Tuning a Colt floating chamber 1911 22/45 conversion unit

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Bwana John

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I purchased a NOS Colt conversion unit, and mated it to a Norenco 1911 frame.

The problem is brass not being ejected cleanly and getting stuck between the barrel and slide.

I had to pull the 45 ejector and recontour it to let the 22 ejector fit
At first try it did not eject ~ 10% of the time.
After dressing the 22 ejector blade I got a slight improvement.
After taking a stock 45 recoil spring and cutting it down coil by coil I got a slight improvement.
After removing the 22 extractor alltogether I got a large improvement.
It appears that enlarging the ejection port would help.
It still won't hold the slide back after the last shot, but I think the slide release is not correct, should be a #2, but is unmarked.

Does anybody have any info to get this thing to a less than 0.5% failure rate?
Do i lube the floating chamber or run it dry?
Are there any dependable aftermarket magazines of any manufacture? Colt mags look like they are $120.

I gave my very dependable Ciener 22/45 kit to my nephew, and purchased this Colt kit because I always wanted a Service Ace, but tuning this thing is starting to annoy me, and reading up on it it appears there might be a reason they are no longer around.
 
Lube the floating chamber and keep it CLEAN.

I think your comment about the slide release not being correct is a clue -- this gun is out of spec. I'd try your conversion kit on a different frame and see if the problems go away.
 
Metalform mags work okay for me in my colt .22 conversion. They can be a pain to load.

FWIW mine is very reliable when installed on Colt or DW frames. Haven't tried on RIA and I don't have a Norinco.
 
Had a Colt Ace conversion many years ago. Never any problems on a Colt Government frame but accuracy was pretty much just average.
 
Works better without the extractor?

My SM Ace does well with real Colt magazines, fair with older Metalform, marginal with late Metalform. Just kinda sorta with GSG said suitable on the Internet.
 
Works better without the extractor?

My SM Ace does well with real Colt magazines, fair with older Metalform, marginal with late Metalform. Just kinda sorta with GSG said suitable on the Internet.

Yes while without the extractor it will not extract without firing, it does seem to have less problem with the brass ejecting in a reliable, consistent manner.
 
A gun without an extractor is dangerous. You can very easily leave a live round in the chamber, if you don't carefully monitor what you're doing when you clear the gun.
 
A gun without an extractor is dangerous. You can very easily leave a live round in the chamber, if you don't carefully monitor what you're doing when you clear the gun.

I took it out just to see if it made a difference, then reinstalled it.

After breaking the hook off a 45 1911 extractor and having the pistol work just fine for multiple magazines I learned to actually look into the chamber, not just rack it a couple of times and put the pistol away!
 
I took it out just to see if it made a difference, then reinstalled it.

After breaking the hook off a 45 1911 extractor and having the pistol work just fine for multiple magazines I learned to actually look into the chamber, not just rack it a couple of times and put the pistol away!
I had the same experience with an MK II Ruger -- I'm glad that neither of us learned our lesson the hard way. :)
 
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