...Well they should have!

So about a month and a half ago, I get this crazy idea. No not that one! Converting a P227 to run on 38 Super.

Bought a few 10rd magazines to play with. Seems like the trick to making Glock magazines hold 38s works on Sig mags as well.

Time to find a host? Found out a P227 SAS was made without the rail. Would look right at home with my German P220s either way.

The easy part was finding a P220 upper that is already in 38 Super (I have several spares) that I could test it with.

The SAS was a task to track down. Then it did not want to play nice. I had to modify the take down lever and I'm all set. Right?

Wrong! The slide release was having its own fits to deal with. At least I'd still have an extra 45 Auto if it didn't work.

(I bought spare parts to deal with, keeping the original parts that came with each pistol intact.) Adjust. Tweak. Oil. Repeat. Finally!

The mags I got were all different. One holds 17 rounds, the other holds 16 rounds, and the last one must have the wrong spring as

it holds only 15 rounds. Off to find a P227 14rd magazine... Yikes! I wish my 401k went up that much! End of...

Seems like a 2011 magazine would fit. It has to be cheaper than the 14rd magazine? Took some adjustments, now I have a 26 round P227 mag.

Anyway, Manually cycling the slide with each magazine had no problems that couldn't be ruled out as user error.

Today I was able to fire 75 rounds from four magazines starting with one in the chamber.

Runs as accurate and smooth as I could have hoped for. That and I can swap it back to a .45 at any time.



Next time to the range I may run out of 38s as I'll bring this one and both Glocks.

Has anybody else tried such a thing?

I have not, but kudos to you for undertaking such a project !

Awesome project! Glad you got it to work, and especially interesting that the 2011 mag works as well. Not that I have anything in .38 Super or a need to modify any Glock mags at this time, but to assuage my curiosity, what's the trick to modifying .45 ACP Glock mags that you referred to?

Was able to get Glock 10mm magazines to work best. Stuck with those for both pistols.
The Glock mags were a lot more difficult when a Kriss Vector mag extension was used.
Had to make the followers from scratch because the Glock followers wouldn't work at all.

Making new followers from scratch is not a trick. It is manufacturing. Did you whittle them from a block of plastic? I'd like to see that.

That does make sense...I've run 9mm out of .40 mags with no problems, so it stands to reason that a .38 Super would run out of a 10mm mag.

That is fricken' awesome!!!

Thank you for sharing this project with us.

That’s awesome

How much did you have to modify the 2011 mag to work? Seems like they could work in 45ACP too

That’s really slick!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a disparaging word about the .38 Super cartridge - I need to give that round a whirl sometime!

quote:

Originally posted by deadmanmike:
How much did you have to modify the 2011 mag to work?

The only thing that I had to do to use the 2011 magazine in the P227 was cut a new notch for the mag release.

It was about 1/4 inch lower than the 2011 notch. The mag still works in the 2011 so now I can use it in both.

To cut the notch, I removed the mag release from the Sig. Slid the magazine in where it would feed the ammo, but not too close to the slide.

Painted a line for the center of the mag catch opening and cut the notch for the mag release based on the mag release assembly dimensions.


As far as trying the same with a magazine in .45 ACP, I don't have a .45 2011 to try it with.

I'm sorry, I don't know from 1911s in general, but who made the 2011 magazine?

The 2011 magazine that I was able to get to work was made by Strayer-Voigt.

The other P227 magazines were given a blank baseplate to differentiate them from the mags that use 45 Auto.