ncrivello Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Hey guys, For those of you with .22lr conversion kits, are you finding them valuable as a training tool? .22 is once again plentiful and significantly cheaper than reloading 9mm/.45. Idea is to intersperse .22lr within live fire practice sessions. looking specifically at the Advantage Arms target kit which has a bomar style rear sight and can have the front swapped out for a fiber optic. They have a street price of ~$290 with mags in the $15 range. Anybody know if the trigger will still function/feel the same? Was hands on with a AA kit on a glock and the trigger felt different with the kit installed. Currently in C class and developing a training regimen; dryfire whenever I can in the house/backyard, airsoft 1911 for mock stages in the garage. Thinking about the utility of a .22 kit for those live fire practice sessions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterDrew Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I think they could be helpful. I have one for 1911 and use it at my house which allows me to shoot considerably more than I would without it. Even tho it’s not as good as traditional live fire practice it sure beats not shooting. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericskennard Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) The .22 is a great tool. You should look at the Nelson Custom Conversion. I have one and it is excellent. I have it on a dedicated Springfield frame complete with front checkering. Everyone that shoots it, wants it! Nelson also has 1911 & 2011 width magazines. Then get some Taran Tactical magazine inserts and you can load 12 rounds instead of 10. Edited February 25, 2019 by ericskennard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midwest3Gunner Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I think a 22 conversion kit is a great training tool. I have an old STI conversion and I use it on my single stack gun all the time. Since all the fire control parts are on the frame it wont change, unlike the Glock, where the striker spring/safety detent spring will effect the trigger. Hope it helps. Also like Eric said the Nelson or the Marvel Custom conversions are going to be the best you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncrivello Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 2 hours ago, Midwest3Gunner said: I think a 22 conversion kit is a great training tool. I have an old STI conversion and I use it on my single stack gun all the time. Since all the fire control parts are on the frame it wont change, unlike the Glock, where the striker spring/safety detent spring will effect the trigger. Hope it helps. Also like Eric said the Nelson or the Marvel Custom conversions are going to be the best you can get. The trigger doesn’t change? That’s good to know. a google search suggested that AA was making the kits for Marvel custom. If that’s still the case, I’m not sure. The AA kit seems to be a competitive product from price and quality standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I tried a Nelson Conversion but could not get it to work with my Sig 1911. Wouldn't work on a custom 1911 either. Both were 45. I then went with a Marvel Precision Unit One. Fantastic. I also bought a CWA custom 22LR upper. The slide reciprocates on this one. It runs flawlessly in Steel Challenge matches. Advantage Arms conversions work. Marvel Custom had a good business modifying them for accuracy. Personally I'd go with the Target model. The barrel is locked in place and that really improves accuracy. With the standard model, the whole slide reciprocates just like a 1911 slide. So accuracy depends a lot on slide to frame fit. Since 1911 frame rail widths are all over the map, conversion makers make their slide ways wide enough to fit almost anything. Advantage Arms mags work well. They seem to start to misfeed after about 18 months of steady use (a lot), but they are so cheap you just toss and replace. BTW, they are not the only 22 mag that does that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueorison Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 17 hours ago, ncrivello said: Hey guys, For those of you with .22lr conversion kits, are you finding them valuable as a training tool? .22 is once again plentiful and significantly cheaper than reloading 9mm/.45. Idea is to intersperse .22lr within live fire practice sessions. looking specifically at the Advantage Arms target kit which has a bomar style rear sight and can have the front swapped out for a fiber optic. They have a street price of ~$290 with mags in the $15 range. Anybody know if the trigger will still function/feel the same? Was hands on with a AA kit on a glock and the trigger felt different with the kit installed. Currently in C class and developing a training regimen; dryfire whenever I can in the house/backyard, airsoft 1911 for mock stages in the garage. Thinking about the utility of a .22 kit for those live fire practice sessions. For someone who has a lot of time to dedicate to practice (on the range/backyard, etc.), or someone who cannot handle the recoil, yes. Outside of those parameters, a firm "no". If you're out practicing, you should be practicing to as close as the COF as possible. The resource/commodity is not $. It is opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I disagree with blue. Live firing is how you train your subconscious targeting system. Move the gun, fire. Did the dot stop where you wanted? Did you have to think about it? Did you consciously correct? Is your trigger finger doing its job well. These things and more can be learned just as well with a 22 conversion or a 45. In fact, maybe better because you can afford that much more practice. The only thing it won't help you with is recoil management and double tap control. BTW OP, most conversion units are designed to work on a 45 receiver, not 9mm. If you are shooting a 9mm, do your homework, or be prepared to mill your conversion to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncrivello Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 3 hours ago, zzt said: BTW OP, most conversion units are designed to work on a 45 receiver, not 9mm. If you are shooting a 9mm, do your homework, or be prepared to mill your conversion to