Converted my Shield .40 to 9mm

[robkarrob]

Dik

I now understand why your grinding the barrel on your new Shield 40. You will have a stock barrel, when you get it ordered and it arrives. After grinding, that barrel will have the same extra clearance, in the 40 slide, as the 9mm barrels have in the 40 slides. The difference is that 40 barrel will now fit into the 9mm slide. Grind an even amount from each side of the tang and keep a very minimal radius between the side of the tang and the breech end face of the barrel. This is so the radius will not be too large to prevent the barrel from fitting into the opening in the slide. Once the tang is ground, the 40 barrel should drop into the 9mm slide, and you should be ready to go, since you will also have the 40 magazines.

Please take photos or video of the steps and the finished results. Thanks.

Bob

 

[Dikinalaska]

Ok, that's what I was thinking. I just got to my layover location and can't make my flight home because it's snowing/foggy hope it gets better tonight, I got a paid-for Shield to pick up and some grinding to do!! I'll take plenty of pictures of progress as I'm grinding/fitting. I think the video might be a little too long lol. But I will get video after I get it fit of the swap and firing. I'm actually more excited about doing the swap than picking up the new Shield lol. I think there's something wrong with me.

 

[tjkober]

I'm actually more excited about doing the swap than picking up the new Shield lol. I think there's something wrong with me.

No, no, you're fine

 

[vigil617]

Guys, just a word to the wise:

Grinding .010" from such a small area on both sides of the "tang" using a bench grinder (or dremel tool) will require a patient hand and a light touch. Not a lot of time, but just the patience to grind a VERY small amount, measure, grind a bit more, measure, etc. Otherwise it will be VERY EASY to remove too much material, and if you do that, you probably have just cost yourself the barrel.

For those not familiar with thousandth-inch measurement, ten thousandths (.010) is less than 1/64 of an inch (.015"). Grinding "offhand" is for those who know their way around bench tools and machine tools. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, any local machine shop with surface-grinding equipment or bench grinders can handle it, I'm sure.

Here's an idea, though: instead of grinding it, wouldn't it be more manageable to use a metal hand file to do the job? I don't think the stainless steel barrels are exceptionally hard (though they are hardened stainless steel), and removing a very small amount of material at a time could be more carefully handled that way. Just an idea. (I worked in a machine shop -- though not as a machinist -- for many years.)

Whichever method you try, good luck, be careful, and send pics! (And don't forget your safety glasses )

 

[Dikinalaska]

Thank you for the input, I will take heed of your warnings. Thinking about it all though, even if a little too much does get taken off, will it really matter? It'll just be the same as the 9 tangs in the .40 slide, just a little gap right? I'm going to use a dremel, as I have full confidence in my abilities. I do a lot of very fine, intricate work with that thing and have done a lot of metal work. I am a sheetmetal worker. I plan on using the dremel to to do the initial shaving, than a fine file to get it to the final size. Safety glasses a must.

Just to keep everyone updated, went in and did the paperwork today for the .40 and got delayed. It happens to me every darn time. Got in a little trouble right out of high school so it's expected. Usually it comes back in around 15 minutes, but with all the guns being bought every day I can see it. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be doin some grinding Looks like the lady Shield might get some polishing tonight.

 

[Dikinalaska]

The Lady Shield got some shiny levers I just get too much enjoyment out of working on stuff I guess.

 

[vigil617]

Dik, you may be right, that even if a bit too much comes off the sides of the tang, it won't matter and will just create more of a gap -- like that of the 9 mm barrel in the 40 slide. Not being familiar with how critical the dimension is, I just wanted to point out to anyone attempting this modification that they needed to proceed with care.

You're obviously well qualified to do this work, and more power to you. My caution was more for those who might want to try this simply because they have access to a bench grinder or some other tool, and to let them know that .010 is a very small number.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Dikinalaska]

Thank you for concern and watching out for everyone

 

[robkarrob]

I agree that if you are going to convert a 40 barrel to work in the 9mm slide, you need measuring instruments, such as a caliper or micrometer. You need to take off the correct amount of material. That way the 40 barrel in the 9mm slide will fit perfectly, with no more clearance then the stock 9mm barrel has. As stated earlier, .010 inch is not much, about 2 1/2 human hairs. You don't want to guess at how much material you removed. These measuring devices can be purchased fairly inexpensively.

Bob

 

[XxLaloCuraxX]

I finally received the .40cal barrel and magazine from S&W today. Here is a pic comparing the 9mm and .40cal side by side and back to back so you can see how much the tangs differ in size.

So as it was mentioned in previous posts, you have to remove about .010 of an inch from each side of the tangs in order to make the .40cal barrel fit into the 9mm slide. I initially thought using a small hand file would work but when I tried it with mine, I found that I wasn't removing enough material to expose the bare mental even after filing for a few minutes straight. Maybe my files were just ****, who knows.

So then I took out the handy dandy Dremel and found these two grinding wheels that I would use. I don't know the actual names or textures but the red one was used to grind down most of the material and the gray one was used to clean up the grinds and smooth/polish the material.

