Sidearms & Scatterguns 460 Rowland... Very Frustrating

[Dark Horse]

So I bought the conversion kit for my Glock 21 Gen 3 from 460 Rowland.com and the results are disappointing to say the least. First problem I encountered was ammo related. Shooting Underwood 255 gr hardcast, the bullets are hitting the target sideways from any distance. The ported barrel they sent is made by Lone Wolf and there was no restrictions on bullet weight that I'm aware of.

Second issue was using NY compliant 10rd mags, the 10th rd being a bear to load, I'm under the impression that the extra power spring they sent are for standard 13 rd mags and would not do me any good anyways. On the 9th rd of every mag firing a medium to fast string would cause a nose up condition and non-chamber.

Third, after firing about 50 rds the trigger would not reset anymore no matter how slow or fast I fired. I had my Glock 20 which has a 3.5 lb connector and NY trigger spring so I swapped the slide over to the G20 frame and did not experience this again.

All in all very disappointing.

 

[ZLBubba]

For what it's worth, I couldn't get functionality out of the Underwood ammo either. I'd try the Georgia Arms, JDs, or handloads. Definitely contact the 460 Rowland.com people and get them to answer all your questions. The good news is that working on Glocks is fairly straightforward, which means you should be able to do most of your own smithing.

I don't know the parts list that 460Rowland.com sends forward. I did NOT need new mag springs, though I did need a new mag release spring (or an extra spring, really). If you don't get good CS from 460Rowland.com people, call up Lonewolf and explain the problems. The 460 Rowland upper on a Glock takes some massaging to make work. They'll tell you what combo of parts you may need. I will say that it's rewarding once it does work, but I think you've got some troubleshooting and gunsmithing in your future. Feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to chat about what may work for you.

 

[rck]

Have you tried a jacketed bullet? When I played with the Rpwland in my Kimber years ago the Hornady XTP was golden. Whaching the 100 yd gong was a breeze.

 

[Dark Horse]

For what it's worth, I couldn't get functionality out of the Underwood ammo either. I'd try the Georgia Arms, JDs, or handloads. Definitely contact the 460 Rowland.com people and get them to answer all your questions. The good news is that working on Glocks is fairly straightforward, which means you should be able to do most of your own smithing.

I don't know the parts list that 460Rowland.com sends forward. I did NOT need new mag springs, though I did need a new mag release spring (or an extra spring, really). If you don't get good CS from 460Rowland.com people, call up Lonewolf and explain the problems. The 460 Rowland upper on a Glock takes some massaging to make work. They'll tell you what combo of parts you may need. I will say that it's rewarding once it does work, but I think you've got some troubleshooting and gunsmithing in your future. Feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to chat about what may work for you.

I've had great luck with Underwood in 10mm and .40 S&W, always functioned great and very accurate. They send the barrel, stainless guide rod with 24lb spring and extra power mag springs.

I don't know, Clark Custom stopped doing them on the Glocks years ago, guess there was a reason.

 

[ZLBubba]

Have you tried a jacketed bullet? When I played with the Rpwland in my Kimber years ago the Hornady XTP was golden. Whaching the 100 yd gong was a breeze.

^+1. Yeah, the 200gr XTP has worked really well for me.

 

[Dark Horse]

Have you tried a jacketed bullet? When I played with the Rpwland in my Kimber years ago the Hornady XTP was golden. Whaching the 100 yd gong was a breeze.

I bought this primarily for a woods gun, so the 255 gr hard cast was the best option. Haven't tried the jacketed bullets but if won't shoot the hard cast it doesn't make sense for me to keep it.

 

[ZLBubba]

I bought this primarily for a woods gun, so the 255 gr hard cast was the best option. Haven't tried the jacketed bullets but if won't shoot the hard cast it doesn't make sense for me to keep it.

