Some years back, I'd helped an agency move from complex pistols to simpler duty handguns. They'd been with .45s for years, though most of their officers couldn't manage the 'reach' to the trigger, and were reluctant to move to the 9x19mm. I recommended the .40 Auto. It was quite popular at the time, the darling of the FBI and that was an easy sell. It is an abrupt cartridge. While it fit in 9mm format pistols, the round was hard on the guns and the shooters. I ended up retiring with one of the guns – a GLOCK 22 -- and quickly decided it was better as a '9' than a 40. I contacted Irv Stone, owner of Bar-Sto Precision Machine (then in California) and discussed the project. Irv wanted to get the G22 and fit the barrel up. This was to ensure function. He got the gun and fitted up one of his fine barrels. Made from solid stainless steel bar stock, they are heat treated to 180,000 PSI tensile strength. The barrels are machined, bored, and rifled completely in house. Regardless of caliber, Bar-Sto barrels all have a rate of twist of 1 turn in 16".

A 9mm magazine in a 40-marked pistol? The slide says "40" -- the barrel says "9mm." The right magazine makes the difference in feeding.

Bar-Sto pistol barrels are made with fully supported chambers. The rifling is broach cut to allow use of lead bullets. The G22 was fine as it sat; it was issued with GLOCK brand night sights and the NY-1 trigger spring. This particular gun had been used exclusively as a training gun during a police agency transition from DA/SA autos to the consistent trigger GLOCK. The GLOCK 22 returned from Bar-Sto along with a fitted, nicely finished stainless steel 9mm barrel and the original GLOCK .40 barrel. I immediately shot factory 9mm ball using .40 magazines, as the Bar-Sto website said was possible. A number of my .40 magazines let the smaller 9mm rounds go early and I abandoned the attempt, going to G17 magazines. The early release stoppages ended. I ensured that the stainless barrel was well-lubricated and went through 150 rounds of assorted 9mm ammo. Stoppages ceased with the magazine change. I shot the older Arizona POST (Peace Officer Standards of Training) Daytime Qualification Course – the version used by Prescott AZ PD which starts with the 25 yard stage first -- using a Competition Electronics Pocket Pro timer to keep track of time. The course was fired on the approved target, the TQ-21, using Remington 115 grain JHP 9mm ammo. The six 25 yard hits, done in three separate pairs, were centered in the chest area of the target. The four head shots, also fired in separate strings following a pair to the chest, show up in three holes – one noticeably larger than the others. The Bar-Sto 9mm G22 put them all well inside the scoring area.

The refitted Glock 22 is a great trainer with 9mm ammo.

As a 40 with a factory barrel, it was about a "3 ½" group" gun at 25 yards on a rest. With the Bar-Sto Precision barrel, it was closer to 2" depending on the ammo used. The Bar-Sto barrel seemed, at the time of the test, to prefer Hornady 115 grain XTP bullets. Speer 124 grain Gold Dot +P and Cor-Bon 125 grain JHP +P also shot quite well in the refitted pistol. Nothing else was done to the gun. It still had GLOCK night sights and the NY1 trigger; there was no grip reduction or anything else changed: just the barrel and magazines. If you want other work done, you can check in with Bar-Sto Precision Machine to see what they'll do. As for me, I'll be keeping this retirement piece as a 9mm. -- Rich Grassi