Why We're Discontinuing Apex Semi Drop-In Barrels

We have some important news to share today. We've decided to cease manufacturing of our Semi Drop-In barrels. Don’t worry, we'll explain why.

The Beginning:

When we started manufacturing our Apex Grade barrels, we decided to offer two options to our customers:

Gunsmith Fit (GS): Most accurate (sub-1.5” groups at 25 yds), requires the following areas to be fitted: Top Front Locking Bell, End of Barrel Hood, Width of the Barrel Hood, and Bottom Locking Pad.

Semi Drop-In (SDI): Drastically more accurate compared to the factory barrel, only slightly less accurate than the Apex Gunsmith Fit barrels. (Approx 2” @ 25yds). The SDI barrels only needed the Hood length and Bottom Locking Pad fitted; this simplified the fitting process for our customers which made them more attractive for those installing the barrel themselves.

The amount of extra material on the barrel hood and fitting pads are less than the GS barrels, but that caused another issue entirely. Some customers received our SDI barrels, and they dropped right in with no fitting required, though the customers were expecting to remove material to make it fit. This caused justifiable concern for the customers. They were worried that we manufactured the barrel out of spec. We brought the first few back in for inspection yet found that the barrels were manufactured to our specs.

We also brought in a few customer pistols to measure and found that the breech length was greater on those customer slides than we had yet seen. We do not have the S&W slide specs so we couldn’t say if the slides were made on the edge of their specs or outside of their specs. We test fired the pistols and found the accuracy to be exactly as expected.

In the end, the customers were happy to have their barrel drop right into their pistol without being fitted, but that’s only due to their pistol being out of the normal tolerance range we’ve come to expect. As of this event, any time a customer called with a concern about an SDI barrel dropping right in, we requested they shoot it to check accuracy, all of which reported back full function and accuracy as expected.

Constant Improvement:

As time went on, we looked at the necessary fitting areas and how they affect the result (accuracy) and challenged ourselves to determine if we could maintain the legendary accuracy of our GS barrels but not require the top of the Front Locking Bell and hood width to be fitted. In the end the answer was yes. We altered the Front Locking Bell geometry and hood width on the GS and SDI barrels to match a few years ago. This means the Fitting process for the GS and SDI barrels is the same. The GS barrels require more material to be removed but we are only talking about .010” from the Bottom Locking Pad and Hood Length.

Supply Chain:

All our GS and SDI barrels are manufactured from Cold Hammer Forged Stainless Steel blanks. Since mid-2020, we have had a tough time getting sufficient quantities of Hammer Forged Blanks that meet our quality standards to keep up with demand. This lack of supply has added strain to our inventory, so simplifying the product offerings will allow us to manufacture the GS barrels and keep them in stock.

Going Forward:

As I said before, we are removing the SDI barrels and going with Gunsmith Fit barrels for the M&P. We will continue making our Direct Drop-In (DDI) barrels for those who simply want a threaded barrel for accessory attachment.

Thank you for your patience through all of this and your faith in our products.

Barrel Fitting Guide

We offer a barrel fitting guide, which covers the tools, techniques and steps required to properly fit an Apex Gunsmith Fit barrel. You can download it here.

Barrel Fitting Services

We do offer barrel fitting services at Apex. Contact our Customer Service Staff for pricing and details.

  • You must purchase or supply an Apex Barrel
  • Apex will not fit any other companies’ barrel, accessories, or equipment
  • You are responsible for all shipping and any associated transfer fees

New Gunsmith Fit Barrels

We have the following Gunsmith Fit barrels coming to our lineup very soon:

  • Gunsmith Fit barrel for M&P (&M2.0) 3.6in non-threaded
  • Gunsmith Fit barrel for M&P (&M2.0) 3.6in threaded
  • Gunsmith Fit barrel for M&P (&M2.0) 4.0in threaded