22 LR conversions for XDM

[LikesToShoot]

I had some time to play with my used guide rod today so I decided to try to make it into a serviceable part by drilling a 1/8" hole into the end cap. Once drilled out I would tap it for a 4mm machine screw and then cut the end cap off making it into a Glockish guide rod. To my surprise while drilling it out I felt a "jump" in the bit and knew I had passed through something. Low and behold, the end cap is pressed into the guide rod to retain all of the pieces as an assembly. Without too much effort I had the end cap off and the rod completely disassembled.

I took measurements of all critical areas and I'm now in search of suitable springs for testing.

Since the 1/8" drill bit is the nearest recommended drill size for a 4mm screw I continued to drilled out the rod for future tapping. A quick drive by at a local ACE Hdwr only yielded a few washers but no usable spring.

Here are my measurements. The guide rod diam. is .260". The spring wire is .035", 29 coils, overall length 5.250" and an outside of .350".

My smith is still of the mind that the extractor spring if too stiff vs. the recoil spring too soft.

(The recoil spring and extractor spring work against each other at the last 1/8" of travel.)

Since I had ordered an extra extractor kit I'll cut the old extractor spring as instructed and see what happens.

[LikesToShoot]

OK, I sent off requests to Wolff, ISMI and a spring company for what they had near my current used spring dimensions. No reply from Wolff or ISMI but the spring company can make something and I could get a life time supply for about the same cost of eight guide rod assemblies.

I cut one coil off the old (currently in use) extractor spring and ran 100 rounds through the gun without any problems. The time change and recent extremely cold weather was all but eliminated my range time. While I had it apart I modified the profile of the extractor where it touched the barrel cutout

Today I tapped out the guide rod for a 4mm x .70 x 15mm hex cap screw. The washer I tried to use to hold things together was too large for me to install the guide rod when I stopped by the range after work.

I hate to admit this but I lost the end plug at the ACE store so I had to file down a washer that would hold down the forward spring seat and fit into the slide. This was installed tonight and the slide seems to function fine with the old guide rod / spring assembly.

Weather forecast looks good for a range visit tomorrow after work when I'll be using the old recoil spring assembly and modified extractor with shortened extractor spring.

Something I did notice with all this slide swaps was the that the striker safety lever was catching on the AA striker whenever I would pull the AA slide off the frame. Tonight I went a head and removed a little material off that area of the striker to prevent damaging the safety lever.

[LikesToShoot]

Five quick ten round mags tonight without any problems. So the round count on the original recoil spring is right around 1250 or so and counting. My smith will be happy to know he was right again and his next dinner with drinks are on me.

The tape on back of the two defect mags seems to have cured their problems and I doubt I send them back for fear that I won't see them replaced.

Here's a picture of the two slides together (XDm,left, AA,right) and you can see how wide the AA striker is. A little file work removed enough material to clear the safety lever.

Good luck to anyone else that goes down this road.

[LikesToShoot]

I shot maybe 150 rounds thru the kit since the last post until today's cold (30's) steel challenge club match.

This was my first steel challenge using the .22 conversion kit. I trashed my first stage by not trusting my called shots, (made many unneeded "make up" shots) and one run with an ammo / extraction issue. The next three stages went really well, once I trusted my sights, and the final stage I pushed it too far for a recorded mike.

The kit is working as I had hoped (after my mods) and I'm really glad I changed the front sight to what's familiar to me.

[Vanniek71]

I found a kit on sale for $220 and decided to pick it up. My 9yo daughter has expressed interest in USPSA and IDPA so figured this would be a good spot for her to start. Learn with the .22 slide and then transition her to the 9mm in a few years.

Thanks for the info sounds like there is some work to be done to get it running right.

[LikesToShoot]

I found a kit on sale for $220 and decided to pick it up. My 9yo daughter has expressed interest in USPSA and IDPA so figured this would be a good spot for her to start. Learn with the .22 slide and then transition her to the 9mm in a few years.

Thanks for the info sounds like there is some work to be done to get it running right.

Very good price, good for you.

You may want to pick up several mags and spare parts, striker, extractor kit, recoil guide rod just in case you run into a problem.

Since my last post I've run another 1K thru the kit with factory parts, w/clipped extractor spring and reshaped extractor, and all is well.

So far my ROI has worked out really well and my $400 expenditure, kit and four mags, will have been recovered very shortly. Too bad they didn't step up during their "growing pains" with this latest XDm version.

