40 1911 with 10mm options?

[terez]

Going to buy a 1911 40sw for range plinking.

I want to procure a 10mm barrel and recil spring setup for it as well.
Anybody have experience with this?

I setup a Delta Elite this way about 15yrs ago and it was alot of fun.
I ditched the dual spring delta setup and ran a full length guide rod with a 22lb spring and buffer for 10mm and used a 16lb for tthe 40sw barrel.

As with a lot of guns, i sorely regret trading that piece off!
Somebody out there has that lil' gem
Melted Bomar adjustable, Heinie dovetail front, checkered strap, Ed Brown beavertail and safety, rosewood grips..........
I'd buy her back!!

Anyhow, I'm eyeballin for a Delta but will prolly go with a Springfield or STI in 40 and pursue the 10mm afterwards.

Curious what other projects have been done and how they turned out.

 

[Canuck223]

Unless you need the ability to shoot 10mm brass, another option is to simply have the .40 barrel throated to accept ammo loaded long.

If you feel the need to ramp up the recoil, you can simply load to 10mm length and work up a load with higher velocities but still with a safe pressure limit.

I used to own a Caspian Race Ready single stack in stainless set up this way. I loaded my ammo to nearly 10mm length and just used the 10mm mags. (At the time, CMC offered a 9 round 10mm mag, but all the available .40S&W mags were 8 rounds)

Damn, I wish I'd never sold that gun. The slide was a pre-enhanced Colt, but unfinished by the factory. Bill Laughridge at Cylinder and Slide was selling them. I finished the slide and had Paul Barrette fit an STI bull barrel and BoMars. If anyone in BC knows where it is now, PM me.

 

[SteveB]

I just load 40 cases long to 10mm OAL spec's with 180's and shoot them out of my 10mm. No issues so far and gives me the ability to shoot matches with cheap brass. However, I only use 40 loads to just major power levels. If I want power, I simply use the 10 mm brass. Steve

 

[Canuck223]

I just load 40 cases long to 10mm OAL spec's with 180's and shoot them out of my 10mm. No issues so far and gives me the ability to shoot matches with cheap brass. However, I only use 40 loads to just major power levels. If I want power, I simply use the 10 mm brass. Steve

That can be a potential problem.

I know that pistol brass tends to be shorter than spec, so headspacing is often a compromise. What you are doing could result in eventual damage to your breechface. Without the casemouth to headspace on, when you pull the trigger you are headspacing off the extractor. There is a potential for the casehead to pound the breechface. Your .40 case in a 10mm chamber may be further forward in the chamber at the moment of ignition.

I doubt your gun would suffer a catastrophic failure like in an overpressure case, but I can see the slide showing early signs of wear. I suppose if the barrel was pushed forward off the breechface, the barrel lugs might show some wear as well.

 

[SteveB]

Possibly you are right, however, for the minor amount of shooting I do using this I don't see an issue. I found out about this from the IPSC boys down south who were using this method for a long time. Steve

 

[Aqualung]

I too have a Delta Elite for which I had an Ed Brown .40&W barrel fitted. I was out practicing one day with .40 S&W ammo when I got about 5% FTEs. Then I noticed that I still had the 10mm barrel installed. I swapped it out for the 40 barrel and the FTE's disappeared.