22 Conversion Kits

[ripcurlksm]

What is your experience with the .22 conversion kits? I know they are great for cheap practice but has anyone had problems? I have a Kimber Eclipse .45 and am considering getting this.

If you vote, please post your model handgun!

 

[Sheldon]

In my case I had a Beretta 92 conversion kit. It worked fine and was fun to shoot, but I sold it anyway as I didn't use it as much as I thought I would. I have 2 Beretta 92 pistols in the family and kept it on one of the guns. I eventually felt the money tied up in the kit was better served elsewhere. Fortunately I got it at a cheap enough price used I did not lose anything when I sold it. Only issue with mine was the slide stop started to cause a burr to build up where it engaged the slide. It might have been a result of my habit of using the slide stop as a release though. Beretta is the only brand, I know of for the Beretta 92, that has the slide stop feature and I wonder if that isn't why.

As far as 1911s go I have heard nothing but good things about the Marvel units.

 

[1 old 0311]

I use the Kadet Kit for CZ. Best money I have spent!

 

[gcarfi]

22 Conversion kit

I have a Colt conversion kit for my series 70 1911 and it works great. I have used this for over 25 years. From my experience I would recommend one.

 

[nhhillbilly]

Glock 19-23 Conversion kit

Works great with one magazine but the another magazine will jam often.

 

[Rangegod]

Depends on the Conversion;

I liked my Marvel so much I built a dedicated gun for it. Of course this nullified any saving shooting 22s has to offer.

The Kadet kit is superb and one of my 75B's has been transformed into a dedicated 22 for years.

My DPMS 22 AR upper is nice and works well but the 16" heavy barrel may be overkill.

The Ciener Glock 19 conversion has been a total waste of time and material. I would recommend the Advantage Arms kit over it any day.

JAC

 

[wally]

I didn't answer the poll because I don't have one, everytime I think about getting one, I decide for the price I'd rather buy another .22 pistol instead.

Ones I've seen at the range were jam-o-matics with cheap .22 ammo. Most say they work with the more expensive .22 ammo but then the price per round gets close enough to cheap 9mm I'd rather shoot centerfire instead, which to me defeats the purpose I'd be buying the conversion.

To me they only make sense if you are Bullseye shooter so you can have the same trigger on all three stages of a 2700 match. The Marvel conversions seem to rule here.

--wally.

 

[rsracer65]

I have a Eclipse Target II and I probably shoot the .22 more than the .45... That said, it is sooooo much cheaper to get trigger time with the .22 than the .45 and you get used to the actual trigger so when you start shooting .45 again you are not surprised when the gun fires.

I did have a bit of a tight slide and had to clean it up a bit to get it working 100% but it was not a big deal.

Oh, and I have the Kimber kit, not the Marvel... I did ponder the Marvel but they were on backorder when I got mine so I decided on the Kimber setup.

Drop me a line if you have any other questions.

Adam

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have two conversion kits for the M1911. First of all, I have one of the first Cieners made. It works, but the accuracy is not up to my Ruger MK II. The other is a Colt Service Ace kit, made in the '70s. It shoots right in there with my Ruger.

When I shoot one of the kits, it's usually the Colt.

 

[kentucky_smith]

Ciener Platinum Cup switched between my Kimber, Colt and Rock Island (Rocks have surprisingly good triggers). 100% reliable and very accurate with the hotter CCI offerings.

The Kimber kit is just a rebadged Ciener.


http://www.22lrconversions.com/close-outs.htm

 

[DMK]

I use a CZ Kadet Kit. It's very solid. There is a small slide within the slide that moves, but the barrel is fixed to the frame. Mine's been completely reliable with everything I feed it (Winchester Dynapoint, Federal 510 mostly, the occasional box of Remington golden bullets, Winchester Super-X and Federal Walmart Bulk pack whatever they call that stuff). I find it to be very accurate depending on the ammo and the adjustable sights are very good. Swapping slides between 9mm and .22LR is a snap and takes literally seconds. It's also easy to take apart and clean. Much easier than the 22LR Ruger or Browning Buckmark pistols I've shot. In fact, I think it's much better made in general than the Buckmark.

The only drawback, if there is one, is the mags are like $25-$30 each. But they are very good quality.

 

[LHB1]

Conversion units come basically in two styles. On the Marvel Unit One, only a middle portion of the slide recoils to extract, eject, and load new round. This style is similar to the S&W M41 pistol and will function with either high velocity or standard velocity .22 LR ammo. With the Marvel Unit two and most other brands (Wilson, Kimber, Ciener, etc.), the full slide recoils. This takes more energy and usually requires high velocity rounds. CCI Mag is a good brand for these units. The latter type units may not operate properly with standard velocity or match .22 LR ammo.

I have a Marvel Unit One semi-permanently mounted on the frame of a Wilson Classic pistol. Initially there were some failures to function due to friction of the coated finish on the conversion unit slide rails. (The little .22 LR has minimal extra power to overcome such friction.) I polished the slide rails contact surface smooth with 600 grit sandpaper wrapped around a metal file and the problems went away. I like the Marvel Unit One so much that I rarely shoot my S&W M41 anymore. The Unit One comes with an accuracy guarantee of less than one inch at 50 yds for five shots from machine rest.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

 

[loadedround]

I have had two ciener 22 conversion kits for my 1911's and currently have a a Ciener Platinum kit mounted on one of my Colts and have never had a problem with either of them shooting Remington 22's.

