The more I think about it, the more I want to get a conversion kit for my Gold Cup and my Sig P226. There's a lot of good reasons to get the kits - I can train with my centerfire pistols for far less money, I can have a bigger variety of .22s to use in the indoor range at my club, I can work on trigger control without breaking the bank shooting .45 ACP or 9mm.
Really, the only downside is the price - for what a conversion kit cost, I could pick up a Smith & Wesson 22A or a Ruger Mark III. It's hard to justify spending $300+ on a conversion kit when I could go out and buy another whole gun for that money - and not have to worry about fitting, or breaking in, or any of those issues.
I think that the pros outweigh the cons in this case. I think that getting a conversion kit will allow me to shoot a lot more while developing caliber-independent skills I can use in centerfire shooting as well. Another pro of the conversion is that I can swap it out when I find myself flinching too much.
Now... With all that said, which conversion kit is best for the 1911 platform? I've got a Colt Gold Cup National Match, series 80 that would be a good base. A quick search reveals conversion kits by Ciener ($199), Kimber ($289), Marvel ($316), and Advantage Arms ($349). Kits for the Sig P226 run roughly $320 or so, and kits for the Glock G30 for $265. The million dollar question, then, is: Does anyone have experiences - good or bad - with any of these conversion kits?
Any and all comments/suggestions/recommendations/etc. are greatly appreciated.
That is all.
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9 comments:
I have the Kimber conversion kit, which I haven't even tried out yet. I bought it after the election. I suppose I could take it to the range tomorrow and put a few hundred rounds through it, along with the Browning Buck Mark 7.25 Contour URX, and give you a full report afterwards. With pictures.
I've got a Kimber conversion kit. Love it. Basically I now have a .22 with a .45 conversion option. Stands on it's own in .22 competition as well, a class I never would have shot previously.
"Really, the only downside is the price - for what a conversion kit cost, I could pick up a Smith & Wesson 22A or a Ruger Mark III. It's hard to justify spending $300+ on a conversion kit when I could go out and buy another whole gun for that money - and not have to worry about fitting, or breaking in, or any of those issues."
You can either have a WHOLE GUN for 300 beans, or a 1/2 a gun for 300 beans. Pretty simple decision really.
I bought a Ruger 22/45 (heavy barrel) to augment my 1911 practice ..... same grip angle, controls in same place, etc. Recoil is not there, but weight and handling are are very similar.
A better plan of action would be to spend that 300 beans on a reloading set-up and components...
Jay,
The Ceiner (19110) kits are good, so are the Advantage (Glock). The only advice I can say is that if you choose to buy a Ceiner, do NOT order it direct from JAC. Brownells, Midway, etc, and you'll be okay.
OTOH it doesn't take much looking to find a used ruger Mk2 for $200.
Fantastic pistols, quite honestly, even if ol Bill was a knucklehead. The Mk2 has a slightly better mechanism than the Mk3, but the latter can be more comforting to a 1911-friendly wrist angle.
I bought the Ciener type 1911 conversion before i even got the 1911.
I don't practice with it as much as I thought, and could use a couple more magazines for it, and those aren't cheap.
It doesn't shoot the same so the practice isn't as relevent as I thought it was. The lack of bigger recoil means less flinching at any rate and my shots with .22 are better than my shots with .45.
I'm still glad I got it. But I'd love to find a frame-only .45 it will fit.
You should be fine with the Gold Cup, as that is constructed to spec, but don't think a RIA frame will work with the kit. It might not.
I do need ANOTHER devoted .22 pistol to go with it. I feel kinda nekkid with no actual .22. It's why I am interested in the S&W 617.
OrangeNeckInNY,
Uh, SURE! Heck, I'd just be happy to hear if it worked or not. What's the donor frame?
Andy,
That's kinda what I'm thinking. Shoot like 10:1 .22LR:.45ACP out of it.
jimbob86,
I've been struggling with that very issue. Basically, what it boils down to is that the separate pistol doesn't help me shoot anything other than a .22 auto. Having the conversion is going to allow me to practice on my centerfire autos without the expense of centerfire ammunition.
Plus, as an aside, even the 1911 is significantly easier to take down than a Ruger... ;)
And yes, I know I should be reloading. But I need to clean out my attic first, and that's going to take the better part of a decade... ;)
Wally,
That's excellent news on the Ceiner and the Advantage Arms. The Ceiner is the least expensive (mags too), so it is certainly the most appealing.
If I do order one it will definitely be from MidwayUSA - they have treated me very well for as long as I've done business with them.
We'll see. I think I'll peruse the local gun shops and see what's in stock for complete .22 pistols first, then investigate a conversion...
T-bolt,
You'll be very happy with the 617 - are you looking for the 10-shot or the 6?
I lurve my Model 17 - it, along with the Gold Cup, is one of my very favorites...
Thanks for the input on the conversion. Now I'm even more confused than before.
I think there's only one thing to do: Get both a conversion and another .22 pistol... ;)
I'd totally pick up a 226 conversion, if only because the DA/SA trigger is a real sumbitch to master (for me, at any rate) and it'd be nice to practice it without getting kicked in the teeth every time.
Last time I was at a class, the instructor mentioned that people who do lots of practice with a .22 kit tend to lose the edge of their recoil control. Then again, you *enjoy* the snubby-from-hell.
You bloggers should get together.
http://www.softgreenglow.com/wp/?p=7355
Brass
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