.22 1911 conversions kit

grahng

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I have a Sprinngfireld Loaded Operator MC and want to get a .22 conversionn kit, I think.
I'd like suggestions on brands and if anyone has one on their 1911, how well they work.
Thanks
 
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I have a Marvel Unit 2 on a 1911. Love it, but if you want maximum accuracy, buy the Unit 1. I have a Ceiner on a Beretta that is reliable, but I hear the owner is hard to deal with if you ever have a problem. And finally a Pachmayr/Stahl on a Browning Hi Power that is no longer made, and took me years to find.
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If memory serves, Springfield's owner's manuals say conversion units are a no-no. We talked to Marvel and they advised that due to the location of the half-cock notch on the Springfields, you need to replace the hammer. Not sure if it WON"T work, but not sure if you SHOULD do it with the OEM hammer. Good luck!
 
Some time in the last 3 months Guns and Ammo magazine had a very helpful article on exactly this topic that compared various models. It would be a good idea to get a copy of that article.
 
maybe I dreamt this or I had a discussion with Dave Williams of SACS when my MC OP was being "warmed over" some 2 to 3 years ago.

I told him that I had a Marvel 22 Conversion and he said that I would need to send both the gun and the conv in for proper function.

if I dreamt that, then we never had that conversation.

I do forgot alot of stuff :(

I do keep toying with the idea of getting a caspian frame and make it a dedicated .22 with my conversion. I bought this thing years ago, and it still sits in the case. :(

here is my duty carry
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and my everyday plain clothes carry just for giggles
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I have a Marvel Unit 1 with a scope mount. It is mounted on a Springfield Armory Loaded frame. It is very accurate and functions close to 100%.
Getting the Colt metal magazine lips adjusted was the key to great functioning. I understand that the plastic Kimber mags work very well, as do the GSG metal magazines.
 
I have a Tactical Solutions 2211 kit that I have used on my S&W 1911 and a Colt Combat Elite. Have not tried it on a Springfield, but I haven't found anything saying specifically that it won't work with one... or that it will...
The 2211 is a nice kit, all steel, slide locks back on an empty mag, very good accuracy, simple to install and remove. Field stripping it is easy, and customer service is good (see below). The cons are that it is more expensive than some other units (like the Kimber or Cienar), the mags are pricey, and I had an issue with the ejector on mine coming loose and falling out. The ejector is basically a flat piece of metal that fits into a slot and is held in place by pressure from two miniscule set-screws. The slot and ejector do not vary in width, and there are no "dimples" on the ejector for the set-screws to "grasp", or other means of retaining the ejector, so if the screws don't have sufficient tension the ejector will shift until you start getting failures to eject and the ejector finally falls out. I was getting about 75 rounds downrange before having to reseat the ejector and tighten the screws. Unfortunately, the screws are so tiny that the allen-wrench used to tighten them (which I had to get from Tactical Solutions; they sent it free of charge when I explained what was happening) is about as thick as my cat's whisker and bends after a certain point rather than tightening the screw any further. Loc-tite on the screws didn't work, because I apparently couldn't get them tight enough to begin with. This is all kind of a long-winded way of explaining why I had to put some green Loctite on the ejector to hold it in place, and have had zero malfunctions with the kit since. Kind of disappointing given the price of the kit, but an easy fix.
The Marvel kit was the other one I was considering, but everyone was out of them at the time. For the price of either kit I could have just bought a Ruger MKIII and had a good dedicated .22 pistol (I have a Ruger 22/45 and it is a great pistol, but a royal pain to field strip unless you add a "Speed Strip" kit from Majestic Arms to it).
 
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Dukesamson - how's the reliability with bulk ammo while wearing that red dot? Considered the same setup on my Marvel, but I had some concern about adding the weight to the slide. I know some kits just don't like bulk ammo, but if a gun won't shoot it... I have no time for it.
 
The Marvel #1 unit is the most accurate designed for bullseye pistol shooters. Aluminum slide, no lock back after last round, super eliable withj SV ammo - I use Aguilla SE SV in mine. I can use the 15 round Ciener mags with my two units.

The Tactical Solutions unit is all steel and is an improved version of the older Jarvis unit. Not as accurate as the Marvel #1 but good enough for all the normal pistol games, designed for HV ammo, my unit prefers CCI MiniMag. The TacSol metal magazine is a n example of superb maching andf is priced accordingly - my unit functioned reliably with the less expensive Metalform or plastic kimber mags.

Both Marvel and Tactical Soluition offer excellent customer support.

The Ciener unit has an aluminum slide, works well with a wide variety of ammo, accuracy similar to the Tactical Solutions. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. The Kimber unit was made by Ciener at one time and appears to be a carbon copy of the Ciener unit.

I have not used the Advantage Arms which is a takeoff on the Marvel unit. The AA for my Glock-17 functions reliably with either CCI MiniMag or Remington Golden ammo. The steel insert in the aluminum slide is designed to allow for slide lock back. The screws holding this piece of steel shear/unscrew and a a pain in the butt. Personally I am an old bullseye pistol shooter so I subconciousy count to five so the slide lock back feature is not a major issue for me.

The original Colt unit with the floating chamber is more of a plinker and the floating chamber fouls easilly and is a pain to clean. Worth more as a collector item than as a shooter.

Hope that helps in your decision making process.
 
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I found my notes from the G&A article which to me stated that the Marvel Model 1 Target for 1911 was the best, capable of 1" @ 50 yards.
 
I found my notes from the G&A article which to me stated that the Marvel Model 1 Target for 1911 was the best, capable of 1" @ 50 yards.
Each conversion comes with a ten shot group that was shot from that specific conversion. I've never seen a conversion with a group that wasn't under an inch.
 
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