view. Light, comfortable, and offering exceptional protec- tion, the Edges now have a permanent place in my gear bag. IVER JOHNSON’S 1911 22 LR CONVERSION UNIT I have been an ardent 1911 fan for more years than
I care to admit. When traveling, there is almost always at least one 1911 (usually more) in the war bag or gear boxes in the truck. Depending on the circumstances, destination, and activities planned, there can be as many as “a few” 1911s chambered for different cartridges. On summer varmint hunts, I usually have hauled at least two different 1911s across the country, sometimes three: one for defense (45 or 9mm), one for varmints (17 Mach 2), and one for plinking (22 LR). Prior to my 2011 trip, I obtained one of the new Iver
The Theron 8x42 binocular performed well in the fi eld. The roof prism design makes for a compact package.
Johnson Arms 22 LR Conversion Units which enabled me to travel with only two 1911 frames. The fi rst was a complete pistol in 9mm. The second was actually one 1911 frame which accommodated three different slides at different times; an iron sighted 17 M2 Kimber unit, another Kimber 17 M2 unit with the JPoint optical sight installed, and the IJ 22 LR Conversion unit. The Iver Johnson 22 LR Conversion unit is machined
from an aluminum billet with the front sight being an in- tegral part of the slide. The rear sight is dovetail mounted. The 22 LR Conversion Unit I took west is of the Commander length and has a fi xed rear sight that is drift adjustable for windage. Adjustable sight models also are available as are government model length units. It is recommended by Iver Johnson that their Conver-
The Brownells Pro Series electronic hearing protectors and RE Ranger Edge shooting glasses have earned a permanent place in the author’s gear bag.
sion Units be used on unmodifi ed frames that meet the original Colt specifi cations. I actually tried the IJ Conver- sion unit on four different 1911 frames and it functioned perfectly on three of them. The frame that would not accept the IJ Conversion was from an old, fi rst year production, aluminum Commander and it had an ejector that was too tall; not a big deal, but I did not want to modify it. The other frames were another Commander frame, a 1944 GI Colt frame, and a Kimber rimfi re Target frame; the IJ Con- version functioned perfectly on these. I decided to use the IJ Conversion unit on the Kimber
Rimfi re Target frame that also served as a base for my two 17 M2 top units which simplifi ed logistics some. As anyone who is familiar with the 1911 knows, the swapping out of slide/barrel units takes only minutes and the Iver Johnson Conversion is no exception. The recoil spring and buffer of the IJ unit are captured so nothing can go fl ying off into the bushes when making the swap. Over the thirty-plus days of the 2011 varmint excur-
The Iver Johnson Arms 22 LR Conversion Unit with the four different frames it was tested on. It functioned perfectly on three out of the four frames.
Page 88 Winter 2012
sion the Iver Johnson Conversion Unit had the heck shot out of it. Prior to the trip, I shot the IJ Unit with both Win- chester and Remington bulk 22 LR hollow point bargain ammunition. As mounted on the Kimber frame, the unit shot to the sights (amazingly!) at twenty yards and groups fi red hand-held ran about 2 inches, or just a bit more; good enough for plinking or busting a gopher or two. As it turned out the Conversion unit was not used for shooting any varmints (although it could have been). Mainly the IJ 22 LR Conversion Unit served as the trip plinker since 22 LR ammo is a lot cheaper than 17 Mach 2. Mounted on the Kimber frame the Conversion proved to be reliable in
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