Are Agency Arms Barrels Over Stock Worth the Investment?
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a gear nerd. I am. There’s no other way around it. I like trying out new gear as if it were my job (if you have some cool gear, hit me up, I’d love to try it). This includes aftermarket parts for firearms like the Agency Arms barrels I’m about to discuss.
That said, there are a bunch of keyboard commandos out there who are going to tell me that I should never customize a carry pistol and swap out a stock Glock barrel for one of the Agency Arms barrels because if it’s used in a shooting, it will automatically put you in jail — blah, blah, blah. Relax Frank, I’ll take my chances, and your point is invalid.
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But for the sake of this article, we are going to pretend that we are all adults here who care about our freedoms and self-protection (if this doesn’t include you, please see yourself to the door). Therefore, we are going to arm ourselves with whatever gives us the greatest advantage in a life-or-death situation.
In such a situation, I will not fight fair; there are no rules, and I will take every tactical advantage I can to survive. If that means a better, more accurate barrel… then you can bet your sweet bottom I’m going to be rocking it.
So, without further ado, let’s discuss Agency Arms barrels.
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Disclaimer: I purchased the Agency Arms Barrel with my own money. This product was not supplied to me by Agency Arms, they did not pay me or compensate me to speak about their product, and the opinions on this product are solely mine and my personal experience with this aftermarket barrel.
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Agency Arms Barrels — Why Would You Need One?
For starters, do you need aftermarket barrels such as the Agency Arms barrels? No. For the majority of people out there, the stock Glock barrel will do precisely as it’s supposed to do. However, if you ever shoot stock barrels, sometimes you may notice a random flier that has you scratching your head. That can be due to you moving during the trigger press, but also it could be due to cheap ammo or that a stock barrel doesn’t have the tightest tolerances and machining.
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Let’s just get this out of the way, too… swapping over to one of the Agency Arms barrels isn’t going to instantly make you a better shooter. If you don’t already have solid fundamentals with sight picture, sight alignment, trigger press, etc., the barrel isn’t going to change anything. You’re not going to go from not even being able to hit the broad side of a barn to shooting the nuts off a fly by simply changing barrels.
That leads us to our first reason why you may want to get an aftermarket barrel like one of the Agency Arms barrels. Tolerances. Personally, I purchased the Agency Arms Mid Line Match Grade Drop-In Barrel, which is compatible with Glock 19 Gen 1-4 to replace my Lone Wolf aftermarket barrel (I just never liked it, and the stupid wolf design on top of the lockup looked goofy). My new Agency Arms barrel is a stainless steel fluted barrel that, in my opinion, is sexy as hell.
Getting back on track from my infatuation with just how good this barrel looks are the tolerances. The lockup on the stock Glock barrels isn’t the greatest. This can cause some performance issues. The Agency Arms barrels are tighter with their lockup, and the fit is what I’d prefer from Glock directly off the production line, but I digress.
The specs of these Agency Arms barrels (the Mid Line models) are as follows:
- Twist: 1/10
- Quality: 416R Stainless Steel
- Rifling: Pulled broached/ Saami Spec 9mm Rifling
- Fit: Compatible with Glock® 19 Gen 1-4
- Caliber information is machined on the rear of the lockup. Identified as “919”
- Threading (Optional): 1/2 x 28
- Thread protector (Price included with threading): Yes, In matching finish!
- Finish Options: Stainless Steel, DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon Coating), Titanium Nitride (Gold)
- Barrel Length: Sits Flush with Slide (non-threaded only)
- Deep Crown (non-threaded only)
- Large Agency “A” machined on the Top of the lockup.
- Large “AGENCY” machined on the Port Side of the lockup.
- (7) Gear Flutes machined around the circumference of the barrel.
Another reason you may wish to swap out your stock Glock barrel for one of the Agency Arms barrels is your ability to shoot reloads. It’s not recommended that you shoot reloads out of the stock Glock barrel, as many people have encountered some catastrophic failures during training at the range that led to their barrel exploding (no bueno).
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The Agency Arms barrels have a deep crown, and the length is completely flush with the front of the slide. I, personally, think the look of this aftermarket barrel is one of the best out there. Then you also have the fluted barrel with seven gear flutes around the barrel’s circumference, providing a fantastic aesthetic look while also lightening up the weight.
The barrel has a 1/10 twist and a pulled broached/Saami Spec 9mm rifling.
These Agency Arms barrels also have some additional machining that improves the appearance of the barrel by having the word “AGENCY” machined into the port side of the lockup, as well as the Agency “A” logo on top of the lockup.
Would I Recommend the Agency Arms Mid Line Match Grade Drop-In Barrel?
If you’re looking to spruce up your Glock’s appearance while also improving your barrel’s functionality and performance, these Agency Arms barrels will fit the bill. Sure, they may be considered slightly on the expensive side, but all aftermarket parts and accessories are personal preference and optional. This barrel will run you $210 with free shipping (pricing is current at the time of writing this article and may have changed since).
I absolutely love my Agency Arms Mid Line Match Grade Drop-In Barrel. To me, it is worth every penny. I like it so much that I may get the threaded version for my Glock 17 that’s rocking a comp on the front. All in all, if you pick up one of the Agency Arms barrels, I have a feeling you’re going to love your purchase.
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And as always, go out and get the proper training needed to be proficient with your firearm(s) and EDC gear. I am not an instructor or tactical ninja, and I don’t pretend to be one on the weekends. I’m simply someone who seeks knowledge, improvement, and proficiency when it comes to self-defense and the ability to protect my family and those around me. You are your own first line of defense, seek the training of a certified and experienced instructor. And if you are in the market for an aftermarket barrel, I’d definitely recommend checking out the Agency Arms barrels.
