Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 1911 45ACP converted to 10mm?

Guys, I'm dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to semi-auto pistols.{Most other stuff too} So, please bear with me. My question is, can a Colt or Colt clone 1911 in 45 be ccnverted to 10mm and if so what's involved?

Thanks in advance for any input,

Brute

10mm generates a lot more pressure than .45, I do believe.

I know nothing about it, but something tells me you'd want to wear a welder's mask for the first few hundred rounds after the conversion.

Yes but you will need a new slide due to the diameter difference of the cases. Of course the frame will have to be machined for the ramped barrel that the 10 mm requires and a stiffer recoil spring is needed too. This is my switch barrel 40 S&W/10 MM that started life as a Para 16-40. I fitted a Bar-Sto 10 mm barrel and bushing and go back and forth. No change to the magazines needed either. It is likely cheaper to buy a 10 mm than have a reputable 'smith convert your 45 depending upon whose slide you choose, sight selection, new magazine(s) and such. My 2 bits.

Agreed. The 10mm rd puts alot of stress on the gun. I strongly suspect that you're better off with a quality gun built from the ground up for the 10mm rd. E

Just buy a Dan Wesson 10mm.

Colt's aren't ramped, that may not be necessary (it's good, but not necessary). You'd need a whole new top end, (slide, barrel, etc. and a different ejector, to build one like a Colt.

The 10mm does not require a ramped barrel, although it's not a bad idea (I generally like ramped barrels on 1911's for everything but the .45ACP). Still, the 10mm will work fine in a non-ramped barrel, but if you plan on reloading really hot 10mm, I WOULD recommend a set of Pachmayr grips** if you go the non-ramped route. If you stick strictly to the "books" in your reloading (and by books, I mean the latest data found on the powder manufacturers web site, rather than actual books)++, then you should enjoy your 10mm incident free for many decades. Step ouside the powder manufacturers recommendations or use older date out of a book, and then I heartily recommend the Pachmayr grips, because they may just save your hand when that cartridge case gives way.

Have your frame machined for a ramped barrel (which will require a new .45 barrel) and you get some additional safety margin.

So, in short, the conversion to 10mm requires a change in slide, barrel, magazine, and recoil spring (22lb or better), and a heavy duty firing pin spring.

Edited to add - there are some that like a .38 Super ejector and on a dedicated 10mm I recommend going this route. For swapping between .45 and 10mm, I always say try the .45 ejector first. If the .45 ejector doesn't work out, then you'll have to switch ejectors every time you switch from .45 to 10mm.

Generally speaking, for cartridge conversions, I recommend a dedicated .45 case gun for .45ACP, .400 Cor-Bon, .38/45 Clerke/Hard Head.

And then a sparate gun for 9mm, 9x21, 9x23, .38 Super, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, 10mm and all the other cartridges that fall in that size realm.

**Pachmayr grips (aside from being downright decent grips) have a steel insert inside and will protect your hands greatly when your overly stressed case gives way under the high pressure, and the hot gasses escape down the magazine well and out the openings under the grips.

++ A manufacturers web site will have the most recent and accurate data available. Many of the older books (and it doesn't have to be all that old of a book) will have data that still uses the CUP (copper crusher methood) measurement rather than the more recent and accurate pizeo-electric methood which measures in PSI.

What if I started out with a 40 instead of 45? Reason I comtemplated a conversion was the availability of used 45's but 40's are nearly as numerous.Thought I might come out ahead or at least even vs a new 10mm,with a good aftermarket as a bonus.

Most magazine manufacturers have figured out the release timing on the .40, but that was not always the case. So a brand new .40 should be pretty darned reliable. So beginning with a .40 would be THE way to go with a 10mm conversion, then it would be just a matter of a different barrel, sometimes different magazine**, and a different recoil sping.

**try the .40 magazines first, if they work then you're GTG. If not, then I'd recommend dedicated 10mm magazines since release timing is different between .40 and 10mm.

I think that would be a better route, you'd still need the heavier spring. Maybe a 10mm magazine too.

The 40 is the way to go if you do not want to buy a 10mm straight out. It is exactly what I did with my Para and the only change I needed was a barrel, bushing and spring. I did the conversion because I found a new Bar-Sto barrel/bushing on the 'net for $120 so the conversion was a bargain.

Regarding the ramped barrel, I would not own a 10mm without one if I believed I needed steel inserts in my grips. But that's just me. If you can find a cheap Para 40 that would be the way to go in my view. If you want a high capacity 10 as mine it is without question the way to go. Brian Pierce wrote a really good article on handloading the 10mm in Handloader magazine a couple of years ago. It would be worth searching for.