Saturday, December 29, 2007

Hello from Austria!

Norway is not the only nation in Europe where Grizzlies roar!

I was hooked on the Grizzly pistol in 2005 shortly before www.grizzlypistol.com went offline. After I had bought my own (in 45 WM and 45 ACP) , I was able to get some spare parts and a 357 mag conversion unit from the most trustworthy JD from Texas. Thanks Jim should you ever read this! But as time goes by and ammunition is not getting cheaper I looked around for an inexpensive caliber.... But looking at the Grizzly there is none....

After looking through innumerable websites and after losing all hope I found something that startled me. There in the price list of an arms dealer I read: Conversion unit for Grizzly Mk I 9mm Para. Complete with slide. Exactly what I was looking for, so I acted at once. I tried to contact via email. The response was not very satisfying ("we have it in storage but dunno where, no photos etc"). I tried to contact via phone (some of the helpers I talked to did not seem to know what I was talking about and the boss was always absent). That was mid 2007. When I told Cam about this find he said he would be interested in getting more infos about it. As for now I have been able to recontact the gun dealer and buy one of the conversion units.
I await it within the next week or so. I will certainly post some info and pics about it once I hold it in my hands. That is it for now and I hope I did not bore you too much with my story.

But I do have a question: As there will only be one magazine shipped with the conversion unit, and replacements are almost non existant if at all I want to give it a try and craft one myself. To avoid buying wrong equipment please tell me if a standard 9mm colt style mag can be inserted into the Grizzly? Is it the same width? Is the hole for the magazine catch at the right place? Would it be possible to use it by adding lenth to it at the backside? Any help with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Ulrich

2 comments:

Cam Stewart said...

Ulrich,

Good to hear from you! I can't wait to see your pictures of the conversion once you get it. As for the magazine question?? I really don't know? We could always buy a standard 1911 9mm magazine and guve it a try...

Let me know when you have pics of your Grizzly with the new conversion installed.

Cam

tylergnut said...

A standard 9m/m Colt type mag should work - just get 1. Put it in the weapon and see if it snaps in-I would cycle a dummy roundto make sure it would fit. If it works take a caliper to the .45 Win mag measure the width and then do the 9/mm mag. If you can disassemble the 9m/m mag if it works. I would use some aircraft aluminum to add to the width required. When it is perfect drill, tap, loctite and use a dremel tool inside the mag if you have burrs.....