Kimber .22 Conversion Kits for 1911

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45R

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I've been toying around with picking up a .22 conversion kit for my Kimber so that I can spend more time shooting my 1911.

My question is how reliable are the Kimber .22 Conversion kits. Will they feed just about anything and are the pretty accurate. How is the fit and finish.
 
.45 into a .22

Howdy 45R,

Don't have any first-hand experience with the Kimber kits, but the Ciener
unit works like a champ. Only problem is that the two that I've seen don't lock the slide on empty. A redesign may have fixed that by now. I'm in the dark on that issue, since the two that I've seen/used were the early ones.

Hope this helps...Somebody eles here may be able to tell more about Kimber's set-up.
 
Tuner,

The Ciener unit's magazine isn't set up to activate the slide release. When I asked them about it, they told be the alloy of the slide got chewed up by the steel of the slide release too quickly, so they omitted it.

I've had mine for a few years, so things may have changed....

Joe
 
.22 conversion units

Tuner & Joe- still the same story on the Ceiner units; and I don't think the Kimber units are diesigned to lock the slide back either. the only conv. units that I know for sure lock the slide are Colt's; but, they are hard to come by nowadays. I've had two in the past and they are fun cause, due to the floating chamber, the recoil is like about a 9mm! You do have to keep them real clean or that floating chamber attachment gets gummed up and sticks.
 
I bought a Kimber .22 long rifle slide a couple weeks ago. The instructions were entirely adequate. The slide fits just fine. I thought it would make a pretty good plinker. It's more accurate than that: it could make a match pistol.

The rear sight's adjustments are a bit sketchy: all clicks don't seem to be created equal.

After I bought the slide, I found it it's designed for high speed ammunition. I want to shoot standard velocity ammunition. It handles some standard velocity ammunition reasonably well most of the time, but definitely prefers hot stuff, which is completely useless to a bullseye shooter.

I called Kimber, whose experts suggested replacing the gun's main spring with a lighter spring, which might well render it useless as a .45 A.C.P. I spoke with a competent gunsmith this afternoon about the conversion slide. He said he might lighten the main spring a little, but has no doubt he can make the frame work very well as both a .45 and a .22; unfortunately, he's busy until some time this coming winter.

I wouldn't rate the slide five stars, but with a bit of tweaking and some patience on my part, I've got a hunch I may end up with a match pistol or nearly a match pistol.
 
I bought one of the newer Kimber made kits (I think the older ones were made by Ciener and brand labeled Kimber)

No complaints, it is more accurate than me, and feeds anything. Bit of an abomination, that aluminum slide sitting on top of my Gold Match frame, but it works. And I believe the slide doesn't lock back on the last shot if I recall correctly.

I have used both standard and hi velocity 22 . . . . although the manual does recommend the hi velocity.

On the other hand, for a few hunderd more you could get a dedicated Ruger Mark II . . . . . . nice gun.

Good parts for me are no pistol permit and I essentially get another gun plus my 1911 game gets sharper.

If you are just looking to plink or target shoot and doing so on a 1911 frame isnt and issue, might pay to spring for the dedicated 22.
 
Quote:
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I called Kimber, whose experts suggested replacing the gun's main spring with a lighter spring, which might well render it useless as a .45 A.C.P.
------------------------------

Get the lighter spring -- a 12-lb spring from Wolff ought to do the trick. When you put the conversion kit on, put the old spring into the same box you put the .45 barrel and slide. When you switch back to .45, put the old spring back in the gun, and put the lighter spring into the box with the .22 conversion kit!
 
Springy Stuff

Quote:

I called Kimber, whose experts suggested replacing the gun's main spring with a lighter spring, which might well render it useless as a .45 A.C.P.
________________

Confusion...Are you talking about the mainspring or the recoil spring?

The recoil spring is about 6 inches long and goes under the barrel. The
mainspring is about 2.25 inches long and goes in the mainspring housing...
under the grip safety.

More confusion...Why would a change of either or both render the gun useless in .45 ACP? If you can swap'em...you can swap'em back.

More info! We need more info!:scrutiny:
 
Changing recoil spring

We have to be talking about the recoil spring. I can't see how the mainspring would have anything to do with this issue. A 12# recoil spring ought to do the trick for the conversion unit to shoot standard velocity .22 ammo. :)
 
It's gotta be the recoil spring - doesn't even make sense to talk about the main spring in this context.

Now every time you strip the gun, you remove the recoil spring. So it's no trick at all to have two recoil springs, and keep one with the .45 barrel and slide, the other with the .22 barrel and slide.
 
I believe the kit I have comes with its own mainspring . . . no swap.

When you change the barrel and slide, you also use the kit spring.

How else would or could it work with the 45 acp spring?
 
I have one of the Ciener kits stamped "Kimber", and it does not look as nice as the ones Kimber is putting out now. Incidentally, does anyone have a source for the little plastic buffer disk? Mine is dead, Kimber no longer carries parts, and no one at Ciener ever answers the phone.
 
How does the mainspring affect the functioning of the pistol with standard velocity ammo?

If you swap the RECOIL SPRING for a 12 lb spring, I'd be willing to bet that will solve your problem. After all the 12 lb spring is the standard for a "powder-puff" gun, one devoted to mild target loads.
 
I am sure Kimber was talking about the mainspring. If you poke around on their site and read the instruction manuals they have posted, the mainspring in their centerfire guns is specified as a 21 pound spring and the mainspring in the Rimfire Target (complete pistol) is spec'ed at 18 pounds.

I am running a 19 pound mainspring in my .45 right now and am quite happy with it. A 19 pound mainspring would probably be a good compromise to run both .45 and .22 uppers on the same frame. If it is necessary to use differnet mainsprings, you could also buy a cheap Kimber or McCormick plastic mainspring housing and internals and swap them out when you convert to .22.
 
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Quote:
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the mainspring in their centerfire guns is specified as a 21 pound spring and the mainspring in the Rimfire Target (complete pistol) is spec'ed at 18 pounds.
--------------------------------------

I suspect the mainspring weight has more to do with trigger pull than with semi-auto functioning. If the gun will not cycle reliably with standard velocity ammo, I'd go to a lighter recoil spring before I went to the trouble of switching out mainsprings and mainspring housings.
 
I disagree. Remember, the inertia of the slide has to overcome the mainspring to cycle the slide and cock the hammer. The rimfire slide is aluminum and will have much less inertia than a steel slide. I think the lighter mainspring would improve function in the rimfire, especially with standard velocity or subsonic loads.
 
I agree with Alfadog. The recoiling slide has to overcome the recoil spring AND the mainspring. They work together. Remember the slide is cocking the hammer and ejecting the spent case.

I've got a 16# mainsping in my Ciener dedicated alloy frame .22 1911. Works well with Winchester Super-X high velocity. I don't normally buy standard velocity stuff, but I'm pretty sure the mainspring would have to be lighter to work.

Joe
 
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