.22lr conversion kits

[Brian in Oregon]

I have a 22 conversion kit form my Sig 226, it works fine. As I remember the kit cost about $250.00 when I got it. It is fun to shoot, if I could fine 22 ammo.

B. Mower

My son and I just ordered two SIG P226 .22 LR pistols from a distributor who still had a few in stock. SIG discontinued these. They were very attractively priced.

Since 9mm is the new .22 for plinking and practice, I bought a nice used SIG P225 recently. It was on my bucket list anyway.

At one time I had a Peter Stahl .22 conversion upper for a 1911. These kits were sold through Pachmayr. Used to use it on my Colt 10mm Delta Gold Cup. I then modified it to work on a Colt Double Eagle Officers .45. At that point there was no going back, the machined modification was not reversible. Later sold the gun and the conversion kit was an orphan. Sold it to a guy who had a Double Eagle. Anyway, this kit was very reliable and very accurate.

Have a Walther P-38 in .22 LR (5.6mm). While Walther made conversion uppers, this gun was made as a .22 and the upper is serial numbered to the lower. It's been totally reliable and very accurate.

Also have a CMMG .22 AR15 upper. It's been totally reliable and is accurate. Here she is tarted up with Magpul furniture, as well as an EOTech 552 and a suppressor.

One poster said to just get a regular .22 pistol. There's a lot of merit in that. I've been having fun modifying and converting Browning Buckmarks, and have several now. They're better for barrel conversions than the Ruger Mark series because the grip frame is serialized, whereas the upper receiver is serialized on the Ruger and most aftermarket barrels come with an upper receiver because Ruger really cranks their barrels on.

For those who like 1911's, The Buckmark and the S&W Model 41 controls are laid out like a 1911, though smaller. The Ruger Mark series is similar, but not as close as the Buckmark and M41.

Speaking of S&W Model 41s, didn't care for the factory grips. Had Herretts make me a set that emulate a 1911. At the time they only made a straight "mainspring housing", but did a special order for me with an arched grip. I think this is now an option. I believe this modification really enhances the Model 41. I don't have a pic of it. Will have to take one and put it in the appropriate section.

 

[DWalt]

Several years ago I got a very good deal on one of the Chiappa .22 LR clones of the Government Model, as a surrogate for using the EAA .22 adapter kit in my 1911 (BTW it really is a M1911). I soon found out why I got such a good deal. The Chiappa groups like a shotgun and has a terrible trigger pull. I don't know why I still have it.

 

[gdogs]

I've got conversion kits for:
Beretta 92/96 Ceiner - works great, no fitting required
Browning Hi Power Pachmayr/Stahl - works great, after much fitting
1911 Marvel Unit 2 - works great, no fitting required
Sig P220 Sig - works great, no fitting required
AR-15 - CMMG stainless - works great, ended up building a dedicated upper for it

That said, all 22lr's, whether conversion or not can be finicky when it comes to ammo. Running hi velocity ammo will fix most issues. The benefit from a conversion is cheap trigger time for a gun you already own and shoot. They do not replace 22lr pistols in my opinion, just supplement them.

 

[model17]

Marvel/Wilson .22 unit 2

This Marvel/Wilson unit 2 on a Colt frame is flawless with a variety of ammo. It is also very accurate for .22 applications. Bought it LN used yrs ago for 200

 

[eveled]

I have a Wilson unit, works good on my Ruger SR1911. I have 3 of the kits for Beretta 92's, but haven't shot them yet. They are for my kids.

 

[eveled]

I have conversion for every gun I own if it is available. I also like to match my big guns with a .22 as close as possible to it. Somebody here called them father/son sets, so I stole the name.

Here is one of my favorite sets 317, and 627.

e

Ruger SP101 & GP100

Marlin 39a, and 30/30.

 

[brucev]

I have seen these advertised. Has anyone used one of these kits to change a 9mm to use 22lr. Sounds like a worth while idea to save money shooting the same gun to shoot less expensive ammo.
The kit seems to cost about 1/2 the price of a gun. Does it actually work well?

I do not have a conversion for a 9mm to .22 LR. I do have a Marvel .22LR 1911 conversion unit that I use w/ a Rock Island Armory 1911-A1. It is superlative! In every respect the Marvel is a marvel! I have had this unit for a little over two years. It has given excellent on target results using common .22 LR ammunition such as CCI MiniMags, Aguila, Fed. Auto-Match, CCI SV. It does not do well with Winchester Xpert .22 LR. But, my Ruger didn't like that ammo either. I consider the Marvel to be the best money I've spent in a long time for a .22 pistol. On a few occasions it has equaled my 18-2 in target shooting. That's saying a lot because I've been shooting that 18-2 for 16 years. Shooting on a B-27 doing a standard qualification course, I can just about keep all my rounds inside the 10 ring with most of them in the X ring. The factory test target shows a group of .6 inches fired at 50 yds. I've never fired this pistol from a benchrest, but in careful deliberate shooting, I consider 2 inches at 25 yds. very good. Olympic level? Nope. But, neither am I. Didn't buy it for such stuff. But, did buy it so I could get meaningful practice with my 1911 shooting practical courses of fire w/o having to pay the high price of centerfire ammo. It is just ideal. JMHO. sincerely. bruce.

