Does a match grade barrel improve accuracy?

[stev32k]

I have a FS .40 and have installed the apex trigger mods and that improved my shooting. Now I'm wondering if a match grade barrel, like storm lake, would help much. My groups at 25 yards are still kinda large and am considering a new barrel to try to improve a little more.

Anybody have any before and after data?

 

[Kanewpadle]

I have a FS .40 and have installed the apex trigger mods and that improved my shooting. Now I'm wondering if a match grade barrel, like storm lake, would help much. My groups at 25 yards are still kinda large and am considering a new barrel to try to improve a little more.

Anybody have any before and after data?

Generally yes. But what are you trying to accomplish? Most factory barrels are plenty accurate for self defense purposes and you don't gain much with a match barrel in that regard.

Twenty five yards is a long way for self defense shooting. So if it's target shooting then maybe it's worth the additional expense.

I bought a Storm Lake drop in barrel for my M&P 40 compact and noticed an immediate improvement. But I never shot at 25 yards. I saw no point in doing so. 15 yards was the greatest distance I shot it. The only reason I bought it is because I got a hell of a deal on it here. Otherwise I would not have. For me the little increase wasn't necessary nor was the additional expense.

Storm Lake barrels are well made. But a drop in barrel will almost never be as accurate as a fitted barrel. But again, how much accuracy do you need?

I would bench rest the gun and see what happens at 25 yards.

 

[OneJzsupra]

You could use that money o buy more bullets to practice with.... And in not trying to troll or make a joke.

 

[Arik]

How new are you to shooting? A lot of times its tge indian nof the arrow.

How wide is wide?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RV4driver]

And there's the limitations of tapatalk!

Seriously, though, various drop in match barrels will give different results. I had a Storm Lake barrel in a Glock, and it didn't add anything. A Lone Wolf Barrel added somewhat more, but that could easily have been reversed. A fitted barrel is always best, as the gunsmith should be running the gun and tweaking as needed for some measurable improvement. And as said, the finest barrel won't make up for lack of practice or ability of the shooter.

First, spend money on practice ammo and range time, then think about equipment improvements.

 

[Rastoff]

If you're shooting 6" groups at 25 yards I'd just keep practicing. If you're already shooting 4" groups then a match grade barrel might help.

However, like Kanewpadle said, it's a self defense gun. People don't like it when I say this, but if you want premium accuracy, you need a different gun. No semi auto will be as accurate as a nice revolver.

 

[stev32k]

Maybe I should clarify. I only shoot for my enjoyment and I shoot about 600 to 1,000 rounds per week. I reload all my own ammo and shoot 9mm, .40 smith, .45 ACP, and .357 mag. (not counting .223 and .308 - I shoot a lot)

I shoot freehanded, with a rest, and with a vise. For absolute accuracy determination I use the vise which eliminates all my inaccuracys. It also shows which gun/ammo combination is most accurate. I find that the most accurate combination when using a vice is also the most accurate handheld.

So that is the real the question - are the match grade barrels more accurate than the factory barrels if fired from a vise?

 

[murphydog]

You are one lucky guy to be able to shoot that much .

A match grade barrel may help, but there are other variables. What groups are you getting at 25 yards with your factory M & P barrel, and with what loading? Everyone's opinion of "kinda large" is going to vary. Does the same ammo print the same size groups in another .40?

 

[OKFC05]

"Blueprinting" the M&P helps, and that's generally what the top shooters are using.

Buying "drop in" aftermarket parts to replace non-defective factory parts is a dice shoot and generally makes little real difference in the mechanical ability of the gun. Atoo-tight chamber on a "match" barrel may not feed ordinary ammunition, making the gun unreliable.
If an aftermarket trigger improves your shooting, that's YOU, not the mechanical accuracy of a fixture-fired gun.

You can't buy your way to master shooter.

 

[Rgoodwin]

For me "The fartherer away- the fartherer away!

 

[Kanewpadle]

Maybe I should clarify. I only shoot for my enjoyment and I shoot about 600 to 1,000 rounds per week. I reload all my own ammo and shoot 9mm, .40 smith, .45 ACP, and .357 mag. (not counting .223 and .308 - I shoot a lot)

I shoot freehanded, with a rest, and with a vice. For absolute accuracy determination I use the vice which eliminates all my inaccuracys. It also shows which gun/ammo combination is most accurate. I find that the most accurate combination when using a vice is also the most accurate handheld.

So that is the real the question - are the match grade barrels more accurate than the factory barrels if fired from a vice?

Unfortunately, it's a toss up. I've known people that bought match grade barrels and had some improvement and others that did not.

I've been lucky in that regard. An Apex trigger kit, titanium striker and match grade barrel in my M&P 9 has been exceptionally accurate. But only from a rest. Hell I can't see 25 yards let alone hold the gun steady enough!!

 

[Rastoff]

Considering the style and type of shooting you do, I, for one am interested in the results of your experimentation.

