With all of the .22 shooting I do, I have yet to purchase a .22 pistol… until now!
It is interesting because I would consider myself a fairly proficient rifle shooter who needs a lot of work on handgun accuracy and consistency. While I love my Glock and other larger bore handguns, I just don’t shoot them as often because of the higher ammo cost. Having a .22 pistol is perfect for practicing and reinforcing the fundamentals of marksmanship.
The Chiappa Model 1911-22 is a dedicated .22 handgun based off the traditional 1911 platform. Externally, it is nearly identical to its .45 cal relative. Magazine and slide release, safety, look and feel, even weight are all about as close to a 1911 as you can get without shooting the real thing (other than recoil of course).
Therefore, I think it makes a great training tool for a “true” 1911. As I continually preach, you can shoot .22 for a fraction of the cost of .45 which prolongs shooting time and keeps ammo costs down.
You will notice a couple failure experienced during this test session. This was literally my first time taking the gun out of he box and shooting it so I would attribute the majority of the issues experienced to ammo related failure and the gun needing some break-in time. The manual specifies 50-100 rounds before consistent reliability can be expected. Also, I mentioned that I was going to use CCI mini-mags toward the beginning of this video but ended up sticking with the bulk Federal ammo since I was in the process of breaking the gun in.
All in all, this gun comes highly recommended for anyone looking for the 1911 experience without breaking the bank on ammo. It also makes a great plinker for practicing handgun fundamentals.
[Special thanks to DangerCL0SE for this video]