1911 22 Conversions - Kart, Marvel and Nelson

tleddy · Post by **tleddy** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:41 pm

I own a Kart and a couple of Marvel conversions. All will shoot FAR better that I can shoot!!

I do not have a Nelson version.

Can anyone on the forum give me a review of the Nelson and why one should consider purchase of the Nelson? Advantages, disadvantages etc. appreciated.

Tillman

dronning · Post by **dronning** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 9:21 pm

I am currently looking to purchase a Nelson as a backup to my Marvel and will be calling Larry on Monday to ask about accuracy testing. Are there any questions you'd like me to ask?

The Nelson interested me because it is a Bob Marvel design (Pro II I think), the machine work is being done by McMillian Machine (incredible rifle actions) and it seems to be a good value..

Dave

jackh · Post by **jackh** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:29 pm

I have the Nelson conversion. Three actually if you consider that the Nighthawk, and Bob Marvel Custom Pro II are the same.

I also have conversions from Marvel Precision and Advantage Arms. The AA have barrels by Bob Marvel. (The original AA barrels are good as well)

I have seen no practical difference in any of these in the accuracy from my hand. But I fully intend to stay with the Nelson for it's reliability, and support from Larry Nelson.

topclass52 · Post by **topclass52** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:20 pm

+1 on support from Larry Nelson. I purchased a Nelson conversion and had a couple service issues. He called me, we talked, and he said to send him the conversion plus lower, and he would make it all work correctly. You can't ask for more than that.

John C · Post by **John C** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:44 am

My local gun shop has a NIB Advantage Arms 1911 Target .22 conversion for sale for $360. Is it worth it, or should I step up to the Nelson for $435 ($415 plus shipping)?

Thanks,

-John

jackh · Post by **jackh** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 4:40 am

The AA price is nothing to write home about. But it is available.

However I give the edge to Nelson.

Steve at AA has been great for service that is business like, but he has not shown the enthusiasm that Larry does. Also the AA units slide stop insert remains suspect to me. The early stop insert with tiny screws front and back have broken twice on me. Steve at AA took care of both. The newer AA design stop looking like a square plate behind the stop notch seems better but has not been shot a lot so far.

Both AA and Nelson shoot absolutely fine

John C · Post by **John C** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:37 am

Jack;

Thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for.

-John

jabberwo · Post by **jabberwo** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:24 pm

Hi,

If the question over which conversion was better involved mounting and shooting with a red dot, would the answer still be "they're all just as good"? I'm hearing the bullseye enthusiasm of Nelson.

thanks,
Jab

mparker · Post by **mparker** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 5:31 am

jackh wrote:I have the Nelson conversion. Three actually if you consider that the Nighthawk, and Bob Marvel Custom Pro II are the same.

I also have conversions from Marvel Precision and Advantage Arms. The AA have barrels by Bob Marvel. (The original AA barrels are good as well)

I have seen no practical difference in any of these in the accuracy from my hand. But I fully intend to stay with the Nelson for it's reliability, and support from Larry Nelson.

Agree.

I bought a Nelson Custom without the threaded barrel and rail from a guy who never used it. Then I got a second with the threaded barrel and rail from Larry. When I ordered the second one, Larry called me a couple of times and arranged to tweak the headspace for my favorite ammo. We've talked a couple of times since about various things regarding his products too. First rate response and world class service.

Yesterday, Larry read a post on another forum about my custom build for one of the Nelson uppers and the potential for building a matched pair. He sent me a very nice unsolicited PM with some advice and an offer of assistance if needed. Wattaguy! Hard to recommend anything but a Nelson Custom for a 22 conversion.

BTW ... they shoot lights out!

chiltech500 · Post by **chiltech500** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 11:42 am

Gents,

I am looking at my first conversion purchase and do not have unlimited funds.

I have been looking at the Nighthawk site and see $560 for mag and slide/barrel, I think this is a Marvel licensed unit.

I saw a post about Nelson at mid $400 and I see on ebay Advantage Arms kit, GSG, and Kimber "factory" kits, all in the high $200's.

I am new to all this so any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

GOVTMODEL · Post by **GOVTMODEL** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:29 pm

chiltech500 wrote:Gents,

I am looking at my first conversion purchase and do not have unlimited funds.

I have been looking at the Nighthawk site and see $560 for mag and slide/barrel, I think this is a Marvel licensed unit.

I saw a post about Nelson at mid $400 and I see on ebay Advantage Arms kit, GSG, and Kimber "factory" kits, all in the high $200's.

