.22 conversion problems

[DTR]

Hey guys,

Here is my dilemma. A few months ago I bought a .22 conversion kit from Tactical Solutions for my 1911. From the start I had problems getting it to fit onto my frame. I had to take a file and slightly reshape the extractor to get the slide to fully seat. A trip to the range revealed problems chambering rounds from the magazine. At least twice a magazine, the slide would retract after a fired round but would not go forward to chamber a new round. The conversion would also never pick up the last round from the magazine. A week ago I sent an email to customer service at Tactical Solutions detailing my problems. They got back to me right away (within 24 hrs) and suggested further modification to the extractor's shape and a slight modification to the magazine. I was told that if this didn't work I would probably have to send my frame and conversion kit to T.S. and they would fit them together for me. Well I played with it a little, but I still had some resistance with the slide's movement even without the extractor installed so I am thinking that might not be the whole problem. The 1911 in question is a S&W 1911 scandium commander that is bone stock.

I am a bit leery of sending to T.S., for fitting because is use my 1911 as a carry gun. Obviously, I wouldn't want anything done to my frame etc. that would compromise its safety or reliability when firing 45 ACP.

Would I be better off trying to get a good local gunsmith to look at the problem?
Send it off to Tactical Solutions for fitting?
Just build the conversion up on a new frame as a dedicated .22lr 1911? (I would love to do this but have no idea how much money this would be)

(I am fairly new to handguns so please forgive my ignorance in regards to terminology and parts names.)

Any comments are appreciated

Thanks

Dan

 

[Greg Derr]

,

 

[Greg Derr]

Dan: Gunsmiths credo: "Work on the cheapest part". If the upper is tight on the SW lower try coloring the upper with some dykem(blue machinist paint) or even a Sharpie- work the action as best you can. Look for the spot the coloring has rubbed off- this may be a "high spot" I'm a little confused, did you say modify the extractor? Usually it's the ejector. If you need to modify the ejector I suggest buying another one and working on it. Save the SW ejector aside for use with the .45 if you ever go back to it. Greg

 

[DTR]

Greg, thanks for the advice. I'll give that a try.
No, your right it is the ejector not the extractor.

Thanks

 

[Supermoto]

With the barrel and .22 ejector out, will the slide move smoothly? how about if you take the lower ejector out?

I had to file the width of my lowers ejector to fit in the ejector tunnel of the tac sol to get the slide to movee smoothly

I also had to reshape the tac-sol ejector to clear the nose of the lowers ejector, alot since I have an extended ejector


Also what ammo are you using? Mine will only 100% right on CCI mini mags. about 98% on Remmy bulk and 75% on thunderbolt

 

[Gammon]

I had a similar problem with a Ciener conversion. I tried to mount it on a frame that had been worked on (lowered rails and lapped into the original slide) which was a "snug" but not tight fit. No amount of tinkering would get the conversion to work reliably as the slight amount of friction was too much for the 22 LR ammo. When placed on another frame with a looser fit, the conversion worked like a charm.

Ciener made a couple of suggestions when I asked him for help. The first was to use 5wt synthetic motor oil to reduce friction. The second was to use the hottest 22 ammo you can get, preferably with 40gr heads. Perhaps this will help.

I am now using a Marvel longslide con version which can be 100% reliable, but only with Blazers and Federal 22 ammo.

 

[DTR]

With the barrel and ejector out it will slide smoothly, there is a slight bit of resistance starting when the slide is flush to the back of the slide but it is minimal.

So far I have tried CCI mini mags, american eagle remington bulk and aquila high velocity.

Tried some motor oil as lube today but the slide still "sticks" when fully retracted. With the hammer back, the slide moves freely back and forth no problem. With the hammer forward, I can rack the slide once no problem but if I ease the hammer forward and rack it again the slide will stay all the way back. If I bump the slide forward when it does this then it will then go all the way forward like it should. It then proceeds to intermittently stick in the rearward position ever couple times the slide is racked.

Thanks again everyone for their help.

 

[Gammon]

What happens when you shoot it?

 

[DTR]

Well I just got in from the range (BRP). Much to my suprise the conversion kit worked excellent. Started out with 25 rounds of Aquila supermaximum hyper velocity and then put 500 rounds of CCI mini mags through it without a hiccup. I ran it fairly wet with lube and hit some parts with flitz polish but other than that, I changed nothing. The only problem I had was that it would lock the slide back with one round still in the mag every time. This seems easy to fix though. I am thrilled because this has been bothering the hell out of me for a while now.