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Chiappa 1911-22

Re: Chiappa 1911-22

I brought mine home today. I ran about 400 rounds through it. It was a lot of fun to shoot.

CCI Mini Mags 36 grain ran great. Winchester X shot real good too, which I did not expect. I ran Remington Yellow Jackets without issue (1500 fps). Where I did run into trouble was the 550 bulk pack Remington Golden Bullet from Wal-Mart that failed to fire every other round (which exceeds manufacturer's recommendation for muzzle velocity. I took my Savage bull barrel bolt action along and it fired every Remington Golden Bullet I put into it...from the same box). When I chambered a Remington Golden Bullet in the Chiappa 1911-22 it would fire, but a round that chambered from recoil would not fire. I am sure there are better men than me to explain that one.

My model has standard sights, not target. Instruction manual describes modifying the front sight with a file to get the right elevation. The rear sight adjusts left to right using a set screw with a dovetail mount. The set screw only locks it down, it does not move it directly.

I tried shooting rapid fire several times with success.

In my honest opinion, it is worth the 230 I paid for mine (that's with tax). I will be glad to update and maybe post a video on you tube or where ever if anyone is interested...

I'm not sure of the actual weight of the gun, but compared to my Ithaca 1911 it feels the same overall.

Feel free to ask and questions if you have them.
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

Can you post some high resolution pictures of the pistol?
Many say the finish is very crappy, and I'd like to judge it myself ...
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

The website does not state the type of finish. It is not blued. It is kind of shiney, dark / black. To answer your question, no, it does not have a pretty finish like a brand new blued S&W (I use a blued S&W because I always loved their blued finishes as a kid). If I were to GUESS, it could be a powder coat, which might explain why the company doesn't tell what it is. Just a guess. Aw hell, there my camera...let me see what I can do.
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

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Re: Chiappa 1911-22

Naw, its not a pretty gun by no means. But I am pleased with its plinkability.

I ran another 400 rounds or so through the little Chiappa. I had not one jam with Winchester X ammo from Wal-Mart.

Hey, for 230 bucks it works.
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

The grips are wood. Everything else is metal. On some other forums they refer to the Chiappalloy as pot metal. Like with a lot of trade mark and patented devices or "inventions", part of selling your idea of a alloy with desirable properties is giving it a name that people can remember. Chiappalloy is a specific alloy with preferrable wear properties that uses a mixture of metals like magnesium, nickel, or something like that. I looked it up.
I personally wouldn't call it "pot metal", but to each his own. I believe the forum thread link I posted previously has a response from the owner of the company, which I believe is Italian. The GSG model looks almost identical (Germany). Italy and Germany aren't that far apart, and I would GUESS it is possible they share some common suppliers. I'm guessing. Who knows? I have not found anything in mine that looks or feels like plastic.

If I get a chance I'll try to make some comparative shots with my Ithaca 1911.
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

If it were an aluminum alloy, they would call it that.
Chiappalloy pretty much has to be a zinc alloy, like the Zamak S&W uses in their cheapie Sigma pistols.
Check Wiki on "pot metal" - zinc alloyed with a variety of other metals like Pb, Cu, Mg, Cd, Al to improve ease of casting.

Sig uses it for slides on Mosquitos (the PR claims carbon steel, falsely).
Walther uses it for slides on the P-22.
 
Re: Chiappa 1911-22

New Christmas present.. Chiappa 1911-22. Haven't shot it yet (went to the nearest public shooting area today and there was a truck with a guy in the drivers seat and a girl sitting backward on his lap.. I decided to just back away and leave :p).

Decent feeling gun, not the greatest quality but I didn't expect it to be for the price. I only got it for plinking. Cool thing though is that it is the same size and similar parts as a normal 1911 so sites, grips, etc. will fit it.

Check out the Gunblast review!

http://www.gunblast.com/Chiappa1911-22.htm


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Re: Chiappa 1911-22

I spoke to the guy that developed the Chiappa 1911, he told me that "Chiappalloy" is their own formula of Zinc Alum Alloy that actually "Blues" and their standard pistol has the finish it has to save cost. He showed me one that looked exactly like a '70s vintage Colt 70 series and he said their Target model will probably have that finish. He told me that they had to sacrifice somewhere to make a 300.00 retail pricepoint, and they chose the finish, they did not want to sacrifice on accuracy or reliability. I have no doubt, I have over 10K rds through mine and I love it! It seem to get better with every shot. Then he showed me the M-4 .22 cal upper they are building, which will be my next purchase!!