Comb .22 and .45 hand guns

[Nick72]

I was at a gun store yesterday and saw a Rock Island .22 with a changeable slide for .45 for $734. Did the math and I thought it was a good buy. I did not buy it, but seriously want to get it. I have a few questions about combo guns (sorry for the wrong wording);

1) Do these guns work well as both .22 and .45?

2) Are they safe?

3) Are they worth the price?

4) Does Colt or Sprinfield Make a good mode of these?

5) ARE there model to stay away from?

6) Are model that are well made and though of as the best?

Thank you,
Nick.

[DucatiRon]

I was at a gun store yesterday and saw a Rock Island .22 with a changeable slide for .45 for $734. Did the math and I thought it was a good buy. I did not buy it, but seriously want to get it. I have a few questions about combo guns (sorry for the wrong wording);

1) Do these guns work well as both .22 and .45?

2) Are they safe?

3) Are they worth the price?

4) Does Colt or Sprinfield Make a good mode of these?

5) ARE there model to stay away from?

6) Are model that are well made and though of as the best?

Thank you,
Nick.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in but there are a few companies that offer 22 slide conversions for 1911's including Kimber. I know the cost of the Kimber conversion is close to 300 alone. There are also 22 conversions for Glocks available to buy. If I was in the market for another 1911 I probly would have jumped on that deal.

[Armor Snail]

I wouldn't worry about caliber conversions. Very popular in countries where handguns are more restricted. If you are only allowed 1 pistol or if there are lots of hoops to jump through it makes a lot of sense.
CZ also makes a conversion for their 75 series of pistols.
Tanfoglio also does as well. They are extremely popular in Europe.
IIRC if you get a large frame Witness steel, you have choices of .22lr, 9mm, .38super, .40s&w,10mm, and .45ACP for a total of 6 guns in one.

[IntenseImage]

Its not a bad deal but there is a better option

Buy a Rock Island 45 and a GSG 1911-22 -- two full guns are always better than one .. and the price different wont be THAT much

[nateebobo]

Make sure its 22lr and not 22tcm if budget shooting is whats on your mind as most 22tcm has to be ordered and is not cheap as 22lr by any means.

[IntenseImage]

Make sure its 22lr and not 22tcm if budget shooting is whats on your mind as most 22tcm has to be ordered and is not cheap as 22lr by any means.

The 22TCM wont fire 45 ... it comes with a 9mm barrel though.

Their XT22 is the .22LR and 45 combo (2 complete slides)

[vetman03]

I have a Sig Sauer P220 in .45 caliber. Just recently I purchased their .22LR conversion kit. You simply remove the .45 slide and magazine, install the .22LR slide and magazine and shoot away. Very easy conversion.

.22LR ammo, although sometimes still hard to find is still cheaper than .45 ammo for simple practice at the shooting range.

The only issues I have found with the conversion, at least on this Sig conversion is that you need to use high velocity .22LR ammo. So far, any brand high velocity .22LR has worked fine. CCI .22LR minimag works the best. I can't say if this would be the same for other brands.

I guess if you bought a .22 and converted to a .45, the opposite way from me, it should work fine, of course depending on the brand of pistol.

[esh21167]

There's probably something to be said for using the same gun with a .22 conversion kit for practice, rather than a different gun. If you only had one gun, and the one your life depended on, makes sense to me to eat up lots of cheaper ammo if that's a concern.

I did meet someone with a Sig (can't remember model) in .357 Sig that bought the factory slide kit for his gun and it wouldn't go into battery. Tried in on my P228 and it fit. He sent it back to Sig for a refund.

[vetman03]

Maybe he had the wrong version? There are 4 different conversion kits on the Sig website depending on what model Sig he had.

[ronbo1012]

I bought a new sig p229 in .40 and the .22 conversion as a package deal. The factory was offering the package for about $150 over the regular price p229. I don't remember what the total price was.
It shoots great. Accurate, reliable, no problems. I have shot many different shells, but, I like the CCI standard velocity. I did buy a separate piece that fits in the .22 magazine to hold the slide open after the last shot.
I have another p229 in 9mm and tend to switch out the barrel and slide between 9mm and 40cal on this one and keep the new one 22lr.