Glock 17 to 22LR conversion kit thoughts?

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • gorgeman

    Active Member
    Apr 23, 2013
    127
    I have from Ciener metal mags works great
     

    Edward78

    Active Member
    Apr 4, 2009
    527
    Newburg, MD SoMd
    Advantage Arms is the best IMO, I have put a lot through mine with very little issues running mostly bulk Remington and Winchester. Got to keep it clean and can’t use anything but a stock connector if you want the best reliability from it. I have used mine twice in steel comps and it didn’t let me down.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,680
    Any try a threaded conversion kit with subs and a silencer? I am guessing not good success, but I am hopeful maybe someone can lead me in the right direction.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Back ordered kit came in yesterday.
    I function checked it using snap caps with a Poly 80V2 lower and a Factory G17 lower.
    No issues with the G17 lower, the Poly 80 lower hung up some with the spring. It looks like I'll have to shave some plastic back on the Poly 80 V2 lower.
    I took it to the range today and FORGOT the Factory G17 but had a Poly80 V1 lower in my bag that I had not even function checked. Well, it would not load a cartridge from the mag.
    Plus, if I pulled the trigger, I could pull the slide all the way out without lowering the locking block plate thingy. (that is really not good at all).

    I shot 15 40grain Minimags one at a time manually loading into the chamber and hit my torso target at 25 yards 15/15 times.
    Will try again tomorrow.

    More to Come.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Back ordered kit came in yesterday.
    I function checked it using snap caps with a Poly 80V2 lower and a Factory G17 lower.
    No issues with the G17 lower, the Poly 80 lower hung up some with the spring. It looks like I'll have to shave some plastic back on the Poly 80 V2 lower.
    I took it to the range today and FORGOT the Factory G17 but had a Poly80 V1 lower in my bag that I had not even function checked. Well, it would not load a cartridge from the mag.
    Plus, if I pulled the trigger, I could pull the slide all the way out without lowering the locking block plate thingy. (that is really not good at all).

    I shot 15 40grain Minimags one at a time manually loading into the chamber and hit my torso target at 25 yards 15/15 times.
    Will try again tomorrow.

    More to Come.

    Perhaps you have the "locking block plate thingy" in backwards.:)
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Perhaps you have the "locking block plate thingy" in backwards.:)

    Nope,
    Hard to describe but the area the barrel sits into is smaller on the V1 P80 by about .020" so it can;t drop down when sliding back. I need to look at it further to see if I can file something down on the lower while not affecting it working w/ a 9mm upper. I can see how its not working right because the locking plate does not rise back up when you mount the slide.

    As far as the round not loading from the magazine on the V1 P80, the problem was with the way the V1 has the slide lock lever and it rubs on the magazine. To make it work right you have to file some of the slide lock lever that touches it plus file a tiny bit off of the magazine. I did that before tackling the slide moving forward (above paragraph)
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    P80 V1 Lower:
    So, V1 P80 is going to be on hold cause there is a problem. In the P80 V1 the gap between the locking block and the slide lock plate is shorter. The length of the AA 22 Barrel that sits in that gap is longer than a Glock barrel. Why? because the AA barrel is not designed to travel very far back after being fired so that the energy of the recoil transfers to the slide movement more I'm betting. So the 22 barrel will move back a tiny bit then hit the locking block and start its pivoting. Thus its function is closer to a blowback like in a fixed barrel. Well, that gap not being big enough in the V1 P80 makes it not compatible unless some mod is done to the Lower. I'm not ready to do that at this time so shelving that.

    Factory G17 and P80 V2 Lower:
    Ran couple hundred rounds today in 2 different range sessions. The notes that AA provides was pretty accurate. It does not like Winchester and likes CCI Minimags & Golden Bullets.
    It was flawless w/ CCI Minimags (hollow point 36g). Only issues with Golden Bullets was 2 duds. To get a good idea on cycle reliability, I do what I do with my lighter pet reloads. I will load 20 bullets one at a time verifying each time, it will hold the slide back after shooting it. Winchester was lucky to hold back 1/2 the bullets. Card says it likes the 40gr round nose and not the Hollow points, but I had no problems with the 36g minimag hollow points. I did find some 40gr round nose in the old AR tactical box I can try next time. I saw no difference in reliability between my Factory G17 and P80V2 lower. My P80V2 lower is well broken in and I've done all the tricks to flatten the slide contacting parts and smoothen them (YMMV). In the 2nd session I was shooting into the 100 berm and I think I can get a good number of hits on my 12" torso target there. I'll have to try that next time. I think the barrel is very accurate.

