I have been giving consideration of purchasing a .38 Super 1911 style pistol and have it fitted with both a .40 S&W barrel and a 9mm Barrel.

Am I just spinning my mental wheels or would/could it work.

The other avenue is to purchase a 1911 style pistol in 9mm and having a a .40 S&W barrel fitted and forgetting about the .38 super.

__________________
Semper FI

It's supposed to work. I have a 9mm/.38super Kimber Pro Carry HD, both are Kimber barrels, the 9mm barrel I bought directly from Kimber and it dropped right in. If you notice, .38 super 1911s are less expensive then a 9 or a 40.

I'll check tonight and see if my Super will hold a .40 to the breechface, if it does I don't see why you could'nt have all three calibers if you want.

That breechface is the most versatile, supposedly having the ability to handle 10mm, .38super, 357sig?, 9x23, 9x19, .40. that dillon necked one, and I'm sure there are more.....

If you had the 38 super why in the world would you want to downgrade it to the 9mm? Brass availability? By law enforcement standards the 9mm is marginal. The 38 super was devleoped to shoot through car doors. The 40 S&W is the right pic for law enforcement or personal protection. I'd take a hard look at Rock Island Armory M1911A1 if you want to save some bucks. It's a very nice starting point, and available for about half of the competition.

The other problem with what you propose is the ejector location is different from 9mm to 40 to 45... you'd have to deal with that if you wanted multiple calibers.. Just buy two of the Rock Island 1911's and you'll have both.

Regards

David

Just tried the forty on my kimbers breachface and it fits fine, the extractor also fit fine without exsessive tension.

The reason I got a 9 barrel was because I have three other 9s and the availability of inexpensive amme, even though I do reload. Along with th added value in a dual calibre 1911.

There are several factors that complicate an m1911 single-frame to multiple-caliber conversion as you described:

1. ejector radius is different for each caliber.
2. extractor dimensions and claw are different.
3. barrel/feedramp and magazine compatibility.

All of the issues can be resolved, but the biggest one is reliability.

Finding a qualified gunsmith willing to tackle the project at an affordable price is probably going to be your biggest challenge.