.22 LR conversion for 1911

I've owned an Advantage Arms standard kit (full slide) for a few years and have had good luck with it. I considered the Kimber but declined once I found out the slide does not lock back on the last shot. I needed that feature as I wanted the gun to behave the same way as the full caliber (9mm) version.

Unlike an earlier poster, I did not need to change my mainspring out as my STI Trojan's spring worked just fine.

Another plus is the AA mags are not very expensive (around $25ea) and work quite well. They also are easy to load.

The only issue with most conversions that use aluminum slides is that you need to make sure your grip does not allow your fingers/hand to rub on the slide as it moves. Doing so will slow the slide down and cause FTL's, FTE's and other failures. If I'm careful with my grip, the gun runs quite well.

Good luck in your search,

MarkT
 
I agree with getting a GSG, they are a pretty good full size version, when you find the ammo it likes they run pretty reliably as well.
 
Although the Kimber conversion seems the best of the lot I would buy a complete gun like the 22 LR Colt/Walther Gold Cup 1911 a better quality 1911 22
 
thegrandpoohbah said:
Kimber conversion with GSG mags will lock the slide back when empty.
Click to expand...

That's cool to know. My one concern would be that the steel slide release would eventually wear out the slide notch in the Kimber's aluminum slide where it rests. In the Advantage Arms kit, they have a little steel plate on the slide in the notch to mitigate the wear in the area.
 
silverfoxdj said:
Although the Kimber conversion seems the best of the lot I would buy a complete gun like the 22 LR Colt/Walther Gold Cup 1911 a better quality 1911 22
Click to expand...

The main advantage of a conversion kit vs another separate pistol is that you get the same feel in your hand in terms of controls and grips after installing the conversion. This can be done with another pistol like the GSG but you'd have to customise it to match your full-caliber version.
 
Garand said:
I love my Kimber .22 conversion kit, just remember what the manual says, it likes hyper velocity .22 to function flawlessly!
Click to expand...

For reference, my Advantage Arms kit runs on Fed bulk, CCI Tactical and most other high-velocity stuff fairly well. I've not used a lot of standard velocity in it though so I can't comment on that. While AA advocates Mini-Mags, they're really not required after the kit is broken in as has been my experience.
 
Last edited:
markt said:
The main advantage of a conversion kit vs another separate pistol is that you get the same feel in your hand in terms of controls and grips after installing the conversion. This can be done with another pistol like the GSG but you'd have to customise it to match your full-caliber version.
Click to expand...

I had the same thinking as you, buy a kit to use on my 1911s. The same pistol, so things should feel the same whether shooting 22LR, 9mm or 45ACP. The problem I found was the trigger feel, pull and reset was changed so dramatically when using the 22LR kit, that it felt like a different pistol anyway. I sold the kit and decided a full size 1911-22 was best for me, not a Browning or conversion kit. I planned on getting a Colt Gold Cup 1911-22, but took a GSG on trade, and haven't bothered with the Colt yet.
 
I have many 1911 pistols. Some have multiple top-ends, including .22, and even .177 top-ends.
Changing from one to the other does NOT involve any of the items in red.

The trigger pull does not change one iota.

Which is the main reason other than versatility, that I build convertible 1911 style guns.

JACKSMYDOG said:
I had the same thinking as you, buy a kit to use on my 1911s. The same pistol, so things should feel the same whether shooting 22LR, 9mm or 45ACP. The problem I found was the trigger feel, pull and reset was changed so dramatically when using the 22LR kit, that it felt like a different pistol anyway. I sold the kit and decided a full size 1911-22 was best for me, not a Browning or conversion kit. I planned on getting a Colt Gold Cup 1911-22, but took a GSG on trade, and haven't bothered with the Colt yet.
Click to expand...
 
Halger280HVMag said:
I have many 1911 pistols. Some have multiple top-ends, including .22, and even .177 top-ends.
Changing from one to the other does NOT involve any of the items in red.

The trigger pull does not change one iota.

Which is the main reason other than versatility, that I build convertible 1911 style guns.
Click to expand...

Mine was way different with the Kimber 22 parts on it. I have never thought about it until now as you point out, really no way they can be connected. Hmmm.... wtf was going on with mine?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom