Unhapy with Barsto barrel

[ggruber]

I just tried to fit a 'semi drop-in' barrel to my personal XD Service (40) and am very disappointed with the results.

i am an experienced gunsmith (6 years) and was looking for a somewhat quicker solution than doing a custom fitting job which can take me as long as 8-10 hours to do correctly.

1. the barrel would not permit the slide to go into battery a shipped.
2. The chamber was so tight that hand loads that easily fit into a Dillon chamber gauge had to be forced into the barrel.
3. Once i managed to get the slide into battery, the barrel jammed against the frame.

After 4 careful hours of fitting, i had a barrel that would cycle, but not feed at all.

Barsto makes an excellent product for 1911s. Had they called this barrel a gunsmith fit, i would not have quibbled with the work required at all. but 'semi' drop-in is a real stretch here.

i realize that not everyone experiences problems like this -- but the chamber was not even chamfered -- which is what you would expect for a barrel of this quality.

[Loves2Shoot]

I can't imagine fitting a their gunsmith fit match fit XD barrel taking anywhere close to 4 hours for an "experienced" gunsmith, let alone their semi-drop in.

With the semi drop in you only have 4 points to fit that are very straight forward, and you can ream the chamber to your desired fit.

You might want to get the Barsto barrel fitting video if your fittings are taking you that long. It sounds like you would save a lot of time and money doing so.

[dyferant]

Ya I agree with Scott. 6 years of experience and how long did it take you? I fit a glock or XD barrel if I take my time in an hour or less. Get Irvs video it will help you a lot bro. So how long does a 1911 barrel take you?? Also get a chamber reamer. After fitting the hood you have to check the headspace of the chamber because you just shortened the chamber.

[worldishis]

Originally Posted by ggruber

I just tried to fit a 'semi drop-in' barrel to my personal XD Service (40) and am very disappointed with the results.

i am an experienced gunsmith (6 years) and was looking for a somewhat quicker solution than doing a custom fitting job which can take me as long as 8-10 hours to do correctly.

1. the barrel would not permit the slide to go into battery a shipped.
2. The chamber was so tight that hand loads that easily fit into a Dillon chamber gauge had to be forced into the barrel.
3. Once i managed to get the slide into battery, the barrel jammed against the frame.

After 4 careful hours of fitting, i had a barrel that would cycle, but not feed at all.

Barsto makes an excellent product for 1911s. Had they called this barrel a gunsmith fit, i would not have quibbled with the work required at all. but 'semi' drop-in is a real stretch here.

i realize that not everyone experiences problems like this -- but the chamber was not even chamfered -- which is what you would expect for a barrel of this quality.

Here is a disclaimer from Barsto's website regarding handloads, and why they sometimes arent compatible with their bbls. Hope this helps.

This article is about RELOADED AMMO!

First, if your ammo is not close to factory specs then it probably will not work in our barrel chamber.

The overall length is very important and should match the bullet style exactly! Round nose, hollow point and flat nose bullets, each style will require a different over all length for proper feeding.

If you are using range or used brass then you, should chamber check every round you reload and the ones that stick in the chamber from the brass being bulged should be culled and not used in our barrel.

If factory ammo works then it is your reloads and you should strive to fix them.

You have spent good money to get the best barrel on the market, so why would you not use the best ammo? Just because you have been reloading for years without problems for the factory barrel, bear in mind that our chambers are Middle SAMII spec. Most factory chambers are over max SAAMI specifications.

Some notes on sizing your ammo. To set the sizing die bring the loading head that holds the brass all the way up to full stroke. Then screw your sizing die down until it touches the face plate. Then back off VERY slightly, not much maybe .010 or so just enough to allow for slight variance in the loading press. This will help ensure full length resizing of your brass. We recommend you find a set of dies that have little or no lead- in chamfer on the opening of the sizing die. EGW sells under size dies for .40 S&W and 38 super

If you must long load as some do for USPSA and such then you might need the LEED of the chamber lengthened. We do have reamers for this but can only go so far. If you ask ahead for this we will do it no charge but if you send it back then shipping and a 25.00 fee will be charged. Be WARNED that doing this does affect accuracy. If you then go to normal length ammo the bullet will free float and there will be gas blow by which, will affect the bullet flight!

We have over size chamber reamers that which open up the chambers quite a bit. This is fine as long as you understand brass life is affected as you will be expanding the brass past its intended mark. Brass is soft and will give up over a much shorter period of time. With the price of brass and ammo, this may not be the best option but we will be happy to do it upon request.

Accuracy can be affected a little as presentation of the bullet to the leed of the chamber is affected.

[ggruber]

Originally Posted by dyferant

Ya I agree with Scott. 6 years of experience and how long did it take you? I fit a glock or XD barrel if I take my time in an hour or less. Get Irvs video it will help you a lot bro. So how long does a 1911 barrel take you?? Also get a chamber reamer. After fitting the hood you have to check the headspace of the chamber because you just shortened the chamber.

about 8 hours to fit a barrel for a 1911. i chucked the XD barrel in my lathe and used a boring bar to open the chamber to a bit under XD specs.

what i didn't mention in my first post is that i am disabled, so working with my hands takes a bit longer for me than the average guy.

my 1911 barrels shoot to under 1" at 25 yards. the time and patience to a proper fitting pays off for me.