41 AE 1911 Conversion Kit. Any Thoughts???

[DogBonz]

Some one that I work with was cleaning out his fathers house after he passed away and found a 41 AE conversion kit for a 1911. He is one of these guys who shoots, but only owns one gun, a S&W 375, and that’s all that he has interest in, so he knows that I like to shoot and asked if I would like to buy it. He doesn’t know what brand it is at the moment, but it comes with 2 mags and reloading dies and shell holder. He said that it looks like it hasn’t been fired much and it is “blued”, and has no rust or scratches.

How much do you guys (and gals) think that this kit is worth with the dies? I know its hard to tell with out the name, but if you had to ball park it.

Also, anything that I should know about the 41 AE?

Thanks for the help

 

[DogBonz]

anyone

anyone ever see one of these?

 

[Walkalong]

My .400 corbon barrel cost $100 with a link and pin. That is all you need for the conversion. What does that conversion come with. It would be a fun thing to shoot for a change of pace. That is what I do with my .400 Corbon barrel.

 

[Devonai]

I would say $200.

Since the .41 AE was designed to convert a 9x19mm pistol with just a barrel/mag swap, I can't help but wonder if this conversion kit would be more useful if one purchased a 9mm 1911 barrel and mags, or if such simplicity even applies in this case.

 

[DogBonz]

It comes with:

Slide
Barrel
Bushing
2 Mags
Dies (don't know if carbide or steel)
Shell holders

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[pinotguy]

I've never seen one of these conversion kits, so I wouldn't hazard a guess on its value. What caught my attention was the caliber - 41 Action Express. I picked up a 1911 barrel in 41 AE last year and have been slowly acquiring the components for a build, which will hopefully be completed this year. I really like the caliber and its performance but the reality is that it's obsolete. As a result, ammo is virtually impossible to come across and when found it's incredibly expensive. Check your local gun shows as you can occasionally find some IMI or Speer ammo. IMI still makes some ammo but apparently they no longer export any of it. Speer stopped making 41 AE over ten years ago.

You'd think reloading would alleviate some of the cost, but no. Brass is made by one company (Quality Cartridge) on a seasonal run every year but it's over $1 a case!! 41 AE uses a rebated rim which is identical to the 9mm Luger rim (by design). This allows use of a 9mm extractor and ejector and these are easily found. The one tricky part would probably be the slide. You'd need to fit a new slide (assuming the conversion would be for a 45 ACP pistol) with a 9mm ejection port.

Having said all of that, I'd give it a try. It's not every day that you come across a kit like that containing all those components. I'm proceeding with my build even though I may never get to shoot it. However, I'm drawn to the wacky calibers, especially in the 1911's.

Edit: Disregard my slide comment as I was unaware that the kit contained this part.

 

[DogBonz]

PinotGuy

Thanks for the info. I too am drawn to wacky and rare calibers.

I'm at work, so i can't get to any good info, but do you, or any one else have any balistic info on this cartridge out of a 5 inch barrel?

Thanks, and keep it comming.

 

[McCall911]

any one else have any balistic info on this cartridge out of a 5 inch barrel?

If memory serves, the last factory ammo that I recall was advertised as a 180 grain JHP leaving the barrel at 1000 fps or so.

 

[pinotguy]

DogBonz,

Ballistic data is a little hard to come by these days. The old Speer factory loaded Gold Dot's (180-gr.) ran about 1000 FPS/400 FPE which is more than adequate for SD. That meets or beats a lot of 40 S&W offerings in the same weight but with a wider bullet. For the limited time it was around, the consensus seemed to be that the 170-gr./180-gr. weight and 1000 FPS was the optimum for the cartridge (for HP's). 200-gr. FMJ at 900-950 FPS was the other factory loaded round (IMI).

 

[DogBonz]

PinotGuy

Thanks for the info. The more that I read about this cartridge, the more I am starting to like it. I just ran some quick numbers, and if I could hand load that a little hotter (safely, of course), it could be a very cool little number. If you can safely push a 170HP at 1200fps, that gives you about 550 foot pounds. Not too shabby.

 

[pinotguy]

DogBonz,

You could definitely formulate some hotter hand-loads. I think that the new Barnes 180-gr. XPB over Vihtavuori 3N37 or 3N38 would make for a phenomenal SD load. The one hang-up that still exists is the fact that a lot of the .41 caliber bullets out there are designed with revolvers in mind. A lot of times, those revo bullets are cannelured which can pose problems when trying to use them in a semi-auto.

Check out Reed's. They have loaded 41 AE ammo but it's real spendy. They use that 170-gr. JHC from Sierra in one of their loads and they get around 1150 FPS.

 

[DogBonz]

Well, I did it now!!!

I have officially extended my odd caliber collection. I got it, or rather paid for it. I gave him $110.00 and two Chobia's. He is happy, I'm happy, although I can't help felling that that money could have been spent on my caspian build... Oh well, I'm sure that once I fire it, I'll feel better...

So, the slide is Colt, the Barrel is a no-name, the mags are no-name, but the dies are Lee Carbide... SCORE!!! The way that I see it, even if I hate it, even if I fire one round and it breaks and I can't even sell it for scrap, I still can sell the dies and make a profit... A pair of 41AE Dies alone on EBAY just sold for $149.00, and there is a set on there now for $190. So I think I did OK.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Walkalong]

Congrats DogBonz. You did real good. I'm jealous.

 

[Sunray]

The barrel needs fitting into a 9mm slide, not a .45 slide. Quality wants $99.97 per 100 for brass and $69.97 per 50 rounds of loaded ammo. 170's and 210's. You'll need a heavier recoil spring too. The mags are regular 9mm mags with the lips opened a tick.
IMI isn't making it. Although when they had a forum, several years back, one guy had asked them about it. They said order a million rounds.
My Inglis HP took to the new chambering well, but you really have to hang onto it or it'll jam.
"...A pair of 41AE Dies..." It need a three die set just like any other pistol round. Stay away from E-Bay. They're anti-firearm.