I have had my Chiappa Puma 1911-22 for a little over a month now. I bought the pistol from Mid-West Hunter’s Outlet/TGSCOM for $253 plus shipping and transfer. It seems Buds has them in stock now for $256 including shipping.
After the first blurb I saw for the Chiappa in American Rifleman, I wasn’t impressed. I came out with the impression that it was a piece of junk – that it would be a nifty looking, over priced, Saturday Night Special.
However, I saw some online reviews that seemed to suggest the they were very reliable pistols and also very accurate- because of the fixed barrel. At the time, I was waiting for the GSG1911 to come out or considering even building a 1911 in .22LR. Because of the price point, I decided to give the Chiappa a try.
One complaint that I have read is that some of the Chiappas have an un-even finish. That is not the case with mine- the metal finish is very evenly colored. I did notice that wears kind of easy- but that is not a big deal. This gun is meant to be used not looked at. If it ever did looks bad enough, there are plenty of inexpensive products available to make it look pretty again. One aesthetic note- lose the laser cut checkering on the grips. I looks gaudy and serves no functional purpose. The Puma logo looks cool, but the checkering needs to go.
Despite being an alloy gun- it weighs in at 32 ounces. It has more heft to it than a Kimber 1911 that I had the opportunity to feel. This gun is supposed to mimic a GI pistol. Down to the sights, it does a very good job of that. Many people don’t like the USGI type fixed sights. I do. They level off and point naturally for me.
On this pistol, the rear sight is windage adjustable. Mine had to be drifted right a bit. To help it stay in the dovetail, there is a small set screw that needs to be undone prior to drifting. The manual says that these pistols should shoot 2-3” low at 25 yards. At first, mine seemed to be shooting lower closer. However, I have yet to get it on-paper again to really see what it can do, now that I am more familiar with the gun.
Out of the box, the trigger down-right sucked. It was crisp and 7 pounds, but it didn’t lend itself to good shooting. The first not I shot it, I believe that the horrendous trigger pull caused at least 1 flier per 5 shot string. Now, several hundred rounds later (and a lot of dry firing on an empty shell—NEVER DRY FIRE THIS GUN WITHOUT A SNAP CAP) , the trigger has worked in and is much less of a detractor. It’s actually not bad now. I haven’t put this gun on paper again yet- but I can easily go 6 for 5 shooting falling plates with it now (and still do well against similarly skilled competitors). I’m not sure if I’ll ever shoot it as well/ as fast as the HS Victor clone that I used in the past- but I think that in time, I’ll really be able to hold my own with the Chiappa.
This pistol has been very reliable. The first time I shot it was 3 hours after I bought it. I didn’t have time to clean it before shooting it. It shot about/maybe a little over 200 rounds before it had any malfunctions with various high velocity ammo (a couple of Mini Mags, American Eagle 40gr LRN, Fed Bulk Pack, Thunderbolts, Golden Bullets Winchester 555..even std velocity Dynapoints). Stovepipes at this point were expected. According to the manual more frequent cleaning is needed during the break in period. I swabbed out the bore and shot another few hundred shots before I had any more stove pipe problems. They stopped when I lubed the slide rails. I really should have stripped down and done a full clean/lube on this pistol way sooner than I did. When the last stove pipes occurred, I could feel the slide being retarded as it cycled. There was a thick sludge on the slide rails- probably a combination of factory preservative and powder residue. Since I did the full cleaning, it has yet to jam again.
I should probably add a summation and make some sort of point. In all I am impressed with this pistol. As much as there is times when I would have taken solace in doing so, I don’t think that I could bring myself to sell it off to the lowest bidder or throw it down my driveway in anger. It’s a decent quality gun at a value price. It feels great in my hand and is plenty reliable. Some people would probably say buy a Mark III- maybe a 22/45 if you don’t like the slant grip. However, this gives me a warm feeling that no Ruger ever could (yes, I am very “racist” against Ruger .22 autoloading pistols) I love the fact that I can shoot it without damaging HV ammo in it. It was well worth my money. It is a great 1911 trainer. If Chiappa ever came out with a similarly priced (traditional) double action combat type pistol that was as well made and reliable- I would probably buy that too.
