1911 9mm slide and barrel

This seems a good idea, with our bs for new stuff. It's my understanding, that most 1911 frames are the same, so {it's true} you can put the 9mm slide onto an original .45 frame? I had a .22 conversion years ago...wish I didn't sell it.
 
This seems a good idea, with our bs for new stuff. It's my understanding, that most 1911 frames are the same, so {it's true} you can put the 9mm slide onto an original .45 frame? I had a .22 conversion years ago...wish I didn't sell it.
Feed ramps are slightly different, and ejectors are different. So might not work fully. But that's my observation looking at both my 9mm and 45 1911. I cannot swap slides without it hanging up on the ejector. 9mm on 45, and 45 on 9mm.
 
Maybe see if IRG or another importer can help you out.... they were selling some .22lr glock conversions not to long ago.

AS OK mentions, you will likely need to change the ejector so it won't be a quick swap back and forth.
 
Maybe see if IRG or another importer can help you out.... they were selling some .22lr glock conversions not to long ago.

AS OK mentions, you will likely need to change the ejector so it won't be a quick swap back and forth.
Not looking for a quick swap. I’d like to switch over at stay with 9mm. The gsg 22 swap works excellent with the correct ammo. I just figured there might be a few people that wanted to part out some stuff or might even know of a store that has something or can get.. I’ll have to check irungunz
 
Not looking for a quick swap. I’d like to switch over at stay with 9mm. The gsg 22 swap works excellent with the correct ammo. I just figured there might be a few people that wanted to part out some stuff or might even know of a store that has something or can get.. I’ll have to check irungunz
Yes the .22l conversions are easy to swap with out changing the ejector.

I don't see why a 9mm slide and ejector can't still be imported, good luck and maybe update the thread as you go!

Another thought would be to contact smiths in Canada that are known for 1911 work and see if they have anything kicking around?

Dlask out in BC comes to mind , there must be someone in Ontario as well?
 
Brownells caries fusion complete pre fit 1911 top ends and they are 100% shippable to Canada, I have one and a friend also recently bought one. Depending on your gun it may need some fitting and will also need as mentioned a 9mm specific ejector and likely a 9mm specific slide stop but definitely the most economical way to go. Mine fit right onto my existing colt frame with no major fitting required. Just be aware if you are ordering more parts to stay under the import dollar amount which I think is $500 usd.
 
To put a 9mm or 38 Super top end on a .45 acp 1911 frame, you need to change the ejector. That's not a big deal, you need a proper sized punch for the ejector pin holding the ejector into the frame, tap that out, and install your new 9mm/.38 Super ejector. That's pretty much it. I converted one of my old IPSC .45's to .38 Super by just changing the ejector and putting on a 9mm slide. I had the old Custom Shop (now gone) checker the frontstrap and cut out the frame bridge for a Clark/Para barrel and used .38 TJ brass. I had a second barrel in .380 (with locking lugs) that I registered as a .380 to legally transport the gun and shot it a lot with a load we called .380 Super Cal (a 140 grain LSWC Saeco bullet loaded over 4.2 grains of Bullseye compressed in a 380 case) which gave 1125 fps out of the 5-inch barrel I had for that caliber. For the .38 Super I had a 6-inch barrel cut for a 5-inch slide. That thing was fantastic. I sold it when I left Mexico. Now that we're thinking of moving back, I kick myself for that. This is a photo of it with the Super barrel mounted, the blued frame checkered but not yet plated. It's the only decent photo I have of it with the 6-inch Super barrel, although I have many with the 5-inch .380 barrel installed.

Oh, and (duh!) you need the correct magazines for the caliber. That also.

hKhFNJ0.jpg
 
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Feed ramps are slightly different, and ejectors are different. So might not work fully. But that's my observation looking at both my 9mm and 45 1911. I cannot swap slides without it hanging up on the ejector. 9mm on 45, and 45 on 9mm.
Thnx for the info, makes sense, also, as said above ^ & I saw some posts online, re: change the ejector, & address any feed ramp{issues}_CALMEX-Did you have to modify the feed ramp?- & you could change it over to 9mm. Wonder if you did have to premaritally adjust' the feed ramps for 9mm, & you switch it{ejector} back, would the .45 work still..since it's larger, wonder if the modified feed ramp would cause it much grief?
 
