Convert-a-Pell

[teamnelson]

Anybody tried it? It's a conversion for revolvers and pistols that allows you to shoot pellets using a primer only in your firearm. I'm curious as that might be a light versatile extra for a primary handgun.

[Victor3]

 I have one I got for my GP-100. Bought it directly from the inventor about 20 years ago at a gun show. Not accurate at all.  I modified it to fit a longer pellet hoping for better but to no avail. Tried to modify the throat so pellets wouldn't enter the bbl crooked, but no luck there either.

 Here it sits, languishing in a drawer of my parts bin...

[Swampman]

I'd like to have one of those tubes for my Handi Rifle.

[Couger]

I have one I got for my GP-100. Bought it directly from the inventor about 20 years ago at a gun show. Not accurate at all.  I modified it to fit a longer pellet hoping for better but to no avail. Tried to modify the throat so pellets wouldn't enter the bbl crooked, but no luck there either.

Sorry to hear the Convert-a-pell is a bust, but what I'd half expected if I ever tried one too.

What about trying a solid lead .177 cal ball?  Check with your dealer to see if he stocks them with the pellets.

Swampman:  Try looking at Ace McDube's site for his chamber adapters, but also his bore liners.  Check out McAce Sports out of Anchorage AK.

[teamnelson]

I've got 3 of the mcace adapters in stainless and I love 'em! But a pellet conversion ... how bout a converter that used .24 shot and a primer, then you could cast.

[Couger]

TN,  I think the theory is sound, but not if the current set-up operates at too low of pressure.  If somehow the primers were equivalent to a few grains or more of gun powder, then maybe you'd be onto something.  If somehow such a device was powered by shotshell primers, wouldn't that be a big improvement?  However I'd want something in .19 or .20 caliber instead of .17.

BTW, .... "T" size shot is .20 cal  ("BBB" is .19)

"TT" is .21 cal

"F" is .22 cal

"FF" is .23 cal

#4B is .24 cal,  #3B is .25 cal  and #2B is .27 cal

Compared to molds that allow the casting of split-shot sinkers -- versus "cavity" molds for casting buck shot, it would be interesting to see how small of a sphere could actually be "cast" versus "swaged?"

I could see casting buckshot out of near-pure lead, even with their sprue "scars" --  then tumbling them in a rotary tumbler (rock polisher) to help "finish" them. 

When I've opened boxes of lead balls from Hornady or Speer (for percussion pistols), that's precisely what I thought I was seeing.   

[Couger]

I've got 3 of the mcace adapters in stainless and I love 'em! ......

TN, could you PLEASE give more details about your adapters?  (cartridge to cartridge?  load that you use?,  etc.,  etc.)



I had 3X adapters for shooting .30C in the .308 Win, but wasn't totally happy with it and sold those adapters.  I'll replace them with .32 H&R (.327Mag?) adapters, but will try one in stainless steel first.

What prompted me to "kabosh" the .30C adapters for .327Mag adapters is the "rim" that new cartridge has as well the staight (versus tapered .30C) case.

[teamnelson]

Couger, well the three I have now are all adapters to fire pistol ammo in a shotgun; I've got .38/.357 for 20 and 12ga, and a .44 for 12ga. They chamber and fire in my Ithaca 37 clone just fine; adapter ejects like a spent casing. They're 3" adapters but rifled so I only get snubby performance. I've not done any formal testing as I've only been handloading a few months now, but factory loads all fired, and hit paper plate sized targets at 10yds or so. I keep a .357 158gr jhp in the buttcuff of my bedside singleshot stevens 12ga. I extract the case from the adapter with a pencil so its not for rapid reloading, but its nice to have a downloaded option. Ace offers 10" and 18" options in darn near everything for .410, 20 and 12.

I used to have the adapter to fire .22LR in a .223 chamber; used it on an Encore pistol, so it had to have the button to convert the center pin to rim. Didn't care for that as much; I think the stainless for a contender where you'd just use the firing pin selector would be simpler.

[Victor3]

... how bout a converter that used .24 shot and a primer, then you could cast.

 Problem with a heavier projectile is you need some poop to get it moving. The large pistol primers the convert-a-pell use don't even get a .177 pellet going that fast. I never put one across the chrono, but I'd estimate they're doing less than 500 fps.

 Going to a 209 primer would help, but the barrel sleeve is held in place by the friction of O-rings. Even with the standard kit in .177, the barrel moves out a little after every shot and has to be pushed back into place.

 I could modify my shell adapters to have the pellet seat against the primer (as designed, the pellet sits at the front end). This would give it a supported run up to the barrel at the cylinder gap and accuracy/velocity would be better. Problem with that is the increased pressure might blow the pellet skirt out, and any leading inside the adapter would be hard to remove.

 Those problems might be fixed by using a ball instead of a pellet, but then you've gotta think about the ball not seating securely and rolling away from the primer.

 In other words, I don't think the thing is worth messing with...

 I have what I believe to be a better alternative I designed years back but never made - A .25 cal rifled airgun barrel blank could easily be machined into shell adapters similar to the ones provided with the convert-a-pell kit. Hornady #3 buck shot is .250" +/- .002" diameter, very spherical, and engraves perfectly when pushed into a 25 cal airgun barrel. With a 209 primer behind it you would have something fairly accurate and powerful at close range without need of a separate barrel sleeve. The ball would stay put because it's stuffed tight into the rifling upon loading from the breech end. The bore in the shell adapters would be straight through with no flash hole; a 209 primer is .250" diameter. That would make for easy cleaning.

 Another 'survival' advantage to the above would be the ability to add a pinch of whatever powder you happened to have handy. The basic design could be adapted to just about any cartrige profile over 35 cal for any handgun, rifle or shotgun.

[Badnews Bob]

I modified a .22 hornet case to take shotgun 209 primers, It work pretty well with .22 cal pellets and will punch thru both sides of an old camper shell laying about 75 yards behind my house. Accurate enuff to drop a few stray starlings that got to close to the house.

I just drilled the case out enuff to seat the primer and then filed the rim down some so it would chamber in my NEF.

BTW I tried it with a .223 but it didn't work out so well.

[jbtazgrabber]

i had a 22 cal.barrel put in my extra h and r  breech plug ...the barrel was 10 inchs long put a primer in after puting in pellet.....was quiet was accurate....but no power......wouldnt go through 1/8 in board.....plus only special pellets to shoot    . the primer would melt the pellet.before it cleard the barrel  the steal pellets worked ok but are 10 bucks for 50......if you can find them ....its getting warmer ill try to play with it again soon   i thought it was a good idea till i got it made...ablack powder gun and pellet gun with the change of the breech plug...........its still in the working out the bugs stage........jb