A few questions on the .40 to 9mm conversion

[K.R._Rabbit]

Hello Forum,
I have a M&P VTAC in .40 S&W and I am interested in purchasing a 9mm barrel and a few 9mm mags to make the conversion but I have a few questions. I have seen S&W 9mm factory barrels available for a pretty reasonable price, $80.00 or so. I understand that when the M&P was first released, the 9mm was pretty spotty when it came to accuracy, how do I know that the barrel I would be buying would be a barrel released after the fix?
Second question, I have seen a barrel made by Apex Tactical Specialties, but they want $200.00. I have bought from Apex, they make a fine product, but I am not a target shooter, I like to shoot at steel plates from 5-25yds. Buying the Apex barrel would double the cost of the conversion. Of course, it might be worth the dough, your thoughts please.
Rabbit

 

[Caliper]

Since you have a 40, I'd look at a conversion barrel from Storm Lake or KKM. The barrel hood of the 40 is slightly wider, and these barrels will match that.
Seems a shame to spend the bucks on a match barrel only to have a sloppy lockup to the slide. They do cost more than the factory barrel, but less than the Apex.

FWIW, I got a SL conversion barrel used off eBay. 9mm mags are in the mail, but it has fed 100% from my 40 mags thus far and shot great.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Mahalo_.32]

I paid 135.00 for my 9mm conversion barrel from Lone Wolf and I had a similar barrel from Storm Lake and both worked fantastic with duty ammo but when using Winchester white box and or Federal did have a few failure to feeds with cheap ammo. Never had a FTF with NATO or other hot ammo like P+P.

 

[Rastoff]

...how do I know that the barrel I would be buying would be a barrel released after the fix?

You don't, but that was a long time ago. Even if they sold those barrels after discovering the issue, the supply has to be exhausted by now.

...I like to shoot at steel plates from 5-25yds. Buying the Apex barrel would double the cost of the conversion. Of course, it might be worth the dough, your thoughts please.
Rabbit

For your intended purpose, I'd just get the factory barrel.

The factory 9mm barrel isn't a perfect fit in the .40S&W slide. The hood is just a tiny bit smaller than the slide opening for it. Here is how the .40S&W fits in the .40S&W slide:

Here is how the 9mm fits in the same slide:

As you can see, there is a tiny bit of slop with the 9mm that isn't present with the .40S&W.

Obviously, the aftermarket barrels specifically designed to be conversion barrels will fit better. That said, the factory 9mm works fine. I've used mine for a few hundred rounds and found no issues. It's accurate enough for me to hit the intended target during defensive practice. Certainly not a bullseye gun, but good enough for what you describe.

 

[AZ115]

I use a factory 9mm barrel on my 40c. I've shot close to a thousand rounds through the 9mm barrel. I've had a few jams here and there. I'm quite happy with it. I can't feel or see a difference in accuracy.

 

[uechikid]

As has been mentioned, for what you will be doing, the factory barrel should work just fine. Spend the extra money on ammo.