22 conversion compatibility
I have a Kimber 1911 Rimfire model in 17 Mach II caliber. I want to shoot 22LR as well. I spoke with Kimber and they will not sell me a barrel. My question is, "Will the Ciener conversion barrel work in the Kimber"? I can buy a Ceiner barrel for $50 and it sounds like an easy fix but I want to make sure it will work before I spend the money on it. Let me know guys. Thanks in advance for the information/help.
You are lucky to have a Kimber 17 M2 kit as they no longer sell these. The kimber conversion use a barrel bushing and the lug area is different than on Ciener 22 conversion barrel. The Ciener kits do not use a barrel bushing and the Ciener uses a different recoil spring and guide rod. I'm not saying a Ciener barrel could not be made to fit but I think you'd be better off in the long run just buying an additional 22 conversion. I'd say the 17 Mach 2 conversion uses a stronger recoil spring compared to the 22. The only 17 mach 2 Kimber I shot belonged to a friend and he bought the 17 mach 2 and 22 rimfire conversion at the same time he bought a 45 ACP Kimber pistol. His 17 mach 2 conversion was reliable, accurate and seemed a good bit louder than the 22. I heard Kimber quit selling the 17 mach 2 because of slow sales and problems with out of battery ignitions.
Actually I have the complete rimfire target pistol in 17Mach II not the conversion. I get what you are saying though. It seems I will have to buy a complete seperate upper for the 22LR. Just sucks that I even offered to send the gun back to Kimber to have a 22LR barrel fitted and the answer was no. What happens if you shoot out one of their other caliber barrels and want a replacement? I guess according to Kimber you will either have to buy another gun or use another company's barrel. Thank you very much for the information.
