New .22 - Marvel Precision

TWO NEW .22 CONVER
For me there’s nothing more relaxing than spending an afternoon with a .22
and a brick of rim fire ammunition. I refer to these outings as therapy. With
plenty of ammo and an accurate .22 the troubles of the world seem to melt
away. The tiny cartridge’s recoil doesn’t hurt or intimidate, and I can’t think of
a better way to practice sight alignment and trigger control. Being able to convert one’s favorite center-fire defense or target pistol to fire the .22 round adds
a new dimension of fun to a practice session.
28 December 2000 GUNGAMES
RSIONS
ouble-deuce conversions are
also perfect wherever there are
ranges and/or noise restrictions. Putting more rounds downrange, even if they are rim-fire, will
help familiarize one with their handgun and its operating controls. And
because of their light recoil and modest report they are the ideal way to
introduce a young or inexperienced
shooter to the sport.
Let’s not forget that we already
have states within our union that
limit the number of handguns that a
citizen may purchase monthly or
annually. Call me a cynic but I can
only presume that as time goes by
gun laws will become even harsher
and will eventually limit the total
number of guns that we may own.
Anything, like a conversion kit, that
makes the pistol more versatile will
have enormous appeal. This is why
the .22 conversions have been so
popular in Europe.
I’ve always been intrigued with the
.22 conversion kits. Over the years
I’ve owned probably seven or eight
units, all for the 1911 pistol. About
half of them had what I considered
to be an acceptable degree of accuracy and about half were reliable, but
few were both accurate and reliable.
At the 2000 SHOT Show, two
firms introduced brand spanking
new .22 conversions for two very
popular handguns, the Glock pistol,
and the ubiquitous 1911. Both conversions are designed to be drop-on
units that don’t require fitting or
gunsmithing. One is engineered to
provide the handling characteristics
of a service gun while the other is a
precision piece that would perform
admirably in bull’s-eye competition
or any shooting
sport that requires a
rim fire handgun
that can place their
rounds one right on
top of the other.
This is not meant to
be a comparison of
the two conversions
but rather an evaluation of both of
them.
D
CIENER’S GLOCK
.22 CONVERSION
If building a Glock conversion unit
were as simple as making a slide with
a .22 breech face and adding a different barrel, everyone, including
Ciener, would have been on the market with one years ago. However, all
the design features that make the
Glock pistol such an awesome defensive handgun also make it a challenge
to convert to .22-caliber.
When I met with Jonathan Arthur
Ciener at the 2000 SHOT Show he
was just finishing up talking with
some of Glock’s people that had
stopped by his booth to look at his
new conversion for their pistol. There
was a lot of head shaking and goodnatured smiles as if to say, “How
come we couldn’t do that?”
I just received my evaluation sample of Ciener’s Glock 17/22 conversion, which also fits the Glock G35
and G34. Ciener also makes a shorter conversion that will fit the G19,
G23, G25, and G32. My sample
arrived in a protective hard plastic
case, which separated the slide and
10-round magazine.
I found the slide to be extremely
Glock-like in appearance and the
slide’s finish looked very much like
the original Glock’s. It was only after
I picked it up that I determined the
part to be made of aluminum. Ciener
uses 7075 T6 alloy, the same tough
stuff that some manufacturers are
using for their lightweight 1911
frames.
I took my G35 from the gun safe
and removed the slide and barrel.
The Ciener conversion slid right onto
the rails and locked into place. The
.22 conversion is blowback in opera-
December 2000 GUNGAMES 29
tion and this is why Ciener used the
lightweight aluminum slide. This
presented Ciener with one of his first
engineering hurdles. A recoil spring
of sufficient strength had to be used
to keep the slide in battery yet be light
enough to cycle with the .22 ammo.
To complicate matters the rim-fire
rounds require a harder hit than center-fire ammo for reliable ignition.
This means the firing pin spring had
to be made heavier than the OEM
part. If the spring is too heavy it will
try to push the slide out of battery
when the trigger is pulled. If it is too
light rounds will fail to detonate.
