1911 question: switch barrels & mags

[TackyDriver]

Happy Farging Friday! I'm not saying it's one but I'm wishing you all one.

I'm eyeballing a RIA 1911 in 38 Super for sale at a LGS. What I really need is one in 45 ACP but one in 38 Super makes me drool. I love my 357 mag revolver and something that is similar in a semiauto would be cool. It would be cheaper than a Desert Eagle.

For home defense, I prefer 45 ACP. I have limited funds so what I'd like to do is be able to use the 38 Super as a field gun and 45 ACP for home defense. Can I switch barrels & mags w/out major milling or mods? Practically, it would be easier to switch between 45 ACP and 460 Rowland but I think 38 Super has emotional appeal. I figure the 38 Super frame and slide would be strong enough to handle 460 Rowland. I just don't know enough about 1911s in this area and especially RIA 1911s in particular. Any help in looking before I leap will be appreciated.

[CK_32]

You can't just swap like you can with Glocks and plastics.

1911s require a lot more fitting and matching parts to one another.

[nastyhabts26]

From what I have read the .460 Rowland conversion is not recommended on any RIA weapons systems

[TackyDriver]

Thanks for the word. I needed to regain my senses. The 45 ACP for home, 460 Rowland for field and 38 Super down the line when I have the luxury. It's Springfield Armory for me because there's no worries on the 460. That will be down the line.

As far as barrel fitting, I'm not too proud to hire a gunsmith. Any suggestions for a good one with 1911s in the lower half of CA will be appreciated. What impresses me is that the 460 Rowland Conversion doesn't cost more that a 22 lr conversion.

[CK_32]

As far as barrel fitting, I'm not too proud to hire a gunsmith. Any suggestions for a good one with 1911s in the lower half of CA will be appreciated. What impresses me is that the 460 Rowland Conversion doesn't cost more that a 22 lr conversion.

I've been looking for a GOOD fair priced 1911 smith around OC with no luck for a couple weeks. I know there is bolsa smithing by me but I've heard their work is shotty at best. Thinking of getting a trigger job and maybe slide work on my loaded.

[Press Check]

I've been looking for a GOOD fair priced 1911 smith around OC with no luck for a couple weeks. I know there is bolsa smithing by me but I've heard their work is shotty at best. Thinking of getting a trigger job and maybe slide work on my loaded.

Will O'Hara is about 20-30 minutes from OC in Corona. Alan Tanaka is about 40 minutes in Gardena.

[nastyhabts26]

I had bolsa put a recoil pad and port the barrel on my Marlin 45-70 and they did a good job on both.

[S0M1L9S]

I believe same conversion sizing apply. .38 slide < .45 casing, at the the breech face.

.45 to .38, I have heard it can be done, but from .38 to .45 is too far apart to have one extractor and ejector to be reliable, draw of the luck and lots of tuning.

If you want a .38super and .45acp combo, you are better off with two separate one.

Just get the 10mm .

[California44]

You can't just swap like you can with Glocks and plastics.

1911s require a lot more fitting and matching parts to one another.

I don't have a Glock/plastic gun. Could I easily convert a Glock .45 to any other caliber by just switching out barrel and mag? I may get one if that's the case.

[wamphyri13]

I believe same conversion sizing apply. .38 slide < .45 casing, at the the breech face.

.45 to .38, I have heard it can be done, but from .38 to .45 is too far apart to have one extractor and ejector to be reliable, draw of the luck and lots of tuning.

If you want a .38super and .45acp combo, you are better off with two separate one.

Just get the 10mm .

This. .38Super, 9mm, .40 and 10mm have smaller breach faces. You will need complete top end as well as ejector. And make sure you don't get a ramped barrel.
Ryan

[robcoe]

Happy Farging Friday! I'm not saying it's one but I'm wishing you all one.

I'm eyeballing a RIA 1911 in 38 Super for sale at a LGS. What I really need is one in 45 ACP but one in 38 Super makes me drool. I love my 357 mag revolver and something that is similar in a semiauto would be cool. It would be cheaper than a Desert Eagle.

For home defense, I prefer 45 ACP. I have limited funds so what I'd like to do is be able to use the 38 Super as a field gun and 45 ACP for home defense. Can I switch barrels & mags w/out major milling or mods? Practically, it would be easier to switch between 45 ACP and 460 Rowland but I think 38 Super has emotional appeal. I figure the 38 Super frame and slide would be strong enough to handle 460 Rowland. I just don't know enough about 1911s in this area and especially RIA 1911s in particular. Any help in looking before I leap will be appreciated.

two things,

RIA's are specifically discouraged for .460 Rowland by Clark Custom Guns(the only conversion maker I know of), I have .460 on one of my 1911's, before doing it I suggest reading the Clark Custom Guns FAQ at the bottom of the page, but for this post here is the important part

Q: Are there any other guns that you specifically DO NOT recommend for the 460 Rowland?

