I bought a Glock 20 in 10MM to carry in the woods when trout fishing. Now that I have it I see many recommendations that the barrel be replaced to improve velocity and case life. I don't plan to reload for this gun and only plan to carry it when fishing or camping. Is the velocity issue valid? Several people have suggested getting a Lone Wolf barrel to get a supported chamber. I selected this gun because 15 rounds with some significant energy seemed like a good idea for my purposes. I have also been told not to use the lead hard cast hot loads. Is that a problem with a stock gun? Revolvers are starting to look better to me!

The Glock 20 as a woods gun is a fine choice in my opinion. I carry a 1911 in 10mm when out and about and am confident in it's ability to stop a threat.

If you are not going to reload then you will not need to worry about replacing the barrel. The unsupported chamber issue is something reloaders worry about. To date I haven't had to worry about chamber problems with my Glock 23 and i've had it since 1992 and shot thousands of my reloads through it.

For ammo I would suggest either Double Tap, Buffalo Bore, or other smaller ammo manufacturer who doesn't neuter the cartridge.
I have tried the Buffalo Bore 180gr, and the Double Tap 200gr Cast bullet load. Double Tap has a 200gr XTP bullet load that would be good for woods defense. I have hand loaded them and they work well in my handgun.

For some reason reloaders seem to think it's acceptable to drastically over-load the 10mm... so maybe that's why you're hearing people go to extra measures for extended case life or extra velocity.

I've had a factory barrel on my model 20 since they first came out many years ago and I have no complaints.

The brass seems to last just fine as long as you don't load over the common recommended data.

The only problems I've had with the gun is when I tried to change to any aftermarket parts - as it came from the factory it's been great.

I've also consistently heard that you shouldn't shoot lead bullets through the factory style rifling so you've got a case for an aftermarket barrel there.

A friend switched to an aftermarket barrel on his Glock 10mm just to shoot lead bullets and he's happy with it, but for my uses shooting lead bullets isn't that important.

Hope that helps,
Kyler

The 10mm was neutered by ammo manufacturers a long time ago. The specialty manufactures seem to be the only ones upholding its true potential. That said, I have been testing a Glock 20 over the last couple of months and one load the gun really likes is Federal's 180 grain Trophy Bonded JSP. I killed a hog with that load recently and it seems to work well. I am using the stock barrel.

Interesting! One person says that the 10mm is overloaded by handloaders, another says the 10mm has been neutered by the manufacturers! Will the real 10mm please stand up? Now, I have no dog in this fight. I have an EAA Witness in 10mm and it's most accurate load is close to the max. provided in reloading books and tables. So, I'm happy! I will take accurate over "will kill an elephant but shoots pie plate size groups" any day. Here is one thread:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...011016541#8011016541
Velocity, as stated, is around 1200fps with a 200 grain JFP. If I need more power then my 475 Linebaugh will have to do!!
The 10mm has, of course, an interesting history, starting life as I recollect with the infamous Bren 10. Then dying, and being resurrected again, so it is hard to say what "the specs are"!! I have several Glocks (none in 10mm), but to get back to the OP, I am not sure I would be comfortable trying these loads in a Glock. No particular knowledge to back this up though, just a gut feeling.
Peter.

Peter,

What Whitworth and I are saying may not be as much in opposition as it would seem.

I agree that some of the factory loads, especially from the big name companies, are barely beating 40S&W ballistics. They could be a lot warmer and still be plenty safe.

My point was if you do a lot of reading on how people are hand loading the 10mm you'll find people referring to their "nuclear" loads - where it's common to buy new brass and only load it once because their loads are so hot they move too much material for the case to be safe to use again.

Maybe a barrel with more support would help, but some of the loads I've seen these guys brag about are 10% to 30% over published data. That's insane in my experience and I would have a hard time trusting those loads no matter who made the barrel.

As you said, if a person truly needs that much power just switch to a larger cartridge instead of overloading to point of ruining new brass.

Kyler, you are, of course, correct. You could both be right!! And, I do agree with your comments about overloading. Hence my concerns about the Glock. The non metal grip and frame would not do a good job of containing a case rupture IMHO. I do use ramped barrels in my 38 Supers and 9x21's.
Peter.

I was not disagreeing with Kyler in the least. I agree with his statements, and stand by mine. Thankfully, there are some meaningful 10mm loads available commercially.

I recently bought a Glock 20 and plan to hunt with it. I bought a 6 inch KKM barrel for it and am in the process of developing a handload using 200 grain WFNGC boolits so I haven't measured the velocity of the stock barrel.