The answer lies in the name. A "match grade" barrel would have to be better than a stock barrel in order to be match grade. If it weren't, I'd send it back. Of course, when accuracy is defined in any gun, you have to include the cartridge specifics. Bullet weight and charge weight as well as bullet shape etc. all play into the accuracy.

 

[stev32k]

I've done a lot of load development with the .40 and find a 165 gr FMJ at 1,000 fps to be most accurate. The powder does not seem to make much if any difference so long as the velocity is around 1,000. I tried 231, Bullseye, Clays, and Power pistol and get the same accuracy with all of them so long as I adjust the load to get the same velocity.

I shoot at 25 yards because that is where the difference in accuracy starts to show up. At 25 feet almost all the handguns I own will shoot a five shot group with the holes touching when fired from a vise. The Les Baer will put five shots in the same hole. At 25 yards they start to spread out.

 

[Rastoff]

You still haven't told us what that group size is. How can we offer any help if you won't tell us where you are now?

 

[stev32k]

You still haven't told us what that group size is. How can we offer any help if you won't tell us where you are now?

Sorry, A five shot group will almost always fit inside a 4" circle at 25 yards. Occasionally I get a 3" or 5" group, but maybe 85% of the time it is 4" when using the vise.

 

[Rastoff]

OK, now we're talking. For the stock barrel and gun, that is as good as you can expect. I've done some research and most of the barrel makes I find don't give an accuracy. But, apparently Apex is working with Bar-Sto to make a barrel for the M&P. According to a video, Randy said we could expect sub 1" groups at 25 yards.

So, I suggest giving Apex a call and see what they have worked out.

 

[M29since14]

...A fitted barrel is always best, as the gunsmith should be running the gun and tweaking as needed for some measurable improvement.

Buying "drop in" aftermarket parts to replace non-defective factory parts is a dice shoot and generally makes little real difference in the mechanical ability of the gun...

You can't buy your way to master shooter.

The answers you are looking for.

There is no "drop-in" solution for pistol accuracy. If the tolerances are wide-open to allow drop-in, it is likely the gun will shoot wide-open. The 'smith who knows what tolerances are needed and where the gun needs them to run properly has to have something to work with (i.e., an oversize or "gunsmith fit" barrel) - or build up the existing barrel with welding. "Drop-in" barrels are a poor bet, IMO. It takes both a good barrel and proper fitting.

I know what OKFC05 means, but you CAN most definitely "buy your way" to better shooting. It takes (1) intelligent practice, (2) good ammunition, and (3) the best equipment you can afford. Compromise on any one of the three and to some extent your efforts are wasted. I don't know how hard it is to become a master-class shooter but intelligent effort and money are almost certainly the way there, providing the money is spent wisely. Lacking the best equipment is always a disadvantage.

If your M&P40 is consistently shooting 5-shot, 4-inch groups at 25-yards (from a rest) I would say you are doing pretty good with your handloads and your pistol is at least better than the average M&Ps I have seen - and I would think good enough for the action shooting venues. If you're going to buy a new barrel, get a gunsmith who knows what he is doing to fit one.

 

[epj]

A new barrel, if it is indeed "match grade", would have to fit the slide a whole lot better than the average M&P to be much of an improvement. Maybe a good GS could devise a front bushing in addition to proper fitting at the rear.

 

[stev32k]

Actually I'm not a good shot. Forty years ago I was a very good shot. I shot left-handed all my life until two years ago when arthritis in my left hand got so bad I couldn't hold and fire a pistol without a lot of pain. So I've been trying to teach myself to shoot right handed and I am not nearly as steady as I once was.

I don't think my M&P .40 is any more or less accurate than others I've fired. The difference is the vise I use for shooting. I bought three different shooting vises and none of them were very good in my opinion. So I made my own. I've attached a picture. The vise itself is a wood working vise. I removed the metal jaws and replaced them with a set of wood jaws. It is bolted to a laboratory jack. When shooting I lightly clamp the gun just enough to prevent horizontal movement. Then rotate the jack to get horizontal alignment with the target and use two "C" clamps to hold it in place. For vertical alignment I place a 1X4 piece of wood under the barrel and raise or lower the jack until I'm on target. The wood piece allows me to return to the same vertical spot every time and since the jack is clamped in place and the vise is bolted down I have exactly the same aiming point with every shot.

Shooting like this eliminates all the human error. It really shows the accuracy of the gun and especially the ammo. It has made me a much better reloader.

 

[M29since14]

That is about the only way I can see a typical small-caliber M&P shooting a 4-inch group at 25-yards!

Just kidding. I don't have a Ransom rest, or anything like you use, but I sure can't consistently do 4-inch groups with the M&Ps I have been around using a sandbag rest. Sometimes... but not consistently.

Over the years I have wished many times that I had a Ransom rest, but never got around to buying one. Maybe some day.