converting 1911 to different calibre?

USP

USP

BANNED
BANNED
BANNED
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
17   0   0
Was wondering how practical it would be to convert my 1911 currently in .45acp to .40 SW? I dont shoot it much as is due to cost of ammo, and if I converted it I could use it in IPSC. Is it worth the money for conversion? If so what do you think conversion alone would cost about?
 
yeah not really sure on this... I would like to use the gun..but for economics .40 is best for Standard.
 
Why not just invest in reloading equipment? There's not going to be much difference in the cost of loading .40 and .45.
 
cost is the brass. Thought .45 would be about 30% more long term no? Also right now I can use my buddies .40 which are all reloads.

You figure a conversion of .45 to .40 is a waste of time?
 
Probably best to find out what the cost would be, and compare that to the cost of reloaded ammunition.
I do not know if a new slide would be needed, but I suspect that it would be. If it is, a slide with sights, etc. is not cheap. A new barrel is a given, as are new magazines.
Of course, any parts no longer needed could be sold to offset conversion cost.
 
prproulx said:
I don't know about .45 to .40 but the breechface on the .45 and 9mm models are different, so you can't use the same slide.
I know you can do a 10mm to .40 conversion easily though.
Click to expand...

The other issue is the extractor for the different caliber.
 
yeah I mainly wanted to use it because ive had it for a very long time, and its one of the first Norcs. Thought the metal would be good for a build.
 
yeah thanks for the info. So basically even If I wanted to use this gun, I would have to junk probably more than 50% of the parts anyways..
 
It might be just as easy to sell the .45 and buy a .40. There is another consideration - once all the necessary parts for .40 are obtained, fitting and tuning might well be necessary for function and performance.
I have a set of .45 parts that I may use to convert my 9mm Norinco to .45; but .45 parts are easy to get, and cheap in comparison to .40 parts. Slide assembly, barrel with bushing, ejector and magazine cost less than $250. STI .40 slide stripped is US$253.49; barrels with link and bushing are around US$200. A complete set of .40 parts would scare C$600.
 
yeah.. I suppose what I should do it look into reloading first.. Or buy a .40. Just didnt want to sink money into an STi yet. And the USP Expert doesnt come in .40.
 
Check with Gunnar at Armco: http://www.armco-guns.com/

He has probably converted a 1911 into a 12 guage :)

He will set you in the right direction with every detail you need to know about the conversion, and he may have the parts to do it laying around and a good price.

Its worth a shot.....
 
yeah thanks..was looking over the prices of stuff on his site, seems quite reasonable.
 
you can get dies, brass etc for 45 for far less than the price of converting to 40 - the only really "big" expense is the press- then you can go either way- a single stage, turret, or progressive-there was an article in guns and ammo way back when the author wanted to see how many conversions he could make from a 1911- this was before the 40 s&w came out- he used a colt commander in 38 super to start something on the frame in the 45 had to be changed and he didn't want to get all fancy- he came up with 5, but discounting the 22, really 4- 38 super, 9mm, 45 and 30 tok - all it took was slides and barrels
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom