GSG 1911 .22 Quality?

[Old Dog]

Does anyone out there have any experience with the GSG 1911 .22? I am looking at one because of the threaded barrel and the fact that it is the same size and weight of a real .45 1911. My concern is the durability of this since the slide and frame are cast from a zinc alloy. We used to call this "pot metal" and it was the basis for many of the small caliber "cheap Saturday Night Specials" which did not seem to hold up. Metallurgy has changed a lot, but I still have concerns. Looking mostly because of price, but I don't intend to waste my money either.

 

[Bfish]

I can't talk about longevity but I've shot one many times and I really like it, a friend of mine owns one. I personally went another direction, but if you are buying it for a training tool I think it will serve you well.
If you are buying it for a suppressor host there is a thread going on it right now I think you may want to check out. I haven't seen the GSG malfunction or anything and have been present for a solid 1000+ rounds and put several hundred through it myself. We will see what people who own them think though.

 

[Baba Looey]

FYI - It does have a plastic main spring housing. This is easily changed with a new metal one.

 

[churchmouse]

I have owned a couple and do have one now. I keep it to train the kids/ladys and 1st time pistol shooters. It is a good reliable gun. Except for a few issues with ammo we have never had issue with it.

 

[Old Dog]

I can't talk about longevity but I've shot one many times and I really like it, a friend of mine owns one. I personally went another direction, but if you are buying it for a training tool I think it will serve you well.
If you are buying it for a suppressor host there is a thread going on it right now I think you may want to check out. I haven't seen the GSG malfunction or anything and have been present for a solid 1000+ rounds and put several hundred through it myself. We will see what people who own them think though.

Bfish, thanks for the info. I didn't think about using the search feature. Found the info I needed. Looks like it has good reviews so I may have to pull the trigger, so to speak.

 

[migunner]

Get a Conversion Slide. I guess I am assuming you have a 1911 already.

 

[shibumiseeker]

The one I had was ammo picky but not horribly so. Cheaper MIM parts that broke without me knowing it (safety selector) but because it's a 1911 many parts were readily available.

It's an ok trainer but I would not use it as a target gun seeing thousands of rounds.

 

[PGRChaplain]

Jet Girl torture tested one. It did good.

 

[radir68]

I have one of the Sig branded versions. I cant say how many rounds have gone thru it but its got to be around 3500-4000. A little ammo picky at first but after a few hundred rounds it eats everything. We have never had a problem with it. The wife loves it and its one gun that goes to the range just about every time we go. I have friends that have them that haven't had any problem either. There is aftermarket support for them on the parts that aren't the same as a 1911. They are a lot of fun.

 

[dugsagun]

I have one. It has the fake supressor on it and people love shooting it. I keep it cleaned and lubed, so havent really had any probs with it. It goes real nice with my ar-15 22 for a real fun day at the range with peeps who are recoil shy.

 

[dman424]

I own one that has seen over 1000 rounds mostly with a can attached. It's a nice gun except for the finish leaves a lot to be desired. Mine shows extensive wear on the finish and will probably need rebluing at some point but in terms of function is works well.

 

[radir68]

I have one of the tan Sig versions. WE love it. One of the guns that always goes to the range with us. Very few malfunctions and those have been ammo related. I would buy one again.

 

[Balarrison]

I have one of the tan sig ones like stated above. It's a great gun for target. I would highly recommend it to anybody.
I like it a lot, but looking to shift to something different, so I'll be looking to sell it soon.

 

[Principal Skinr]

I've got one with lots of rounds through it, and it has been great. It did break a guide rod early on and ATI sent me a metal one. No issues since. I also added magazine followers that expand the capacity to 14 rounds. It shoots just fine with them. Mine was never picky on ammo. I run Golden Bullets or Federal Champion and it eats it up. Mine was an early production 1911-22, so I'm sure they've made improvements. I won't ever sell this one. Too much fun.

 

[Minisprint47]

Did a lot of research on several .22 semi-autos and finally decided on the Gsg. Watched a bunch of you-tube videos too and decided to clean it prior to going to the range. I also took the time to sand the paint off the rails too. I tried 3 different Aguila rounds and some older Thunderbolt, and it fired 2 of the Aguilas just fine but the ones in the blue and yellow box caused numerous failures. Failed to feed, fail to fire, and stovepipes. The thunderbolt were actually the most accurate, but also caused several failures to feed. I chalked that up to the age of the ammo. Loved the pistol when I had the right ammo in it. Very accurate at ten yards.

 

[Ricnzak]

I had about 300 rounds through mine and it was binding up worse than a 9 year olds on a cheese binge. The thumb safety also snapped in two. Churchmouse was kind enough to swap out a GI safety and smooth things out. It runs very nice now. Plus I love the GI safety look.

 

[medcoxo]

Got the upgrades from ZR Tactical solutions. Shoots anything fine, HV, SV, and AE Supressor rounds. I got the full size, and now going to get the compact model as my main pistol suppressor host.

 

[calcot7]

I have the Sig 1911-22 which is a GSG with Sig roll markings. I have had it for about 5 years or maybe more and put thousands of rounds downrange. It likes the high velocity ammunition the best and won't run worth a crap with most standard velocity. There was a company here in central IN that made a SS guide rod assembly and a slightly coned thread protector that turns the factory barrel into a match grade barrel with the addition of an aftermarket, custom fit barrel bushing. Accuracy is greatly improved with these upgrades. Reliability is excellent with quality ammunition as long as the pistol is cleaned after about 500 rounds. When the slide starts to slow down I just give it a shot of Breakfree and it's ready to go again. I would recommend this gun to anyone.

The name of the company that has the upgrades is ZR Tactical Solutions, LLC (ZRTS) / zrtacticalsolutions.com
317-721-9787

 

[Minisprint47]

I read or saw somewhere that some of the Sigs and Gsgs had run into a problem with the slide lock notch on the slide experiencing some damage after a lot of use, so much that the slide lock wouldn't catch and hold the slide open any longer. The Gsg that I recently purchased new has 2 small metal pieces molded into the front and rear of the slide lock notch. I believe this could be a fix to the damage I mentioned earlier. I purchased a Sig magazine from eBay recently and when I tried it out in the Gsg, it locked the slide to the rear but the slide lock notch was not back far enough to lock back with the slide lock. It also would not let the magazine eject from the pistol until I pulled the slide to the rear and pressed the magazine release at the same time. After comparing the new magazine with the one that came with the gun, I found that the square button on the side of the follower and a round pin on the back of the follower had been removed. Now this was supposed to be a brand new magazine. After contacting the seller, they corresponded back and forth a few times, they said they had contacted Sig and Sig claimed that they had modified a few magazines and claimed the magazine's were not defective. I needless to say was a little skeptical, so I contacted Sig myself and they confirmed that they had in fact started modifying their magazines to "fix" the slide lock problem by not allowing the slide to lock with the slide lock on an empty magazine. It would now lock up on the rear of the follower in the magazine's with the round pickup pin on the receiver instead of the slide lock and notch. IMO, that is Sig putting a bandaid on the problem instead of actually fixing the problem with the aluminum or pot metal slide. Has anyone seen the metal pins molded into their slides like mine has? Thought this information would be handy for anyone already owning either a Gsg or Sig or for anyone interested in buying one for themselves.

 

[Minisprint47]

Forgot to mention that I am replacing the follower in my new magazine with a different type of follower that will fix the magazine back to operate like it should and will also allow a couple more rounds in the magazine.