The New .22 Conversion Kit Is Here!

[Shooter]

Larry, et al

 

Make sure the Actuator knob doesn't rock back and forth too much to wear off the bluing on the cocking slot of your 21. It did on my WH and Savage.... Chuck

 

 

Chuck,

 

I am seeing the same thing. The finish on the top of the receiver under the cocking knob is being rubbed off by the cocking knob. Did you find a fix?

 

 

[First Sergeant]

Shooter,

 

I'm not a fixer per se but Merle sure is. Within two hours of talking at length about the problem he had modified his older kit. He actually came up with the "fix" while we were talking. He sent me his kit to test and I did last night. Although, his kit didn't run as slow as mine, the fix will in no way will rock back and forth or cause any exterior loss of blue. I easily could place a business card between the receiver and the bottom part of the cocking knob (which is now an actuator). Due to the design, it will not make contact with the receiver. Merle called me a short time ago and I am shipping his kit and my bolt to him for the "fix." Once I recieve it I will report and if allowed, will post pictures. I second Deerslayers comment about Merle taking care of problems. He is, unlike someone else who has a kit on the market.

On an earlier post I asked if anyone else had had the same problem but got no response, figured it was only me, which is typical for me. I've seen/shot Knobcreeknut's 21 didn't want his or anyone elses to be a second. Chuck

Edited March 24, 2010 by First Sergeant

[photonance]

Shooter,

 

I'm not a fixer per se but Merle sure is. Within two hours of talking at length about the problem he had modified his older kit. He actually came up with the "fix" while we were talking. He sent me his kit to test and I did last night. Although, his kit didn't run as slow as mine, the fix will in no way will rock back and forth or cause any exterior loss of blue. I easily could place a business card between the receiver and the bottom part of the cocking knob (which is now an actuator). Due to the design, it will not make contact with the receiver. Merle called me a short time ago and I am shipping his kit and my bolt to him for the "fix." Once I recieve it I will report and if allowed, will post pictures. I second Deerslayers comment about Merle taking care of problems. He is, unlike someone else who has a kit on the market.

On an earlier post I asked if anyone else had had the same problem but got no response, figured it was only me, which is typical for me. I've seen/shot Knobcreeknut's 21 didn't want his or anyone elses to be a second. Chuck

 

 

I second that about Merle! He fixed an issue I had with my .22 conversion kit. When I put the bolt in the receiver it fit fine, until you slid the bolt forward. When I slid the bolt forward it would bump the hole in the front of the receiver, cause it to push against the lower, and would bind. I compared the conversion bolt to the .45 bolt, and the conversion bolt was about 1/16th of an inch higher on the bolt nose. I sent my bolt/cocking knob to Merle, and within a few days, he had it fixed and running like a top in his gun. I should get it back in a day or two, so I will be glad to give a range report. Bottom line is this: If you have problems with this .22 kit, customer service will be excellent!!!

 

Rob

 

[just4grins]

I went out and shot my WH with the conversion kit after replacing the extractor (damaged due to a problem with Remington Golden bullets.). What a hoot! Ran well with both CCI mini-mags and Federal bulk-pack. I did notice the issue of wear on the bluing due to the cocking knob. All in all, though, a much cheaper way to turn money into noise, and a lot of fun.

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. Is Merle the only one doing the fix for the bluing wear issue or is it being addressed by Blackdog as well?

 

2. The two heavy recoil springs (there are 2 heavy, one light) in the kit appear to be identical. Did I miss something, or is the intent to give you one spring to trim to suit? I may need to do this since a got three stovepipes in 300 rds, which makes me suspect that my recoil spring is slightly too heavy.

 

I am really happy with Kevin Rich's (Blackdog's) response to my damaged extractor - they sent the replacement promptly when I E-mailed them, and helped with technical advice when I had some fitting issues with the new part. Good folks.

 

[First Sergeant]

When I brought up the damage to my bluing on my guns to Blackdog (phone call and emails) I was refered to Merle. I haven't heard anything else from Blackdog concerning this.

[giantpanda4]

Well, after waiting for all you guys to figure out what the best way to make this thing work <_ i took it out yesterday. tried several types of ammo wolf target match lapua cci mini mag winchester rem thunderbolt federal bulk think that it. with the stiffer spring liked and nothing else. are did not expect them to work well. but worst all was remington damn near would fire so since also had a couple ar15-22s there as well theme.... put in same results. is sh we even stuck new taurus revolver problem.>

 

Otherwise, it was such a riot to hear $.03/shot rather than $.45/shot! The only issue - and I really don't know if I am alone on this one - was we had one round fire out of battery. Winchester, IIRC. It was about 1/4" out, and since my wife was shooting it right handed, I was not as close as if I had been shooting it LH. But I was on the right side watching about 3 feet away and did get quite a blast from it. Most worrysome was if it squibbed the bullet, but the bullet cleared the barrel OK.

 

Still, I am very pleased and need a few more days getting the bugs out, but we got a winner here!

