1911 w/.22 conversion good for practice?

[DeltaV]

I'm somewhat new to the shooting scene (I've been shooting randomly with my grandfather and others since I was 12, but not on a regular basis), and I've been considering trying to 'kill two birds with one stone' by getting a 1911 (probably a Rock Island) and a .22 conversion.

I'm a grad student, so money is somewhat tight (hence the reason to want to do a majority of my practice shooting in .22 if possible), but it would be comforting to also have the .45 should the need (God forbid) for serious wet work arise (that, and 1911's are just damn cool).

I probably wouldn't be doing any serious competitions, but it would be nice to be able to afford to practice somewhat frequently. Any thoughts? Does anyone else do something similar, or do most just get an inexpensive .22 for practice/plinking?

[Spawnz]

I have a Colt Gov't Model 1911 (Series 70) and a .22 conversion kit. It is fun to shoot but probably not near as acurate as having a dedicated .22 cal pistol. Since mine was bought over 20 years ago, I really do not know the prices of the conversion kits but would guess around $200 or less. That is what a decent .22 would cost also but you can spend more on a really accurate .22.

If I was doing it again.......I would get the conversion kit. It allows you to practice with the gun you will be using and the feel and trigger pull will be the same. Just my opinion.

[Cannibul]

A decent .22 conversion for a 1911 is a bit north of $200. I have kicked around the idea of getting one for a long time. But still don't have one. I do however have a few Ruger .22 pistols.

The Ruger pistols are about the same cost as a conversion. Magazines are cheaper and easier to find. And they are more accurate.

[DeltaV]

I've done some research on both conversions and straight .22's. The one thing I haven't seen is an 'actual' accuracy of the less-expensive .22 conversions, I've just read that they're "worse". Does anyone know a ~theoretical 'best group' you could get from a conversion barrel vs. a similarly priced (ie, ~$250) .22 pistol?

[Joeywhat]

I think that, giving both a brand new .22 and a brand new barrel conversion costing the same, why not go with the complete pistol? That way you can bring both to the range and not worry about doing the conversion all the time.

THe Ruger MKII/MKII are GREAT guns. Certainly geared for accuracy and general range use. For something a little more "fun" I would say the Walther P22. I have the P22 and it's a great gun. Certainly not what you'd want if you're looking to do any long range shooting, or just want the most accurate gun possible.

The 3.4" P22 should be well under $300.

[highscore]

I shoot a Marvel Conversion on a Springfield frame. Not the most inexpensive conversion you will find but probably the best. Mine shoots under 1" with most every ammo I tested using a Ranson Rest at 50 yards, a lot were less than 3/4". I had been using pretty expensive target .22's for Bullseye but always liked the feel of a .45 and once I tried the Marvel, have never looked back. Check out marvelprod.com.

[Hitachifixer]

I got a Marvel conversion for my STI about a month ago. I`ve got over a thousand rounds through it since. It is 100% using CCI Mini Mags, as they reccomend. It is WAY more accurate than I will ever be. They claim 1 to 2" groups are capable at 50 yards and I believe it.
I have a Tactical frame STI and a standard frame STI, both .40 caliber. It is 100% using the Tactical frame, not so with the standard frame, it doesn`t feed 100%. No idea why, I just stick it on the tac frame gun.
It is by no means cheap, but neither is the quality of the unit. A model 2 with fiber optic front sight and 3 STI mags was over $400.00 and it took a bit over 3 months before I got it.
I think it was worth it, it gives me the same trigger I use for a match and the same feel, a little lighter as the conversion slide isn`t as heavy. Either way its a lot of fun to shoot.

[Bycyclist]

Agreed regarding Marvel kits - I've got one from Wilson Combat. Very accurate and reliable with CCI MiniMags.

Cheap ammo, great for practicing "new" or "harder" skills such as offhand shooting, etc.

But also dead-on accurate!

I'm glad I went this route instead of a separate gun because it increases my familiarity with my 1911.

[DeltaV]

Marvel Precision .22 Conversions

This looks tempting--claims accuracy better than me, and similar in price to a Ruger, esp. including fees for purchasing a whole firearm, and I could handle paying a bit more for a better conversion since it will be something which will last for awhile.

Then again, two guns is better than one...

[ckuplent]

Look at the new one from TacSol. From everything I've seen on it it takes the shortfalls of the Mrvel- which are very few- and has improved them.