Ciener worked out the engineering
and now has Wolff Springs make the
parts.
“Besides,” said Ciener, “there’s no
need for windage adjustment. Our
machining is so precise that I know
for sure that the barrel is absolutely
parallel to the sights and the barrel’s
hole is within .0025” of centerline of
the bore. Even if we hit at the tolerances at their max level we’re only
talking about a half inch at 25 yards.”
Sure enough, the first time I fired
the Glock conversion at 25 yards the
sights were dead on. Using a five-inch
diameter Shoot-N-C target the group
clustered about an inch above the six
o’clock hold that I used. Ciener
undoubtedly has heard the criticism
of the three-dot system and chose
instead to leave his sights plain black.
Ciener claims that his conversions
Remington round-nose High-Velocity, a not so subtle hint that this conversion would run optimally with the
enclosed rounds. I spoke with Ciener
about the ammunition preferences.
“Yep, the conversion runs 100 percent with those Remington rounds
that I sent you Mike,” said the Florida inventor. “I have a list of ammunition that runs well in the Glock
unit,” as he fished around his desk to
find it. “Here we go. Let’s see. Federal’s Spitfire Hyper-Velocity works
well, as do Remington’s Thunderbolt,
and UMC’s Hi-Speed. In my testing
these loads are all 100 percent for
function. You know it’s funny. I get
calls all the time from people that
want to know if their conversion will
work with this target-grade
ammo or that standardUsing a .22 conversion allows shooters to concentrate on sight alignment and
trigger press without the distraction of recoil and deafening muzzle blast.
velocity promotional bullet.
It’s frustrating.” Sounding
exasperated, Ciener continued, “Look, there are two
kinds of car lovers, those that
love to work on ‘em and
those that love to drive ‘em.
I’m the kind of guy that loves
to drive them. For those who
just want to shoot their guns
I’ve done all the legwork for
them. Buy Remington HighVelocity bullets,” said Ciener.
Other than the Remington rounds, which Ciener
sent with the conversion, I
was limited to the ammunition sitting on my workshop
shelves. Not all of it worked
with 100 percent reliability,
and I’ve noted this on the
I was a little surprised to find that
will shoot inside the accuracy envechart. CCI’s Stingers really gave the
Ciener actually machines the sights
lope of the original Glock guns.
slide some velocity and made it feel
right into the top of the slide. That’s
Again, I found Ciener’s claims to be
like I was shooting a real center-fire
right. They are not even drift
true. Groups ran from 1.25” - 2.5,”
gun; however, accuracy was not as
adjustable for windage. It just didn’t
nearly identical to the groups fired
good as the other rounds, in fact, it
make any sense to me; surely it has to
with the G35’s .40 S&W barrel and
was nearly double in size.
be easier to simply cut dovetails into
slide in place.
The new Aguila Super Maximum
the slide and fit them with Glock-style
As with just about any .22 converalso gave good velocity, felt good in
sights. When I asked Ciener about
sion, Ciener’s unit can be ammunithe hand, and had reasonably good
this, his reply was that this was puretion sensitive. As a rule of thumb I
accuracy. Ciener’s selection of Remly an economical decision. It is easier
have found conversion units to be
ington High-Velocity ammo was
to machine the sights into the slide
more reliable as velocity increases.
indeed a good one - they functioned
than make the cuts; machine sights
The Glock unit is no different. In fact,
100 percent and also turned in the
and have an operator install them.
Ciener actually included a box of
best group at just 1.13”.
30 December 2000 GUNGAMES
AMMUNITION
RELIABILITY
WT
VEL
GRP
PMC TARGET 22
65%
40
866
CCI STINGER
CCI BLAZER
WINCHESTER WILDCAT
REMINGTON HIGH-VELOCITY
WINCHESTER SUPER-X
AGUILA SUPER MAX HP
REMINGTON YELLOW JACKET
REMINGTON CYCLONE
FEDERAL LIGHTNING
95%
85%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
90%
32
40
40
36
40
30
33
36
40
1347
1081
1090
987
965
1255
1169
1060
1079
1.94”
3.82”
1.48”
1.81”
1.13”
1.81”
2.18”
1.33”
1.79”
1.16”
All groups were fired at 25 yards from the prone position utilizing a Millett BenchMaster for support. Five shots to a
group.
