diff --git a/base/range.jl b/base/range.jl
index 75ed0e2fec1a7..33c345acfcbd0 100644
--- a/base/range.jl
+++ b/base/range.jl
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ immutable UnitRange{T<:Real} <: OrdinalRange{T,Int}
     start::T
     stop::T
 
-    UnitRange(start, stop) = new(start, ifelse(stop >= start, stop, start-one(stop-start)))
+    UnitRange(start, stop) =
+        new(start, ifelse(stop >= start, stop, convert(T,start-one(stop-start))))
 end
 UnitRange{T<:Real}(start::T, stop::T) = UnitRange{T}(start, stop)