Cleaning at no more than 500 rounds is advised, IMHO. At around 1K look for complete slide closure, per my previous pics.

Steve

[Vanniek71]

I found a kit on sale for $220 and decided to pick it up. My 9yo daughter has expressed interest in USPSA and IDPA so figured this would be a good spot for her to start. Learn with the .22 slide and then transition her to the 9mm in a few years.

Thanks for the info sounds like there is some work to be done to get it running right.

Very good price, good for you.

You may want to pick up several mags and spare parts, striker, extractor kit, recoil guide rod just in case you run into a problem.

Since my last post I've run another 1K thru the kit with factory parts, w/clipped extractor spring and reshaped extractor, and all is well.

So far my ROI has worked out really well and my $400 expenditure, kit and four mags, will have been recovered very shortly. Too bad they didn't step up during their "growing pains" with this latest XDm version.

Cleaning at no more than 500 rounds is advised, IMHO. At around 1K look for complete slide closure, per my previous pics.

Steve

Awesome info thank you, I also picked up 4 extra mags with the kit.

Spare parts are a must, I run a CZ as my comp gun so I understand having l the spare parts!

I will update once im able to test mine too.

[Vanniek71]

Slid it on my lower today to see if it would Fire, have a PRP trigger and it doesn't fire. If I really crank the trigger I can get it to fire, but it needs some work. Got some tuning to do, or maybe this is an excuse to pick up another xdm!

Edited December 28, 2014 by Vanniek71

[LikesToShoot]

Slid it on my lower today to see if it would Fire, have a PRP trigger and it doesn't fire. If I really crank the trigger I can get it to fire, but it needs some work. Got some tuning to do, or maybe this is an excuse to pick up another xdm!

My trigger was set up to work fine in cold weather with the 9mm top but needed a little more relief on the over travel pad to work 100% with the conversion kit. It's something you may want to look into, a little extra over travel may be just the answer for your kit.

Since my last post I've run another 1K with normal cleaning at around 400 to 500 rounds. It eats CCI Blazer (dark bullets), and old Winchester copper washed just fine but has plenty of failures to feed with new production American Eagle.

Lucky for me I can drop by our clubs outdoor shooting range on my way home from work every day if I want to. (Obviously I have done this very often lately.) With the cold weather and limited day light I can easily shoot 100 rounds or so and be back on the road home in less than 30 minutes.

Since the slide is pretty wide at the top, like a Glock, it fits pretty tight in my Black Ice holster. Therefore, I have been practicing table starts, strong hand and weak hand shooting lately. This also saves me a little time by not having to change belts and shoot with my coat off for drawing. I do plan to rework the forward part of the slide so it fits better in my holster. Right now it does work if I loosen the holster screws but it has to be canted to fit securely.

[Vanniek71]

I'll look in to shaving the over travel stop a bit, it's set pretty close. I also don't have the ultimate trigger so maybe that's part of it.

I think I am going to reprofile the striker release area too to more closely match the factory one, they are drastically different!

Could you post pics on what your ejector reprofile looks like? Wanted to see that too just in case.

[LikesToShoot]

I'll look in to shaving the over travel stop a bit, it's set pretty close. I also don't have the ultimate trigger so maybe that's part of it.

I think I am going to reprofile the striker release area too to more closely match the factory one, they are drastically different!

Could you post pics on what your ejector reprofile looks like? Wanted to see that too just in case.

Sure thing, I take a pic next time I pull it apart. Does a round chamber when the slide is dropped and then eject when the slide racked? If so, I don't see the ejector as part of your problem.

If the striker safety lever doesn't have enough travel to depress the safety block the striker won't be released. That was what was happening with mine.

[Vanniek71]

I'll look in to shaving the over travel stop a bit, it's set pretty close. I also don't have the ultimate trigger so maybe that's part of it.

I think I am going to reprofile the striker release area too to more closely match the factory one, they are drastically different!

Could you post pics on what your ejector reprofile looks like? Wanted to see that too just in case.

Sure thing, I take a pic next time I pull it apart. Does a round chamber when the slide is dropped and then eject when the slide racked? If so, I don't see the ejector as part of your problem.

If the striker safety lever doesn't have enough travel to depress the safety block the striker won't be released. That was what was happening with mine.

I haven't even gotten that far in to it yet, I'll have to check and see what happens when I chamber a round.

I'll have to check closer on the safety lever, all I really did was slide it on my frame and pull the trigger. Nada. Then iff I really pull the trigger hard it will let the striker go. I'm thinking start with over travel and go from there.