Edited March 29, 2010 by giantpanda4

[OldFalGuy]

Went out to the country where we keep the war wagon to check on thing before the Colorado MG shoot- One 7 degree freeze busted copper water line- ugh

Anyway had a little time while I waited for friend to show up so I sat in my suv and installed the conversion-

Went real easy though the ejector needed a tiny bit of filing.

I took a brick of Aquila SS sub sonic, 100 of green tag competition and 2 boxes of Blazer-

With the shorter spring had problems but I think most was because the ejector was up to far-

Bets were laid the SS wouldn't cycle- Should have bet the national debt- of course I swapped springs etc. and we ran all 500 rounds like a top-

The SS would not eject very hard or far but it ran on FA- The Blazer was much better- The green tag was not too bueno at all-

 

What I learned was to drop the bolt (ride it closed) then and only then to slide in the stick mag otherwise the ejector gets pushed up-

Had a very polite 12 yr old with good weapon discipline shooting most all of it while I observed- He will have video and a story to tell at school tomorrow-

The other (shorter) spring didn't like the SS at all and since that was what I had the most of I swapped it out- Gun ran well and fast on the longer spring-

I only got 2 springs- that is correct right? A third would have been nice to tune to the ammo-

I am going to get some CCI Mini Mags and then test both springs and decide on speed then by a bunch if its available-

This might be my new favorite gun-

I did get a chance to load one of BD's 10/22 drums and it is a dream compared to loading the TSMG .22 stick mags without a thumb helper- Hope they make one cause after 15-20 its pain to load.

Everything all clean and back to original config-

 

One happy camper

 

Mark

[just4grins]

Well, after waiting for all you guys to figure out what the best way to make this thing work <_ i took it out yesterday. tried several types of ammo wolf target match lapua cci mini mag winchester rem thunderbolt federal bulk think that it. with the stiffer spring liked and nothing else. are did not expect them to work well. but worst all was remington damn near would fire so since also had a couple ar15-22s there as well theme.... put in same results. is sh we even stuck new taurus revolver problem.>

 

Otherwise, it was such a riot to hear $.03/shot rather than $.45/shot! The only issue - and I really don't know if I am alone on this one - was we had one round fire out of battery. Winchester, IIRC. It was about 1/4" out, and since my wife was shooting it right handed, I was not as close as if I had been shooting it LH. But I was on the right side watching about 3 feet away and did get quite a blast from it. Most worrysome was if it squibbed the bullet, but the bullet cleared the barrel OK.

 

Still, I am very pleased and need a few more days getting the bugs out, but we got a winner here!

 

I had the Remington Golden bullets fire out of battery, bending the extractor which had to be replaced. My experience parallels yours: CCI and Federal worked well. Did you try the weaker recoil spring or modify your stiff one?

[giantpanda4]

So far I only had one attempt - I used the heaviest spring - as is.

 

[hrt4me]

I received my rimfire conversion kit a month ago, but after reading all these posts, I just do not want to tinker with it.

 

I would like to sell my kit, if anyone is interested; I have not even opened it nor removed it from the package.

 

[OldFalGuy]

Anyone managed to track down who is making the threaded barrel nut???

 

THink it would be a neat addition.

[beechnut]

I received my rimfire conversion kit a month ago, but after reading all these posts, I just do not want to tinker with it.

 

I would like to sell my kit, if anyone is interested; I have not even opened it nor removed it from the package.

 

 

I am interested in your kit. (and I'm local) However, your inbox is full.

 

[hrt4me]

I received my rimfire conversion kit a month ago, but after reading all these posts, I just do not want to tinker with it.

 

I would like to sell my kit, if anyone is interested; I have not even opened it nor removed it from the package.

 

I am interested in your kit. (and I'm local) However, your inbox is full.

 

Sorry, I just saw this response now. I'll empty my inbox and send you a message...

[Tman]

Alright fellas, I finally got a chance to take my kit out yesterday. Wow! This thing rocks! I assembled the kit in my WH 28 and using one of the two supplied springs got to shooting. But it was really slow, like Grease Gun slow. And it would only feed if there were 10 or less rounds in the mag. I tried the other spring. This one felt more robust from the start. Put in a mag and commenced to rip off all 10 rounds. Next is a full mag. After a couple of FTF's that mag was emptied in short order. Much better cyclic rate. No other tweeking was needed. I'm sure that it will get better as the parts burnish themselves and I lube up the kit before I start shooting. Well worth the money!

 

ETA: I was using some old CCI Mini Mags

Edited June 15, 2010 by Tman

[MauserMatt]

Anyone managed to track down who is making the threaded barrel nut???

 

THink it would be a neat addition.

 

+1!

 

Where do you have to go to even order a kit?

Edited June 22, 2010 by MauserMatt

[OldFalGuy]

I think you just need to contact the folks at Black Dog Machine LLC by phone as

I am not sure its available on their website for sale yet- Might be but haven't checked.

 

[MauserMatt]

I think you just need to contact the folks at Black Dog Machine LLC by phone as

I am not sure its available on their website for sale yet- Might be but haven't checked.

