Has anyone ever used those 22 conversion shells for their 1919 - I just saw them on bmgparts.com and they are expensive - and before I go spending that kind of money, I would like to know what someone that has owned them thinks
Yes. I have used the conversion shells in my 1919. But I have the rest of the parts to make it work. Bolt, Barrel set up, Front stop, Chamber, It is fun to play with and cheep to shoot.
CCKW
There are photos of the parts in the book" Hard Rain". I found my parts at The SAR Show over the years. The barrel I had made.There is a guy on the Board that said he was going to make parts for them. Have not seen them yet. I read in one book that in WWII 1 in 4 1919s had a .22 kit for trainning. The kits where junked after the war. Some parts turn up now and then. A barrel might run up to $400 and bolt for $250. Found mine in a junk box for $25. Seen a NOS Kit in the box at the SAR Show for $3000. He still had it the next year. Good Luck
CCKW
I've got most of the parts available. Barrels, (if you can stand a non-standard O.D. of .750 instead of 1.000) is $150.00. Check my site for other parts.
Tom, I sent you an email asking about price for package to convert an FA .308 to .22. I saw a beltfed .22 this last weekend that ran on a M16 receiver. Really cool.
that would be the LM7 from lakeside. they are finicky to say the least. there is a guy who posts here who loves to post pics of his all the time.
for the 1919 conversion, i am priced out of the game unless i find a bunch of the parts really cheaply. i just can't get there from here. they look like so much fun but i am on a limited budget.
tom definitely is the way to go for a good portion of this stuff for sure.
Have had and used several of the .22 conversions in A4 and 1917A1, and it is a lesson on why manpower is the key to an army. Assembling the .22 subcaliber steel case holders into the belts is a long and arduous project, IMO, especially if the belt is not well used. However,once done, it is DONE! Every two of the steel holders is held by a motorcycle chain link spring clip. Then each subcaliber .22 steel case has to be loaded with a cartridge and inserted into the holders in the belt. The holders grip the cases with spring pressure. The set up of the floating chamber is sensitive and requires quite a bit of adjustment to get right. After the belt is emptied all the subcaliber cases have to be picked up and with a small rod the fired cases have to be pushed out, as they stick in the steel cases Reload them and run the belt again. Fun a couple of times and then the novelty wears off and the whole kit and caboodle goes back on the shelf. Centerfire cartridges then look much better again, despite the cost! Too fussy and time consuming for my taste. Just my experience.
In the .22 conversion the belt adaptors clips and cartridge adaptors comprise of about half of the cost. I'm working on having the clips made now to be sold for $.50 each against whatever the current price is ( $1 to $1.50). Truly it is labor intensive. At some point I will take some time out and develop a unloader and loader utilizing the old M7 .50 cal link loader as a base. Something that would load 10 to 20 at a stroke. Currently I do have or can make on short order all the parts for the 1917a1 or the 1919a4. I guess the bottom line is what ever suits your fancy. The attached cost sheet is an example about the belts.
Additionally this doesn't include the cost of 2 fabric belts or the extractor for the bolt or the firing pin retainer. And of course the price comes down a little bit if you buy the bolt and piston, cartridge adaptors, belt adaptors and firing pin directly from Sarco or Numrich. Additionally do you really need a $100 chute? Still would need to get a bag for that. That's about my 6 bits worth.
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