Ground up .22 1911

I'd like to build a dedicated .22 1911 Bullseye gun.
I figured I'd use a Marvel Unit 1 Conversion with scope mount rail for a slide and barrel.

Where should I begin with the frame?
Would I be best served to buy a bare frame and build it from there?
Are built 1911 frames available anywhere for purchase?
Would it be cheeper to buy a low end Springfield 1911 and build from there?
I feel I have enough aptitude to fit and assemble a 1911, but any machine work would be beyond my capabilities.

Any advise, or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Tim

I will be totally honest and possibly blunt...
The Marvel upper is within itself a mechanism to throw the bullet down range and pick up another round to get ready to do the same again with precision.
The lower frame only consists of a grip, trigger and hammer.
IMHO, if the trigger is to your liking and it is set up with the proper springs and adjustments... it will shoot just fine.
No need to go whole hog with this set up.
I have a dedicated SA Milspec tuned with a #1 on it.
Just saying if you can sqeeze the trigger with out disturbing the sights, it is an X.
No need to spend a whole ton of money to do it.
For what it is worth.
Clarence

NewBulls49 wrote:I'd like to build a dedicated .22 1911 Bullseye gun.
I figured I'd use a Marvel Unit 1 Conversion
Where should I begin with the frame?

Thank you,
Tim

Tim,
It has been my observation over the years, that 22 conversions with difficult feeding problems, were the result of cheap, low quality frames... Sloppy mag wells cause erratic positioning of the magazine within the frame, plus all the other ailments attendant to poor feeding..
Buy the best you can afford...
Jerry

I'm building one with a Foster (caspian 2nd) frame. You shouldn't need any machining skills to complete such a build. A cylinder and slide hammer and sear set should work, and the other parts should be pretty standard. You might need to do some fitting if you put on a beavertail grip safety, but you don't need to machine that to fit, just a file and some patience.

Jerry Keefer wrote:

NewBulls49 wrote:I'd like to build a dedicated .22 1911 Bullseye gun.
I figured I'd use a Marvel Unit 1 Conversion
Where should I begin with the frame?

Thank you,
Tim

Tim,
It has been my observation over the years, that 22 conversions with difficult feeding problems, were the result of cheap, low quality frames... Sloppy mag wells cause erratic positioning of the magazine within the frame, plus all the other ailments attendant to poor feeding..
Buy the best you can afford...
Jerry

How much Is involved with fitting the rails of the frame if it is going to be used with a marvel conversion. I am thinking of trying the same thing as it appears easier than building a centerfire 1911 because there is no barrel to fit and the slide is a different set up?

You don't need to fit the slide of the marvel to the new frame. The barrel is fixed to the sights and doesn't move. The slide doesn't have anything to do with accuracy, only function.

Rob Kovach wrote:You don't need to fit the slide of the marvel to the new frame. The barrel is fixed to the sights and doesn't move. The slide doesn't have anything to do with accuracy, only function.

What I had meant to say is, do the rails have to be fitted for the ACTION/MOVEMENT of the marvel slide to fuction. I.E. are Caspian, and the like, frame rails so over sized that the unit 1 slide portion does not fit? I currently have neither, and would like both.

No. Both of my marvel slides glide freely on my Foster/caspian frame without having to do any fitting at all.

Excellent, thanks! Now to find one....

A word of caution. Jerry Keefer mentioned buying the best you can afford. I have used a series 70 that I bought w/ a Kart 10-12 yrs ago. It worked w/ the Kart, a Marvel #1, and an AA22 by Bob Marvel.
I bought a built up Essex being used w/ a Marvel #1 for a backup. I had to do considerable fitting for movement of the slide with the Marvel and again w/ the AA. It's a little fussy w/ the mags for the AA.
Ron

Probably the best thing that can be done to help a dedicated lower work is an EGW hight magazine catch / release. It will position the magazine higher in the receiver and give a bit more of a straight line feeding to assist with the 22.
That is what I have found to work on a new dedicated lower as well as a complete pistol that is having feeding problems.

kc.crawford.7 wrote:Probably the best thing that can be done to help a dedicated lower work is an EGW hight magazine catch / release. It will position the magazine higher in the receiver and give a bit more of a straight line feeding to assist with the 22.
That is what I have found to work on a new dedicated lower as well as a complete pistol that is having feeding problems.

My AA by Bob Marvel seems to suffer from the mags being too high. About 10-15% of the time when loading the initial round it drags the 2nd round from the mag along and jams everything up. I use the plastic AA mags, 5 of them. All are the same. I have experimented with #5. Cut the mag spring a few coils and then opened the catch notch to drop the mag lower to no avail. It never does this excepting on the 1st round and I can't isolate it to any individual mag.

Doesn't seem the same as you describe the EGW resolving from your descrip? Any ideas?
Has any one else encountered this problem?
Thanks,
Ron