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Handgun Roundup: 1911s Chambered in .22 LR
At last count, roughly 25 manufacturers are producing nearly 400 different 1911 models. They are available in a wide variety of calibers, including .45 ACP, 9mm, .38 Super, .40 SW and even .357 Magnum.
Oh, and one really small cartridge: .22 LR.
Why build the combat-oriented 1911 in diminutive .22 LR? Cost, for one thing. .22 LR ammo costs much less than .45 ACP ammo, so shooters can send a lot of them downrange without breaking the bank. Thus a .22 LR 1911 can provide plinking fun, and you can also use one as a wallet-friendly training gun. Finally, .22 LR produces very little recoil, so young shooters can enjoy and learn on a .22-caliber 1911 more easily than they can a big-bore 1911.
This article pulls together info on the eight .22 LR 1911s in production today into one place. (Note: These listings feature complete guns and don’t touch on .22 LR conversion kits, of which a number exist.) Each pistol’s listing is an excerpt from its main-info page, which contains the full description, specs, more photos, pricing info, user ratings, editor ratings (when available) and links to online stores selling the pistol. To go to that pistol’s page, click on the link included in the excerpt (i.e., the word “here” in blue text).
The actual retail prices and price ranges listed below reflect prices seen recently in online gun stores. Those numbers certainly aren’t absolute—you might be able to find better deals at other online stores or brick-and-mortar gun shops.
I’ve organized these pistols alphabetically by manufacturer. If I’ve failed to include a model, please let me know via the Contact form at this link, or via the Comment form at the bottom of this article. Read the rest of this entry »
Handgun Roundup: The Budget 1911s
The 1911-style pistol remains wildly popular more than 100 years after its birth. At last count, roughly 25 manufacturers are producing nearly 400 different 1911 models ranging from mil-spec, GI-type versions that recall John Browning’s original design, to uber-refined and customized 1911s that cost thousands of dollars.
This article pulls together info on the eight least-expensive 1911s in production today into one place. To make this list, a pistol must cost $500 max in actual retail pricing, not MSRP (which is almost always inflated). It appears the Auto-Ordnance offering will run you just a tad over $500; I let it in because it’s so close.
Each pistol’s listing is an excerpt from its main-info page, which contains the full description, specs, more photos, pricing info (when available) and links to external articles and reviews. To go to that page, click on the link included in the excerpt (i.e., the word “here” in blue text).
Only five of the companies listed below are actually manufacturing 1911s; the other two (Rock Island Armory and Taylor’s) are importing guns built for them. And only one manufacturer listed below is building 1911s in the United States (Auto-Ordnance). The others are built in Turkey, the Phillipines and China.
The listings below include only the cheapest model offered by each company. Many of these companies also offer other 1911 models with enhanced features, different finishes, shortened barrels and shortened grips, and in many cases the prices of these models are also relatively low. To see all the 1911s produced by one of the companies below, click on the company’s name.
You can purchase all the below guns new in the United States in gun stores save one, the Chinese-made Norinco, which is no longer imported into the United States. You can still find used Norincos for sale in gun shops and on online sites such as GunBroker.com.
The actual retail prices and price ranges listed below reflect prices seen recently in online gun stores. Those numbers certainly aren’t absolute—you might be able to find better deals at other online or brick-and-mortar gun shops.
I’ve organized these pistols alphabetically by manufacturer. If I’ve failed to include a model, please let me know via the Contact form at this link, or via the Comment form at the bottom of this article. Read the rest of this entry »
Handgun Roundup: The Semiauto Magnums
Charles Bronson deployed a Wildey in Death Wish 3. © MCMLXXXV Cannon Productions N.V.
In America, many of us gravitate toward the biggest, the baddest, the fastest. Hence the Corvette, Pamela Anderson, 60-inch TVs, Wild Turkey, Mike Tyson, the Kingda Ka roller coaster and the Super Bowl.
This inclination has its adherents in the handgun world, too. Pistol power has been ratcheting up for, well, forever, and it’s due to demand. Remember when the .44 Magnum was the most powerful handgun in the world? That was a long time and many new cartridges ago. Modern behemoths include rounds such as the .500 SW Magnum, the .454 Casull and many others.
Most magnum-capable handguns are revolvers. Why? It’s proven difficult to construct a practical, functional, usable, magnum-caliber semiauto. Typically, semiautos hold the ammo inside the grip (there are exceptions, such as the Tec-22, Ruger Charger, etc.), and because magnum rounds are big, they require a big grip. Too big for some shooters to feel comfortable with, it turns out.
That’s not to say semiauto magnums don’t exist. Over the years, at least seven models have gone into production chambered for heavyweight rounds such as the .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44 AMP, .45 Winchester Magnum and several others.
A number of these semiauto magnums have entered popular culture. Quick, what was that big semiauto Dirty Harry broke out in the movie “Sudden Impact?” The Auto Mag, of course. Charles Bronson shot bad guys with a Wildey in “Death Wish 3” (pictured at right), and the Desert Eagle has appeared in countless action films.
Of the seven pistols listed below, five appear to be out of production (the Auto Mag, the AutoMags, the Grizzly and the Wildey). You can still find used specimens for sale in gun shops and on online sites such as GunBroker.com. The Desert Eagle and Coonan are both still in production (at press time).
This article pulls basic info for the semiauto magnums into one place. Each pistol’s listing is an excerpt from its main-info page, which contains the full description, specs, more photos, pricing info (when available) and links to external articles and reviews. To go to that page, Read the rest of this entry »
Handgun Roundup: The .410 Shotshell Revolvers
Handguns chambered for .410-caliber shotshells have cultivated a growing fan base recently, particularly since heavyweight manufacturers Smith & Wesson (S&W) and Taurus introduced new .410-capable revolvers this year. It appears there’s just something about a pistol-sized shotgun that draws peoples’ interest.
S&W and Taurus aren’t the only players in this market, of course, and neither is the revolver—the venerable over/under, two-shot derringer has long been in on the .410 action. As far as I can tell, currently seven manufacturers produce handguns chambered for .410-caliber shotshells.
This article pulls all the basic info for .410-caliber revolvers into one place. (To see a list of .410-caliber derringers, click here.) Each pistol’s listing is an excerpt from its main-info page, which contains the manufacturer’s description, specs and more photos, and links to online stores selling that pistol. To go to that page, simply click on the gun’s name, which is in blue-colored text. Read the rest of this entry »
Handgun Roundup: 1911 Anniversary Models
John M. Browning. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN M. BROWNING FIREARMS MUSEUM
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1911 pistol designed by John Browning and originally produced for the U.S. military. The 1911 is wildly popular today, with (at press time) 289 models under production by 25 manufacturers.
Many of these manufacturers offer centennial-edition 1911s to commemorate the 100th anniversary. The design of these pistols range widely, as do the prices. This article provides summary information for each anniversary model currently available, with a link to a page for each gun that features more extensive information and photos. I’ve listed the pistols according to price, from lowest to highest.
Note: If I’ve failed to include a model, please let me know via the Contact form at this link, or via the Comment form at the bottom of this article. And if you’d like a closer look at a gun, click on a photo to enlarge it.
With no further ado, here they are: Read the rest of this entry »