Will you get more velocity out of a 6 inch barrel? Absolutely, the question really is will it matter for your uses? If you're using it as a defensive woods gun your shots are likely to be close so if you're happy with how the gun carries and handles I wouldn't worry about it.

Can you shoot lead boolits out of a stock Glock barrel? Of course you can. Plenty of people are doing it. Does Glock recommend it...nope. Just be prudent about it. Don't run 200 rounds of Double tap lead boolits through it followed up by jacketed bullets or vice versa. I would clean the barrel properly then shoot whatever lead bullets you want to verify function and your zero. Properly clean the barrel again and go about your business enjoying your time trout fishing.

I'm a complete lead bullet using neophyte. I'm only starting now to load for both 10mm and 44 Magnum with em. If you google 10mm you'll find plenty of info (maybe propaganda or speculation would be the right words to use) as to why Glock doesn't recommend lead bullets in their barrels. Aside from barrel design, Glock has to protect themselves against lawsuits. Some people don't clean their Glock barrels properly and lead and or copper builds up over time. Eventually, bad things happen. Keep your barrel clean and carry lead bullets in your Glock 20 with confidence. When you need penetration...no jacketed bullet can match the hard cast lead ones.

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
I bought a Glock 20 in 10MM to carry in the woods when trout fishing. Now that I have it I see many recommendations that the barrel be replaced to improve velocity and case life. I don't plan to reload for this gun and only plan to carry it when fishing or camping. Is the velocity issue valid? Several people have suggested getting a Lone Wolf barrel to get a supported chamber. I selected this gun because 15 rounds with some significant energy seemed like a good idea for my purposes. I have also been told not to use the lead hard cast hot loads. Is that a problem with a stock gun? Revolvers are starting to look better to me!

I have no issue with my Glock 20 except the grip is large. This brings its own advantage as recoil is distributed over the hand better. I now have the Glock20SF as my primary carry 10 mm. In keeping with my idea of compromise and benefits, I'd like to address a few of the issues from my perspective and prejudices. I am a proponent of Jeff Cooper's minimum loads principle: 200 grains, 1000 fps, 40 caliber. This applies to self defense and deer hunting. I am not saying a 180 grain bullet at 1100 fps will bounce off so similar silliness. The replacement barrel issue for a person who is satisfied with factory ammo, doesn't reload and doesn't plan on using large quantities of cast bullets, is a non-issue. I see no problems with a stock gun, but have purchased as second gun for the improved grip for my short fingers and the peace of mind while shooting large quantities of reloads using hard cast bullets. I cleaned any lead residue after each range session when I used my stock barrels. I never detected much buildup, if any but took the advice of more experience shooters and did my extra cleaning. I also purchased the Lone Wolf barrel to limit wear and tear on my brass, not because it was loosing more brass than I could tolerate but because I occasionally try out maximum listed loads to compare them to aftermarket boutique ammo like Buffalo Bore and Double Tap to name just a couple. If I were going to heavy game I'd buy a box of each of a couple of brands and weights, Double Tap has had something called a variety pack which may get you off the ground if "beyond factory" is a choice you want to explore. My box of 50 round 200 grain cast Double Tap ammo still has 40 in the box after combined chronograph and accuracy/point of impact checks. It got loaded on a moose hunt and never fired. It was still a comfort in rural Alaska and got replaced with Hornady XTP 200 grain factory rounds for "town carry" and after I returned home to Tennessee. No grizzly bears here but some black bears and two legged varmints. Another recommendation, Georgia Arms loads the excellent Speer Gold Dot at less than full factory prices if you need a one load for everything option. They also have bulk "Canned Heat", ammo in an ammo can to give you a supply for "just in case" / ammo shortage situations. The stock Glock 20 and stock ammo will take you all the way. We handgun perfectionists insist on counting those angles dancing on the head of that pen, just smile and keep shooting and don't fret, you've made an excellent choice of firearms and with a little research and thought will have excellent ammo too.

Remington and PMC loads are all under loaded. a 180 grain to 200 grain bullet at 1200 feet per second is a normal load for this caliber. it is correct that most of the big manufacturers under load the 10 millimeter. Buffalo Bore load their 10 millimeter to original specs and Hornady is starting to jump on that bandwagon.
newer Glock barrels are way more supported than the older Glock barrels but an aftermarket barrel will still make your brass last a little longer. usually sticking with factory parts in the Glock will keep the pistol the most reliable, but every once in awhile you get a Glock where the aftermarket Barrels make the pistol more reliable. my 6 inch KKM barrel is a lot more reliable than the factory barrel and my stock length KKM barrel is just as reliable as the factory barrel. I happen to get one of those unheard of unreliable Glocks