Range report Tactical GSG 1911 .22

[Sky]

I was in town today when my FFL called and said the GSG 1911 .22 was in and did I want to pick it up today or tomorrow? I was half way there so I decided to go for pick up.

The box the GSG came in had the tools under the foam padding which included 3 Allen wrenches, one bore brush and the wrench for the fake suppressor.

My FFL has a gun range but dummy me I only had 9mm ammo with me!

I was supposed to have received two mags with the 1911 but only received one for they were on back order. The mag that came with the GSG is not some little cheapo like I expected! Reminded me of a smaller version of something made in Bulgaria; it is heavy and very well made with excellent mag lips. Should be they are not cheap.

My FFL gave me a hand full of Federal bulk ammo and after giving the GSG a few squirts of Breakfree CLP and working the slide a few times I headed for the pistol range.

The range I was on is 50ft to the targets which are approx 4" wide at the top and 6" tall. There are 8 targets that when struck each one falls back and or lays down.

I just wanted to function check the pistol and was aiming in the general vicinity of the first target when I shot the first round both eyes open. To my surprise the target went down. 4 more fell before I missed just a tad high. I was very please with the ability to hit stuff right out of the box without having to mess with the sights. The pistol does come with different height (2 extra) front sights but it does not look like I will be changing anything soon.

I ran 3 full mags through the pistol with out a FTF or FTE; again I was surprised. The trigger did not feel like a cheap knock off but broke clean at around 5 to 6 lbs if I had to guess on the weight.

My next trip to the range I will take a 1000 rounds or so and really give the pistol a work out. The slide is not velvet smooth like the slide on my ACll but I can tell it is the parkerized finish that needs to be smoothed by slide action or a little rubbing compound. I came back home and broke the pistol down for cleaning. It really did not need it for it was basically clean except the bore. It breaks down kinda sorta like a 1911 except for an Allen head screw and a pin that is pushed out that a real 1911 does not have.

I have been wanting a good easy to use .22 for cheap plinking and intro to pistol shooting for some friends. At this stage I have no regrets in the purchase and I even like the grips....I have always been a 1911 kinda guy so maybe my judgement is slightly clouded but the pistol was very accurate for me.

http://youtu.be/xscORRl73SU

There are several reviews on the GSG @ youtube but this review shows what is what with a magnet after complete tear down.

I put some Super Tech Marine sae 80W-90 lower unit gear lube on the rails and worked the slide back and forth several times with satisfactory results.
I figure after the next range session and some Breakfree if the slide does not meet my smoothness expectations I might do a little something to it but I also know if it ain't broke DFW ( don't fuss with-it).

 

[Sky]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHTTKfprywY&feature=player_embedded

Another vid on the GSG 1911 showing how the pistols arrives and breaks down.

 

[Dr_B]

I bought one last week and took it back to the store today. And when I say I bought one, I am referring to my regular Sig Sauer 1911 .22. Seems like yours is a slightly different model. They're both made by GSG if I am correct.

I love the trigger on mine and it's a generally great-looking gun (except for the plastic sights, in my opinion). I put about 450 rounds through it. It never once had any sort of jam. But it did clog with lead so badly that I couldn't get the cleaning rod through the barrel. The nut covering the threading on the barrel also kept working loose.

Long story short, I got the lead out of the barrel with no damage to the bore. But I am getting rid of mine. For some reason I am not falling in love with this pistol.

 

[Sky]

The nut covering the threading on the barrel also kept working loose.

I have not shot mine enough to have problems yet. I did think about putting some blue loctite on the barrel threads for the suppressor only because I familiar with other weapons with similar set ups. I will be running the pistol hard sometime this week and will post the results. Mostly Federal bulk, Aquila 1750 fps, and some CCI; will have a better handle on the thing after that.

 

[Sky]

Just got back from the range and shooting 1911 among other things.

Before shooting today I tightened the rear sight with the middle size Allen wrench and the front sight with the smallest Allen wrench. I probably should have removed them and used blue loctite on the screws but I did not due to me being able to actually hit something with the pistol last time I was out!?

I shot 15 mags at 10 shots per mag and would have shot more but loading the single mag got old especially since I had been shooting for 4 hours already. I can get 11 rounds in the mag but the pistol does not seem to like feeding when I do.

The first mag was loaded with 5 rounds of Federal bulk and topped off with 5 rounds of Aquila 1750fps .22. The first 5 rounds were fired and I got a jam. Cleared the jam with out further problems. After that I loaded either Federal or Aquila in the mag without mixing. All in all after 15 mags there were 6 times the GSG failed to either feed or fire but all problems were in the first 7 mags and 2 or 3 of those were ammo not firing when struck by the firing pin.

I had drunk several cups of coffee (12 cups but my cups are big so it only seemed like 6) today before I even left the house. Did not affect me to much with the 4 rifles I shot. When I finally started working with the 1911 I think the coffee shakes kicked in or some form of old age palsy for I was not putting shots on target with the pistol like last time.

Upon returning home I checked for lead fouling and carbon but the pistol was actually pretty clean which surprised me; much cleaner than the Walther P-22 I used to have. The slide is still not velvet smooth but is "not quite" noticeably better!!

There are several mods I could do to the pistol and one would do away with the mag safety....not crazy about the grip safety and the way it fits in my hand either. With the ACll I do not even notice the grip safety but on the GSG I do and can certainly feel when it is engaged. The sights that came with the pistol are not something to write home about but for me (when I do not have crazy molecules dancing inside) seem to be accurate enough. This is a nice pistol to introduce someone into shooting an auto loader IMO especially women and kids even though the grip will probably be to big for some/most. I will probably keep the GSG for such occasions and maybe load some rat shot for popping snakes when pig hunting or something.....Still glad I got one. To be honest it ain't lent in the bottom of the AClls trigger assembly but it is cheap and fun to shoot; so there you go!

 

[Sky]

Was out sighting in and working with the CMMG .22 uppers yesterday and took the GSG 1911 to do some plinking with. I had received a new mag for the 1911 that I wanted to try out and do a little target shooting with the GSG.

I had shot approx 400+ rounds with the CMMGs because I had replaced a red dot with a 1-4x Nikon 223 scope on one and wanted to play with the Sparc red dot on the other. I did not have to clear a malfunction once with the CMMGs so maybe with the competition Federal is facing from other manufactures today their quality has improved this year?? Seems like it to me.

The Old original mag for the GSG was the first mag used and the little pistol shot all ten rounds and as usual the pistol was accurate for me. The new mag was loaded and 3 rounds were shot and then a clunk was experienced. Cleared the malfunction and 2 more shots were fired and then another clunk was experienced. Upon looking at the primer of the misfires there was no discernible mark on the primer?? I reloaded the shells and they fired..??

I shot approx 60 more rounds with 2 more malfunctions FTF with the GSG.

Just finished cleaning the CMMGs and the 1911 and again am pleased with the lack of fouling being deposited with the federal 550 bulk ammo.

 

[Sky]

Been getting some lite primmer strikes with the GSG? At times it does not leave a mark on the casing...Took my brother shooting ( total new guy at 56 ) and he got very good with clearing malfunctions or resetting the hammer for another attempt at getting the firing pin to ignite the primer. Federal bulk was being used and approx 500+ rounds have been shot with the GSG 1911. Will try different ammo next time. The pistol was clean and oiled before the range trip.