A 1911 in 357 Sig?

[fraz]

Has anyone heard of or seen one of these? I think it might be a fun project. Thoughts?

[wash]

Very do-able but why stop at .357 SIG? Try 9*25 Dillon.

[morrcarr67]

Just get one of these and call it good

[InGrAM]

That is a cool idea. .357 Sig. I am contemplating converting my Colt Commander to .40 S&W. Could be lots of fun

[Freagan]

Just get one of these and call it good

Damn! You beat me to it! Anyone shot one of these?

[morrcarr67]

I shot one way back in the late 80's. Very fun to shoot.

[Q619]

Ed Brown made a 1911 that came with a .40 barrel and a .357 SIG barrel. I don't know how many....only seen pictures of one. I'm pretty sure it was built off a Les Baer frame (back when EB used them).

[Mute]

Certainly can be done. Take a look at the 9x23 as well, which would be my choice if I wanted something in that ballistic category.

[Richard Erichsen]

Has anyone heard of or seen one of these? I think it might be a fun project. Thoughts?

It's been done and is do-able. The question would be whether it is worth the cost of the conversion kit to do it. 9mm +P gets close, +P+ can even exceed some factory .357 SIG loads. When the caliber was new it got some attention, not so much today with improved 9 mm loads developed with input from users worldwide.

There are plenty of "boutique" calibers you could adapt the 1911 to, many claim to be "drop in" (usually an entire top end slide/barrel and mag, though some need only a barrel replacement). Many supposedly drop in replacement kits end up at the gunsmith for tweaking to function reliably. The conversion kits can also cost almost as much as a new handgun dedicated to that caliber, but if the 1911 action you are after, that's the breaks. Conversion kits exist for, or have been made at one time or another for the following:

.22 LR
7.62x25 mm Tokarev
9 mm Parabellum
9x23 mm Winchester
9x25 mm Dillon
.38 Super
.357 SIG
.40 S&W
10 mm Auto
.400 Corbon
.45 ACP
.45 Super
.460 Rowland
.50 GI

I probably missed one or two, but you get the idea. Of the list, .22 LR, .40 S&W, .45 ACP/.45 Super make the most sense to me. The .22 for cheap practice, the .40 S&W to meet the requirements of some departments or user preference, the .45 ACP goes without saying and if you like brisk recoil and fireballs at the muzzle along with somewhat flatter trajectory the .45 Super is an option. The .45 Super barrel still allows you to shoot milder and less costly .45 ACP and has a better supported chamber though that hasn't been much of a problem even with .45 ACP +P+ which are lower pressure compared to 9 mm and .40 S&W.

Like all boutique calibers, .45 Super is best reloaded, the brass and factory loads are expensive and don't open up the maximum potential for the load, which is why it's mostly just an "if" though the cost of that upgrade is mostly just barrel and stiffer springs.

R

[Lumpia is sarap!®]

I just got the .357SIG bug too...but not a 1911.

Picked up some ammo:

[JTROKS]

Wow! Clark Custom Guns sells 10 round 40S&W mags for a single stack 1911. 10 rounds of 357 Sig in a single stack 1911... Not a bad idea! I suggest getting a fully supported barrel since it is a high pressure round.

[chuckdc]

If I were going to do this (and I just might), I'd start with a Para P16 in .40 and do a barrel swap. Think about 17 rounds (free state capacity) of .357 SIG AND being able to go back to .40. Adding in a 10mm barrel would be cool, too.