    Bring a cleaning kit to the range cause when I was trying some of the different ammo, I got 2 of the lead browning rounds stuck in the breech and had to send a cleaning rod down the front to push it out. I'm guessing the wax on the bulk packaging crudded up that case. (dunno).

    Happy w/ the purchase and have 2 more mags incoming. This will be good to keep son #1 from burning through my 9mm ammo so fast and still get his glock fix.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Shot the conversion yesterday at the 100 yard range at 12" torso target. hit about 20% of the time and was "just a bit outside" pretty much the rest of the time.
    Ran 60 for 60 no problems with CCI AR tactical.

    What I really like about this as a 22 Pistol alone is that its a piece of cake to clean.
     

    Edward78

    Active Member
    Apr 4, 2009
    527
    Newburg, MD SoMd
    P80 V1 Lower:
    So, V1 P80 is going to be on hold cause there is a problem. In the P80 V1 the gap between the locking block and the slide lock plate is shorter. The length of the AA 22 Barrel that sits in that gap is longer than a Glock barrel. Why? because the AA barrel is not designed to travel very far back after being fired so that the energy of the recoil transfers to the slide movement more I'm betting. So the 22 barrel will move back a tiny bit then hit the locking block and start its pivoting. Thus its function is closer to a blowback like in a fixed barrel. Well, that gap not being big enough in the V1 P80 makes it not compatible unless some mod is done to the Lower. I'm not ready to do that at this time so shelving that.

    Factory G17 and P80 V2 Lower:
    Ran couple hundred rounds today in 2 different range sessions. The notes that AA provides was pretty accurate. It does not like Winchester and likes CCI Minimags & Golden Bullets.
    It was flawless w/ CCI Minimags (hollow point 36g). Only issues with Golden Bullets was 2 duds. To get a good idea on cycle reliability, I do what I do with my lighter pet reloads. I will load 20 bullets one at a time verifying each time, it will hold the slide back after shooting it. Winchester was lucky to hold back 1/2 the bullets. Card says it likes the 40gr round nose and not the Hollow points, but I had no problems with the 36g minimag hollow points. I did find some 40gr round nose in the old AR tactical box I can try next time. I saw no difference in reliability between my Factory G17 and P80V2 lower. My P80V2 lower is well broken in and I've done all the tricks to flatten the slide contacting parts and smoothen them (YMMV). In the 2nd session I was shooting into the 100 berm and I think I can get a good number of hits on my 12" torso target there. I'll have to try that next time. I think the barrel is very accurate.

    Bring a cleaning kit to the range cause when I was trying some of the different ammo, I got 2 of the lead browning rounds stuck in the breech and had to send a cleaning rod down the front to push it out. I'm guessing the wax on the bulk packaging crudded up that case. (dunno).

    Happy w/ the purchase and have 2 more mags incoming. This will be good to keep son #1 from burning through my 9mm ammo so fast and still get his glock fix.

    Mine definitely like the Rem Golden bullets the best and 40g mini mags of course, I shoot the cheap Winchester 333 and 555 and it even shoots them reliably, Tried Aguila and it was decent, federal like they tell you it is almost unusable IMO.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    So, circling back to this. I wanted to take a better look at this upper and magazine and see if I could figure out why the Browning and Winchester ammo did not work well the last time.

    I completely cleaned the Advantage arms Upper. I took a good look at the barrel. There is a taper to it. The taper has some machining marks on it that runs against the sliding action of the barrel through the opening in the slide. Its like tiny speed bumps. Also, as it tapers there is a divot in the machining making a sharp transaction at the start of it making its way back to close. I progressively went from 400 grit all the way up to 2000 then finished with flitz. I was hoping it would help with feeding. I also took flitz to the feed ramp as well on top of the barrel where the flat part rides on the slide.

