Has anyone actually compared a factory Sig barrel to a Barsto or other after market barrel?
Was wondering how much if any, different there would be.

I have not personally compared, but have heard the Bar-Sto are more accurate...

I'm not certain this applies, but, I switched my Sig 239 from 40 to 9mm via Bar-Sto conversion barrel, and accuracy is tack driving good with the Bar-Sto.

Can't be sure if it's the gun or that I just shoot 9mm better, but the results are there.

I bought a EFK FireDragon match barrel for my P225 when I discovered a small bulge I the barrel right in front of the chamber.

With JACKETED bullets it was no more accurate than even the bulged SIG barrel. With LEAD bullets it was better because after 7 shots the SIG barrel leaded so bad it would not group because of the bulge.

SIG makes some very good barrel from what I saw in that example.

I don't claim to be some bbl expert, but finding a more accurate out of the box bbl than a Sig origional, it would have to be some super duper bbl. Hell my Sigs make me look good as it is. I personally could not justify the cash to change just to change.
I guess I might try one if there was a flaw or I damaged the origional or wore it out. Just my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by AnchorageAk:
Has anyone actually compared a factory Sig barrel to a Barsto or other after market barrel?
Was wondering how much if any, different there would be.

A standard Barsto barrel is not different from a standard Sauer barrel. BUT if an oversize Barsto barrel is custom fitted professionally, the accuracy will increase, BUT to the cost of reliability.

regards, Daniel

quote:

Originally posted by OTD:

quote:

Originally posted by AnchorageAk:
Has anyone actually compared a factory Sig barrel to a Barsto or other after market barrel?
Was wondering how much if any, different there would be.

A standard Barsto barrel is not different from a standard Sauer barrel. BUT if an oversize Barsto barrel is custom fitted professionally, the accuracy will increase, BUT to the cost of reliability.

regards, Daniel

I don't believe that a fitted Barsto implies less reliability than a loose factory barrel. Nor do I believe a Barsto barrel is much better than a factory barrel in "contruction or quality" (it's better but not a whole lot). Aftermarket barrels are about the custom "fit". Sig factory barrels are generally very well made hammer forged barrels, but they are not "fitted" to the slide/frame.

A factory barrel is cut to fit a statistical range of likely slide/frame tolerances without requiring special hand fitting. As such there will always be the far sides of the statistical bell curve where it might be excessively tight or execessively loose in any particular slide/frame (with the manufacturing bell probably skewed towards the slightly loose side versus the too-tight side). The rest of the bell curve being composed of being pretty good and a very small perfect fit zone.

If you get one of the perfect statistical fits, a hand fitted aftermarket barrel will match the accuracy, but not likely exceed a perfectly fit factory barrel in any test not involving very long pistol range distances and machine rests. Unfortunately getting a perfect fit (perfect fit being like one that is custom fit) factory barrel is a very small statistical probability when compared to the likelyhood of getting a "pretty good" barrel fit or slightly loose barrel. A much too tight barel would probably also be pretty rare for the simple fact that it would not assemble easily if at all and be caught on the assembly line early on.

So basically, if you go to the range and are proud of fist sized groups at 10 yards, a better barrel fit perfectly is not going to do you any good. Even with a perfect barrel, you're still gonna have fist sized groups at 10 yards because at that range it's the shooter, not the gun. Unless you can shoot the same fist-sized 3-4.5 inch at "25 yards" consistantly, which the large majority of Sigs (even those with barrels that are pretty loose) should be able to do easily from a rest with good ammo, an aftermarket barrel fitted to perfection will do you little good.

As someone who has had a spot of rust develop in a P239 factory barrel, I see the main advantage of the aftermarket barrels as that they are stainless steel. In a gun that is carried daily and, perhaps not shot often enough, a stainless steel barrel will prove much more resistant to corrosion.

BTW, I have a brand new spare Sig barrel for my P239. However, I haven't changed it out, the pitting in the present barrel isn't enough to effect accuracy or cause leading. I would have purchased a Barsto if they were available in a 40 caliber (they are not) simply in order to have a stainless carry barrel. EKF offers a standard 40 caliber barrel for the P239, unfortunately they do NOT say whether they are drop-in, semi drop-in, or must be fitted to the slide. One of these days I just call EKF and ask, however that will have to wait until another barrel fits the budget.

Don't know about the Barsto barrels, but the EFK Fire Dragon ported barrel I bought is very accurate. Although I think part of that is being longer, and the reduction you get in muzzle flip due to the porting.

But if I were just replacing a standard fit barrel, I'd go with an OEM.