9mm slide for 1911?

[BryanDP]

Yep, the .38 super, 9mm and especially the 9x21 will need a barrel swap.... hopefully a ramped barrel.

To the OP, you're better off just trying to find a cheap 9mm 1911. If there was such a product that would work well with 1911s, it would sell like hotcakes.

Thanks for the info. When I was thinking about 9mm slide I was really thinking about an entire upper w/barrel and all, but I'm guessing the .45 extractor would cause a problem. The .22lr upper kit can provide its own extractor and clear the one that is there for the .45, but a 9mm would be too close in size to the .45 and probably get in the way. (At least that's the way I'm picturing it now.) This would explain why I could not find such a beast.

Honestly, the more that I think about it the price difference between .45 and 9mm would probably not offset the purchase of a $250-350 kit anyway in the way that the price difference between .22 and .45 do. I have fun shooting my guns in both .45 and .22 and I guess that's what I'll keep doing....

Bryan

 

[POKE1911]

Yeah and I am a fan of practicing with what you shoot with. Sure the ergonomics and mechanics would be the same but the recoil and feel would be different. Especially, if you are practicing follow up shots. I typically practice putting 2 in rapid succession in the center mass everytime I go to the range. Plus when I hold the 1911 frame I crave the bigger boom of the .45 Don't get me wrong I enjoy my .22 in 1911 and will have a 9mm someday just for the variety and fun but I love my .45

 

[druryj]

Yeah and I am a fan of practicing with what you shoot with. Sure the ergonomics and mechanics would be the same but the recoil and feel would be different. Especially, if you are practicing follow up shots. I typically practice putting 2 in rapid succession in the center mass everytime I go to the range. Plus when I hold the 1911 frame I crave the bigger boom of the .45 Don't get me wrong I enjoy my .22 in 1911 and will have a 9mm someday just for the variety and fun but I love my .45

Man, it's good to see I'm not the only one! I get it about wanting that "bigger boom" the .45 ACP gives you. It's not just the recoil alone, it's the whole thing; sight, sound, the tactile feel, reset, then BOOM again!

 

[okeydoke]

the ejector swap takes just a few minutes. drive over the retaining pin from left to right, by 1/4" or so, slip a screwdriver into the slot under the ejector (if it lacks one, wriggle it off with a visegrip and cut such a slot on the bottom of the ejector. Tap in the new ejector, and drive the retainer pin back across, moving from right to left. You can make the .22 colt unit work with the 9mm 1911, but I dunno about the modern ones. What you do is cut the ejector slot a bit wider, using a dremel and cutoff disk, and also "shave" a bit off of the side of the ejector. Spld ejectors are set up to try to use all 3 cartridge widths and this complicates making a 22 unit fit them.

 

[okeydoke]

9mm slide has a smaller firing pin and hole in the breechface to match. I once converted a .45 slide to fire 9mm, by deepening the extractor and ejector slots and welding up, grinding the breechface to match. PITA. E bay has somebody selling tactical RIA (ramped barrel) 9mm kits for $360, and the mags are $20 from Midwayl Ambi safety, both sights in dovetail slots, the big sights, beavertail has a memory groove, the long trigger has a stop screw. Fit of the parts is great, finish is sandblast "matte" blueing. This is a complete parts kit, everything but the mag and the frame.

 

[Buzzdraw]

Years ago I had a Colt factory .22LR conversion with floating chamber. It worked fair on a .45 ACP frame.

The differences between a .45 frame and a 9mm/38 Super frame include: ramp shape and ejector. Typically one needs a special 9mm/38 Super slide stop. Ejector needs to fit SOLID on the frame so not a good idea to do lots of swapping back and forth.

Some .45's use the smaller .068" firing pin others use the standard .090" one.

Just not a good idea IMO to do multi caliber swaps on the 1911 platform.

 

[okeydoke]

ejector is solidly mounted, on 2 vertical pins. the front pin is notched for the retaining pin that goes across it horizonally. there's no place for the ejector to GO, if it broke off the cross pin, For thousands of rds, I used one that had just been mounted with jb weld.