This question was posted on another Forum that I visit and I figured I would post the information here as well.
As some know, I'm a 1911 .22LR Conversion Unit enthusiast. I own several including a vintage Day Arms, Kart, Marvel Precision, Nelson Custom, and of course Colt. With all of these .22 Conversion Unit's you receive proprietary magazines that work with each individual Unit. With the going price of OEM Colt .22 Conversion Unit magazines, what other options are out there that won't hurt your wallet, and provide you with a cheaper magazine that is easily obtainable and will work reliably. I found the answer to that question is that there really aren't many, if at all, any options.
I tried all the magazines that I had on hand in my (2) Colt .22 Conversion Units of different era's. I didn't bother with the Day Arms .45ACP magazine-.22LR inserts that come with this .22 Conversion Unit as they wouldn't work anyways and are basically never seen in the wild. I did use a Kart magazine but finding one would be as expensive or more than a OEM Colt magazine if the owner knows what he is selling. The magazines used in the test are (from L to R in the pic):
A poly (plastic) magazine from a Marvel Precision 1911 .22 Conversion Unit. It's marked FCW (Frerking Custom Works-the current owner of Marvel Precision) I don't know who makes these. Next is a poly (plastic) magazine made by Jagemann Sporting Group and this came with my Nelson Custom .22 Conversion Unit. Next is another poly (plastic) magazine that I purchased from Brownells. These are virtually identical to the Jagemann magazines and I assume that Jagemann makes these for Brownells. Next is a GSG metal magazine which are easily obtained and fairly inexpensive. Last is a Kart magazine-good luck finding one.
My test mules are a early postwar Colt .22 Conversion Unit that is mounted on top of a 1964 vintage Colt Government Model .45ACP frame and a 70's era Colt .22 Conversion Unit mounted on top of a 1975 vintage Colt Series 70 Government Model .45ACP frame.
My results were not surprising to me. All the poly (plastic) magazines tested will NOT work at all. In fact they will not even seat in the frame. They immediately hit the stamped Colt ejector and even if you remove the ejector the magazines hit the bottom of the slide at the right rear corner under the extractor. So with these 3 out, we only have 2 left. No surprise, the Kart magazine works perfectly. This leaves the GSG magazine. I've read on other Forums that folks use these without issue, some say they have tried them and they don't work at all. In my test the GSG magazine worked perfectly. I have 4 of them and all 4 worked, all but 1 holding the slide open on a empty magazine. To prove the fact, I made a youtube video that can be seen here:
I'm not going to recommend a GSG magazine, but if you are looking for a extra magazine to compliment your OEM Colt magazine try a GSG magazine, it may (or may not) work. While we are on the topic of Colt .22 Conversion Unit magazines, if you have one and it no longer holds the slide back on a empty magazine there is a solution. Marvel Precision sells plastic magazine followers with a steel insert to replace the OEM Colt magazine follower that has a worn out shelf that contacts the slide stop. Visit their website for more information. Look on the "Order" page at the very bottom. These followers work perfectly and are identical in design (other than the steel inset) to the OEM Colt magazine followers of all era's.
Click on pic's for a larger view:
As some know, I'm a 1911 .22LR Conversion Unit enthusiast. I own several including a vintage Day Arms, Kart, Marvel Precision, Nelson Custom, and of course Colt. With all of these .22 Conversion Unit's you receive proprietary magazines that work with each individual Unit. With the going price of OEM Colt .22 Conversion Unit magazines, what other options are out there that won't hurt your wallet, and provide you with a cheaper magazine that is easily obtainable and will work reliably. I found the answer to that question is that there really aren't many, if at all, any options.
I tried all the magazines that I had on hand in my (2) Colt .22 Conversion Units of different era's. I didn't bother with the Day Arms .45ACP magazine-.22LR inserts that come with this .22 Conversion Unit as they wouldn't work anyways and are basically never seen in the wild. I did use a Kart magazine but finding one would be as expensive or more than a OEM Colt magazine if the owner knows what he is selling. The magazines used in the test are (from L to R in the pic):
A poly (plastic) magazine from a Marvel Precision 1911 .22 Conversion Unit. It's marked FCW (Frerking Custom Works-the current owner of Marvel Precision) I don't know who makes these. Next is a poly (plastic) magazine made by Jagemann Sporting Group and this came with my Nelson Custom .22 Conversion Unit. Next is another poly (plastic) magazine that I purchased from Brownells. These are virtually identical to the Jagemann magazines and I assume that Jagemann makes these for Brownells. Next is a GSG metal magazine which are easily obtained and fairly inexpensive. Last is a Kart magazine-good luck finding one.
My test mules are a early postwar Colt .22 Conversion Unit that is mounted on top of a 1964 vintage Colt Government Model .45ACP frame and a 70's era Colt .22 Conversion Unit mounted on top of a 1975 vintage Colt Series 70 Government Model .45ACP frame.
My results were not surprising to me. All the poly (plastic) magazines tested will NOT work at all. In fact they will not even seat in the frame. They immediately hit the stamped Colt ejector and even if you remove the ejector the magazines hit the bottom of the slide at the right rear corner under the extractor. So with these 3 out, we only have 2 left. No surprise, the Kart magazine works perfectly. This leaves the GSG magazine. I've read on other Forums that folks use these without issue, some say they have tried them and they don't work at all. In my test the GSG magazine worked perfectly. I have 4 of them and all 4 worked, all but 1 holding the slide open on a empty magazine. To prove the fact, I made a youtube video that can be seen here:
I'm not going to recommend a GSG magazine, but if you are looking for a extra magazine to compliment your OEM Colt magazine try a GSG magazine, it may (or may not) work. While we are on the topic of Colt .22 Conversion Unit magazines, if you have one and it no longer holds the slide back on a empty magazine there is a solution. Marvel Precision sells plastic magazine followers with a steel insert to replace the OEM Colt magazine follower that has a worn out shelf that contacts the slide stop. Visit their website for more information. Look on the "Order" page at the very bottom. These followers work perfectly and are identical in design (other than the steel inset) to the OEM Colt magazine followers of all era's.
Click on pic's for a larger view: