Lets talk 1911 style .22

OverUnder725

OverUnder725

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I really enjoy my S&W 17-4, which I have been taking out to the silhouette range a lot lately, and that got me thinking I needed a larger caliber like a .357. After shooting 400 rounds last night, I beginning to think I want to try a 1911 style .22 before I go to a larger caliber, maybe I will like this platform better than revolvers?

I would like to look at something that is as close to an actual 1911 for size, weight etc. as possible. I have handled a few 1911's in .45 and liked the way they feel and fit but have never fired one.

So lets hear what you have experienced. Budget would likely be $6-800.00 new or used.
 
A gsg 1911 is a great feeling gun and under your budget at only 399 new. I have picked one up in the last week and I really like it. There are always for sale on the ee and they eat almost any ammo you throw at them.
 
I have the Sig version, and like it a lot, though lately have been having a lot of light strike issues with it. Seems to be a common issue, according to the all knowing google. It does eat federal blue bulk pack with no feed issues, which is nice.
 
I cant say enough good about my gsg 1911.. fun gun to shoot , eats any ammo i feed it with no problems ... highly recommend to anyone
 
putts22 said:
I cant say enough good about my gsg 1911.. fun gun to shoot , eats any ammo i feed it with no problems ... highly recommend to anyone
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Agreed. Have a thousand rounds through my GSG 1911 so far and it has been popular with my nephews and nieces.
 
Another vote for a GSG. I have a couple thousand rounds through mine (which is the SIG version) and I love it. Lots of fun plinking with it and cheap too.
 
And for your 6-800 dollar budget you can buy a lot of extra mags. A good place to get a gsg is the ee or from blue line activities in poco.
 
Of the lot the GSG is the nicest "bang for the buck" option for a 1911 in .22. The ones I've tried shot nice and felt good for handling. No rattles or other issues. Just nicely solid and crisp.

Note that the rimfire 1911's are all going to be a good 6oz or more lighter than the all steel .45 versions. This is because for the slide to operate with the weak recoil impulse of the rimfire round it must be made from some sort of lighter than steel alloy. The GSG, like any of them in this price range, have slides that are made from the zinc/aluminium alloy commonly called "pot metal". But like with most stuff there's good and bad grades. The stuff used in firearms is the better stuff. So don't sweat this aspect of the gun design.
 
Here's a completely different idea. Why not buy the CanAm Norinco 45 deal and a 1911 22 conversion kit. If you sell the ammo you're
going to get the Norinco itself for about $200 and if you don't like it you can always flip it for near $300. Same with the ammo. A .22 1911 conversion will run you maybe $400 so you're still well under your budget and if you like the 45 you've got two guns instead of one plus lots of 45 ammo to shoot.

There are several good 1911 .22 conversions available. I don't know if the Marvel .22 conversions are available in Canada but if they are you are only a 1911 trigger job away from having a target grade 1911 .22 instead of a rimfire pinker.

Just thinking outside the box.
 
I've got the SIG which is a rebranded/painted GSG and I would recommend pause. Maybe go try one. I do like mine and will probably not sell it but there are problems. For one, a semi-auto pistol in 22 is bound to have problems. The round is not designed to generate enough force to cycle a pistol slide, not easily. As such, and for cheapness, all 22 pistols (the lookalikes anyway, not the dedicated 22 designs like the Ruger) have cast aluminum slides. Nothing really wrong with that, it works and lasts but it does feel kinda cheap relative to a good forged steel 45 1911 - so don't expect much carryover in the experience. But the slide is still too heavy for a lot of 22 out there. The rule of the wife beating thumb stick is that if the 22 ammo is cheap, it will probably not cycle properly in your 1911-22 - enjoy stovepipes and fail to feeds. Another problem is that 22 ammo is dirty as hell and the various channels and openings in a 22 semi auto are already tiny, so having a super thick crust build up on them is also going to lead to problems.

All that said though, the kid in the local crappy tire keeps me posted on their next shipment of CCI MiniMags and Stingers, I buy up all that come in, and I have a steady supply of very cheap, high power 22 that the SIG/GSG chomps with glee.

I really want a 617 though. But it would probably not make me get rid of the 1911-22, it's a great semi-auto intro pistol and flinch-eliminator warmup gun.
 
ted_dent said:
Here's a completely different idea. Why not buy the CanAm Norinco 45 deal and a 1911 22 conversion kit. If you sell the ammo you're
going to get the Norinco itself for about $200 and if you don't like it you can always flip it for near $300. Same with the ammo. A .22 1911 conversion will run you maybe $400 so you're still well under your budget and if you like the 45 you've got two guns instead of one plus lots of 45 ammo to shoot.

There are several good 1911 .22 conversions available. I don't know if the Marvel .22 conversions are available in Canada but if they are you are only a 1911 trigger job away from having a target grade 1911 .22 instead of a rimfire pinker.

Just thinking outside the box.
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The Nighthawk conversion that Wanstall's sells is a Marvel design. This is the approach I would take.
 
TheJuggernaut said:
.....The round is not designed to generate enough force to cycle a pistol slide, not easily. ......it will probably not cycle properly in your 1911-22 - enjoy stovepipes and fail to feeds.

Another problem is that 22 ammo is dirty as hell and the various channels and openings in a 22 semi auto are already tiny, so having a super thick crust build up on them is also going to lead to problems.

.....
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There's no doubt that any semi auto .22 is a delicate balance between the slide and recoil spring to the recoil impulse of the round itself. And being a direct blowback style action tuning for accuracy isn't always as obvious as some would think. There are some .22 semis with a reputation for this sort of issue. The Sig Mosquito is one such gun. But you're the first one I've seen that has suggested that the GSG is another. The ones I've shot and seen being used seemed to be pretty reliable even with garden variety ammo.

I've had a couple of "problem" .22 semis that I was able to tune to work with a pretty wide range of ammo just by altering the stock recoil spring or, in one case, winding my own slightly softer spring. But it is a little tricky and can cost the owner a couple of new replacement recoil springs in getting things just right.

And you're right about how dirty .22 ammo is in a semi auto. Because it's direct blowback some of the residual chamber pressure is released back into the gun once the casing leaves the chamber. And that pressure blows back a lot of fouling and even unburned particles of powder. Stripping down a well used .22 semi exposes what looks like sand inside the action. No fear though, it's just that unburned powder. Still, all in all I find that my .22semis need cleaning more frequently than my center fire semis for this reason. Not THAT much more though.
 
I actually found a few threads here and elsewhere on the web with both the GSG and SIG marked guns having trouble cycling cheaper/slower ammo. I find it to be directly proportional to how expensive/powerful the ammo is and how well it will run. I can run 200+ Stingers through it without a single hiccup. Yellowjackets I'll have a few failures here and there. Winchester whitebox fails on every 3rd round. A friend let me try some dirt cheap Federal or something, don't even remember, it wouldn't cycle period. I would have to rack it after every round or smack it back into battery.
 
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