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Posted: 4/7/2013 2:19:06 PM EDT
Just got this, and shot it today so I'd thought I'd throw out my first impressions. I was looking for a .22 conversion for my Colt Commander, I had recently heard about Advantage Arms, after some research and comparison, I placed an order late February. The kit was on back order, but I got it late March, so about a month - not bad in this crazy market for guns and ammo. The kit come in a nice case with instructions, the magazine (I bought an extra), a cleaning rod, bronze brush, oil, patches, an assembly wrench and a rod to assist in loading the magazines. The slide is aluminium, nicely anodized, and fitted with an adjustable sight.



Here it is fitted to the gun:



The magazines are 10 round capacity, made of polymer, and the best part is they feature a proper last round slide lockback on the last round capability. Their fit in my gun left a lot to be desired. When I inserted the mag into my gun for the first time, once it got past the mag catch, it was a very tight fit - I had to remove the slide and push the mag out with a lot of force. An email to Advantage Arms resulted in them recommending that I remove some material from the rear of the mag. I did this using wet and dry paper. In fact I used wet and dry paper all over the mag to improve the fit, after some perseverance, the mag has a fit similar to a Hi-Power mag requiring just a very light tug to remove it - this I can live with as I do not like the idea of dropping the mag on the floor. The slide to frame fit is a little loose compared to my standard slide, if I view the gun from the side, I do see a "gap" between the slide and the dust cover, but this does not detract from functionality. Here's a target:



This target was shot offhand from 15yds on a windy and cold day. To be frank, I could do with some more practice, but it does show the potential of the kit. The groups run 1"-1.5" ish. My gun shot to the right in initially, I had to adjust the sight quite a bit to the left. In fact I decided to drift the rear sight as well so I didn't have to resort to using all the windage. I used CCI Minimags, a stash I had prior to Newtown, CT. After inserting the mag and dropping the slide, it would would need a tap to go fully into battery - this occurred with every fresh mag I inserted. As for function, I fired 150 rounds, no misfires, and only about 5 times did the slide short stroke during ejection - I had no failures to eject. As for initial impression, I like it. My comparison is my Ceiner kit for my Hi-Power. For overall quality the Ceiner kit is better in the magazine department, my Hi-Power mags are made of aluminium. For functionality, warranty, and customer service, it's Advantage Arms all the way. I'll try and get to the range again shortly to follow up on this initial review - good shooting.  
Link Posted: 4/7/2013 3:00:52 PM EDT
[#1]
Thanks. I have been thinking of getting a conversion for my 1911 too.
I have the AA conversion for my glock. I shoot recommended ammo.
Link Posted: 4/8/2013 6:26:32 AM EDT
[#2]
Run it juicy wet for 500 or so rds and clean it out every 100 or so rds during that first 500, running good quality high velocity ammo (AA recommends Remington Golden Bullets, why, I don't know, but if they go off, they do work properly). Once broken in, it should run just about any decent quality full powered ammo just fine.
Link Posted: 4/8/2013 9:27:20 AM EDT
[#3]
I agree about running the AA kit wet, I use Breakfree CLP.  I just recently tried Froglube which works also.  My 1911 Standard  model kit is 100% with Remington 36 grain HP bulk.  If I only load 5 or 6 rounds Federal bulk works but has less recoil impulse compared to Remington.  My kit is very accurate and my mags fit the mag wells on my two RIA frames without issue.  

I really enjoy shooting the 1911 and I liked my AA kit so well I bought a stripped RIA frame off GB.  Now I have a very high quality 1911 in 22 rimfire.  I have 5 mags for my AA  which comes in handy at range time.  I also own 3 Kimber 22 mags, these work in the AA kit except the slide does not lock back on the last round.  I think the Ciener 1911 15 round will work with the AA kit but will not the slide back.  I always felt 10 rounds was enough and have never sought higher capacity mags for my AA 1911 or Glock kits.
Link Posted: 6/16/2013 1:52:27 PM EDT
[#4]
Well, I took my Colt Commander out for another excursion with the Advantage Arms conversion kit fitted. This being only the second time since I bought the kit due to the unavailability of .22LR ammo. I was able to buy 3 boxes of American Eagle .22LR recently, not the desired ammo recommended by AA, but it's all I could get. Sure enough, the functionality was very poor with American Eagle ammo. Lots of short stroking on the slide - I had to manually cycle the slide after virtually every shot. Fortunately I had a 100 rounds of CCI MiniMag at hand, oh Lordy, what a difference! I enjoyed 100% functionality. The only bummer now is trying to source decent ammo, however the kit gets a thumbs up - highly recommended.
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