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Iver Johnson 1911A1 Carbine

The Iver Johnson 1911A1 Carbine is a new rifle that appears to mate a 1911 pistol to a AR-style rifle.  It is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge and looks like it retains all of the normal 1911 controls, grip safety and more.

Iver Johnson 1911A1 carbine

The gun has a M4-style stock.  Additionally, it looks to have a removable carry handle, removable front sight and a single Picatinny rail on the top of the rifle upper.  From the photo, you can see there is a charging handle on the left side of the weapon.  The barrel appears to be about 16″ in length.  Pricing is already listed as $623.95 on some websites.

The same general thing has been tried before with kits that convert various pistols to carbines.  Those kits include the Hera-Arms CPE, SIG Sauer ACP, and the CAA Tactical RONI.  The Iver Johnson 1911A1 Carbine looks like it goes a step farther and makes the unit appear more permanently attached.  Of course, that may not be accurate.

Iver Johnson did not immediately respond to an e-mail inquiry.  When I obtain more information, I will share the details here.

So, what do you think?  Is this something you would buy…or burn with fire?

Update 1:  That Guy from the Rock in a Sea of Chaos blog sent us a link to the MechTech site.  MechTech sells a carbine conversion unit (CCU) for the Glock and 1911 pistols.  The MechTech units look exactly like the new Iver Johnson 1911A1 Carbine.  See the photo below.

MechTech CCU
Image courtesy of MechTech.

I am guessing that Iver Johnson is securing a quantity of the MechTech conversion kits and selling them as assembled units with their 1911 frames.

For comparison, the MechTech 1911 basic unit (no sights or rails) goes for $359.95.  A monorail and M16-style sights will cost you an additional $119.85.  Plus add in the cost of the M4-style stock, and a total price of about $625 for the Iver Johnson doesn’t sound bad at all.  That’s assuming you would like one of these.

Update 2:  I received an e-mail from Iver Johnson about the new carbine.  According to the company, the gun will not come with the M4-style stock, full-length Picatinny rail or sights.  Those items will be sold separately by the company.  Additional details on the gun as provided:

  • Upper unit is U.S. made by Mech-Tech Systems & the lower is an Iver Johnson model 1911A1
  • 16.25” stainless steel barrel chamber in 45acp (other calibers soon to follow)
  • Lower unit is a GI military style frame with GI style parts
  • Overall weight as shown in picture: 8lbs 6ozs
  • Overall length with M-4 collapsible stock: Min. 30.75in & Max. 34.50in
  • Gun includes:
    •  1 8rd. magazine
    • Walnut, large diamond, checkered wood grips with engraved logo
    • Synthetic, sure-grip, ribbed forend
    • Short  6 notch picatinny rail, as pictured below, for mounting optics:

Iver Johnson 1911A1 carbine

  • Sold separately:
    • M4 collapsible stock & stock adapter
    • M16 style adj. frt. sight
    • M16 carry handle adj. rear sight
    • Full length picatinny mounting rail for sight attachments
    • Many other accessories available through Mech-Tech Systems

By Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is a gun writer, amateur historian and - most importantly - a dad. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.

8 replies on “Iver Johnson 1911A1 Carbine”

So how does the barrel rotate? If it doesn’t, then how can they claim that it’s a 1911? Just because of the grip?

Thanks for that link. I had not seen the Mech Tech conversion unit before. Yep, it looks like that conversion kit with one of their 1911 frames.

Still want one of the Mech Tech units, but I don’t want to sacrifice one of my 1911s to run it. This looks like a good compromise.

Good replacement for the much lamented Marlin Camp Carbine.

I like it, have liked the concept since I first saw a Mech-tech, but I wish it were lighter. But that comes from being a blowback I guess.

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