After the first blurb I saw for the Chiappa in American Rifleman, I wasn’t impressed. I came out with the impression that it was a piece of junk – that it would be a nifty looking, over priced, Saturday Night Special.
However, I saw some online reviews that seemed to suggest the they were very reliable pistols and also very accurate- because of the fixed barrel. At the time, I was waiting for the GSG1911 to come out or considering even building a 1911 in .22LR. Because of the price point, I decided to give the Chiappa a try.
One complaint that I have read is that some of the Chiappas have an un-even finish. That is not the case with mine- the metal finish is very evenly colored. I did notice that wears kind of easy- but that is not a big deal. This gun is meant to be used not looked at. If it ever did looks bad enough, there are plenty of inexpensive products available to make it look pretty again. One aesthetic note- lose the laser cut checkering on the grips. I looks gaudy and serves no functional purpose. The Puma logo looks cool, but the checkering needs to go.
Despite being an alloy gun- it weighs in at 32 ounces. It has more heft to it than a Kimber 1911 that I had the opportunity to feel. This gun is supposed to mimic a GI pistol. Down to the sights, it does a very good job of that. Many people don’t like the USGI type fixed sights. I do. They level off and point naturally for me.
On this pistol, the rear sight is windage adjustable. Mine had to be drifted right a bit. To help it stay in the dovetail, there is a small set screw that needs to be undone prior to drifting. The manual says that these pistols should shoot 2-3” low at 25 yards. At first, mine seemed to be shooting lower closer. However, I have yet to get it on-paper again to really see what it can do, now that I am more familiar with the gun.
Out of the box, the trigger down-right sucked. It was crisp and 7 pounds, but it didn’t lend itself to good shooting. The first not I shot it, I believe that the horrendous trigger pull caused at least 1 flier per 5 shot string. Now, several hundred rounds later (and a lot of dry firing on an empty shell—NEVER DRY FIRE THIS GUN WITHOUT A SNAP CAP) , the trigger has worked in and is much less of a detractor. It’s actually not bad now. I haven’t put this gun on paper again yet- but I can easily go 6 for 5 shooting falling plates with it now (and still do well against similarly skilled competitors). I’m not sure if I’ll ever shoot it as well/ as fast as the HS Victor clone that I used in the past- but I think that in time, I’ll really be able to hold my own with the Chiappa.
This pistol has been very reliable. The first time I shot it was 3 hours after I bought it. I didn’t have time to clean it before shooting it. It shot about/maybe a little over 200 rounds before it had any malfunctions with various high velocity ammo (a couple of Mini Mags, American Eagle 40gr LRN, Fed Bulk Pack, Thunderbolts, Golden Bullets Winchester 555..even std velocity Dynapoints). Stovepipes at this point were expected. According to the manual more frequent cleaning is needed during the break in period. I swabbed out the bore and shot another few hundred shots before I had any more stove pipe problems. They stopped when I lubed the slide rails. I really should have stripped down and done a full clean/lube on this pistol way sooner than I did. When the last stove pipes occurred, I could feel the slide being retarded as it cycled. There was a thick sludge on the slide rails- probably a combination of factory preservative and powder residue. Since I did the full cleaning, it has yet to jam again.
I should probably add a summation and make some sort of point. In all I am impressed with this pistol. As much as there is times when I would have taken solace in doing so, I don’t think that I could bring myself to sell it off to the lowest bidder or throw it down my driveway in anger. It’s a decent quality gun at a value price. It feels great in my hand and is plenty reliable. Some people would probably say buy a Mark III- maybe a 22/45 if you don’t like the slant grip. However, this gives me a warm feeling that no Ruger ever could (yes, I am very “racist” against Ruger .22 autoloading pistols) I love the fact that I can shoot it without damaging HV ammo in it. It was well worth my money. It is a great 1911 trainer. If Chiappa ever came out with a similarly priced (traditional) double action combat type pistol that was as well made and reliable- I would probably buy that too.
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