Kimber .22 1911 pistol..... any advice?

[dasgreif]

Wanting to get a .22 pistol for practice and just general shooting due to the price of the ammo. Any thoughts on the new Kimber .22 pistol? Or should I just go with say a Ruger or Browning?


At the moment I have the choice of either purchasing a new .22 pistol or a 9mm Baby Eagle. My current pistols are getting a bit costly to shoot now that I am spending more time at the range (.40 and .45)

 

[Coot]

The one I saw was...very under whelming. For the money, I suspect you could do much better.

What other .22 pistols are you considering?

 

[dasgreif]

I am looking into either the Browning trail/target model or a heavy barrel ruger. Just liked the Kimber as I have allways wanted a 1911 style pistol outside of my grandfathers colt service pistol.

 

[JackC]

Looked like a toy to me, if you already have a 1911, may want to add a conversion kit.

Jack

 

[dasgreif]

I have a 1911 Colt pistol that was my grandfathers, I dont really want to do anything to it though, modification wise. So you think it would be better to just go with the browning trail or a heavy barreled ruger for practice?

 

[gk1]

Conversion kits don't require modification, just field stripping. The Kimber, at $600 or so, is twice as expensive as the Ruger, and roughly the same as a S&W 41, which is a FAR better pistol than the Kimber. Personally, I'd get either a Ruger 22/45 w/5 1/2" bull barrel, a Marvel .22 conversion kit, or a S&W Model 41, in ascending $$ order. The all-aluminum, not-terribly-accurate Kimber just isn't worth the scratch, IMO.

George

 

[jimt]

i have a ruger mk2, 6-7/8 barrel. its SUPER accurate and a ball to shoot. ive heard lots of negatives regarding Kimber's, especially for the money. I got my ruger used, the best $225 i ever spent.

 

[Coot]

I am looking into either the Browning trail/target model or a heavy barrel ruger.

I've recently purchased a Browning 5.5 Field upon which I mounted a Burris red dot sight. Very nice and accurate.

I've shot the Rugers, but didn't like the angle (probably the .22/45 would feel better).

I don't think you could go wrong with either Ruger or Browning.

 

[Fed168]

It looked nice, but not for $800.

 

[Detritus]

if you want a .22 ona 1911 frame get a marvel conversion kit. like others abover said, it requires simpl;y feild stripping the gun, and swapping the barrel and slide assemblies.

BTW do NOT get a ceiner(sp?) those things are garbage!! (built like a toy, the marvels ont eh other hand are, as i understand it, built to aproximately the same specs as the old colt ACE style slide/barrel assemblies. ie built like a REAL and serious use pistol).

 

[Aleko]

I've had both conversion kit for 1911 and new Kimber Rimfire pistol. While ammo is very cheap, and I could get tons of practice for a cost of 1 box of .45ACP, it just didn't do it for me. It was boring to shoot, and not very accurate. While some say you get valuable "trigger time" using .22LR conversions/pistols, for me it was an experience world apart from shooting real calibers and was not very effective training. I figured simple dry-firing would give about the same results. For me, shooting a box of .45 is much better training than shooting 10 boxes of .22LR. YMMV.

 

[Siggyboy]

My advice: forget the Kimber. They can be useful if you need training with a 1911 style pistol but for a .22 plinker or target gun look elsewhere.

Further advice would be to handle both the Ruger MkII and the Browning Buckmark. They are both tried and true .22 pistols that are accurate, fun, and cheap. See which fits your hand better. The Ruger is supposedly a real pain to field strip and even worse to put back together. The Browning scores points there in comparison.

If you are looking more for a compact plinker rather than target type 22, the Walther P-22 is a good gun and inexpensive.

If you want the ultimate .22 pistol, the S&W 41 is king, but costs over $700.

 

[444]

As was mentioned, you can get a conversion for your present 1911 and it will not result in any damage or modification to your Grandfather's old war horse. You just strip it like you are going to clean it. Instead of putting the original top end on your frame, you just put the conversion top end on it (top end meaning slide, and barrel). When you want to shoot .45s, you just pull back the slide, remove the slide stop and put your .45 top end on the gun.

"BTW do NOT get a ceiner(sp?) those things are garbage!! (built like a toy, the marvels ont eh other hand are, as i understand it, built to aproximately the same specs as the old colt ACE style slide/barrel assemblies. ie built like a REAL and serious use pistol)."
I have a Ciener 1911 conversion. I would not say it is garbage. It is very accurate. The slide is made from alluminum, but this doesn't make it a toy. I wouldn't call an AR15 a toy even though it is made from alluminum. The one drawback of my Ciener is that it is very finicky about ammo. I found that it runs flawlessly with CCI Mini-Mags and bought a case of 5000 rounds. Mine will NOT run on Wal-Mart bulk packs (which run fine in all my other .22s).

I love the idea of the .22 1911 conversion. The 1911 is my primary defense and competition gun. I can use my same frame, my same holsters etc for practice. I have the Officer's Model Ciener conversion. The Officer's Model is my carry gun. I can practice draws from cover until my heart is content.

I owned a Colt Ace once upon a time. I considered it a piece of crap. It had an extractor that was made from really thin alluminum or tin. When you stripped the pistol for cleaning, you couldn't help but to bend it. Then you spent the first couple minutes of every shooting session adjusting it by bending it in your fingers. I wish I had kept it, but then I say that about every gun I ever sold.

