1911 in multiple calibers

quinnjoblow

quinnjoblow

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Can a standard 1911 in 45acp be converted to 9mm or 40sw with the fitting of a new barrel/bushing and magazine. I understand that new barrel needs to be fitted to slide and possibly having to change recoil spring.
Are the 9mm barrels outside diameter the same size as the 45acp?
I noticed that most new slides come with an undersized firing pin hole to accommodate 9mm an 38 super.
I think it would be cool to have a 1911 that could shoot more than on caliber. Any info would be great.
 
i have a norinco 1911 in 45acp that i purchased a 9mm slide, barrel and mag from Marstar and all i did was file fit the original ejector to the new slide and i can shoot 2 calibers from the same gun with the swap of slde barrel and mag, not sure if i have a seperate bushing for the 9mm barrel i would have to check as its been a couple years since ive shot it.......hope this helps
 
No they can't. You need a new slide with each caliber as well.

A 1911 holds the head of the cartridges in a seat that is sized to the casing and the extractor sits into the rim's groove resting against the slide material and not against the rim itself. So you need a new slide for each case head diameter.

On the other hand you could switch between .40S&W and 10mm with a new barrel and recoil spring plus proper magazines if the barrel noses were sized to fit a common bushing. But the rest of your possible conversions would require a full top end swap.

Between the .45 and 9mm the size difference is also so great that you're going to get into the issue of a ramped vs unramped barrel as well. And the frame plays a part in that switch which may cause an issue.
 
BCRider said:
No they can't. You need a new slide with each caliber as well.

A 1911 holds the head of the cartridges in a seat that is sized to the casing and the extractor sits into the rim's groove resting against the slide material and not against the rim itself. So you need a new slide for each case head diameter.

On the other hand you could switch between .40S&W and 10mm with a new barrel and recoil spring plus proper magazines if the barrel noses were sized to fit a common bushing. But the rest of your possible conversions would require a full top end swap.

Between the .45 and 9mm the size difference is also so great that you're going to get into the issue of a ramped vs unramped barrel as well. And the frame plays a part in that switch which may cause an issue.
Click to expand...

So if someone had a standard 1911A1 frame it could be converted to a 10mm and .40 sw? The frame would handle the power of 10mm and the grip frame would be big enough to fit a magazine full of 10mm? That would be kinda awesome.
 
Colt used to make exactly that pistol, look up "Delta Elite" but also note that they tended to crack frames at the slide stop notch, later ones had a cutout section at that point.
 
I knew there was a Colt Delta Elite in 10mm. I though it was a completely different sized frame. Maybe I will stick to 45acp or 40 sw. A 10mm in a 1911 might feel like getting b@tch slapped by Chuck Norris.
 
however there was an article in guns and ammo years ago that did a 5 in 1 project on the COMMANDER frame in 38 super- 22 using the colt ace conversion kit, 9mm, 38 super, 38/45 clerke, and 45 acp- the ejector is in the wrong spot for the 9mm in the 9mm from the standard 45 government, however the commander shares the ejector between all three calibers- it's the "hooked" one you want , not the flat nose- when this was written the 40 short and fat and 10mm hadn't yet made their way onto the marketplace-but it also lists the 451 detonics and the460 Rowland- one of the secrets to the delta elite was the double recoil spring- ie one spring INSIDE the other to handle the heavy loads
 
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