1911 .22 conversion mags
 

I purchased a Kimber Raptor II way back when and a .22 conversion kit for it. The original magazine works 90% of the time, the second magazine does not always push the round up to the top of the mag, which then fails to feed. Good exercise in clearing a malfunction when out plinking, but I have now run into a serious issue. My son and daughter have joined the Scholastic Action Shooting Program and one of the classes is .22 pistol. So, I need to find 6 absolutely reliable magazines for them to use the pistol in competition. I see there are several out there, some metal and some polymer like the Kimber brand. I did pull the mags apart and cleaned them, did not use any lube or anything on them as I was told they should be dry. The original probably has 300 rounds through it and the newer one has maybe 200. I know it is the mag because you can see the round sitting low in the mag on a fail to feed. If you tap the mag pretty hard a couple times it helps, but not enough to be reliable in the competition.

So, anyone have advice on reliable mags for the .22 conversion?

Next year they will shoot in the 1911 class as well. For now just iron .22 rifle and iron .22 pistol.

Contact FCW
FCW, LLC
5370 US Hwy 77
Cortland, NE 68331
(402) 798-8383

Great guys and do awesome work. They make the mags for the Marvel Precision 22 uppers conversions for the 1911s. They run $26 for the poly. They also make the match Marvel upper slides which are top notch quality. I think they made the conversion slides for Kimber. Dont confuse these with the old Bob Marvel stuff. FCW does a lot of work in the competition and Bullseye world.

I have a few of them and they never fail, never misfeed. I have run the polys in both Kimber and Springfield 1911's.

https://www.shopfcwguns.com/marvel-precision/marvel-accesories-3470/marvel-poly-mag-34704340

https://www.marvelprecision.com/

I have seen a couple threads about them and all were good. Good to know on the poly stuff. Sometimes I think metal is better, but the poly doesn't bend when dropped. $26 isn't bad compared to $40 for some of the metal ones.

Anything to do on the poly other than a cleaning now and then? No dry lube required, correct?

I had trouble with a metal magazines. Just not formed correctly, didnt feed, rounds got caught up and rubbed the trigger bars on each side of the mag well. The polys just fit both my frames better and function flawlessly. I use Eley match and Norma TAC match ammo, both are wet lubed from the factory so not a lot of powder residue left to clean. I just wipe them down around the feed lips and follower and dont bother with disassembly. They stay pretty clean.

Give FCW a call, ask for Ben or the other guy who used to live in Oregon.

Will do.

Will do.

I remember going to the range with a buddy. He had several pistols with him. As we set up he handed my his 1911 and asked me to pop off a few rounds. I was expecting a BANG of a 45 ACP, and it was a little poof. I stopped and said WTF, and he was smiling and showed me the 22 conversion. It was fun and cheap to shoot.

In my world of Glocks, the .22 conversions have never been reliable enough that they could be used for competition. A pistol dedicated to the specific caliber is always going to be more reliable. Why not buy a .22lr pistol for them to compete with like a Ruger Mark IV? Price is reasonable and the pistol has a great reputation of accuracy.

The FCW Marvel type 1 upper slides are producing 1 inch groups at 50 yards with a Ransom rest. Thats with a 22 LR cartridge. The type 2 is not far behind that.

Good luck with that using a Ruger Mark IV.

Model 41's with some tweaking are in the same accuracy territory as the type 1's as well as Pardini, Hämmerli 208s, Benelli MP90S, Walther GSP, Toz, Feinwerkbau AW93.

A weighted frame is key in this kind of competition. A 45 frame is ideal. The accuracy comes from mechanically locking the barrel to the frame. The 22 conversion barrrels do not tilt like some semi auto loaders. Blowback from the case just nudges the slide back, unfired round comes up and inserts into the chamber. Rinse and repeat.

The accuracy game is like car tuners.

They shoot timed against 5 plates.

The 1911 class they will shoot next year is why they should use the 1911 in .22 this year, so that the way you clear a malfunction is the same. Mine will shoot less than 1" at 25 yards but they shoot 25 to 75 feet. What they need is a mag that will feed properly. One mag is almost dead reliable and can fire all 10 at 8" plates in 2.03 seconds, so I know it can run fast enough for them. I am sure if the FCW will push the round to the feed ramp we should be golden.