One of the reasons that the Ciener
unit is so reliable, with the proper
ammunition, is the magazine that
Ciener builds. This patented six-piece
magazine features a body of
machined aluminum. This includes
the sensitive feed lip area that can be
problematic with sheet metal style
magazines. The magazine is easy to
disassemble and clean and is
extremely rugged. This is one mag
that is as well engineered as the conversion.
In all I fired over 600 rounds
through the Ciener Glock conversion. As long as I was careful in my
ammunition selection, the unit was
utterly reliable and at very least as
accurate as the G35 is with its issue
top end. The retail price for Ciener’s
Glock conversion is $199. Those
looking to get a little more trigger
time with a rim-fire Glock conversion should contact Jonathan Arthur
Ciener at (321) 868-2200 or peruse
his web site at www.22lrconversions.com.
brand new Marvel .22 conversion.
Like I said before, I have owned
seven or eight conversions, and if one
of them could group five shots under
two inches at 25 yards, I was happy.
One and one-quarter inch or less at
twice the distance was nearly incomprehensible.
Dozens of circular targets, each
with tiny ragged holes, were posted at
the booth for my unbelieving eyes
to examine. I suppose my openmouth gawk attracted the attention
of Bob Marvel, the inventor and
manufacturer of the 1911 .22 conversion unit.
Marvel explained that his conversion required no fitting or gun-
smithing and would fit any caliber
1911, regardless of manufacturer. It
will also fit the Commanders and
police officers size frames, and by the
time you read this he should have the
wide body conversion ready for the
STIs, Para Ordnances and SVIs.
Marvel’s conversion uses an aluminum slide with a steel breech face
for increased life and a Shilen premium match barrel for accuracy. Cosmetics of the unit are terrific. Both
the aluminum and steel parts are finished in a matching gloss black.
I assembled the unit on my Kimber Classic Custom. I stripped the
OEM top and I replaced it with the
Marvel unit. After inserting the slide
THE MARVEL 1911
.22 CONVERSION
Too good to be true. That was my
immediate impression when I saw
the sign saying 1-1/4” 50-yard groups
or less. I was standing in front of the
Marvel booth at the 2000 SHOT
Show. In front of me on the table
were several 1911s outfitted with the
Ciener’s Glock conversion is completely drop-on. No fitting or gunsmithing is necessary. Shown above the Glock G35 frame is the .22
conversion, and the slide below it is the .40 S&W.
December 2000 GUNGAMES 31
Simply loosening the allen head
screws on the iron sight rib allows
its removal.
Here’s a shot of the barrel without
its rib.
Installing the weaver rail only
requires tightening the allen
screws.
With the Simmons 2.5 x 7 power
scope in place the Marvel conversion is capable of putting all of its
shots through the same hole.
stop there was still significant play
between the conversion and the
frame. I routed around the padded
nylon case that the unit came in and
saw that it was shipped with its own
slide stop. After switching parts it was
still a sloppy fit. About this time I figured the prudent thing to do would
be to consult the instruction booklet.
It took only a few moments to get
straightened out. A special tool,
included with the kit, is used to tighten the recoil spring guide rod under
the barrel. Once I had retracted the
slide and tightened the guide rod all
slop was removed from the frame-toslide fit. Properly installed, the slide of
the Marvel unit fit as snugly as my
original Kimber slide. When the guide
rod is tightened it snugs up against
the special slide stop and pulls the
barrel forward and down eliminating
any play. The fixed barrel design is
key to the unit’s incredible accuracy.
I asked Marvel why he goes to the
expense of including another slide
stop with his conversion. “That’s a
special design two-piece slide stop,
Mike,” he explained.“It allows the pin
to rotate, which permits the shooter
to engage the slide lock once the
guide rod has been tightened down.”
