As I mentioned in the past, I have, and like, a Browning 1911-380. Browning also makes a very similar 1911-22. I got curious enough to start looking at part numbers for the two pistols.
I found that the slide assembly, the slide release, and the ejector, have different part numbers. Very simply, I got curious enough to order them.
Today was the first day, since the parts got here, that I have been able to get to the range.
I have an answer! Yes, it works!
I was curious, so I started by only replacing the slide assembly. It worked fine. Out of several magazines fired I had a single failure of the slide to lock back, so there might be something to the 22 slide release having a different part number. However, with only a single failure to lock back, it wasn’t something that I could test in any meaningful way.
One thing I found interesting was that the felt recoil seemed to be similar with both. This could be explained by the 22 being a straight blowback, with a much lighter slide, while the 380 used a locking breech.
In all, I am pleased that it worked.