In the 1960s the Buenos Aires police replaced its service caliber .45 pistols with 9mm Browning Hi Power pistols. At that time they transferred most of their .45 caliber pistols (Ballester Molina & 1927 Sistema) to other Argentine provincial police. The remaining .45’s were converted to .22 LR for use as training pistols. The conversions were done by two companies, Establecimientos Venturini SA and Industrias Marcati SCA. My Ballester Molina was converted by Marcati. Both companies use the floating chamber method the same as Colt did for the ACE .22 LR 1911 conversion. The main difference in the two conversions was Marcati installed a fixed ejector to the frame and Venturini used a raised section on the rear of the magazine as the ejector. That difference in how the conversion was accomplished is why the magazines aren’t interchangeable.
1 Like
Just wanted to say I can’t contribute to most of the threads about classics you post, but I very much enjoy seeing your collection and learning the history behind them.
1 Like
Thank you Sir. I’m glad you get enjoyment from my post.
another great post.
1 Like