[Mad Man]

One of the results of owning so many handguns is that people often come to me for advice, and wanting to try things out before making a decision on what to buy for themselves. Which is fine, because it is one of the reasons I use to justify owning so many handguns (after learning that different things work for different people).

A woman I know (http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=363210#post363210) is considering, among other things, a Springfield 1911 in 9mm.

Now I already have a Springfield loaded model in .45 ACP. Can I get a 9mm slide and barrel assembly, and put it on my existing frame? If so, about how much would such an assembly cost? (And do the 9mm mazines fit in the .45 frame?)

It probably wouldn't be a bad thing for me to have, anyway, since it would allow me to demonstrate the differences in recoil between various calibers using the same gun (although I can already do something similar with the wide variety of Glocks I own, but hey, it's an excuse to get something else).

[photo_guy]

Yes, you can make a conversion from .45 to 9mm but you need more than just the slide assembly. You need the slide assembly and a new ejector and slide stop.

I have done this several times and really like the ability to switch from one caliber to another on the same frame. My first was a .45 conversion fitted to my Colt 9mm frame. I had help from a gunsmith to do the fitting but both shoot vert well.

9mm mags will fit in a standard .45 frame so not a problem there.

You can sometimes find conversion kits available. Springfield made a 9mm slide conversion kit. They typically sell for $200 - $250 on auction sites. You might need some adjusting to get it to be reliable and it will likely be loose and not as accurate but, depending on what you want to do with it it could be a good solution.