Containerized
Adventurer
So, I've been skeptical for years. I've seen all kinds of .22 LR kits, each with drawbacks. The appeal of practicing with .22 has always been interesting, but not enough for me to obtain one of these slide kits, or a complete pistol.
I enjoy and often have on my hip a 6" 1911 that I had built by Ken Crawley in 2008. It's a full custom build on a Caspian frame and shoots like nothing else I've owned. If I'm going to entrust my life to something, it's going to be this pistol (or my FAL...). It is gorgeous, reliable, and points like I was born with it.
That said, despite many shipments in and out of Africa (primarily Camp Lemonnier, though the TF151 folks also have .45 ACP), good ol' .45 caliber ammunition isn't something to be wasted or found easily over here.
However, we've got five or six 1520 Pelican cases of CCI Minimag (.22 LR) and could get a bunch more. Which gave me an idea.
Enter Luke Volkmann, fantastic pistolsmith and perhaps the equal to Ken Crawley (but for the next generation). Luke worked on a .22 LR 1911 for me that feeds and fires flawlessly, is as accurate (at least in my hands) as my long slide .45, and - most importantly - eats ammunition that's a lot easier to obtain and/or bring. It is not a from-the-ground-up build (it started life as a Kimber Rimfire Super, which had only been test fired at Kimber before Luke began work modifying it). It never fails to feed from any of its half a dozen fifteen-round metal magazines (rather than the single cheap-feeling plastic ten-rounder Kimber included with the original pistol).
So, the bottom line is, I'd rather practice with boxes and boxes of .45 ACP, as I've done for years. But, given the situation over here, a .22 LR 1911 is a great compromise and offers the familiarity and controls of the weapon you're used to with the ability to practice without wondering whether you're consuming a difficult-to-replenish pool of ammo that will be needed in the future.
Okay, so you probably tuned in for pictures. Here they are.
.22 LR 1911 (thanks to Luke Volkmann)
.45 ACP 1911 Long Slide (thanks to Ken Crawley)
Both pistols are far more accurate than their shooter can do justice to.
I enjoy and often have on my hip a 6" 1911 that I had built by Ken Crawley in 2008. It's a full custom build on a Caspian frame and shoots like nothing else I've owned. If I'm going to entrust my life to something, it's going to be this pistol (or my FAL...). It is gorgeous, reliable, and points like I was born with it.
That said, despite many shipments in and out of Africa (primarily Camp Lemonnier, though the TF151 folks also have .45 ACP), good ol' .45 caliber ammunition isn't something to be wasted or found easily over here.
However, we've got five or six 1520 Pelican cases of CCI Minimag (.22 LR) and could get a bunch more. Which gave me an idea.
Enter Luke Volkmann, fantastic pistolsmith and perhaps the equal to Ken Crawley (but for the next generation). Luke worked on a .22 LR 1911 for me that feeds and fires flawlessly, is as accurate (at least in my hands) as my long slide .45, and - most importantly - eats ammunition that's a lot easier to obtain and/or bring. It is not a from-the-ground-up build (it started life as a Kimber Rimfire Super, which had only been test fired at Kimber before Luke began work modifying it). It never fails to feed from any of its half a dozen fifteen-round metal magazines (rather than the single cheap-feeling plastic ten-rounder Kimber included with the original pistol).
So, the bottom line is, I'd rather practice with boxes and boxes of .45 ACP, as I've done for years. But, given the situation over here, a .22 LR 1911 is a great compromise and offers the familiarity and controls of the weapon you're used to with the ability to practice without wondering whether you're consuming a difficult-to-replenish pool of ammo that will be needed in the future.
Okay, so you probably tuned in for pictures. Here they are.
.22 LR 1911 (thanks to Luke Volkmann)
.45 ACP 1911 Long Slide (thanks to Ken Crawley)
Both pistols are far more accurate than their shooter can do justice to.
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