Cheap barrel vs. match barrel

I have a Glock 17 and have three barrels for it. Lately I have been shooting lead bullets from a cheap barrel I bought years back. My loads have been smoky and I've gotten a fair bit of leading even though I'm using good hard cast bullets. I have the feeling that the loads should be more accurate. I say "should" because I could always be the problem.


I decided to push a sample 147 gr lead bullet through each of my barrels and see how each looked. The cheap barrel bullet is in the middle, match on the left and stock on the right. The cheap barrel seemed not to grip the bullet except for the lands of the rifling. It was easier to push this one through than either of the other barrels. I measured the land depth and came up with .352" on the cheap barrel. The match barrel measured .339" with a longer bearing surface. Apparently SAAMI specs are .346" groove measurement, so the match barrel is tight (as it should be) and the cheap barrel is loose (which it should not be).

The match barrel is now in the gun but I doubt it will stay as is. It's a KKM threaded barrel for use with a comp. I don't want to run the comp in IDPA or USPSA so I'm left with an extended threaded barrel. This is also not legal in IDPA and probably not legal in USPSA. I'll need to swap it out with another good barrel or cut it to stock length. We'll see...