In general, will any quality .22 upper work on a standard 1911 lower? Host pistol is a RIA Ultra TAC II.

I may have one (upper) gifted to me.

I’m not sure about RIA 1911’s. But I have a 1943 colt frame, 1998 Kimber custom classic and a black army re-release from a few years back and both my tacsol and the kimber 22 conversions work on all three. The kimber conversion is pickier about ammo than the tacsol.

where do I start. I have tried this a number of ways. My single biggest issue with all of my attempts, and they have been many, is the crap it gets into your 1911. After 500 rounds the 1911 frame needs to be stripped completely and cleaned. This makes it some what a pain in the ass. A 1911 frame with the crap from 22lr does not just blow out with air. It requires a detail cleaning. I shoot way to much 22lr to have to clean every 500 rounds. I swapped over to a pistol that had same grip angle, safety placement and slide lock placement to get around this.

What i have owned in the past.

Kimber 1911 conversion kit on various 5" and commander frames.
Sig/GSG conversion kit on various 5" and commander frames.
Marvel unit 2 on various 5" and commander frames. Later i built up a dedicated 1911 frame for this. Still had the cleaning issue.
Marvel Unit 1 on various 5" and commander frames.

The GSG mags were the best out of the lot. they fed the most consistently. The GSG/sig conversion was the least accurate. Kimber's conversion was far more ammo finicky, but its mags would work with Marvel unit 2. The marvel unit two would loosen the screw bolt used as a guide rod quite regularly. it woul loos accuracy fast after that. The Marvel Unit one was the most accurate and reliable, you still had to clean the damn frame. The grit gets blasted into the trigger bow and everything gets all fricken gritty.

My recommendation?
Buy a Ruger 22/45 (same grip angle, safety placement, mag release and slide lock placement. ) Plus it can run many more rounds possibly 1-2k more between cleanigns if you brush the chamber and oil the bolt.

Buy a Smith and Wesson victory. (i now have 3) Same general reasons as above.


As for your gun, yes most conversions will fit a 5-inch government frame, and a 4.25 commander frame. The issue that may come into place is if the conversion is made for a series 80 frame, or a series 70. Ir the conversion is made for a series 80, you can lock tite the safety plunger up once you have removed the firing pin and spring. that will allow you to use it on a series 70 frame.

I've owned both a dedicated COLT Service Model Ace as well as an Ace conversion unit I used with a Series 70 Government Model lower. When clean, both displayed excellent reliability. However, DSgrouse is correct - these rascals get filthy real quick and unfortunately they can't even come close to running with a Ruger MK II when dirty. I swear a MK II digests 22lr. gunk.

The one I’ve been offered is made by Kimber, for 70 Series. I don’t know the model and I’m not sure it will fit on my RIA commander frame. Hope to see it tomorrow.

I’m not in a buying position now but man I would love to get into both a 22/45 and a S&W revolver.

I've both a Kimber and a Marvel. yup there dirty as is every other .22. But I have not had the very,very low round issues talked about above. For sure none of the conversions is a Ruger 22/45 but they are perfectly usable for a reasonable period of time.

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:
The one I’ve been offered is made by Kimber, for 70 Series. I don’t know the model and I’m not sure it will fit on my RIA commander frame. Hope to see it tomorrow.

I’m not in a buying position now but man I would love to get into both a 22/45 and a S&W revolver.

It should work just fine.

For high end, Nelson Custom makes what I think is the best 1911 .22 caliber conversion.

I have a 22/45 and two Marvel conversions. The Ruger does go longer between cleanings, but thenease with which the Marvels come off the frame and come apart makes cleaning them a breeze.