 

[rayb]

We used the M-16 adapter kits when I was in Germany in the early 1970's, they worked well and supplemented range time well for the unit soldiers. Since then acquired a Ciernier, which has worked ok on several platforms, and a Colt unit, which as stated above by others need to be cleaned after 50 or so rounds for best results. Found a 38 super upper unit and used it on a 9mm 1911A1 (new version) Colt with good results.

All in all I like them.

Mentioned above were the SIG Mosquitos, my experience with one was not a positive experience and it hit the road.

rayb

 

[eveled]

Here is an older, but relevant thread.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/firear...ir-rimfire-centerfire-vs-conversion-unit.html

 

[JohnRippert]

My Marvel Unit 2 has been extremely good for me. I like it so much it goes to the range pretty much any time I do. It sits on my RIA 1911 and someday I will likely put together a dedicated 1911 lower for it. I also have used a Advantage Arms kit on my Springfield XD and a Argentine kit for my Hi Power. As long as you do not over tighten the Argentine upper when installing, the unit runs fine.

 

[Murdock]

I have several kits for semi autos. Increased cost of .22LR has taken some of the fun out of shooting on the cheap, but they still have advantages. I also have .22LR versions of a few of my Smith revolvers (K and J frames). They all have their place.

Have a Ceiner kit for my Bushmaster AR15. Plenty accurate for my backyard range, allowing me to hit a 6-inch steel gong at 70 yards off hand consistently. Eventually I got a dedicated CMMG upper which is as accurate as any other good quality .22LR semi auto rifle, and I don't have to adjust the sights when I go back to centerfire. The Ceiner units will work on an M16 with a weight added to the bolt carrier to avoid bolt bounce. Despite owning the CMMG dedicated upper, I've kept the Ceiner unit. I'm not sure why, except that I'm probably a pack rat.

Have used a Colt Conversion unit for many years on a Series 70 government Model .45. Excellent item, and unlike all other 1911 conversion units it boosts the recoil of its all-steel slide, making it handle much more like a 9mm, so you have more realistic practice. Many thousands of rounds through it, mostly Federal HP high speed stuff.

You MUST use high velocity ammo in the Colt units to minimize fouling of the floating chamber. I can get through a 550 bulk box of Federal with just drops of oil now and then before I have to tear it down for a thorough cleaning. Using low-speed ammo you will be lucky to get through a box of 50.

The Colt unit also locks open on an empty magazine, exactly duplicating centerfire handling. The alloy-slide conversion units don't do this because the steel slide stop would tear up the softer slide notch.

Like shooting any other 1911, .22 conversion unit magazines have a huge influence on reliability. New ones from Metalform are good. Older Colt magazines can be rebuilt.

The Colt is my favorite unit to shoot and practice with.

I travel for extended periods in my work, and like to keep my defensive skills up to speed. A conversion unit allows me to pack 1,000-2,000 rounds of .22LR practice ammo much easier than the same quantity of .45ACP or 9mm. I also pack only one holster, one belt and one mag carrier, as the rimfire and centerfire versions use the same carry gear.

My CZ Kadet unit is superb in all respects. Quality is as good as the Colt units, and they are more accurate than the Colt units.

My SIG unit worked pretty well on a P228 9mm, poorly on a non-rail P229, and reasonably well on my current railed P229R .40S&W. It is my least favorite, but with some barrel swapping I can put .40, 9mm, .357 SIG and .22LR through the same pistol, easing some ammo availability concerns.

 

[Grayfox]

If anybody is interested, I saw this in an e-mail from CDNN today. I'm not familiar with this particular unit, but it is a very good price.

Sig Sauer 1911 .22 Conversion Unit

 

[epj]

That looks pretty good. If it works well, it's price is half of what the Kimber units I have cost. They both run well, but $299 ea.

 

[Wee Hooker]

I've owned 6 of these handgun conversions and still have 3.
First, with .22 running 7 to 10 cents a round, and 9mm running only 10-11 cents, you have to shoot ALLOT of .22 to justify the conversion kit. In addition, most of the conversions I've tried will only run reliably with CCI Mini Mags which can cost more than 9mm and are still not common on the shelves of LGS.
I've got a couple of higher end 1911 conversions that run reliably and shoot accurately but I won't be looking at any more low-mid cost conversions.

 

[S.B.]

I also have an interest in conversion kits and currently own a Colt for a 1911? Wish I could find a quality affordable one for my Browning High Powers?
Steve

 

[bananaman]

I have a Ciener 22 conversion on a S&W 1911 frame. A little ammo fussy, but with the right stuff it runs like a clock. Ciener's customer service stinks! Called to get a 3rd. magazine, and person was rude. Heard this from others too. Bob

 

[oysterer]

Bought a left over Sig P220 conversion kit. Total junk, flimsy alu slide, terrible polypropylene magazines and the slide does not even lock back on the last round. Not accurate either. If you like to have a firearm go bang, that is about all this thing does at 5x the cost what it should be. Get a Ruger Mk 4 and be happy.

 

[CH4]

I picked up a CMMG AR conversion in a package deal and use it in a spare upper. Depending on the ammo it can pattern like a shotgun or shoot about moa. It seems to like Aguila Super Extra. I’ve never seriously contemplated a 22 conversion for a pistol, they just feel cheap.

 

[S.B.]

Good info here, thanks for the insight.
Steve

 

[Boudiepitbull]

One more rave for the CZ Kadet conversion kit. I had two CZ75Bs in the safe so there was no lost use of a firearm by converting one into a .22 and absolutely no regrets!