AR-15, GLOCKs are the most customizable firearms on the planet. You can build an entire GLOCK without actually using a part from GLOCK
Towards that end, you can swap and upgrade parts to build something truly special, and for our money go for a trigger first, then barrel if you’re really chasing performance.
Triggers are going to be a matter of preference, but what about barrels?
Glad you asked.
Best GLOCK Barrels
First things first, OEM GLOCK barrels are far from bad. The hexagonal rifling is great for accuracy, not so great for lead projectiles. There are better match barrels, prettier barrels, and barrels that can handle cast lead bullets without excess buildup, however.
And here they are.
Best Match Barrels
KKM Precision barrels are prized for their awesome button rifling and match fitment that gives better than stock accuracy, and excellent performance overall. If you’re looking to get the most out of your GLOCK for competition, these are definitely the barrels you should be looking at.
Button rifling is a more expensive machining process that creates tighter rifling by pushing a carbide-bladed “button” through the barrel to press the metal into shape. This gives you greater accuracy due to the consistency and precision of the rifling.
KKM Barrels
More benchrest and precision rifle records are held by button rifled barrels than any other rifling type. You see similar performance gains when button rifling is applied to handguns. Albeit slightly less so due to the inherently lower accuracy of a handgun with iron sights versus a precision rifle with a high powered scope.
Wilson Combat is another legend in the pistol world that makes great match grade GLOCK barrels. WC, in particular, makes barrels that will last tens of thousands of rounds while still offering excellent accuracy and thermal performance.
Best For a Simple Upgrade, Replacement, or Suppressor
If you’re looking for a simple upgrade over your factory barrel, or maybe you’ve burnt out your factory barrel, you have a number of options for replacing it.
First, you can just get a GLOCK OEM barrel, and if you’re looking for some accuracy improvements, take it to a GLOCK armorer or gunsmith and see what they can do. OEM barrels are great
But if you’re looking for something a little different, you have a number of options.
Lone Wolf makes match barrels, as well as simple replacement barrels (and every other GLOCK part you can care to name). So it’s no surprise that they make a barrel that works well with simple cast lead bullets, a barrel that’s 16 inches long for use with certain conversion kits, and about a dozen different threaded barrels for comps, brakes, and suppressors.
Lone Wolf Chameleon
If you’re looking for something that can handle lead bullets, or you need a threaded barrel for when your suppressor arrives, this is a great place to look.
Grey Ghost Precision is another option, especially if you’re looking for a ported or lightened slide to go along with your new barrel. They offer a number of options just like Lone Wolf does, so really it just comes to preference, or what’s on sale when you decide to (metaphorically) bite the bullet.
Complete Grey Ghost Precision Slide
Best Aesthetic Option
Faxon is a name you’ve definitely heard if you’ve done any research into barrels for any firearm. They’ve earned a name as one of the best in the business, and recently they jumped into the GLOCK market with both feet.
They make a wide variety of barrels for most GLOCK handguns, but their real claim to fame is making barrels that perform incredibly well, while also standing out in the looks department.
You can get golden Titanium Nitride coatings, chromatic multi-colored coatings, and more. So you’ll have no problem finding something that will help your gun stand out.
Faxon TiN Coated Glock Barrel (Top) and OEM Glock Barrel (Bottom)
Finally, any of the barrels on this list can be Cerakoted (or whatever coating you happen to find) so you can get GLOCK barrels in literally every color of the rainbow, and in any combination you want. If you’re going for a truly custom final look, buying an upgrade barrel and sending it in for coating is a great option. Places like Lone Wolf and Grey Ghost even offer factory coatings so you get a one-stop-shop experience.
Final Thoughts
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with factory GLOCK barrels, or OEM replacement barrels. But if you’re looking for better performance, better looks, or just something a little bit different, give some of these aftermarket GLOCK barrels a try.
After the trigger, the barrel is one of the most important things you can upgrade, and with as much variety as there is out there today, you really have no reason not to have the very best in your GLOCK.
For more awesome Glock content (and all other kinds of firearms) take a look at PewPewTactical.com!
Thank you goes out to Pew Pew Tactical for the guest article. Be sure to check them out.
