Nelson Review

First topic message reminder :

I received my new Nelson conversion today. The waiting period was twelve weeks and four days.

Up until now my experience with conversions has been with a Marvel unit one. It's been on every 1911 frame I own and has been splendid on all. I decided to build a dedicated lower and picked up a Foster frame and other parts at Perry. It was such a fun project and turned out so well that I just had to have a new upper fit it. Hence the Nelson. 

The first thing I noticed when unpacking it was the weight. Due to the steel top rail it's noticeably heavier than the Marvel. The slide is also wider with thicker side rails. I like this as I've had two cracked slides on the Marvel over the years. 

While waiting for the Nelson I had been running the Marvel on my new frame. It ran flawlessly as usual. When I mounted the Nelson it was extremely tight on the rails. I'd had the frame Cerakoted and this was enough thickness to cause the Nelson slide to bind. I wrapped one of my trigger stones with 400 grit paper and carefully polished the Cerakote off the sides of the frame rails. This resulted in a beautifully snug and smooth running slide. 

Next I had to change out the raised mag catch that I had been using for the Marvel. This was no surprise as I had read here that this wasn't needed for a Nelson. 

I mounted an ultra dot and sighted it in with CCI SV. I had a couple failures to pick up the next round in the magazine so I then switched to the extra 8 lb. spring that Nelson thoughtfully included with the unit. After that it worked perfectly. 

I then shot two 25 yard NMC's. The first a 284 and the second a 291. Very good start with a new gun!

I'm extremely happy with this new unit. The weight is perfect. No muzzle weight needed. It feels exactly the same as my 45 when loaded with a 5 round magazine. I'm anxious to shoot matches with it. 

I don't mean this to put down Marvel Precision in any way. I've enjoyed my Marvel and have received great support from the company when I've had problems. The small problems I've had with it are the results of normal wear. I hate to think about how many dollars worth of SV have gone through it!

Jim

I've never seen anyone adjust the rest on a herrett Nationals grip all the way down before. Goodness!

I am now shooting slabs. But when I was shooting Herretts I would use a grip spacer the Medium size they work great. Trimming the mags is ok but the spacers work great.

Larry Nelson watches this site and he sent me a PM about my MCP problem...within an hour of my post!  I spoke with Larry and the issue is most likely the mag catch it too high.  Since the RO works fine I will switch mag releases to confirm and will report back.  Larry also gave me a lot of useful info about main spring strength, firing pins and springs, etc.  

Don't you just love it when folks who make neat stuff actually write and call you!  Five stars (out of five) for Nelson Conversions.   

Dave

Mr Nelson, if you are watching this page, would you please pm me. Thank you.

Jwhelan939 wrote:Mr Nelson, if you are watching this page, would you please pm me. Thank you.

You could call or email him.

Mr Nelson already responded. Thank you.

Not in any order:

JKR.  Thanks

Wobbley.  Guilty

Tim:H11.  Now you know why the slots are so long.

rich.tullo.  Spacers would work for Herrett Nationals like you said but not for Nills.




Tim:H11. It would be nice if the slot was a little longer

Ordered my conversion yesterday. Guess I will be waiting. After all the positive reviews, It won't be easy.

LenV wrote:Not in any order:

JKR.  Thanks

Wobbley.  Guilty

Tim:H11.  Now you know why the slots are so long.

rich.tullo.  Spacers would work for Herrett Nationals like you said but not for Nills.




Tim:H11. It would be nice if the slot was a little longer
L

Len you should of been a MMA fighter with those meat hooks

Len... I'm at a loss for words.....

L

Chris MiceliL wrote:Len you should of been a MMA fighter with those meat hooks

Manslaughter isn't allowed in that sport.

I remember one time in the early 80s there was a guy on the Army team.  Made an M14 look like a toothpick.  He was a big man.

I know this is a Nelson review but we are enough off track I can mention this. I think I will name my Nelson "Mr Potato Head" They certainly lend themselves to a lot of tinkering/playing/modifications. I have finally settled on the final configuration (maybe). The long mounting surface for a scope lets you mount whatever you want up there. This is the fourth way I've set it up and has the best balance and fit. YMMV

Wobbley wrote:I remember one time in the early 80s there was a guy on the Army team.  Made an M14 look like a toothpick.  He was a big man.

Did he score well on the 49 and 24 yard lines?

Jon Eulette wrote:I trim the mags in my milling machine
Jon

Yep, 3/4" did it .