Does anyone here have any experience with any of the 1911 conversions? Specifically the Tactical Solutions 2211 slide (all steel & adjustable sights)? Or the newly released Rock Island XT22 (a 1911 frame with fixed sights and a special cut steel .22 slide) Or the 85% size Browning 1911-22 (aluminum frame and slide, plastic grips, crappy sights, and plastic guide rod). Smaller one on bottom: I have my next .22 purchase down to one of these setups. I want a dedicated .22 in a 1911 setup. I've already had the Ruger 22/45 and that didn't satisfy me. I've read a lot of mixed reviews using google to search, but I am hungry for more! The Rock Island seems to answer all prayers at only $450, but it needs a 40gr bullet for the slide to work properly if I have read most reviews correctly. The Browning is $550 and aluminum, but eats any bullet I've read. Not to crazy about the aluminum and price though. And the Tactical Solutions will require me to spend $300 for a used one and another $300 for a complete lower 1911 frame (since I want it dedicated). I've kinda answered my own question, but I want to find a reason that spending more $$$ is better I guess lol.
I have handled the Browning. Terrible creepy and gritty trigger. Read some reviews to see if this was common, seems to be an unfortunate truth.... I fired a few 1911 .22's a while back by GSG and Chiappa, both were nicer than the Browning and if I remember correctly the Chiappa had a sweeter trigger than the GSG Tactical...
The Tactical Solutions kit is really sweet looking. Jeff Quinn tested it in a machine rest and got unimpressive results however- 1.5" to 2.25" at 25 yards. That is poor for a $425 product. The good news is there is a similar kit that costs less and may perform better. TSOL kit review http://www.gunblast.com/tacsol1911.htm Advantage Arms Target 1911 .22 conversion http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=481752 Another option for the cost of the TSOL kit would be a used 4" barrel Sig Trailside- it features a 1911 style safety (swept down with thumb), operates using the same manual of arms, and is the same size as a 1911. The Sig shoots 0.25" groups at 25 yards from a machine rest.
New production mags can be had through Larrry's guns, the current importer for $35 iirc. They are actually very nice mags for being plastic. You can load mags all day and not get magazine thumb. I have about 5k rounds through my Trailside all with the same mag. Eats all ammo. The only weak point is the slide stop (this may not be true of current manufacture) which is made of a weak alloy. For Sigarms branded Trailside models you should use the slingshot method as the release can break (I replaced one at around 2k rounds) no problems since I changed my habits. I love mine. It makes me look good, for instance, shooting clay pigeons at 75 yards. Here's an offhand five shot group at 21', I sometimes group half this size...
Well, I picked up a Browning 1911-22 today! I immediately took off the grips and sent them off to Paul at http://www.designergrips.com. He will have a mold and sample within 10 days, so it will be nice to have an alternative to the cheap plastic factory grips. I can't really describe the "lure" of it, but man it is just like a cool miniature replica. I was surprised at how small it is. I should have put something in the pic for size reference. I could have saved $80 and gone with a RIA XT22 (1911 frame with .22 upper), but it was a pawn shop so I was able to "lessen" the blow of the Browning price tag by trading in some golf clubs against it. So mine will be naked for the next few weeks...
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how it performs and how the trigger feels. Let us know when able!
