Want your new Glock project to both shoot AND look better?
We’ll cover Faxon’s series of Glock barrels that come in both Duty and Match accuracy…plus hot looking finishes that will make your Glock one of a kind.
Of course, we pitted it against a stock Glock barrel across a couple plinking and self-defense brands.
So how does it stack up?
About Faxon
I really like their AR-15 barrels.
They have a great reputation for being the best bang-for-the-buck barrels. Guess it helps when you make all your own barrels in house!
Here’s a review of their 14.5″ pencil barrel with a permanent muzzle brake. It shot great and the brake is the same diameter as the gas block…meaning you can take it on and off.
Couple their barrel and my other favorite Best AR-15 Upgrades, and you can build some sweet ARs.
They sent me this Glock barrel for me to test out for my honest review. And test it out I did!
Plus…they are hooking up Pew Pew Tactical readers with a 10% off coupon (find it at the end of the post).
The Barrels
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
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The barrel I’m specifically testing out is the Glock 17 (full-size), flame fluted, TiN (gold colored titanium nitride), un-threaded, and Match series.
They also come in different sizes:
- Glock 17 (full size 9mm)
- Glock 19 (compact, 9mm)
- Glock 34 (extended length, 9mm)
And different colors:
- Black
- Bronze
- Chameleon (rainbow)
- Gold (TiN)
- Unfluted, threaded, and either Duty or Match (more accurate).
Fluting reduces the weight a little but is more for increasing the rigidity of the barrel, and thus the accuracy.
Check them all out here.
Fit, Feel, & Install
It fit just like a stock barrel into all the slides I tested…a stock Glock 17, Grey Ghost Precision slide (review), and Brownells windowed slide ($160) where it’s going to stay.
The TiN coating is even and looks great…especially if you have a window-ed slide like the Brownells. Sometimes…if it doesn’t look cool…what’s the point.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
And of course…Chameleon for my M&P trigger I’m currently testing…
Accuracy
Not as easy as testing AR-15 barrels where I can get a reasonably stable platform, sweet optics, and a super nice trigger. I’m making do with a lightweight handgun rest ($25).
But to make it as controlled as possible, I’m using my competition G34 frame which has my favorite Glock trigger, the Zev Fulcrum Ultimate ($250), and a stock Glock 17 slide with factory night sights.
The targets are 10 yards away and I’m using a variety of my favorite plinking ammo.
Plus some self-defense ammo. If you’re looking at more 9mm ammo, check out my Best 9mm Ammo article.
I ran 100 rounds through the barrel and let my buddies shoot as much as they wanted through the barrel in my Polymer 80 build (guide coming soon). I’d estimate about 250 rounds until I started to test for accuracy. No cleaning was done.
10 round strings, shots about every 5 seconds, and about 5 minutes between strings for cooldown.
Here are the results (top 4 targets are Faxon, bottom 4 are stock Glock). Next time I will put the same barrel on the same line so I’m not cut & pasting.
And the ammo used was:
- Targets A+E: American Eagle 115 gr, which the Faxon really liked
- Targets B+F: Blazer Brass 124 gr, about the same but I’d give a slight edge to the stock barrel
- Targets C+G: Federal HST 147 gr, my personal favorite self-defense round, smaller group for Faxon
- Targets D+H: Winchester PDX1 147 gr, edge to stock
And the entire target.
I realized I had an empty top target, so I put the Faxon barrel into my P80 build. Results are largely the same with the best groups from the lighter 115 gr. Off target shots should be from my rifle testing previously.
Suppressed Use
New update…they have threaded versions!
Check out ours for the G19 coupled with a Banish 45 from Silencer Central that’s been running strong through thousands of rounds.
By The Numbers
Reliability: 5/5
No failures in the couple hundred rounds I put through it. Fits like a stock barrel in all three slides I’ve tried.
Accuracy: 5/5
I can see a noticeable difference between the Faxon match barrel and the stock Glock 17 barrel…especially when shooting 115 gr.
Looks: 5/5
I think it looks pretty great in my windowed Brownells slide. Next build might use the Chameleon color!
Bang for the Buck: 5/5
Faxon does it again with its barrels. A stock Glock 17 barrel is around $140 while the TiN coated and flame fluted I used was $210. If you want it threaded, it’s another $10. Glock 19 barrels are a little cheaper and G34 barrels a little more expensive which makes sense.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Conclusion
I highly recommend Faxon’s Glock barrel for your next build or upgrade. There’s a noticeable difference in accuracy from my testing…and it seems that for my barrel at least, you might maximize the accuracy with lighter 115 gr bullets.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
*10% off Faxon pistol barrels* with Pew Pew Tactical’s special code: FXPPT10PISTOL
PLUS…it looks awesome if that matters to you. But if you’re not looking to pimp out your gun…they still have black barrels that are all business with fluting and match quality.
I’m looking forward to putting hundreds if not thousands of rounds through it the next couple of months with range sessions and competitions. I’ll update if anything happens!
What do you think? Are you considering Faxon for your next build…or is there another barrel manufacturer you want us to check out?
14 Leave a Reply
What evidence are you useing to support “faxson more accurate”? Counting the outer most ring (in 4vs 4 picture), faxson has 12, standard has 7ish. I can’t notice a difference in grouping, so what makes it more accurate?
What evidence is he using? Put on glasses, re-read article, think before asking the question.
A fluted barrel is not stronger than an unfluted barrel of the same diameter. Given that the barrel diameter of a Glock is limited by the slide you gain no advantage from fluting. If however you were to increase the diameter and could modify the slide to occomodate it, fluting could be use to keep the barrel mass the same so as not to throw off the timing of the guns cycling.
Just to be clear, the advantage to fluting is more surface area which increases heat dissipation.
But that wasn't the author's claim. He claimed the fluting made for a stronger barrel, which it does not. Also, I don't see any evidence in his test shots that indicate an increase in accuracy.
What RMR do you have on the brownells slide? I was under the impression only the Trijicon RMR fit them?
Hi John, sorry I missed this comment from a while back...it's a See-All Sight with a magnifier and a small tritium lit reticle (full review).
Is there a version that is threaded for suppressor or compensator use?
Yes!
Well, ....... those barrels sure are purdy; but for that kind of money you could (almost) buy a truly accurate Bar-Sto Precision barrel. I've got 3 Glocks fitted with Bar-Sto barrels; and they are phenomenal shooters! The TiN coating seems nice, though.
What you said about fluting isn't true. A barrel of the same profile as another will have more rigidity without flutes. Where the advantages of fluting become apparent is with heavy profile barrels and flutes. This reduces the weight of the barrel and makes it more rigid than a barrel of a lighter profile and no flutes, provided they weigh the same amount. In a handgun like a glock, the weight of the barrel isn't a huge issue. The miniscule amount of weight added without the flutes would increase rigidity further, but the lockup is more critical to accuracy than barrel rigidity, especially in a handgun with loose tolerances like a glock.
Good info to know, thanks Hayden!
I should have read the thread before posting. My bad.
Hi Eric,
What order would you put Faxon Glock barrels along side KKM, Zev, Storm Lake and Blacklist ? I am putting Faxon AR barrel in my lightweight tactical 16” next go around . I have been trying to decide on a g3 G34 competition pistol build out. I already had Ghost Inc 3.5 trigger and springs - Zev Dragonfly slide on order . Now you throw another barrel option at me ?!
Thank you
Always trust your advice,
Craig