They do have a team pistol with irons and a team with a reflex, but I don't know any .22 semi-auto that runs 100% in a competition like this. 98%, sure but that is why you get a mulligan if it is the ammo or weapons fault.

Here is one of the stages: V for V. Iron sights on rifle here.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/bE50HE77QSCHYKvNurQpcg.nRvyG8C26OwBAlqgbCBDKN

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/Cf306wh-RhGxz6i1SShg6Q.jYOjLUVMhBx09jiUAXzYRv

^ it makes perfect sense to train on the 1911 if that is the platform they will be using in the future anyway. I just know that any time a semi-auto owner has a questions about why something is not working, the first thing most folks will ask is "what have you modified?" and in most (not all cases) therein lies the offender.

In this case, the slide is like butter, but the one mag will not push the round up far enough to feed. I might stretch the spring a bit on that one to see if it helps. Certainly can't hurt.

Figures!

maybe a stiffer spring? Is the follower getting hung up on a blem?

That was my thinking, but there are no replacement springs so stretching was the only option.

There are people out there that tune magazines. First off, I would compare them to each other and look for any differences in wear pattern near feed area. I would also look to see if one was tighter than the other. It doesnt take much to throw off the feed.

No differences in wear. One might feel tighter than the other, but it is hard to tell. I cleaned both as well as I could and wiped them/let them dry before reassembly.

That, plus a linear pull trigger vs pivot style.

Not familiar w/the followers in these magazines, but I've found (esp. w/rimfire mags) that if the follower tilts a little bit too much -- either nose-high or rim-high -- a failure-to-feed will typically show up w/the last round in the mag. May be worth another disassembly to make sure no burrs or blems in the upper part of the mag body, or adjust the follower if it has bendable fore/aft tabs.

As for the spring, you might consider using a shim or two. I've had good luck w/plastic card stock (e.g., hotel keys).

Good luck.

I will try a shim before stretching as that is something I can put back to stock configuration.

I have two mags coming from FCW to test out. Ben was out and the woman that answered the phone was a little skittish about saying anything since they don't test them with other conversions much. All I asked her was if they feed reliably in their conversions since it is the mag that is the issue for me.

The team pistol is a Taurus and is mostly reliable but then I have one mag that feeds 99% of the time so I know it is possible. My daughter is a full second quicker with the 1911 when it feeds properly though.

OK, the mags from FCW arrived and we had a chance to test them and they do not feed up the ramp, they are a fraction too short. Anyone need a couple mags for Marvel conversions?

Any other ideas?

Sent you a PM Brent.

Good quality .22LR ammo ??? Might sound dumb but plinking ammo (bulk) and pistols are more often then not a bang, bang, stovepipe, bang, stovepipe, bang, bang, bang, short cycle, bang. The mags might be just fine? I only use CCI in my pistols if its important. Bulk if its not. And much cleaning with .22 being so filthy. I tend to run my semi-auto's wet with Mobile1.-WW

You're awesome!

We used exactly what the MFR recommends, plus some hotter stuff. The rounds don't like to feed to the top of the mag. I am going to shim the one OEM that fails to feed. The other was 100% again for practice Thursday.

We have some Euro stuff that is supposedly cleaner to try as well. They aren't shooting pistol at WI state so we have a bit of time. Ordered a Tendemkross kit for the 10/22 mags so they can be cleaned easier. 4 stages with at least 5 strings up to 10 rounds per string, two kids in two 10/22 classes ends up a lot or rounds through the mags. Good thing we have 7. I am also glad they don't shoot 10mm or something. .45ACP will be bad enough.

22 conversion kits
 

My favorite and most reliable 22 conversion is a Sig unit that goes on top of a Sig P220 frame. The mags are propriatary (?) to the Sig pistol and can be a bit hard to find. Unless something is really dirty, it always works unless the cartridge is bad. I don't know if Sig still makes these conversion units but I recommend trying to find one. Of course then you would have to pick up a Sig P220 (wink, wink) to make it all work.

Yes, powerful .22LR rounds. It's quite a bit of mass for the recoil to move.

And a good quality thin oil lubricating the slide. Not one of those dry lubes.

Except they will be shooting in the 1911 class so the Sig, while a fine firearm, would be for plinking.

The rounds we have are 1480fps and we use FP7 as that is what was shipped with the kit.