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22LR Conversion Kits


cbrussell

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I have a cmmg 22 conversion kit, for my 3-gun AR.  A factory Beretta 22 conversion from my Beretta 92, 3 gun pistol. And I have had zero issues with either one. And again this Sunday if!!! the weather is nice, I will take them both to Topeka Kansas for there monthly steel challenge match.

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Marvel is tough to get running 100%.  I hacked up a Ceiner and got it to work on a 2011 years ago.  The GSG conversion is cheap and works well.  With some of my basepads (which other people have copied now, so get them wherever) and follower they can get 14+ rounds reliably too.

 

 

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12 hours ago, lgh said:

Over the years my brother and I have tried Ciener, Marvel, Nelson, and CWA.  They can all be made to work well but the most reliable is the CWA.  It is accurate enough that my brother uses it for Bullseye. To my eye it looks nice too.

Plus it uses metal GSG magazines, which are readily available and inexpensive. 

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I have a nelson on a dedicated caspian frame and it runs like a top.  It does have issues when dirty trying to eject a dud, but that is usually after about 250 rounds.  A quick run of a bore snake and it is fine.  Only the Nelson mags will work, the ones brownells has will not work reliably.  As for accuracy it is probably one of my most accurate 22's I have.  Mostly shoot CCI standard velocity, but cheaper will function.  Makes a great host also.

 

Now my buddy has one on a 2011 frame and it has issues.  He swapped it over to a single stack and it runs fine.

 

We use them in local rimfire falling steel (RFS) matches and they are competitive.

 

 

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Yet another vote for the CWA conversion.  The Marvel Unit One is a poor choice if you are not running standard velocity ammo.  Yes, they now sell recoil springs up to 10 lbs., but that is not enough.  The super light operating portion of the slide moves violently and will end up messing your firing control group.  Even using the heavy recoil spring, fewer than 400 rounds of Eley Force caused my 1911 to start doubling.  Also, unless you modify the extractor, it will not extract a loaded round reliably.

 

The Nelson is not as good as the Marvel, and it works with fewer pistols.  That is mostly do to variations in the ejector on pistols.  Nelson's mags are problematic.  Nelson says they are designed for a milspec mag catch height.  Since most quality pistols use a higher catch, that can be problematic.  No amount of tinkering or modifying could get those mags to work in either of my custom 1911 with the Nelson Conversion.

 

Ciener is a no go in my book.

 

I have used the CWA Conversion for three complete seasons, including Winter shooting, and it has never let me down.  It is super accurate.  The only thing you have to do to keep it running is keep the chamber clean.  I used to run a bore snake through it after four stages, just in case.  Once I started using the old bullseye trick of putting some oil on the top round of every mag, I no longer has to worry about the chamber.  It would go the entire eight stage match and practice for the next week without a hiccup.   GSG mags work great.  So do the Advantage arms after modification.

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I've been using Marvels for over 15 years now. I change the recoil spring yearly. No issues with the original Metalform mags or the GSG mags.

 

I only run SV ammo through them. I've used almost every SV ammo made.

Works fine and super accurate, (all of mine shoot less than 1"@50 yards from a ransom rest).

 

They make a steel-slide, lock-back version now. 

Edited by Prange
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On 3/19/2020 at 6:14 PM, cbrussell said:

Thanks for the advice. I am going to look at the CWA Conversion since I want an accurate gun but most importantly, it needs to run.

 

A word of caution, because I just remembered it.  If your lower is an STI, tell Chet so he can machine the 'lug' area to fit.  STI machines their frames differently.  BTW, if you buy a barrel modified for STI, it works perfectly well on a 'regular' pistol.  That is because the barrel is locked in place by the slide stop pin and cannot move.  So accuracy is the same.  I run mine on both my 1911 45 pistols.  One of these days I'll put it on one of my 9mm pistols and see if it clears the ejector.

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I have both the Nelson and the Marvel #1.  I have not shot them that much. Both are more accurate than I am. The Nelson is on a dedicated KC lower, the Marvel is on the 1918 Colt my father brought back from WWII.   I have occasional reliability issues with both, with all magazines tried. I use Nelson and GSG magazines for the Nelson, and both metal and plastic Marvel magazines. I am using mostly CCI SV.  
 

My Undergrad degree is in Metallurgical Engineering, and for long life with cyclical loading you want a steel slide.  The only conversions I am aware of that have steel slides are the Marvel and the Colt.

Edited by NuJudge
correction
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1 hour ago, NuJudge said:

The only conversions I am aware of that have steel slides are the Nelson and the Colt.

 

As far as I know Nelson does not offer a steel slide.  Marvel Precision does.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 8 months later...

Old post.. I've only had experience with the Kart and Advantage Arms conversion kits.  Have an Advantage I've had on an RIA lower and shot the heck out of it in local fun competition.  It worked great; never had a problem unless it was a misfire with the ammo, and that was ammo, not pistol.  Anyway, I have 2 Advantage kits now, the one for 1911 and one for Glock.  I like 'em!  YMMV.....  🙂

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2 hours ago, cbrussell said:

I took a look at the Pacesetting Design system, but there is so little information. I see no provision for iron sights.

 

There is no provision for iron sights.  It is essentially a Marvel Unit One with a custom rail/comp/sight mount replacing the Marvel rail.  I think $1000 is an insane price for that.  I own a Unit One.  It is a superb piece of gear.  I have used it for SCSA on several occasions.  IMO it is not as good for that purpose as the custom CWA conversion.  I've used the CWA for three seasons.  If I felt the Unit One was better, I'd have been using that instead.

Edited by zzt
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