 

[Detritus]

sorry i coluld have phrased iot differently with regard to Ceiner...

every where i go, it seems that the only folks i have MET (thus limiting this to folks i have been able to talk to face to face, etc etc, and granted a smal sample) with ceiner conversion kits that liked them, were folks who used them less than 3-4 times a year, AND do not own a dedicated .22 pistol.
Also i've yet to witness a ceiner that could get through mroe than 20 rounds without a stoppage.

the more time goes on the poorer the reputation ceiner seems to be getting.


Maybe you got yourself a good one, and i'm glad for you...

but looking at what i personally have witnessed AND what the general concensus amoung the serious .22 pistol folks over on RFC (rimfire central) is, me thinks i'll save for a marvel.

 

[444]

I don't think I got a good one. I think they are very particular about what ammo you feed them. I have tried ammo that wouldn't fire without at least two hammer strikes per round. I sent it back once and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. After screwing around with it for awhile I realized that if you feed it the right ammo, it runs flawlessly. This isn't good, don't get me wrong. It is very limiting. If you were a formal bullseye shooter you very well might not be able to fire your most accurate ammo and get the gun to function. But for my uses; practicing action pistol shooting and defensive techniques, my use of CCI Mini-Mags is fine.
I shoot mine much more than 3-4 times a year. I sometimes fire in excess of 500 rounds a week out of it. I also own at least a half dozen actual .22 handguns. Maybe closer to a dozen. I really like .22 handguns and shoot them a lot. However I wouldn't nessessarily consider myself a "serious .22 pistol folk".


An amusing story that occured with me shooting my Ciener conversion (maybe you had to be there).
I was out shooting in the desert one evening when a truck drove over to where I was. I recognized who it was, but they appearently didn't recognize me (I have a very forgetable face). They pulled up and started talking to me. It was a local man and his teenage son. His teenage son was very arrogant. I called him by name and he said, "Do I know you ?" I said I just talked to him the day before at the gunshow........... He began telling me what a great shot he was. Then he told me how great his .22 pistol was. The whole time his dad was shaking his head and agreeing with him. Finally he agreed to give me a demonstation of his superior skill. He went over to a nearby dirt pile (maybe 50 yards away) and set up a half dozen clay pigeons. He retrieved his S&W autoloading .22 pistol and walked about half way from where we were standing and fired a mag at the clay birds. He didn't hit any of them. When he walked back I asked if he minded if I gave it a try ? I drew my 1911 from where we stood at the truck and broke them all with one shot a piece. The conversation kind of fell off at that point. (This may qualify for the thread on the luckiest shot(s) you ever made)

 

[Detritus]

sounds like the guy i met once who really and truly thought he knew EVERYTHING there was to know about accurate .22 pistols,
then found ot that just because the NEW versions of a gun are frowned on, that does not mean that a gun built when that company/design was considered "good" and that has been well cared for, can't STILL out shoot a newer design, in the hands of someone comfortable and familiar with the older gun. (a good driver in a 68 mustang can still whip an ok driver in the latest modle)

he'd bought some super-whiz-bang .22 pistol, had brought it to the range and was bragging on it. sees me over in the next berm, with the old High Standard that i learned to shoot with and (at that time) felt like an extension of my hand. and made some comment along the lines of "i bet my (can't remember the brand of the gun) can out shoot THAT old thing, kid!" (i was 21-22 at the time).

I do not remember how big the 10-shot group each of us fired was (do know that if i tried it again esp now, i'd probably make a fool of myself). what i most remember is, afterwards, the other guys on the range that day giving him a SEVERE amount of grief, over not actually LOOKING at the targets i was shooting before he opened his mouth.

I know it was an unfair "match up" but he had opened his mouth and i just couldn't resist shoving his foot in up to the knee...

 

[dasgreif]

Well I went to my local shot yesterday and held and stripped a browning field 5.5 and a ruger 22/45. The Browning fit my hand like a glove(love that wooden target grip and angle as I have large hands, 6'4"), but I liked the overall design and solidness of the Ruger, so I think I need to try to find a range or a shop that rents and try them both out.

After thinking about it, and this may sound strange, but my grandfather carried his Colt during and after the war just as it is. Outside of a few trips to the smith and a new barrel, springs, firing pin etc the gun is all original, even the finish and grips. Just dont know if I would feel right about sticking a .22 on that pistol since he never did.

Maybe I should just get that 9mm Baby Eagle I have been looking at and one of the above .22s for the cash I have saved up for that kimber .22.

 

[Detritus]

Maybe I should just get that 9mm Baby Eagle I have been looking at and one of the above .22s for the cash I have saved up for that kimber .22.

you'd definately be better served that way than if you bought the Kimber.

 

[Dave T]

My wife bought one of the Kimbers for all the usual reasons - cheep ammo, lots of trigger time with no reloading - and she just liked the look and feel of it.

After 100 rounds she said she had made a big mistake. She said she guessed she was just a 45 shooter at heart.

We sold the Kimber to a retired cop I know and he absolutely loves the thing. He's put over 3000 rounds through it in the first month. He shows it to everyone who will look at it and several people have bought them or ordered them.

Just goes to show you, you pay your money and take your chances.