With respect, it sounds like your gun won't shoot the Underwood 255gr Hard Cast. That's a far cry from not shooting hard cast in general. Would you toss out a GAP because it doesn't like Black Hills 175 SMKs? There are a lot of options that you haven't explored, but it's your money and your choice obviously. Still, if you're in New York, there's nothing you'll see in those woods or mountains that a XTP won't take down at 460 Rowland speeds. Also, there's a host of hard cast lead round nose rounds to handload as well, so I think you've got options if you want them.

Trust me, I know your frustration when it comes to getting these hot rods to work. But when it does, it's a sweet victory and a great capability to have on your hip. Good luck on whichever way you choose.

 

[Dark Horse]

With respect, it sounds like your gun won't shoot the Underwood 255gr Hard Cast. That's a far cry from not shooting hard cast in general. Would you toss out a GAP because it doesn't like Black Hills 175 SMKs? There are a lot of options that you haven't explored, but it's your money and your choice obviously. Still, if you're in New York, there's nothing you'll see in those woods or mountains that a XTP won't take down at 460 Rowland speeds. Also, there's a host of hard cast lead round nose rounds to handload as well, so I think you've got options if you want them.

Trust me, I know your frustration when it comes to getting these hot rods to work. But when it does, it's a sweet victory and a great capability to have on your hip. Good luck on whichever way you choose.

Bigfoot

 

[Dark Horse]

I have a thousand rds of that ammo so I need to figure out something. Did you get your barrel from Lone Wolf and is it ported?

 

[ZLBubba]

I have a thousand rds of that ammo so I need to figure out something. Did you get your barrel from Lone Wolf and is it ported?

So my plan to get this hot rod to work was to build this upper to completely address the various issues that could possibly arise because of the high speed, high pressure, and high recoil of this round. To mitigate those issues, I used a Lonewolf longslide without any cuts, a 6.6" threaded barrel, and a Lonewolf compensator. That gives the slide as much weight as possible to counterbalance all the energy when the recoil cycle begins. Add in the 24lb recoil spring and all LWD internals, and it's a solid setup, but not without its issues. Mine doesn't like the Underwood ammo, but it loves my handloads.

Lonewolf did screw up and send my original slide with the wrong recoil spring. When I sent it back to get the issues figured out, I spoke with their armorer. He said that going with the long slide, long barrel, and compensator was the best way to ensure reliability and top velocities. So far, it's working, but I need to put a few hundred more rounds down the barrel to call it perfect.

 

[Dark Horse]

So my plan to get this hot rod to work was to build this upper to completely address the various issues that could possibly arise because of the high speed, high pressure, and high recoil of this round. To mitigate those issues, I used a Lonewolf longslide without any cuts, a 6.6" threaded barrel, and a Lonewolf compensator. That gives the slide as much weight as possible to counterbalance all the energy when the recoil cycle begins. Add in the 24lb recoil spring and all LWD internals, and it's a solid setup, but not without its issues. Mine doesn't like the Underwood ammo, but it loves my handloads.

Lonewolf did screw up and send my original slide with the wrong recoil spring. When I sent it back to get the issues figured out, I spoke with their armorer. He said that going with the long slide, long barrel, and compensator was the best way to ensure reliability and top velocities. So far, it's working, but I need to put a few hundred more rounds down the barrel to call it perfect.

You tried the 255 gr or was it something else?

 

[ZLBubba]

Yeah, the Underwood 255gr didn't feed well in my pistol. Very accurate, but had misfeeds every 4 rounds or so. I'll be selling my box and a half of Underwood when I get a chance and just sticking with my handloads.

 

[Dark Horse]

Ok thanks. I have some calls to make tomorrow. Will update soon.

 

[BurnOut]

I did a build-my-own conversion on my Glock... bought the Lone Wolf threaded barrel and had them cut the Rowland chamber, bought the Lone Wolf compensator, and a Sprinco recoil reducer. I have only taken the gun out a couple of times, but the only issue I have experienced to this point is the occasional FTF. I'm running the factory 13 round mags with the factory spring, so that may have something to do with it... but it also may have something to do with the primary spring on the Sprinco. My next step is to get a softer primary spring for the Sprinco.

FWIW, I'm running "Johnny's Carry Load" ammo from 460rowland.com.