 

[10-Ring]

I once had a EAA kit that was very finicky & I sold it. I have a buddy that found a no name kit at a show that also had issues. He ended up w/ a Ceiner kit that just works...if you do it, ge the Ceiner kit!

 

[jamz]

I found a used Ciener at a local gun shop yesterday, oddly enough. Seems to fit fine on Officer's and Full size frames, and I'm going to try it out as soon as I can with a few different loads.

 

[John C]

I didn't vote, but I have/had two kits. The first kit, an Advantage Arms Conversion Kit for the Glock 17, was okay, but it didn't have the accuracy that I was looking for. Not horrible, but not great. It also would spit back burning powder flakes. Other than that, seriously, it worked as advertised. Even though it was reliable, I sold it.

Earlier this year I traded for .22 conversion for my 10mm EAA witness. Again, it works great, but just doesn't have the accuracy that I'm looking for. I'll probably keep it, though. I'm a bullseye shooter, so it's likely that I just have unrealistic expectations. I'm sure this shoots as well or better than a Walther .22 or Sig Mosquito.

Since a lot of bullseye shooters use the Marvel conversion kit for serious target use, and the CZ Kadet owners report great accuracy with their kits, I wonder if the fixed barrel and bolt approach just works inherently better than the moving slide types like the ones I've owned.

Does anyone know if the CZ Kadet works on a small framed witness?

-John

 

[chris in va]

I've had my Kadet kit for about 2 years. It's simply one of my favorite shooters. I can hang some bowling pins out to about 60 yards and make them jiggle 8 out of 10 shots, mostly my fault.

I'd say it's on par with the Ruger 22's. Problem is, I can't load the mags fast enough!

 

[mljdeckard]

I also had the Advantage Arms glock kit. It took a little breaking in, I had to shoot a couple of hundred rounds through it to loosen it up. A hangup I had with it, it's so lightweight. When you take a gun with a plastic frame and stainless slide, and replace the slide with aluminum and a skeletonized, mostly hollow magazine cavity, it REALLY feels like a toy. But it did have adjustable sights, and it was too accurate for my humble skills to expose any poor quailty.

I have the Ciener kit for my Kimber, and I shoot regular Wildcat ammo through it at the range. I have to spray and wipe it about every 200 rounds, but that's how I can buy a brick and just shoot all afternoon. (It does get hot.) When I really want to get performance and reliability, I use velocitors or stingers. Ciener now has hi-caps, I need to get a few. Also, towards the bottom of my list, is to order another barrel from ciener, have it tapped for a suppressor, and see how well it handles 60-gr subsonic.

 

[Sven]

Love the CZ Kadet conversion!

Reliability is about 99% - failures to fire are the most common issue I have. Just re-cock and the second try usually works great.

FTFs seem semi-common in the 22LR round from my experience.

The best part is I can start new shooters on the Kadet, and then swap out the 9mm upper when they are ready for something with more bite.

 

[Bullseye57]

Marvel Unit 1 on a dedicated 1911 frame. No problems what-so-ever.

R,
Bullseye

 

[Fly320s]

I didn't vote, yet.

I have a new Marvel unit that I will take for a test-fire on Tuesday. I think that I'll put it on my Kimber 25th Anniversary pistol.

I've fired a few over the years, all seemed to work to me.

 

[Pilot]

I also have the Kadet Kit from CZ. I use it on both my 75B and PCR. Accurate and functions flawlessly.

 

[stevek]

I have the Kimber conversion kit on my Raptor II, and my wife has the Kadet conversion for her CZ P-01. Both work fine. With the Kadet conversion, since you only have the narrow center of the slide itself to pull back, it is much easier to manipulate the slide if you cock the hammer first. Good luck!

 

[51Cards]

Multi-multi-purpose conversions

As noted, my Kimber conversion ate everything I fed it --- when warm. Cold, it likes high velocity, no surprise there. But it did use stuff that no one thought it could.

Mine was a Christmas present, and I had an ulterior motive.

This is NY, land of the bass-ackwards feel-good lobotomized law. My fiancee has agreed to get her pistol permit (yeah, you read that right --- we need permits), and I've been trying to figure out how to do this properly without adding even more guns and paperwork on itemized licenses.

Presto! We both get a .22, she gets a .22 "learner," and it can sit on the SA GI stainless I'll license over to her. Problem solved.

Note:
Fascinating, how the wizards can figure out a COBIS system that does almost nothing, and have it also apply to guns that: a) won't even use their supplied barrels; and b) will be legally used with actions with totally different barrels/chambers and firing pins. Kinda like licensing a Toyota, making a big deal out of it, but you can put a Buick engine in it, re-body it as a Lexus, have none of it listed on the registration --- and still can't drive it out of state. If you get on a plane and the pilot's carrying a red-tipped white cane, it's probably NYAIR.

 

[SaxonPig]

Have a Colt 1911 unit that I tried on a variety of Colt frames with limited success. Then I put it on a Charles Daly lower and it worked like a champ. Total reliability and I call this gun my Dolt.

Bought a Ceiner AR15 unit and it's a hoot. Very bad with lead bullets and about 95% reliable with copper coated ammo.