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Webleymkv · April 1, 2024, 12:15 PM

I just checked the magazines from my CZ-52 against all the large-frame, single-stack pistols that I have access to which include two 1911's (a S&W and a Springfield), a Ruger P90, and a S&W 1076 and the CZ's magazines were too long front-to-back to fit in the mag well of any of them. I don't know if perhaps the magazine from a TT-30/33 or Zastava M57 might be short enough to fit, but I rather doubt it as, when loaded with S&B factory 85 gr FMJ there isn't much extra room in my CZ's magazine. I suspect that in order to make such a conversion work, you'd have to have a 1911 with different mag well dimensions in order to fit a magazine that would work reliably. Perhaps a Coonan frame might work as .357 Magnum has an OAL of 1.59" which is longer than the 7.62x25's, but as I understand it the Coonan magazines stack the cartridges at an upward angle to address both the long OAL of .357 Magnum and the rimmed case, so it still might not be long enough (I don't have access to a Coonan having never seen one in person, so I don't know).

It seems to me that, if you have a 1911 frame with a large enough mag well to accept it, the easiest way to make this conversion work would be to modify the magazine from an existing 7.62x25 pistol like a Zastava M57, TT-30/33, or CZ-52 to work in the 1911. If, however, you're wanting to convert a standard 1911 frame that you already have, I think it's doubtful that you'll be able to get it to run reliably unless you're willing to handload ammunition to a shorter OAL specifically for this gun by deep-seating the bullets and/or using lighter bullets.

Honestly, I like 7.62x25 as much as anyone and more than most (my CZ-52 was my first handgun) and I think it would make a dandy service pistol cartridge if loaded with modern bullets. However, given the availability of factory ammunition available for it and the guns chambered in it, my interest in the cartridge is more mechanical curiosity and historical value than practicality. If you want a 7.62x25 1911 just for the "something different" factor, I get that, but for any other purpose I think it would be a lot easier and more cost effective to simply buy an existing gun in 7.62x25 or a 1911 in a different caliber.

April 1, 2024, 12:15 PM	#13
Webleymkv Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 10,470	I just checked the magazines from my CZ-52 against all the large-frame, single-stack pistols that I have access to which include two 1911's (a S&W and a Springfield), a Ruger P90, and a S&W 1076 and the CZ's magazines were too long front-to-back to fit in the mag well of any of them. I don't know if perhaps the magazine from a TT-30/33 or Zastava M57 might be short enough to fit, but I rather doubt it as, when loaded with S&B factory 85 gr FMJ there isn't much extra room in my CZ's magazine. I suspect that in order to make such a conversion work, you'd have to have a 1911 with different mag well dimensions in order to fit a magazine that would work reliably. Perhaps a Coonan frame might work as .357 Magnum has an OAL of 1.59" which is longer than the 7.62x25's, but as I understand it the Coonan magazines stack the cartridges at an upward angle to address both the long OAL of .357 Magnum and the rimmed case, so it still might not be long enough (I don't have access to a Coonan having never seen one in person, so I don't know). It seems to me that, if you have a 1911 frame with a large enough mag well to accept it, the easiest way to make this conversion work would be to modify the magazine from an existing 7.62x25 pistol like a Zastava M57, TT-30/33, or CZ-52 to work in the 1911. If, however, you're wanting to convert a standard 1911 frame that you already have, I think it's doubtful that you'll be able to get it to run reliably unless you're willing to handload ammunition to a shorter OAL specifically for this gun by deep-seating the bullets and/or using lighter bullets. Honestly, I like 7.62x25 as much as anyone and more than most (my CZ-52 was my first handgun) and I think it would make a dandy service pistol cartridge if loaded with modern bullets. However, given the availability of factory ammunition available for it and the guns chambered in it, my interest in the cartridge is more mechanical curiosity and historical value than practicality. If you want a 7.62x25 1911 just for the "something different" factor, I get that, but for any other purpose I think it would be a lot easier and more cost effective to simply buy an existing gun in 7.62x25 or a 1911 in a different caliber.