Because the slide is made from aluminum, Marvel designed the unit
NOT to lock open on the last shot, as
the hardened slide stop would beat
up the slide lock notch on the slide.
The slide can, however, be locked
back manually.
Marvel offers his conversion with
two different tops, one with iron
sights and the other with a Weaver
compatible rib for optical sights.
Both are screwed directly into the top
of the heavy barrel. I started my evaluation with the iron sights in place.
The rear sight is fully click-adjustable
for windage and elevation, and the
front sight is of post style. Together
they present a sharp, precise sight
picture.
The conversion unit does not show
32 December 2000 GUNGAMES
the ammunition sensitivity that I had
become accustomed to with other
units. Thanks to its lightweight aluminum slide the Marvel will digest
target and standard velocity ammunition. The instructions warned
against using hyper-velocity ammo
,though I couldn’t resist firing some
groups with both CCI’s Stinger and
the new Aguila Super Maximum.
Groups fired with iron sights averaged from just over 1” to 2.25”. I was
impressed! I was also impressed with
the unit’s reliability. Regardless of
what ammunition I fired through the
gun I didn’t have one stoppage or
failure.
I’m not a big fan of optics on pistols. In fact, I never went the Open
route in IPSC because I just couldn’t
stand the thought of ruining the
gun’s lines by mounting a red dot on
it. But I had a hunch about the Marvel and purchased a used Simmons
2.5 x 7 handgun scope.
Switching from iron sights to
scope is as easy as removing the allen
screws on top of the sight rib and
replacing it with the Weaver rail.
After attaching the scope it was off to
the range for sighting in.
I immediately found out that if I
had the scope dialed up to seven
power my heart beat made the
crosshairs dance like the trained
chicken at the county fair. I fired all
of my groups with the scope set on
four power. Using Remington’s
Cyclone ammo I fired five shots and
walked downrange to examine a
group that measured just one-half of
an inch. Did I say that I was
impressed?
I went back through my records for
the iron sights and picked the ammunition that was most accurate, and
reshot groups with the scoped conversion. CCI’s Green Tag target-grade
ammo accounted for a 25-yard, fiveshot group that measured just .27”
center to center. I was amazed! I guess
I really shouldn’t have been surprised
after seeing all of those tiny groups at
the SHOT Show. Bob Marvel tells me
that with Eley-match grade ammo he
can shoot one-quarter inch groups all
AMMUNITION
WT
VEL
IRON
SIGHT
GROUP
SCOPE
GROUP
AGUILA SUPER MAX
CCI STINGER
CCI BLAZER
CCI GREEN TAG
REMINGTON CYCLONE
REMINGTON HIGH-VELOCITY
REMINGTON YELLOW JACKET
FEDERAL CLASSIC
WINCHESTER SUPER X
PMC TARGET 22
30
32
40
40
36
36
33
36
40
40
1355
1372
1111
939
1092
1053
1241
1108
1109
945
2.25”
1.03”
1.23”
1.34”
1.06”
1.32”
1.34”
1.20”
1.17”
1.47”
1.19”
.41”
.59”
.27”
.67”
.79”
.71”
.44”
.55”
.93”
All groups were fired at 25 yards utilizing a Millett BenchMaster for support. The best five-shot group is listed.
Group size is measured in inches and velocity in feet per second.
day at 25 yards with the gun locked
in a Ransom rest. Above is a table
representing groups fired with both
iron sights and the scope.
After firing over 500 rounds
through the Marvel conversion without one single malfunction, I’d have
to say that it is the most reliable conversion that I am aware of. As far as
the accuracy is concerned, it is too
good to be true! While you might pay
a little bit more for a Marvel conversion you’re getting a whole lot more
for the money. You can make one of
these precision instruments yours for
just $335 when supplied with the
scope mount, or $355 with the iron
sights. For more information on the
Marvel Conversion give Bob a call at
(800) 295-1987 or check out his web
site at www.marvelprod.com.