1911 Conversion

[Mulay El Raisuli]

The Ciener unit & the Mech-Tech unit have inspired a thought.

Both items convert a .45ACP 1911 into a firearm capable of firing a different caliber. The Ciener converts it into a .22LR, the Mech-Tech into a .40S&W or 9mm (and few other calibers).

My thought then is that I could convert my 1911 just by buying a slide, barrel & magazines in whatever caliber I wished. I.E., I could have a .40 (or a 9mm, or a .38 Super, etc) for a whole lot less.

Is possible?


The Raisuli

[rabagley]

The Ciener unit & the Mech-Tech unit have inspired a thought.

Both items convert a .45ACP 1911 into a firearm capable of firing a different caliber. The Ciener converts it into a .22LR, the Mech-Tech into a .40S&W or 9mm (and few other calibers).

My thought then is that I could convert my 1911 just by buying a slide, barrel & magazines in whatever caliber I wished. I.E., I could have a .40 (or a 9mm, or a .38 Super, etc) for a whole lot less.

Is possible?

I have a gun that demonstrates it is possible.

I have a Colt Model 80 1911 in 38 Super that also fits a pre-70 NM slide and barrel in .45 ACP. It should be able to take a .22 upper as well, but other things have been higher on the priority list...

IME, the big hurdle is getting the ejector to work well in all calibers. In my gun, the original 38 Super ejector is filed down just enough to fit through the ejector cut in the .45 slide (since the 38 ejector is taller to be properly placed on the smaller 38 Super casing).

[CHS]

The Ciener unit & the Mech-Tech unit have inspired a thought.

Both items convert a .45ACP 1911 into a firearm capable of firing a different caliber. The Ciener converts it into a .22LR, the Mech-Tech into a .40S&W or 9mm (and few other calibers).

My thought then is that I could convert my 1911 just by buying a slide, barrel & magazines in whatever caliber I wished. I.E., I could have a .40 (or a 9mm, or a .38 Super, etc) for a whole lot less.

Is possible?


The Raisuli

Yeah, it's definitely possible.

Just call up Fusion Firearms and ask for their pre-fit top-end kits in whatever caliber and barrel length you like

[Mulay El Raisuli]

Yeah, it's definitely possible.

Just call up Fusion Firearms and ask for their pre-fit top-end kits in whatever caliber and barrel length you like

E-mail to Fusion is on its way.

Rabagley, I will keep the ejector issue firmly in mind.

My thanks to you both!


The Raisuli

[Sailormilan2]

Yes, possible and very doable. I have a buddy who showed me how to do it.
First of all, it is much easier to start with a 45 Gov't model. Change the ejector to a 38 Super ejector. Which is a bit longer and wider than the 45 acp ejector, as well as shaped differently. It is also a bit shorter than the 9mm ejector.
When you install the 38 Super ejector, you must do two things. Open the ejector slot in the 45 acp slide(38 Super and 9mm slides do not need this done). This allows the slide to work with the wider 38 Super ejector. If one thins the ejector too much, it may not work with the 9mm and 38 Super.
Also, you should lower the bottom edge of the ejection port as the case are now kicked sideways by the new ejector, rather than up and behind by the 45 acp ejector. Now this was before many of today's "combat" ejectors were being made for the 45 acp Gov't, so with some of the newer ejectors, thinning may not be necessary. Some of them may drop in and work.
By doing this, one can use all calibers and slides that will fit the frame. Excluding the 10mm.
45 acp, 38 Super, 9mm in the Gov't slides, as well as 45 acp, 38 Super, and 9mm with the Commander slides. As well as the 22 conversion kits.
Also, according to him, 9mm and 38 Super mags are interchangeable, except for a small spacer in the back of the 9mm mag which pops out and is not needed anyway. Pop the spacer out, and you can use the mag for either 9mm or 38 Super.
My buddy did this, and had a complete set up with all the slides. He was keeping this set up as his "survival" set up, as he could then shoot whatever caliber he ran accross, though he was a 45 acp guy. I have not yet done it, though I have been thinking about it.

[wash]

I am tempted to try this but I worry that the feed ramp won't work on some calibers.

I have a Kimber .22 conversion kit that runs like a champ on my Norinco 1911 but it is missing the ejector and grip screw bushings so I haven't fired it as a .45 yet. I've got a new ejector but I want to swage the rails to tighten up the slide to frame fit before I pin that in.

[brassburnz]

Guns and Ammo magazine did an article about a multi-caliber Colt 1911 many years ago. I actually put together a similar gun many years ago.

Start with a 1911 Government Model in .38 Super. First conversion is adding a 9mm Luger barrel. May or may not work with the .38 Super magazine.

Next conversion was a Commander length slide and barrel in .45 acp. The Commander slide will work perfectly with a .38 Super ejector . You'll need a .45 acp magazine.

Next conversion was a Colt .22 Conversion unit complete with a .22 magazine. The .22 conversion has it's own ejector and will fit on the frame with the .38 Super ejector.

All of these will work. Accuracy is not that great, but it will work.

[CHS]

All of these will work. Accuracy is not that great, but it will work.

As long as the gun has a decent trigger and the slide-to-barrel lockup is nice and tight, why wouldn't accuracy be good? The slide-to-frame fit can't be THAT sloppy that accuracy would seriously suffer.

[tozan]

As long as the gun has a decent trigger and the slide-to-barrel lockup is nice and tight, why wouldn't accuracy be good? The slide-to-frame fit can't be THAT sloppy that accuracy would seriously suffer.

Good point CHS, when hand held frame to slide fit doesn't really matter if you lock it into a shooting vise then slide to frame matter...

OK back to the OP? Yes you can do the multi caliber thing but in most cases with the cost of conversion you can buy another gun.

For the price of a ciener conversion you could get a S&W 22lr or Beretta 22 so why not have two guns instead of one? Plus with a conversion you will have to keep track of all the parts and if you are at the range you have to convert them back and forth and the possibility of losing parts may become a factor.

I did the conversion thing once and ended up just buying a new dedicated frame for it... So my thought is, why buy multi conversions when you can have multiple guns...

[Mulay El Raisuli]

Good point CHS, when hand held frame to slide fit doesn't really matter if you lock it into a shooting vise then slide to frame matter...

OK back to the OP? Yes you can do the multi caliber thing but in most cases with the cost of conversion you can buy another gun.

For the price of a ciener conversion you could get a S&W 22lr or Beretta 22 so why not have two guns instead of one? Plus with a conversion you will have to keep track of all the parts and if you are at the range you have to convert them back and forth and the possibility of losing parts may become a factor.

I did the conversion thing once and ended up just buying a new dedicated frame for it... So my thought is, why buy multi conversions when you can have multiple guns...

Well, as with Sailormilan2, the idea is to have a "survival" setup that lets me shoot whatever I come across. For cheap. I don't have any real interest in the .40 or the 9mm per se.

The "for cheap" part is a bit harder to achieve than I thought. Fusion Arms charges $680 per caliber. That doesn't take them completely out of running, because it would eliminate the 4473 factor. I haven't decided how much weight I should give that though.

I recently checked the prices of Glock 22s in .40S&W. Add in the cost of an additional barrel & magazines in 9mm & I'm spending less than what Fusion would charge.

Still, I now know that the idea is possible. Whether to limit this to 'mental exercise' or go ahead & do it (or just buy the Glock) will take a bit of thought.

My thanks to all.


The Raisuli