work. Have a trophy match in 45 and RO in 9mm; aside from caliber both guns are very similar in setup. Will put the .22 kit on the Trophy match and bring both to live fire practice sessions. What's the issue with 9mm frames anyhow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 22 minutes ago, ncrivello said: Have a trophy match in 45 and RO in 9mm; aside from caliber both guns are very similar in setup. Will put the .22 kit on the Trophy match and bring both to live fire practice sessions. What's the issue with 9mm frames anyhow? usually the ejector. I'm sure other folks have had to deal with other things but my 2 9mm I take the ejector off when I shoot the conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJH Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 I am not a fan of 22s for training but, if i was going to train with a 22 i would get a dedicated gun. Over the years i have come to hate conversion guns of any type, no matter how i want to shoot the gun the wrong top end is on it. It gets annoying after a while, to the point i sold any type of conversion i had and went only to dedicated guns. I even tried a take down bow with 2 sets of limbs and had the same result. I have tried it with 1911s, ARs, Contenders, Bows, and finally realized CONVERSIONS SUCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueorison Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, RJH said: I am not a fan of 22s for training but, if i was going to train with a 22 i would get a dedicated gun. Over the years i have come to hate conversion guns of any type, no matter how i want to shoot the gun the wrong top end is on it. It gets annoying after a while, to the point i sold any type of conversion i had and went only to dedicated guns. I even tried a take down bow with 2 sets of limbs and had the same result. I have tried it with 1911s, ARs, Contenders, Bows, and finally realized CONVERSIONS SUCK 100% agree, and also another reason to the answer I gave. Momma said, do it right the first time. Also, the poster somewhere above kinda missed my actual point. My point was that if you can make the time to create the opportunity of practice, you should do it right the first time, too, and prioritize using what you'll be shooting. A .22LR can only teach you so much, and everything that it can teach you, a .45 can, and more, if that is what you'll be shooting as your primary. Therefore, why waste the opportunity (the commodity) on shooting a 22LR, and a conversion, no less. If you have a ton of time on your hand to practice, that is another story. Hope that makes it clearer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon49erfan Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 The price of a Marvel unit and enough mags to practice with buys a lot of reloading components... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncrivello Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 I hear the arguments on both sides.. AA kit with three mags and fiber optic sight comes to about $350. That’s the same as reloading perhaps 3500 rounds of 9mm. .22 is about $40-60/k depending on what you’re shooting these days. Do have a Dillon 650 and bullet feeder from last years blck Friday sale that I should probably take out of the boxes... For the sake of argument, what is a good dedicated .22 1911? Guessing one would need to spend $700 or more for a decent example? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 The advantage of a conversion is that it works the way your centerfire upper works. A different gun, by definition, is different. A whole lot of bullseye shooter shoot conversions in the 22 leg. Why? Because the trigger pull, grip, feel is the same and they want consistency. After owning a variety of 22LR pistols (HiStandard 107 Supermatic, Hammerli, Scorpion, Ruger, Buckmark) I went the same way. For a long time my favorite 1911 45 was my custom Sig Tacops. It now has 50,000 rounds through it, so I am very familiar with its handling. I put a MArvel Unit One (.423" @ 50 yards) on it for bullseye and hostage pin. I have a tube red dot for bullseye and a reflex sight for everything else. I use the same lower for the CW Accessories custom upper when shooting steel challenge. It is unique in that although the entire slide reciprocates, the barrel is locked and does not move. This benefits me in several ways. The grip angle and hand grip is constant, as is the take up, trigger pull and reset. That is good for muscle memory. I literally shoot better than when I had a dedicated non-1911 for bullseye and another for action. When I am in the zone shooting steel challenge, I don't see the dot. I'm aiming subconsciously and hitting. It's almost like i"m an observer in my own body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prange Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 2:12 AM, ncrivello said: The trigger doesn’t change? That’s good to know. a google search suggested that AA was making the kits for Marvel custom. If that’s still the case, I’m not sure. The AA kit seems to be a competitive product from price and quality standpoint. AA does not make the Marvel conversions. I have an AA for my Glock 19. It works fine. The AA, however, isn't remotely close to the Marvel in quality or accuracy. And I wouldn't expect it to be, given the cost difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrrcr Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 I built one on a Stealth 80% aluminum frame, Marvel Unit 1. Steel / practice gun. Can't beat less than a nickel every time it goes bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessesmith121 Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Me personally, I wouldn't use a conversion. In my practice I want to make it as close to match conditions as poss. A 22 conversion will not expose weaknesses in a grip that a major power factor round would. I want my guns to feel the same and react the same as they would in a match. I understand the utility and cost savings. Getting used to a 70PF blaster in practice then a 170pf blaster in a match SEEMS like a recipe for a nasty anticipation to recoil developing over time. I'm the same guy that cant switch guns during the year either... And I'm only b class... So not very good to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now