Brownells Ported Barrels are Best Kept Secret
Did you know that Brownells sells a ported barrel for only $60. I was shocked. In a previous clearance sale, I picked up their Windowed RMR cut slide for only $100.
Throw in a OEM upper parts kit on sale, and for right around $200 out the door you can have a ported complete upper that is on par with OEM quality. The brownells slides are absolutely my favorite glock slide on the market, I did a whole video on that so check that out. I run one in my Glock 34 and another in this Glock 19 style build. But today i’m going to be reviewing their ported Glock 19 barrel.
If you aren’t familiar with ported barrels, I have a video on the differences between them and compensated barrels. Pause this video and watch that first if you aren’t sure which route to go, but just know that ported barrels are intended to help reduce felt recoil by redirecting some of the gas upward instead of forward when shooting a handgun.
This has drawbacks, but it generally makes the pistol easier to shoot and control, which is of huge benefit when performance shooting. The brownells ported barrel is a perfect fit with their windowed Glock 19 slides. I’m running it with an RMR cut slide. So its like having a glock 19C on a budget, and RMR Cut out of box. What’s not to like about that.
Brownells Ported Glock 19 Barrel
High quality machining, ported, and only $60. What’s not to like?
You can build a Glock 19C on a Budget
I really like it because with the barrel not being threaded, the pistol is really compact for concealed carry contexts, yet you get the full recoil reduction beenfit of having a ported barrel. Unlike the Glock 19 C which ports the gas diagnally, the Brownells barrel ports the gas up.
This in my experience pushes the gas down which greatly reduces recoil, but has the potential disadvnatage of causing flash in your line of sight. That can be a negative impact if you’re running this under a night vision device. The other trade off, which is a trade off with any ported barrel, is going to be a loss in velocity.
Brownells Ported Barrel Range Performance
I don’t have a chronograph to compare, but you should assume that you’ll lose about 50 FPS in bullet velocity. It’s also crazy loud. That said, shooting this with various types of ammunition including 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain, the brownells ported barrel works great for reducing felt recoil. So I have to say, I’m really digging this setup.
Unexpectedly, it seemed like 124 grain had the most tame recoil. Its possible that this is because the ported barrels operate with high pressures, so having higher pressure will push the muzzle device down further. I was surprised that the federal 147 grain was so snappy, but 124 grain seemed to bet the sweet spot with this setup, which is perfect for me as that is my preferred carry round. In a sense, I prefer this to compensators primarily because it doesn’t have any added length to the gun. So the Glock 19 is still subcompact and great for EDC.
Focusing on building the perfect glock
My philosophy is quickly changing here at CRACKSHOT.tv. I’ve been buying into the concept of “One Warrior, One sword” being promoted by other channels like barrel and hatchet, and what its made me realize is that you should focus on shooting just one pistol, one rifle, one shotgun really, really well. If you switch platforms constantly, you aren’t going to improve performance wise as a shooter.
So training with a single set of equipment is going to be a big focus for me in 2025. So along with that pursuit I’m working on a Glock build that I’m going to feature in a future video that is purpose built with every part selected to run with home defense, concealed carry, and competitive shooting in mind. A do it all sort of pistol that is tailor made for my needs with all parts listed so anyone can copy it. I ran this work in progress build in a recent match. I have to say I was really happy with the performance.
I was able to keep recoil really in check. The dot never leaves the window, allowing for the pistol to be shot quickly and accurately.
Brownells Ported Glock 19 Barrel
High quality machining, ported, and only $60. What’s not to like?
Conclusion
So I think for this “do it all” primary build, the Brownell’s ported barrel and windowed slide are here to stay. If that concept sounds interesting to you, please consider subscribing to the channel. I almost have everything about that build finalized, So look forward to that video soon, I hope you have a great day.