I am new to all this so any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

I'm a volunteer at Camp Perry. Every year I see lots of Marvel conversions. I don't see many, if any, of the others.

Draw your own conclusion-

jackh · Post by **jackh** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:34 pm

Marvel Precision has had a 10-12 year head start over the Nelson conversions. The Nelsons I think will catch up. Both are fine units. But I prefer the Nelson. I could say the same of the Advantage Arms, but I can not trust the stop insert. I am going to shoot the Nelson and AA (Bob Marvel Custom Pro #10) about equally for now. I suspect the AA-BM-CP insert will eventually break. (It is the early design which have broken two times already. Steve at AA did back up the failures)

GunRunner · Post by **GunRunner** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:46 am

I was able to shoot my new nelson this weekend and it is a very nice shooter, I didn't have a dot on it so it was only function testing but it was so much better feeling to me than any of the four original marvel units I have built, cant wait to get it completed and shoot it in a match. I would recommend it highly over marvels current and preceding offerings. Pros; fit, function, looks, weight cons; magazines require the use of a thumb inserted device to load, but nelson furnishes a really nice aluminum one in the kit
.

chiltech500 · Post by **chiltech500** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:27 pm

I'm so glad to hear that review as I just bought a Nelson Kit from a dealer on ebay for $450.

walt k · Post by **walt k** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:50 pm

Just came back from the range trying out my Nelson Conversion kit.
It is mounted on a Springfield (SS) Trophy Match lower. Nothing but malfunctions. Tired all kinds of different ammo that's not the problem.
As far as I can figure it looks as though the mag sits too high and is pushing the ejector up and that is causing the slide to drag and sometimes not go into battery. I plan on opening up the mag notch until the mag sits low enough and clears the ejector. Very odd and disappointing. As anyone had any similar problems? I haven't contacted Nelson yet as I hope this corrects the problem.

Jon Eulette · Post by **Jon Eulette** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:08 pm

Do you have another magazine release you can try in the pistol? I would recommend trying that. The Nelson magazines do set higher into the frame to align the chambering round into feedramp/chamber. It was common to use a .050" higher magazine release on Marvel conversions to improve feeding and reliability. If that doesn't work, I would definately call Larry Nelson; he'll take care of the issue with your unit.

walt k · Post by **walt k** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:22 pm

Thank you for your reply. I considered using a different mag release but I think I actually need one with a lower lip (shelf). I don't know if there is such a animal. I did phone the Nelsons but no reply yet. I think I'm going to modify one mag and see if that works.

chiltech500 · Post by **chiltech500** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:42 am

Please update on how you modify the mag. I am following this with great interest.

Jon Eulette · Post by **Jon Eulette** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:52 am

Spoke with a friend who has had a Nelson Conversion for a couple weeks. He tried it on I believe 5 different frames (Colt, Springfield, Remington Rand, Colt Gold Cup). Worked on all but one (Colt). The dimensioning of the magazine release/catch was the culprit. He's very happy with the unit.

As far as modifying frame or magazine, I believe in modifying magazines; much cheaper than a frame to replace. Also magazine catch could be modified easily in a milling machine to lower the magazine insertion height.

Jon

walt k · Post by **walt k** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:55 pm

Jon Eulette wrote:Spoke with a friend who has had a Nelson Conversion for a couple weeks. He tried it on I believe 5 different frames (Colt, Springfield, Remington Rand, Colt Gold Cup). Worked on all but one (Colt). The dimensioning of the magazine release/catch was the culprit. He's very happy with the unit.

As far as modifying frame or magazine, I believe in modifying magazines; much cheaper than a frame to replace. Also magazine catch could be modified easily in a milling machine to lower the magazine insertion height.

Jon

I believe you are absolutely correct. Mr. Nelson phoned me last night and we discussed the situation. That is exactly what he explained. He stated that 1911 specs are all the same but sometimes not, especially when it pertains to mag releases. He stated that of all the many units he has sold only a very few had this problem and that lowering the mag is the solution. That's what I figured also. I actually ordered a old GI (I hope?) complete mag release from Numrich hoping that this older piece will have a lower shelf and fix the problem. I was thinking about ordering a Dawson Precision release which is advertised having a .010 lower shelf but I'll hold off on that for now. If the GI unit doesn't work but the lowered mag works I'll definitely try and have the present catch shelf machined down. Much better to do this than hacking the notches on all my mags. I will keep everyone who interested posted. Thanks for the replies and help.

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