Semi-Auto Pistol Barrel Thickness

S

Skorzeny

New member
How is a proper barrel thickness determined for each caliber among autoloading pistols?

A Glock 19 (9mm Parabellum), for example, has a fairly thick barrel while a Springfield 1911 (.45 ACP) does not.

H&K USP series seems to have thick barrels in all calibers. CZ-75 barrels seem thicker than 1911 barrels, not not quite as thick as Glock barrels.

What gives? What are the factors for determining the thickness? Velocity of the projectile? Chamber pressure? Manufacturer discretion?

Skorzeny
 
Could it be the process used to make the barrel and the type if rifling? I concur with your observations.

I had a 3953 until recently that had the worst crown I have ever seen. The rifling went all the way to the end and it was dinged all to heck.

Whether you love or hate Beretta, their barrels on both the shotguns and pistols are excellent. The crowns on the '92 series are perfect and the shotgun barrels are the finest in the world.

Beretta makes all barrels for the Benelli shotgun since they own Benelli. They are chrome lined and very easy to clean.

Sorry for the "Cliffie Clayborn" ramble but you got me to thinking about this and after all isn't the barrel the lifeblood of any firearm?
 
Manufacturer discretion?
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I think that pretty much hit the nail on the head. I've seen barrel thicknesses vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

I don't think pressure has much to do with the whole equation for some manufacturers, such as Glock. Take a look at the G27 barrels. They are relatively thin compared to the 9mm Glock barrels, yet the .40 is still a relatively high pressure round for a pistol round.

I haven't gotten to do a comparison of the G30 vs the G36 barrels yet, perhaps someone on this forum can check the difference for us. I do believe that the G36 barrel was a bit thinner than the G30. Unfortunately I no longer own the G36.

To further makes things a bit crazy we can look at high pressure rifle barrels that are just a rifled sleeve inserted in a carbon fiber "barrel".

Good Shooting
RED
 
Didn't think about type of rifling... Hmmm. Both Glock and H&K use polygonal rifling, no? CZs and 1911s use conventional rifling... Hmmm.

Skorzeny
 
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