Does anyone have the real story on the safety of full power 10mm loads in a factory Glock barrel?

I have asked a lot of people, and there seems to be a three way tie. The responses I get are either:

1)"My factory barrel will shoot anything you stuff in there all day long and be perfectly safe."

2)"Stay away from the +P loads and only reload brass twice and you should be fine."

3)"Factory barrels will blow up in your hand even with low power factory loads."

Response #1 sounds a bit extreme. Response #2 souds reasonable, but can I really only safely get 2 reloads on a piece of brass? And if #3 were true, how could these guns still be on the market? My problem is the responses all came from people who said that they are certified "Glock Armorers".

All I want is to safely shoot full power 10mm loads. I don't want to down load them to a 40S&W, I already have an XD in 40cal. I don't want to hotrod them into a 41mag. I already have a titanium Tracker in that caliber. Should I just put in an after market barrel from KKM or Jarvis and be happy?

The problem with glock barrels has to do with the unsupported section at the feed ramp causing case head failures. Usually case head failures are limited to reloaded cartridges. Standard factory 10mm loads should present no problems. If you want to shoot reloads I would reccomend a Jarvis drop in barrel. I would stay away from the +P unless you can get a higher rate spring to keep from cracking the slide rails.

John

The stock Glock bbl. will run all day w/ factory ammo. The problem is many handloaders want to run a +p equiv. (there is no such designation for 10mm BTW) & since the 10mm is already running at max. design pressure for the case, bbls. can & do get blown up. If you really want to go there, I would buy a fully supported aftermarket bbl. If you just want load factory equiv. ammo, you will be fine, just watch your brass & plan on throwing it out after 5 firings or so. BTW, getting a Glock Armorers cert. doesn't mean you actually know anything other than how to fix them when they break.

I'd say the aftermarket barrel is a good idea from a safety standpoint. Glock chambers have too much unsupported case head for real safety when handloading. The unsupported section bulges and work hardens when resized, and a case can fail unexpectely.

Also, aftermarket barrels tend to have slightly tighter chambers, and brass life will be much better. Plus, they allow you to shoot lead bullets safely as well.