So what I ended up doing was laying the Dremel down on the table, holding it with one hand then gently rubbing the barrel onto the wheel little by little. I started off grinding off enough to expose the bare metal on both sides, then measuring with my caliper tool, then grinding some more until I was close then finished it off with the gray grinding wheel to smooth out the grind.

At the end, this is what I ended up with:

I finished it off with some Birchwood Casey flat black marker and you can barely tell anything was done to it.

Here is a pick of the .40cal and 9mm barrels side by side after the .40cal was trimmed.

Here is a pic of the 9mm barrel on the slide before I put it back together.

Here is a pic of the .40cal barrel on the 9mm slide.

Side to side movement is exactly the same as the 9mm barrel; almost non-existent. The slide racking back and forth feels the same way as it does with the 9mm barrel and I cant feel or see any rubbing from the tangs on the slide. Measurements with the caliper are the same.

My next concern was with how the round seated on the slide once a round was chambered. I was curious as to how the bigger .40cal round would seat against the firing pin being that the diameter is a little larger then the 9mm round. So, using snap caps, I placed the rounds up against the slide under the extractor to see how they would fit.

9mm

.40cal

I reassembled the gun with both barrels with corresponding snap caps and pulled the trigger to see where the firing pin would strike. Both looked like it struck pretty much right in the center so I don't think that would be a problem at all.

Last thing to do is to bring it out to the range tomorrow and see how it performs. I'll post my results of the range trip after I get home.

Here is a video of me racking the slide using some snap caps to show how the slide was working. Overall the process was fairly simple to do and didn't take more than 15 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkoe_QqvogY

 

[XxLaloCuraxX]

Double post...

 

[Smitty357]

From the looks of the pics and the extra precautions u have taken. I dont see you having any problems with it at all.

Job very well done!!!!!!!

 

[XxLaloCuraxX]

Took it out to the range the other day for some testing. Now, I definitely don't consider myself a good shot. I've only been shooting for about a year, I'm not sure this should act as a gauge on how well this barrel mod will work for you.

All shots were made from 7 yards out. The shots on the left are with the 9mm barrel and the shots on the right are with the .40 barrel. With the 9, I shoot using sight picture #3 from the below image, front sight covering the target. I've gotten better groups than on the above pic in the past but ohh well. Now when I shot the .40 using the same sight picture, I found I was shooting about 1" to 1.5" high (not pictured). So I actually had to change over to sight picture #1 from the below image to actually start hitting where I was aiming at. If you look at the left most shot group above the 5, I was actually aiming at the word "shoulder" on the target and got pretty consistent hits apart from the few flyers you see there.

Overall I think it went well and am very happy with the results. What do you think?

 

[Alnamvet68]

MP1SG

Since it can be done, some of us are going to do it. You have warned us, what more is going to be gained by continuing these warnings. If you test and it works with no issues, what else can we do? Are you aware how little 1/64 inch is? These guns were not designed with that small of variation to have much of an effect on ejection, which should be the only issue with this conversion. We each have our opinion on mods to a gun. Yours is against this particular mod, and mine is for. We have expressed our opinions so let's move on.

Warranty should be a non-issue. Put the stock 40 barrel back in and you have a stock Shield.

Bob

....and let's assume that any warranty claims you may have in the future are not fraudulent. By putting the stock 40 back in, as you suggest, are you saying that if there is a warranty issue as a result of your unsanctioned modification by using an aftermarket 9 mm barrel, that you will not let S&W know?

 

[Alnamvet68]

The intent of my statement was, I thought clear. I did reverse the caliber swap in my original post, but that was not intentional. I have corrected my original post.

What is amazing to me is that the reader who wanted to criticize MP1SG could not discern (1) that it was my quote and not that of MP1SG and (2) that I meant to say .40 to 9mm, since going from 9mm to .40 is clearly not an option as the breech face is too small

It should be OBVIOUS to all concerned that you CANNOT go from 9mm to .40 by changing the barrel and magazine as the larger case head of the .40 will not work in the 9mm breech face.

As I said in my original post, going from .40 to 9mm MAY work, but it is a bad idea as the larger dimensions of the breech face of the .40 do not properly hold the 9mm, and the extractor will not grip the 9mm case head properly. While this may work some of the time, or even most of the time, it is ABSOLUTELY not to be trusted for carry or self-defense. In addition, inevitable malfunctions will reduce confidence in the weapon as you will never quite be sure if it is JUST the wrong size ammo or if the extractor has been truly damaged by this practice, which will undoubtedly put stress on the extractor that was not intended by the designers.

I stand by what MP1SG says and by my original post (except for the mistaken 9mm to .40, which has now been corrected to .40 to 9mm.

These amateurish caliber conversions in pistols not intended for it are a BAD idea at best and perhaps dangerous at worst.

Since it is apparent by the number of questions and discussions that seem to repeatedly crop up on this topic, it seems that either folks have no idea how to use the search function, or they simply do not wish to hear the truth, looking instead for some kind of validation for their bad ideas.