 

I emailed them last night and they replied and told me they just created a link on their website to buy the 22 conversion directly from there.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://blackdogmachinellc.net/thompson-kit...mpson-mags.aspx

 

They just need to make a barrel liner that accepts a suppressor and I'd be all over it for my uncle's M1 Thompson....

[OldFalGuy]

Unless I was having funny dreams I recall someone

made a threaded barrel nut for this kit but I will

be dipped in poop if I can find it- Thought I

bookmarked it but have not found it yet.

 

[jim c 351]

I think you just need to contact the folks at Black Dog Machine LLC by phone as

I am not sure its available on their website for sale yet- Might be but haven't checked.

 

I emailed them last night and they replied and told me they just created a link on their website to buy the 22 conversion directly from there.

 

Here's the link:

 

http://blackdogmachinellc.net/thompson-kit...mpson-mags.aspx

 

They just need to make a barrel liner that accepts a suppressor and I'd be all over it for my uncle's M1 Thompson....

 

If I remember correctly, Capt Monty Mendenhall wrote an article in SAR about someone making a threaded barrel nut for thr 22 kit. I'm too lazy to look it up , but I think it was PK or Merle.

Jim C

[wwiifirearms]

I got my kit, but I am still waiting on my M1a1 transfer. As I look at the kit design I am wondering if I am going to have issues because my M1a1 is counter-bored and threaded for a blank-firing-adapter.

 

Anyone tried one in a gun with a BFA?

 

I have another barrel and will likely do more .22 shooting than blanks, so I may just swap barrels. Might also be a simple matter of making a bushing.

 

-wwiifirearms

[Uncle Dudley]

I got my kit, but I am still waiting on my M1a1 transfer. As I look at the kit design I am wondering if I am going to have issues because my M1a1 is counter-bored and threaded for a blank-firing-adapter.

 

Anyone tried one in a gun with a BFA?

 

I have another barrel and will likely do more .22 shooting than blanks, so I may just swap barrels. Might also be a simple matter of making a bushing.

 

-wwiifirearms

 

Here's the barrel nut for the M1 style barrel (no compensator). The diameter looks to be just under .45. You might not need a bushing depending how deep the counter boring is.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/overspray/100_4581.jpg

[beechnut]

I was on the phone with BDM today checking on an order I placed. I asked about the threaded barrel nuts, and he said I was second person to ask him about them today.

 

I would expect as more requests come in, the probability of them becoming available will increase.

[beechnut]

My notes from last night:

 

Kit came with three springs.

1) 11 5/16" long 0.038" wire diam

2) 11 1/4" long 0.038" wire diam

3) 11 3/8" long 0.033" wire diam

 

At first glance I simply assumed the spring length = to the spring strength. I grabbed the medium length one (#1) and went after it. In retrospect it appears that I have two strengths, the thick wire, and thin wire.

 

Strong spring:

First was 200rds of CCI mini mags (40gr solid) with the heavy spring, and had 2 failures. Better than I expected for right out of the box.

 

Next was some Winchester ".22 rimfire xpert HV" 36gr HP, and the action appeared to short stroke. It would eject, but not pick up a new round.

 

Third ammo was Federal Champion 40gr solid. This ammo seemed to have feed issues. I fumbled through 3 mags, each having 2-3 stoppages.

 

Weak Spring:

 

I didn't try any more CCI.

 

The winchester HV ran better, but still had 2 stoppages out of 4 mags. Appearing to be feed issues.

 

Federal ran about the same.

 

Rate of fire was notably slower with the weak spring.

 

Next trip out I should have more mags, more ammo. So I might as well take more springs. I guess I better clean them, color code them and attempt and assigning a relative K to each one to put them in order.

[just4grins]

My notes from last night:

 

Kit came with three springs.

1) 11 5/16" long 0.038" wire diam

2) 11 1/4" long 0.038" wire diam

3) 11 3/8" long 0.033" wire diam

 

At first glance I simply assumed the spring length = to the spring strength. I grabbed the medium length one (#1) and went after it. In retrospect it appears that I have two strengths, the thick wire, and thin wire.

 

Strong spring:

First was 200rds of CCI mini mags (40gr solid) with the heavy spring, and had 2 failures. Better than I expected for right out of the box.

 

Next was some Winchester ".22 rimfire xpert HV" 36gr HP, and the action appeared to short stroke. It would eject, but not pick up a new round.

 

Third ammo was Federal Champion 40gr solid. This ammo seemed to have feed issues. I fumbled through 3 mags, each having 2-3 stoppages.

 

Weak Spring:

 

I didn't try any more CCI.

 

The winchester HV ran better, but still had 2 stoppages out of 4 mags. Appearing to be feed issues.

 

Federal ran about the same.

 

Rate of fire was notably slower with the weak spring.

 

Next trip out I should have more mags, more ammo. So I might as well take more springs. I guess I better clean them, color code them and attempt and assigning a relative K to each one to put them in order.

 

Take a standard Thompson recoil spring and cut it off at 10". It will work better than any of the springs that come in the kit, and the Federal Bulk pack will feed flawlessly. I had similar results to yours, and modified a stock recoil spring after getting advice from Merle (which was good advice, and worked well)