A: YES! We do not recommend this kit for installation in • IAI (Israeli Arms International) - We've found the top lugs in the slides of the Philipines produced 1911s to be soft! We've not tested the Israeli made guns but would recommend extreme caution.

•Rock Island Armory
•Auto Ordnance
•Taurus
•Llama
•AMT
•Charles Daly
•Essex
•Remington Rand
•Any "GI" 1911 (note: Springfield Armory Current Production models excluded)

the slides are different enough between .38 super and .45 that a back and forth switch would not work, only way it might would be a custom .38 barrel on a .45 slide.

From experience you can convert from .38 super to 9mm and back with just a barrel in an RIA, I did it myself with just a couple hours work.

Overall given what you say, I would suggest getting the .38 super if you reload(ammo can be a bit tough to find at times, and not cheap ever) and really like the gun then later pick up a .45, or just go with the .45 at the start.

If you just want something different and you're willing to load your own, you could get a .400 CorBon barrel for the .45.

[CK_32]

I don't have a Glock/plastic gun. Could I easily convert a Glock .45 to any other caliber by just switching out barrel and mag? I may get one if that's the case.

G20/G29 - .40SW, .357SIG, 9X25, .22LR
G21/G30 - .400 Corbon, .40 Super, 10mm, .22LR
All .40SW and .357SIG models - either can be converted to the other with a simple swap of the same size model's factory barrel and magazines, 9mm, .22LR
9mm models - .22LR, or upper swap with trigger housing/ejector and magazines to .40SW, .357SIG, .45GAP(can only upper swap to larger caliber if 9mm frame has THREE PINS)

Conversions, except converting a .40 or .357 to the other caliber using factory barrel and magazines, are generally not as reliable as the stock Glock. Converting a .45AUTO to 10mm is not completely reliable either, with maybe 3 FTE's out of 100 rounds.

To convert a .40 or .357 to 9mm you use a .40SW-9mm conversion barrel and Glock 9mm magazines. With the LoneWolfDist.com 40-9 conversion barrel you don't need to change the trigger housing w/ejector or extractor because the chamber is offset to work best with the .40/.357 ejector and extractor.

.40 and .357SIG Glocks can easily be converted to the other caliber using a factory barrel and magazines because that's exactly what Glock did to make their .357SIG models, they put a different size bore in the barrel and changed the magazines. The outer dimensions of each barrel per the size of the model are exactly the same. The guide rods, slides, frames, extractors, ejectors, etc are exactly the same parts.

To convert a model to .22LR you need an aftermarket kit that has the entire slide, barrel, and magazines.

LoneWolfDist.com conversion barrels: http://www.lonewolfdist.com/Products.aspx?CAT=241

StormLake offers 45ACP-10mm conversion barrels(you'd use 10mm magazines):

http://www.storm-lake.com/products/barrel#top

AdvantageArms is probably the most well known .22LR Kit maker for Glocks, but there are many others: http://www.advantagearms.com/

Glockmeister Compatibility Charts:
Barrel swap: http://www.glockmeister.com/GlockBar...patibility.asp
Upper swap: http://www.glockmeister.com/GlockUpperSwapsbyModel.asp
__________________

[redcliff]

Can I switch barrels & mags w/out major milling or mods?

The answer to the question is no. To convert .38 super to .45acp the slide assembly and ejector (which is pinned to the frame) has to be changed along with the barrel, and technically the ramp on the frame is different between the calibers also although it often works.

38 super to 9mm is practical and is often done.

For the price of al the components such as the slide, barrel etc. you'd be much better off to just buy 2 RIA's, one in .38 Super and one in .45acp.

[dangerranger]

There are a couple of good conversions that can be easily done to make your vision come true. One is the 38/45. it uses a 45acp case necked down to .357 and uses unaltered 45 mags, extractor, and ejector. Just a barrel change. The other is the .400 Corbon. This is a high performance round that just requires a drop in barrel swap. Both of these have good amounts of info out there on the net. Good luck DR

[brassburnz]

Many years ago in Guns & Ammo magazine there was an article about a single frame 1911 and multiple caliber conversions. They started out with a Colt Government Model in .38 Super. To convert to .45 ACP, they used a Colt Combat Commander slide and barrel assembly. The Commander slide will work with the .38 Super ejector. To convert to 9mm, they installed a 9mm barrel. The last caliber was .22 rimfire. They used a Colt .22 Conversion.

I built a similar gun right after reading the article. Everything worked just as they said in the article. I didn't expect much on the accuracy department, but I'm sure if the barrels were fitted to the slides, it would have been OK. Slide to frame fit is not as crucial as barrel to slide fit.

I think the RIA .38 Super has a ramped frame. If so, all the barrels would have to be ramped.