If you want to shoot 9mm, what is wrong with just buying a 9mm?

Thank you MP1SG for lending some common sense to this thread.

Thank you for the breath of fresh air. Since I became aware on this forum of this 40 to 9 conversion business, and getting nowhere fast when it came to getting answers to the numerous questions I had regarding this potentially catastrophic gerry-rigging of a handgun, I had to call a couple of good friends in the 1911 community who specialize in customizing 1911's for folks with very deep pockets. Needless to say, what they had to say I will not repeat since it is about as offensive as it gets. That said, I don't see myself ever doing the same with my Walther PPS 40 anytime soon, if ever; of course, if Walther says it's fine, and will sell me the barrel, then that's where I will lay my trust....not on the experiences of a few here on the forum.

 

[robkarrob]

Here we go again. We have another naysayer and doom predictor. I, along with many others, have converted the 40 to a 9mm, with the barrel swap. We were warned and told by the naysayers that it would not work; it was dangerous; and it was going to cause someone to be hurt or worse. Well those warning have not come to fruition. Those that made the conversions from 40 to 9mm are happy with the results and there has not been any safety or other issues.

I started the posts, indicating that the 9mm could be made into a 40 with the barrel swap. I said the guns and barrels were identical and except for reducing the tang on the 40 barrel, and all would work perfectly. Of course there were many naysayers that said that would not work. Now we have another poster that wants to tell us it won't work, it's dangerous, and that they would never undertake any similar type of modification to their gun. They use quotes to enforce their cause, but fail to use the counter quotes that refute that quote.

Thank you to XxLaloCuraxX for being the first to show that the 9mm to 40 conversion works. Thanks for the good description and photos of your step by step modifications, and your range report.

These Forums are open to all civil posts, and those that want to put their opinions are welcome to do so. But why would someone post that we would be cheating S&W because we “might” file for a warranty issue and we failed to tell S&W we used a barrel swap? First what business is it of them to tell us what is right or wrong? This is probably the same person that says they never exceed the speed limit. They also would never forget to report any extra money earned or would never exaggerate reported deductions, for their income taxes. But they would tell us what they wouldn't do to their guns, with the inference that we should not do it, because they have researched it through some 1911 handgun modifiers, who advise against it.

This Forum Thread was started to show the 40 to 9mm conversion works. It wandered off track to converting the 9mm to use a 40 barrel conversion. No post has told anyone to make the modification. The posts were question and answers to other Forum members on the feasibility of making the 40 barrel swap into a 9mm slide. So all member are welcome to make posts, but don't tell us what we should or should not be doing. We now have a member that has proved this modification works. So please, naysayer, stop with your negativity and unapprised posts. We can prove it works and works safely. What can you prove other that your incorrect suppositions?

There are three kinds of gun owners: Those persons that would never modify their guns for any reasons, as the "Manufacturer" knows what their doing; Those that think about modifications, but feel they lack the skill or knowledge to make those modifications; And those that will make changes to their guns, to make them more to their liking, whether they make the modifications themselves or have someone modify the gun for them.

Bob

 

[GRB5111]

Beat the system. The fat cats are out to take advantage of us all. Their exotic scheme to sell us pistols in different calibers without revealing to us the ability to exchange parts all for the purpose of protecting their revenue and preventing us from getting two for the price of one. How dare they make a profit. It's a conspiracy!

At some point when you find a firearms manufacturer whose products you like, it's probably a good idea to support them given current market and political conditions. Otherwise, be irreverent and fly in the face of the advice from the very people building the product. Let's get what we can, because at the end of the day when our rights are denied and there are no more products to be legally purchased, we are still simply looking out for ourselves after all.

 

[wingnuut]

I have a FS MP40 with a storm lake 9mm barrel, a mp40c with a S&W 9mm barrel and a shield 40 with a 9mm S&W barrel all 6 of them perform perfectly , imagine 6 for the price of 3 plus barrels what a deal, thats smiths gift to us!!

 

[Dikinalaska]

Well ****. Talked to S&W and the gentleman said barrels won't be available until probably next fall. He said they're using everything produced for warranty work or production. Not lookin good to find a barrel. Even Guns & Gear said they don't even expect any anytime soon. He actually chuckled when I asked and said "sorry bud, but good luck. You'd be better off buying another Shield." Anyone know of somewhere else to look?

 

[Smitty357]

Well ****. Talked to S&W and the gentleman said barrels won't be available until probably next fall. He said they're using everything produced for warranty work or production. Not lookin good to find a barrel. Even Guns & Gear said they don't even expect any anytime soon. He actually chuckled when I asked and said "sorry bud, but good luck. You'd be better off buying another Shield." Anyone know of somewhere else to look?

Its sad to say that I knew all of this was coming after getting everything in order. It was only a matter of time before they went into back order just as the Shields themselves have. I sat there on the phone debating ordering a few barrels, just so I would have extras for when the supply got exhausted.