BROWNING 1911 .22 Semi-auto

[MAC USMC]

A few months ago I bought another handgun although I was not really looking for one. I am an old man, own quite a few firearms When I first saw, handled and then shot the .22 Browning 1911 pistol I just had to own it. This gun is a precise scaled down version of the original .45 1911. Everything is precisely the same and it looks terrific. The magazine holds 10 rounds and with one in the spout it makes 11 rounds. Most of this weapon is aircraft grade aluminum except for the barrel, hammer, etc.

I have now shot well over 500 rounds through this little gun without a hiccup. The big surprise is the handling and the accuracy. This was an unexpected bonus. I will not change anything at all since I love this rascal as it is.

BROWNING produces this handgun in various calibers and sizes if you are interested. The price seems to vary a bit from shop to shop. About $450 seems to be the basic price. A little pricey, but to get a miniature 1911 shooter of such quality it was worth it to me.

[Marquand]

I've not had the opportunity to shoot one of these but I've always been interested. MAC USMC, thanks for sharing your opinion. I'm going to take a more serious look at one of these.

If I may ask, where did you find yours?

[Ant45]

Lots to choose from:

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/finder.asp?f1=028B

edit: did not search the roster so I don't know what's available.

[Old4eyes]

I guess the shops in San Diego are a lot cheaper than the Bay Area. Up here I have seen the little beastie priced at around $600. I found the gun too small for my hand but I did admire the quality. I am just not sure it's worth that price.

I cheaped out and went with a GSG 1911. It's full sized but the quality is not anywhere near that of the Browning.

[fritztkatt]

They had the gov and commander flavors at discount gun mart last night when I picked up my g19. Iirc the tag was $600. They are very cute little things, look well built, feel good in the hand, have a decent trigger (if it has scaled trigger parts, then you can tune it to be really nice I suppose), controls work. The finish looked good on the 2 examples I saw.

It does have a mag disconnect, and GI sights. I doubt there is a good selection of target sights for it.

The wife thought it felt good in her hands, better than the smith 317's (I really like the alum/ss 4"!). So that may be on the list to get now. I'm sure I would enjoy shooting it a lot. If it was $450 at discount gun, I probably would've walked out with a dros in hand last night.

OP, what shop did you see these for 450?

[FresnoRob]

On my I want one list. Figured I could use one for steel challenge matches.
Thanks for the review.

[Ezekiel2000]

Fine little pistols for sure. Everything on them is exactly 80% the size of a real 1911. Does great for steel challenge and just all around fun to shoot. I have never seen them for $450. Bought mine for $550 before tax/dros

[ojisan]

Another yes vote for this great gun.
Just a bit pricey but well worth it.
Shoots and works great.
No problems, internal clean-up or mods needed at all.
Turner's had them on sale for $499 when I bought mine.

[mafbloggerdanny]

I have the A1 version. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for one to search a little harder and find one of the Black Label models as they have upgraded sights. In my opinion the stock sights are the worst part about the Browning 1911-22. They are just too small and crappy at 80%.

Also I would recommend using decent quality ammo. I tried using some of that Remington "thunderbolt" stuff and it's such low quality ammo that you get "spat" with little tiny bits of debris (i assume its gunpowder?) when shooting. It doesn't hurt but it isn't pleasant.

[mshill]

My wife's first handgun, now my daughters. Easy to shoot and very high quality. It is super accurate and yes the stock sights are pretty bad. It is a gun that everyone in my family loves to shoot.

[XVIga_Rob]

I bought one a couple years ago, when they 1st came out. Great gun!! It tags along on all range trips! The sights are a bit small, at 80%. However, a small amount of hi-viz paint on the front sight fixes that.

[robodeer]

No black label for CA. Only the GI/a1 style in compact and full-size. Either with wood grips or plastic.