I see a lot of Paras in .40 in my fave shoppe. Though I don't mind .40s these days (used to not care for the caliber), I still prefer the versatility of the 10. Has anyone rebarrelled a Para to 10? Will the mags work? I already have a 10mm chamber reamer that I could use on the factory barrel. Anyone done it or heard of it? Are Paras worth the trouble? I have heard good things and bad about them.
Anyone reamed a Para .40 to 10mm?
- Thread starter AndABeer
- Start date
I know of no one who has tried this switch.
Probable reason = the 10mm is no 40S&W.
Suggest contacting Dawson ( http://www.dawsonprecision.com ) for more discussion of feasibility.
Probable reason = the 10mm is no 40S&W.
Suggest contacting Dawson ( http://www.dawsonprecision.com ) for more discussion of feasibility.
I have a friend of mine that converted from .40 to 10mm. He could not get the 40 round to feed! The 40 round would not feed into chamber. They either would nose dive in the mag. Or they would hang up on the feed ramp. So he sent the pistol to get the feed ramp polished. And still the pistol would not feed. After he did some studying/reading on the Para. He found out that they had made the mags longer. They had used the 10mm round for the mag sizing/lenght. He also was told by a couple of different people. That he need to reload the 40 ammo longer than sami spec. So that it would prevent the rounds from moving in the mag. So he reload all of his .40 with a longer settings. And then finnally the gun would feed and function. But the 40 ammo he had loaded. Would not work in any other of his pistols. Because the rounds where too long to fit any of his other mags. Because the barrel is stainless, he decided to just buy a 10mm reemer from Brownell's. He then reemed the Para to 10mm by hand. After reeming the barrel,he also had to play with feed ramp and breech to get it to feed. But now the gun does work.
Reaming is fine as the magazines feed better with the longer cartridge. You will be better served with a modified ejector and be very careful about ejecting a loaded round. 10 mm uses a large primer while 40 is small and it doesn't take much to accidently hit the primer on the 10. While you are at it, get a new extractor and get a good one. The recoil and firing pin springs also need swapping. Go good and buy Wilson/Wolff or better.
I have a fairly new .40 cal barrel in my SVI that I had to replace because the headspace was cut too deep. Otherwise, it's a perfectly good barrel fitted to the gun. I am thinking about having it reamed to a 10mm length. I load my .40 cal bullets to nearly 10mm length anyway and they feed just fine. According to my gunsmith, who replaced the barrel, there is no reason that a .40 S&W reamed to 10mm will not work in a 1911 pattern gun. The only problem would come from the magazines if you load them too short. Ie: factory length.
"I know of no one who has tried this switch.
Probable reason = the 10mm is no 40S&W."
And thank Gawd for that! Although the later 10mm FBI Lite loads were pretty darned close to the .40 Short & Weak.
Sorry, that probably wasn't a fair assessment, guess my 10mm Delta Elite is showing, heehee!
Probable reason = the 10mm is no 40S&W."
And thank Gawd for that! Although the later 10mm FBI Lite loads were pretty darned close to the .40 Short & Weak.
Sorry, that probably wasn't a fair assessment, guess my 10mm Delta Elite is showing, heehee!
AndABeer,
I do not personally know of anyone that has done such. However, there is no reason why it wouldn't work. Better yet, purchase a match grade barrel from one of the aftermarket manufacturers and drop it in or have it fitted to your slide. Then you would have both. Just remember that you will need to change the recoil spring and firing pin spring as well. Plus the point that Keith J made above is something I hadn't considered. Close examination would be needed to make sure that the design of the ejector could not inadvertently hit the 10mm's larger primer. Replacement with one from something like a Delta Elite might be in order.
I can't say on the .40 mags in the Para as I have never looked closely at the .40 mags. Single stacks would not be a problem as the aftermarket has these available for the 10mm. But the double stacks??????????
Sorry, I know, not much help. Just I have been a fan of the 10mm since the mid 80's and have purchased my weapons already chambered for that round. And while the .40S&W is an alright round I suppose, (better than the 9mm at least) I just have never had any use for the, Castrated 10mm, myself.
As far as a Para being worth it. Well Para has done a good job with their version of the 1911 based guns. Any minor glitches they have demonstrated have been immediately addressed by Para. Plus any competent 1911 gunsmith can tune them to function and shoot real sweet!!
If you can be patient, Rumor has it that Para-Ord is adding the 10mm to their line-up this year. I know I am looking forward to it!
Till then I will remain happy with the Delta Elite, Springfield Omega and Glock I currently shoot.
Gewehr98,
The .40 Short&Weak!!!!!!!!!!
I love it! 
__________________
Keep It In The 10 Ring,
Michael
"We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't."
I do not personally know of anyone that has done such. However, there is no reason why it wouldn't work. Better yet, purchase a match grade barrel from one of the aftermarket manufacturers and drop it in or have it fitted to your slide. Then you would have both. Just remember that you will need to change the recoil spring and firing pin spring as well. Plus the point that Keith J made above is something I hadn't considered. Close examination would be needed to make sure that the design of the ejector could not inadvertently hit the 10mm's larger primer. Replacement with one from something like a Delta Elite might be in order.
I can't say on the .40 mags in the Para as I have never looked closely at the .40 mags. Single stacks would not be a problem as the aftermarket has these available for the 10mm. But the double stacks??????????
Sorry, I know, not much help. Just I have been a fan of the 10mm since the mid 80's and have purchased my weapons already chambered for that round. And while the .40S&W is an alright round I suppose, (better than the 9mm at least) I just have never had any use for the, Castrated 10mm, myself.
As far as a Para being worth it. Well Para has done a good job with their version of the 1911 based guns. Any minor glitches they have demonstrated have been immediately addressed by Para. Plus any competent 1911 gunsmith can tune them to function and shoot real sweet!!
If you can be patient, Rumor has it that Para-Ord is adding the 10mm to their line-up this year. I know I am looking forward to it!
Till then I will remain happy with the Delta Elite, Springfield Omega and Glock I currently shoot.
Gewehr98,
The .40 Short&Weak!!!!!!!!!!
__________________
Keep It In The 10 Ring,
Michael
"We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't."