Thnx for the info, makes sense, also, as said above ^ & I saw some posts online, re: change the ejector, & address any feed ramp{issues}_CALMEX-Did you have to modify the feed ramp?- & you could change it over to 9mm. Wonder if you did have to premaritally adjust' the feed ramps for 9mm, & you switch it{ejector} back, would the .45 work still..since it's larger, wonder if the modified feed ramp would cause it much grief?
Guns and Ammo magazine did a project 1911 in 5 cartridges, they detail what's required to make it run. - dan
 
Thnx for the info, makes sense, also, as said above ^ & I saw some posts online, re: change the ejector, & address any feed ramp{issues}_CALMEX-Did you have to modify the feed ramp?- & you could change it over to 9mm. Wonder if you did have to premaritally adjust' the feed ramps for 9mm, & you switch it{ejector} back, would the .45 work still..since it's larger, wonder if the modified feed ramp would cause it much grief?
My .45 ACP came with a regular feedramp on the frame and a regular 3/4 moon feedramp on the barrel, which was the normal swinging link G.I.-style Series 70 barrel. When I converted it, I had the frame-bridge machined away to fit a Clark/Para Ramped (fully-supported) barrel, and then obtained a barrel in .38 Super plus a second 9MM barrel (also Clark/Para ramped) with a short-chamber that we fitted a .380 ACP Chamber into, however with the bullet-nose lead-in of a 9MM. We actually had a special Reamer made up by Pacific Machine and Tool for our nominal ".380 Cal" chambers, which is what we used for those.

So, we didn't just "modify" the feedramp, we completely eliminated it. The Clark/Para Ramp barrels come with their own integral feed-ramp built in. Since they fully-support the chamber, you can load the case up to higher pressures without worrying so much about a case blow-out at the unsupported bottom-rear-end. It's not a license to go crazy, but it gives you a bit of extra play in how hot you can load the gun.

I always wanted my guns to be able to hit the 180 Powerfactor power rating if they could, and up over 200 was preferable but not possible from a .38 Super. For a while, we used the 180 Powerfactor for our "Big Boy PPC" competitions, but then it was moved up to 190 to eliminate the Supers.* So you either had to use revolvers capable of .357 pressures, or something VERBOTTEN like a .40 S&W or .45 ACP. On my last couple of trips down there, I've noticed that most dedicated shooters have stopped giving a Good Goddamn about the caliber restrictions and are starting to carry .45 ACP 1911's quite regularly. Stupid laws, really, like most gun laws end up being.

If you were to buy a 9mm barrel with the standard link and GI-style ramp you'd be able to switch your barrels back and forth, but you'd have to swap out the ejector to switch the frame back to .45. I often kinda thought that a person might be able to play around with the .45 Slide's ejector cut to allow it to work with a .38 Super/9MM ejector (I converted a Ceiner .22 Conversion Unit made for the .45 ACP frame to work on my .38 Super converted frame and it worked fine). However, I'd suggest if you're going to do that, you use .45 ACP brass made for the Small Pistol Primer to avoid accidently setting off primers when manually ejecting the rounds because some of those long-nosed .38 Super Ejectors might do that. Rob Leatham (I think it was) almost got himself disqualified at an IPSC Match in or around 1983 in the U.S. ejecting his chambered round at the end of a stage and the long-nosed ejector set it off. If I am recalling correctly the article from American Handgunner that detailed that at the time. It was written by Dave Anderson, I think, (formerly of RAPS, IPSC Regina). If I've got those details wrong, it's been quite a while since I read that article.

*Now, I never tried this, but: In one of my Lyman manuals, a 158 grain RN Lead cast bullet and 7.6 grains of Blue Dot gives you 1133 fps out of a 5-inch barrel. That would be a "standard" barrel, not fully supported. Using a 160 grain cast bullet then, out of a 6-inch barrel, if you could get it up to 1190 fps you'd have your 190 power-factor. I'm not saying it can be done, but maybe.
 
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