9mm conversion

[Halger280HVMag]

About the 1911 feed ramp. It is only there to catch errant rounds. IMHO.
To illustrate. I have a 1911 pistol chambered in .38 Special Full Wad-cutter.
It feeds the square nose cartridge without issues.
The cartridges do not contact the feed ramp in normal function.
All the lining up is done by the magazine lips and the follower.
Each magazine required some hours of tuning before reliability was achieved.
This is not Plug-and-Play.

 

[Halger280HVMag]

For those interested.
The .38 Special FWC barrel is fitted to a .45 slide. The .45 ACP extractor is tweaked to work with the .38 Special rim.
For this pistol, I used an NP-29 frame. I used a 9mm ejector thinned on the right side, to clear the .45 slide.
Colt .38 Special magazines.

The 1911design is fairly adaptable, if a tiny bit dated.

 

[colinjw]

Are there any registration issues involved with changing calibres?

Here is the way it was explained to me .
If the change in the caliber of the handgun is for more than 30 days then CFC must be notified.
Less than 30, notification is not required. So if you have a .45 1911 registered as a .45 and
convert it over to say 9mm for a week and then back to .45 nothing on your part is required.
It was and still is a .45.

However, this is not a legal opinion.( covering myself ).

 

[Bad Lieutenant]

If a person has already a 1911 9mm top-end.
All a .38 Super conversion requires is a .38 Super barrel and suitable recoil spring.
I use .38 Super magazines for both .38 Super and 9mm.
I have many 1911 pistols. I fail to detect any appreciable difference between 9mm and.45 1911 frames, as far as feed ramps are concerned.
I have converted 9mm to .45, as well as the other way around.All fit and function correctly.

2 cents Eh!

So, If I already have a SIG 1911 in .45acp, I can just add a SIG slide (with barrel and all parts) of the same length in 9mm and it should work?

 

[Bad Lieutenant]

Here is the way it was explained to me .
If the change in the caliber of the handgun is for more than 30 days then CFC must be notified.
Less than 30, notification is not required. So if you have a .45 1911 registered as a .45 and
convert it over to say 9mm for a week and then back to .45 nothing on your part is required.
It was and still is a .45.

However, this is not a legal opinion.( covering myself ).

Makes sense, there are guys that pop 9mm barrels in and out their Glock 22s while shooting both 9mm and .40 S&W at the range. I can't see them filing paperwork, every time, just for that...

 

[Halger280HVMag]

Yes it should. You will also have to add a 9mm slide stop, and install a 9mm ejector on your .45 frame.

So, If I already have a SIG 1911 in .45acp, I can just add a SIG slide (with barrel and all parts) of the same length in 9mm and it should work?

 

[Bad Lieutenant]

Yes it should. You will also have to add a 9mm slide stop, and install a 9mm ejector on your .45 frame.

Thanks. I'll look into it.