[telackey]

There seems a (re)surging trend in placing some very powerful cartridges in the 1911 platform. (.45 & .40 Super, .45SMC, and .38 Casull are all recent concoctions, 10mm and 9x23mm a bit older.)

I wondered, what effect this has on gunlife. Will, for example, a 9x23mm gun, properly built, last as long as a .45 of the same quality of fit?

A 10mm as long a 9x23?

 

[Biathlonman]

I would like to take this a step further if I may. I have a S&W 940 that I have been planning on having Dane convert whenever I get the money, but have heard many times that the 9x23 has been known to wear out a barrel of a 1911.

Will the little j-frame stand up to the abuse of this hot round? Any way to prolong the life if the conversion is done?

 

[Dane Burns]

Any way to prolong the life if the conversion is done?

Sure, shoot 9mm Largo or mild 9mm rounds. And no a j frame isn't going to last forever with factory 9x23 Win. ammo. Think of it as a nitro fueled funny car with full house loads. Goes fast but life cycle is short :grin:

 

[jaydee]

On 2001-06-13 14:10, Dane Burns wrote:
Think of it as a nitro fueled funny car with full house loads. Goes fast but life cycle is short :grin:

Heheheheee... Okay, so full house 9x23 loads are 4 second flop-tops, I am guessing the Largo is a like stock Z28, and the factory 9x23 are like the Pro Stock Door-Slammers, what would a Yugo be? :grin:

 

[VictorLouis]

Is there a serious answer to this question? Are 9x23 users experiencing breakages or wear to any significant extent more than with a standard .45 platform? Is a properly converted gun capable of 10K-25K-50K rounds?

 

[Dane Burns]

A 9x23 built correctly and using the right springs will last as long as any 1911. The bore however, because of the increase in speed and pressure will not. 50K is a lot of jacketed ammo. You will need a new barrel by then to keep the gun as accurate as it started.

 

[VictorLouis]

Well, that answers that.:smile: Thanks, Dane.

 

[jm10mm]

Life is always full of trade offs. Good thing they still make barrels. If you shoot hot stuff in any caliber your going to wear the bore out. Just practice with the light stuff and save the heavy stuff for serious matters.

 

[Dane Burns]

"Hot stuff" is subjective. A 9x23 factory load will generally do 1500 fps. Factory +P in 45 is lucky to hit 1000fps. Heat is what burns out barrels. Velocity and powder stack is what makes the heat.

Pretty easy to figure out the ratio here.

Jacketed ammo is harder on the guns than lead. Easy to do 50K in lead through a 45 and have a great barrel. Also easy to shoot 25K of ball in a hurry and trash the same barrel.

Shoot a 160 PF 135 gr. lead in a 9x23 and it will last almost forever. Shoot 125 Winchester Silvertips and it won't.