Anyone ever had any experience with these and yes they are legal (16", .45 cal barrel) in Hawaii with the exception of the Colt hi-capacity mag. I bought one of these kits probably 25 years ago and never used it. Barrel is still in the plastic covered in cosmoline. I would think it would be hell on the recoil spring and the sights would be of little use but in this pic he added a scope which would overcome that. I imagine one would have to get used to the recoil. Way back I recall people with mixed views. Kinda neat but not sure about practical these days.

I had one in the late 80's/early 90's from Sportsmans Guide. Swapping the MSH & barrel seemed like an easy way to make a carbine out of a pistol, so I figured why not? I shot about 200 rounds. The accuracy was not that great, but I didn't have any problems with the recoil spring. Ended up selling it to some guy at the range who offered $150 for it...Just wasn't as much fun or useful as they advertised.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with your particular conversion, but it is an article about a rather unique 1911 carbine conversion.
The only reason that I know about this is because this gunsmith did some work for me in the past. They are works of art.

BolandCarbine

Sorry, this has nothing to do with your particular conversion, but it is an article about a rather unique 1911 carbine conversion.
The only reason that I know about this is because this gunsmith did some work for me in the past. They are works of art.

BolandCarbine

Mmm 17" gives a new definition for long slide.
(and that's one friggn' old copy of G&A. I think it was the 80's when it cost $2.50)

The majority of modern carbine kits don't bother with the longer barrel anymore. Some, like Sig's ACP, are pretty neat looking, but in the end we're still talking pistol caliber. I think kits are novelties...No fancy polymer dress up or stock is going to improve performance. So I'd always wonder whats the point?