    I started with 1 round at a time from a Winchester 333 box. 20 single loaded rounds fed fired and locked back the slide just fine.
    Then I went to 5 at a time. 25 rounds fired fine.
    Then went to 10 and right at loading I noticed that when I got to about 7 rounds, the noses would ride lower and pivot and when fed, nose dive. Have not figured it out why, but with CCI it pivots some but feeds just fine.
    I then loaded 7 at a time and ran 70 rounds of the winchester 333 and it was shooting fine.
    So, there is hope for it.
    I"m going to take a better look at the magazine.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I tried Federal Automatch. It fed/ejected just fine. From 80 rounds, had one dud where it had a nice strike, but no bang. Rotated and ran it again and bang. No different than Remington golden bullets.
    I think a big key is the rounded nose cause the winchester 333 rounds are hollow points.
    I also tried Browning 22LR which is lead round nose. It fed fine but had problems with extraction. Had to poke a rod through to pull it out.

    I had put a microscope to various 22LR years ago looking at the rims. Depending on the brand, the flat part of the rim goes further out for some vs others. CCI had the best flat rim that I felt affected how well they extract. No surprise to many.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    I've yet to see any of these conversions reach the level where I'd want to use them for an entire Steel Challenge match, and I own three of them (TacSol Glock 17, GSG 1911, MACS Hi-Power). The TacSol comes pretty close, especially with Mini-Mags, but I really worry about it going 150 rounds flawlessly with no cleaning... even one failure to fire or eject can cost you a match or division win.

    That said, they are good for messing around with rimfire suppressors, and reliability is adequate enough for plinking or running reduced-cost drills.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I've yet to see any of these conversions reach the level where I'd want to use them for an entire Steel Challenge match, and I own three of them (TacSol Glock 17, GSG 1911, MACS Hi-Power). The TacSol comes pretty close, especially with Mini-Mags, but I really worry about it going 150 rounds flawlessly with no cleaning... even one failure to fire or eject can cost you a match or division win.

    That said, they are good for messing around with rimfire suppressors, and reliability is adequate enough for plinking or running reduced-cost drills.

    CCI Minmag/AR tactical with the round nose has been pretty good for me. I have not kept track of misfires/feed problems though. I don't do competitions so I can understand your concern. I got this for the novelty in addition to shooting a Glock w/ 22LR. I wonder how the Glock 44 runs with various ammo? I think the slide weight is different? It may have value as a training aid before moving to 9mm and still shooting a Glock
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,905
    Pasadena
    Do yourself a favor and just get a dedicated .22. Conversions are good in theory. I had a Kimber kit that I would shoot occasionally but I sold it because it was annoying to switch back and forth and my Ruger is just as good. ymmv
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Do yourself a favor and just get a dedicated .22. Conversions are good in theory. I had a Kimber kit that I would shoot occasionally but I sold it because it was annoying to switch back and forth and my Ruger is just as good. ymmv
    If I were serious about rimfire pistol in Steel Challenge, I'd absolutely be buying a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 or a VQ Black Mamba.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    If I were serious about rimfire pistol in Steel Challenge, I'd absolutely be buying a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 or a VQ Black Mamba.

    Wife already has a 22/45 Lite. Very accurate and light. I don't know if its just hers or this one mag but you REALLY have to slam one of them in or it will start to FTF on her.
    As mentioned in my first post, I already have a number of 22s including my favorte Browning Buckmark. Its heavy though, great for one handed target shooting but don't know about it being fast with the target acquisition w/o a red dot.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Honestly, pistols don't need to be terribly accurate to work well in Steel Challenge... they just need to go bang every time you pull the trigger and throw the bullet more or less where the sights are.
     

    niftyvt

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 21, 2010
    1,891
    Virginia
    I have an Advantage Arms for my G19 gen 4 and it's pretty good. I get above 90% reliability with cheap Remington Golden Bullets. But once the feed ramp starts getting grimy is chokes. But all I need to do it wipe it off with my finger and it's back in action.

    I shot an entire year of IDPA with it back during the last ammo crunch. And went to the range pretty much every weekend and shot the crap out of it.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,937
    Messages
    7,259,625
    Members
    33,350
    Latest member
    Rotorboater

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom