Is there a platform where swapping between multiple cartridges is possible? I understand there are breech face differences, and magazine or cylinder differences among other things.

I have owned and am familiar with TC Contenders, but they are mostly rifle cartridge barrels.

I also know, Ruger Blackhawks come with conversion cylinders for 45 Colt to 45ACP or 357 Mag to 9mm.

There’s the Sig P229 which can be converted from 40 to 9mm with either a complete upper swap or a conversion barrel change.

I’ve heard that the EAA Witness may allow some swapability.

Can any one advise if there are any platforms which would allow 3 or more different cartridges by swapping g barrels, complete slides, cylinders or other? I’m mostly talking,pistol cartridges here, so 9mm, 45ACP, 40 S&W, 10mm, 380, etc.

You can swap a Glock from 40/357 Sig/ 9mm and not 100% sure but I think you can a S&W M&P as well.

Never cared for conversions. Might as well buy a new gun in my opinion. Revolvers may be the exception. A Glock 20 can shoot 10mm, 40 Sw, and swap to 45 acp from my understanding.

A 1911 with several top ends.

You can do the same with a Sig P-239 if you start with an original 40 or 357 Sig pistol. It will not work if you start with a 9mm P-239.

That is true with the Glock as well, you need to start with the 40.

Can you do that? What about the ejector? If this is correct, I could put a 9MM upper on a 45, correct?

Would require a complete G21 or G41 upper to switch the G20 to .45ACP. Shared frame dimensions, different slide bore between G20 and G21/G41.
Vendors make barrels for .40S&W, 9mm and .357SIG for drop in.
A factory G20 barrel will shoot .40S&W. Some will get bent out of shape with that subject.

As an example, you can start with a Glock 23 (40 S&W) and pick up a .357 Sig barrel for it and use the same 40 magazines as come with it. You can also pick up a 9mm conversion barrel and 9mm mags to shoot 9 mm in it. Same thing can be done with different models across the same rounds.

With a G20 (10mm) you can pick up a .40 S&W barrel and use the 10mm mags with 40's....some folks shoot 40's out of the 10mm barrel but if you're going to do much of it pick up a conversion barrel.

You don't want to do that, because of the ejector (although I think Commander ejectors might work) but if you had a 9mm frame/slide, you can swap barrels to .38 Super (might have to tune the extractor a bit, but that'll work, I'm in the process of such a swapover right now, waiting on my Super barrel to come in), and you have to swap magazines. There might be some .30 Luger barrels for 1911s out there, if you can find them. You MIGHT even be able to do a .30 Tokarev using .38 Super magazines, but I'm not sure about that. You can, of course, swap out the ejectors if it comes to that, but you're better off NOT messing with the ejectors if you can avoid that.
I don't know if you can do much with a 10mm Colt, but a barrel change to .40 would work, or .357 SIG, if anyone is making them. The 9x25 is defunct, but could be done if wanted. I know of those being done right now, in fact, though I'm not doing one myself.
The ,45 slide can also be used for ,400 Corbon, IIRC.

I ran across this vid a couple years ago. This topic jogged my memory of it.

The large frame Tanfoglio Witness can do 9mm, 40, 10mm, 45, and maybe one or more of those oddball 9mms by at most a top end and magazine switch. I changed a 9mm to a 45 a few years back. Nice guns.

Why not just buy another gun?

It’s really just a question I’m curious about. Was thinking, what if you wanted carry one pistol and enough gear in a backpack to reliably switch between multiple cartridges. Kind of a survival, SHTF situation. Be prepared to use whatever ammo you came across.

1911 in 9mm and 22TCM... Change barrels and springs

Rock Island is what I have.

With the Sig P320 the FCU is the numbered part Sig FCE. From there you can swap it into pretty much any configuration you want. But as others have pointed out, in a SHTF scenario you are better off with complete guns not parts for 6 guns and only being able to use one at a time.

For a doomsday gun where the world has gone crazy beyond what we currently even imagine, I agree that if you want to carry just one gun, then being able to shoot multiple cartridges is not a bad thing. I guess it becomes a question of how much you gain in light of how much you spend to do it.

I did the extra barrel thing with a Glock 23 to shoot 9mm. As already pointed out by pullit, you can shoot 2 additional cartridges out of a .40 S&W Glock with just barrel swaps and using appropriate magazines. I did it more for fun than anything with a G23. I bought a lone wolf 9mm barrel and already had G19 mags on hand. It functions fine and is as accurate as any other 9mm Glock I own. I still have it.

In this pic it's the Flat Dark Earth one, third from the top


Here's the G23 with its Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel, next to a stock G19.


Here is a shot of the muzzles. As you can see, a 9mm conversion barrel needs more metal around the hold to fill up the cut out on the G23 slide.


Before I sign off, I will say this--caliber conversions are less fun than you'd think, and I think in "normal" times, you're way better off with the extra gun versus the extra barrel. With a conversion, you'll just end up shooting the cartridge that is the cheapest, and the other one won't get shot very much at all. That has been my experience with a.22lr/.22 Mag, a .45 Colt/.45 ACP, and the .40 S&W/9mm.

I've also owned .22lr conversion kits for both a 1911 and a G19. Neither got used much after about a month. The conversion kit changes everything about your gun: weight, balance, and trigger pull are all WAY different (not to mention the absence of recoil). It's so different, that you aren't "getting cheap practice" with your centerfire gun; it's like shooting a different gun altogether. Plus, if you use a red dot on your carry gun, it won't be there during your .22lr practice.

If you can score a deal on a gun that has an extra barrel, go for it. But for what you spend on an extra barrel and extra magazines, I'll cast my vote for additional complete guns over additional barrels. YMMV.

Yep. I’ve got 40 s&w and 9mm barrels for my Glock 32 in 357 Sig. And a 45 acp barrel for my Glock 20 in 10 mm

Like to see that one.

Sorry. My dyslexia again. I have a 10mm barrel for my Glock 21 in 45 acp.

I can't keep up with everything that changes in the Glock world, but being a G20 fan I was ready for a good surprise!

In such a scenario, I’d prefer a working gun or two over a sack full of parts.

Sig 226. 40SW, 357 Sig, and 9mm.

Kimber 1911!

I have a full size SS target model which with a simple barrel, spring, and magazine swap will shoot 9mm, 38 Super, 10mm, or 40 Smith. I also own a slide and barrel to shoot 22lr on the platform. I do not own the 40 barrel at this time.

I am not real familiar with all the particulars of the 1911 platform. But am fairly certain that a 22 TCM barrel would work in my gun, with the appropriate mag.

To shoot 45, I would need to replace the slide and put in a shorter ejector.

I am not very skilled yet with the barrel change procedure. It takes me three to five minutes to change barrels and cartridges. I do so at the range frequently.

I have about $1600 into the gun, 22lr slide, eight mags, and three barrels with springs.

I've been waiting for someone to mention the Phillips and Rogers Medusa Model 47 revolver as a multi caliber firearm. It is pretty neat but few were were made and not many come up for sale. When they do it is amazing how much they want. It fires any .38\.357 or 9mm round except the Makarov.

I'm shooting from the hip here. That may work going from a 45 to a nine. The ejector is different but the kicker may be that the feed ramp on the factory 9mm pistols may be different.

I have four solutions for you that none of them require any changing of parts whatsoever:

1. Any .44 Magnum revolver. Can shoot any variety of .44 Magnum, .44 Special, or .44 Russian.

2. Any .357 Magnum revolver. Can shoot any variety of .357 Magnum, .38 Special, or .38 S&W. I am not sure, but maybe also .38 Long Colt.

3. Any .32 H&R Magnum revolver. Can shoot .32 H&R Magnum, .32 S&W Long, .32 S&W (Short), and, believe it or not, .32 ACP. Note that .32 ACP actually has a bit of a rim on it. It seems like there is another .32 cartridge that I am forgetting also that will work.

4. Any .22 Long Rifle caliber revolver will work with .22 LR, .22 Long, .22 short, and .22 CB Caps. However, .22 Longs are almost impossible to find now and .22 Shorts are pretty uncommon.

Glock 35 here with 357 Sig and 9mm barrels.

Shooting 9 mm 147 grain bullets out of that platform is really fun.

3. from a 327 Federal you can also shoot the 32H&R along with the other 32s

You can't normally shoot .38 S&W from a .357 or .38 Special, the base of the case is larger than those two. You CAN shoot .38 Long or Shorts thru them, though. They were derived from the .38 Colt.

My 1911 used to do the following...

.22
9mm
.38 Super
10mm
.45

I found I never swapped to the other cartridges, so I sold off my conversion units, and now I'm down to just .38 Super and occasionally 9mm.

One pistol, multiple cartridges?


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Also, accessory barrel sets are offered in several lengths and finishes - And any Bond barrel set will fit any Bond derringer.

There are about 20 different barrel calibers available.

Tanfoglio Witness Elite = 22, 9mm, 10mm, 45acp (complete tops required). The 9mm is a lightweight slide.

1911 = 45, 9mm/38super(same slide), 10mm/40sw/357sig(same slide), 22 of your choice. Need to swap ejectors.

Glock 20 = 10mm/40sw/357sig, 45acp(w/slide), 22

Have a Sig P220 and P226 ...and a .22 conversion slide which works on either frame.

...just need the correct .22 magazines for either frame.

My solution is keep the pistol in primary caliber then change to .22 as conditions dictate. Needs CCI Stinger ammo or similar to cycle slide.

The .22 conversion has great sights, shoots straight like a ray gun, same feel/trigger as primary caliber...22 ammo light too.

Even if you have all the slides/barrels to change over, still need matching mags to feed. All that stuff is heavy!

Colt Survivor/ Phillips and Rogers Medusa. 100+ Chambering basically anything available in 9mm, .38.