TRX
Member
A while ago I found out about the .460 Rowland, which promises .44 Magnum performance in a 1911 package. I was quite interested since I've enjoyed shooting a Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum as well as various .44 revolvers.
The Rowland guys say the conversion increases wear on the frame and slide, which is entirely reasonable. They have a list of various brands of 1911 that they recommend, and others they don't recommend. I went searching to see where 1911s tend to wear, which seems to be mainly where the slide and frame meet, and the locking lugs in the slide and barrel.
Nobody can predict exactly how long a converted gun will last, since there's no way to tell exactly which materials were used, how they were heat treated, etc. Which is also reasonable.
There are other "Super" .45s, at least half a dozen, from one developed for the Thompson SMG through the ,451 Detonics and others.
However, I also found out about some 1911 variants that aren't conversions. They're primarily:
1) The Coonan .357 Magnum, which shoots ordinary rimmed .357 Magnum cartridges. Apparently Colt actually made some .38 Special 1911s years ago. The Coonan's magwell was stretched to allow the longer .357 cartridge. Early ones used a ramp and pin locking system, later ones use the swinging link.
2) The AutoMag IV and V, which are long-slide, swinging-link variants. The IV appears to be stretched at the magwell like the Coonan, and shoots .45 Winchester Magnum. The V shoots .50 Action Express. I haven't found mention of it, but I assume the magwell (or the whole gun) was widened to accept the larger-diameter cartridge. (neither gun has any relationship to the "real" Sanford-designed Auto Mag)
3) the .50 GI, which uses a widened magwell and a proprietary .50 cartridge. The ballistics overlap the various "super" .45s.
I'm thinking of the "Supers" as hot rods. You'd trade power for longevity, and they'd need increased maintenance until it was time to replace major parts. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
The .50 GI and Coonan seem straightforward enough, but I'm curious about the AMTs. The exploded views seem to show ordinary long-slide 1911s. Does anyone here own one of these? Shot it regularly? From the crude pictures, I can't see that there's any more beef where the slide and frame bang together. I'm having trouble believing they'd hold up for the thousands (or tens of thousands) of rounds some people have run through ordinary .45 ACP 1911s.
The Rowland guys say the conversion increases wear on the frame and slide, which is entirely reasonable. They have a list of various brands of 1911 that they recommend, and others they don't recommend. I went searching to see where 1911s tend to wear, which seems to be mainly where the slide and frame meet, and the locking lugs in the slide and barrel.
Nobody can predict exactly how long a converted gun will last, since there's no way to tell exactly which materials were used, how they were heat treated, etc. Which is also reasonable.
There are other "Super" .45s, at least half a dozen, from one developed for the Thompson SMG through the ,451 Detonics and others.
However, I also found out about some 1911 variants that aren't conversions. They're primarily:
1) The Coonan .357 Magnum, which shoots ordinary rimmed .357 Magnum cartridges. Apparently Colt actually made some .38 Special 1911s years ago. The Coonan's magwell was stretched to allow the longer .357 cartridge. Early ones used a ramp and pin locking system, later ones use the swinging link.
2) The AutoMag IV and V, which are long-slide, swinging-link variants. The IV appears to be stretched at the magwell like the Coonan, and shoots .45 Winchester Magnum. The V shoots .50 Action Express. I haven't found mention of it, but I assume the magwell (or the whole gun) was widened to accept the larger-diameter cartridge. (neither gun has any relationship to the "real" Sanford-designed Auto Mag)
3) the .50 GI, which uses a widened magwell and a proprietary .50 cartridge. The ballistics overlap the various "super" .45s.
I'm thinking of the "Supers" as hot rods. You'd trade power for longevity, and they'd need increased maintenance until it was time to replace major parts. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
The .50 GI and Coonan seem straightforward enough, but I'm curious about the AMTs. The exploded views seem to show ordinary long-slide 1911s. Does anyone here own one of these? Shot it regularly? From the crude pictures, I can't see that there's any more beef where the slide and frame bang together. I'm having trouble believing they'd hold up for the thousands (or tens of thousands) of rounds some people have run through ordinary .45 ACP 1911s.