1911 .45 acp Reloading vs .22

[kesava]

I have a couple of 1911's (the American Classic hates fiocchi ammo btw)

I have dropped $300 on ammo in the past month. That makes me sick.

I need to either

a) Get a 1911 .22 version/conversion (Chiappa or ATI).... 22 ammo is super cheap, but the recoil will not feel the same.

Start reloading for a $150 investment and still shoot for .15¢/round, recoil will be the same, but I will need a place to reload *moving wifes crap into storage and out of my shed*, and it's more expensive than .22

My purpose is to get to a sub 2.5 second Mozambique drill, so shooting often will be required.

[gregintenn]

Both.

[Guest jackdm3]

For perspective on HOW BAD the storage fees are, my Granny had a big one (10 X 20) for $196/mo for over at least 7 years or more. Comes out to over $15,000. My parents have had an 8 X 12 for $200/mo for almost that long. And the contents in either weren't near worth the cost of space. Parents thought, "It'll just be for a little while." Cheaper to build your own storage house and have something to show for it.

[56FordGuy]

I have a couple of 1911's (the American Classic hates fiocchi ammo btw)

I have dropped $300 on ammo in the past month. That makes me sick.

I need to either

a) Get a 1911 .22 version/conversion (Chiappa or ATI).... 22 ammo is super cheap, but the recoil will not feel the same.

Start reloading for a $150 investment and still shoot for .15¢/round, recoil will be the same, but I will need a place to reload *moving wifes crap into storage and out of my shed*, and it's more expensive than .22

My purpose is to get to a sub 2.5 second Mozambique drill, so shooting often will be required.

For perspective on HOW BAD the storage fees are, my Granny had a big one (10 X 20) for $196/mo for over at least 7 years or more. Comes out to over $15,000. My parents have had an 8 X 12 for $200/mo for almost that long. And the contents in either weren't near worth the cost of space. Parents thought, "It'll just be for a little while." Cheaper to build your own storage house and have something to show for it.

Jack...what? ;)

As to the original question, well...both. Reloading can save a lot of money, but I don't think it's possible to reload any centerfire ammo for the cost of .22.

One of my favorite guns is my Ruger Mark 3 .22 pistol. It's incredibly accurate, has a pretty good trigger from the factory, and very inexpensive to shoot.

[Guest jackdm3]

He said, "moving wifes crap into storage" which is a complete dead end these days.

[Mike.357]

One of my favorite guns is my Ruger Mark 3 .22 pistol. It's incredibly accurate, has a pretty good trigger from the factory, and very inexpensive to shoot.

QFT and FTW

[1gewehr]

As said above - BOTH.

Get a .22 upper for your existing pistol. What you are trying to accomplish is to develop muscle memory of trigger pull and trigger reset point. You also want to develop a feel for sight picture reset. A separate .22 pistol is nice, but won't really accomplish what you want.

Start reloading. As you mentioned, you cannot really develop recoil management skills on .22 ammo. And the best shooters use up several thousand rounds of full-power ammo each month. Even if you don't shoot nearly that much, reloading .45 can be done for about $.15/rd. (I'm figuring you will re-load each case at least five times) If you figure that a case of Wolf .45 is $300, and a good RCBS or Lee starter kit is about the same price, then your reloading pays for itself in about 2000rds.

If you are really only loading common pistol rounds, the Dillon Square Deal B is an excellent value for turning out a lot of ammo (about$370). It's a very simple machine compared to other multi-stage presses, and with only a little practice you can achieve 300+ rounds per hour. Even though I have a Dillon 550, I still use the SDB for 9mm as it's just as fast, and a bit simpler to operate. Dillon has the best customer service in the industry. Lifetime warranty (even if you buy it used), and just call them and tell them what the problem is and they'll ship the replacement parts out immediately, or walk you through fixing the problem.

[Kano]

I reload for my 1911's

Also have a Ruger Mark III Hunter

"Although it is called the Mark III Hunter--and it is certainly up to that task for any manner of small game--I also see this as the ultimate plinker for those who simply want the best. Also, assuming one can ignore a crowd of bystanders and is allowed to concentrate on his shots, I suspect this newest Ruger can hold its own in competition as well".

Hand guns magazine

[MudBugjr]

Ive seen all kinds of reloading setups that people have here that are portable. My Nephew has his mounted on a rolling table he pushes into a closet. So you don't have to have a big area to start with. Maybe you could do something small leave it out in the living room then your wife will clear you a space to get it out of the house.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

As said above - BOTH.

Get a .22 upper for your existing pistol. What you are trying to accomplish is to develop muscle memory of trigger pull and trigger reset point. You also want to develop a feel for sight picture reset. A separate .22 pistol is nice, but won't really accomplish what you want.

Start reloading. As you mentioned, you cannot really develop recoil management skills on .22 ammo. And the best shooters use up several thousand rounds of full-power ammo each month. Even if you don't shoot nearly that much, reloading .45 can be done for about $.15/rd. (I'm figuring you will re-load each case at least five times) If you figure that a case of Wolf .45 is $300, and a good RCBS or Lee starter kit is about the same price, then your reloading pays for itself in about 2000rds.

If you are really only loading common pistol rounds, the Dillon Square Deal B is an excellent value for turning out a lot of ammo (about$370). It's a very simple machine compared to other multi-stage presses, and with only a little practice you can achieve 300+ rounds per hour. Even though I have a Dillon 550, I still use the SDB for 9mm as it's just as fast, and a bit simpler to operate. Dillon has the best customer service in the industry. Lifetime warranty (even if you buy it used), and just call them and tell them what the problem is and they'll ship the replacement parts out immediately, or walk you through fixing the problem.

I would have to agree with this assesment.. Also.. in time you will want to be able to make your own bullets by casting them.. this will reduce your cost even more.. in the long run of course.. start up on anything is a bump.. but in time it evens out.

[TNWNGR]

I'd suggest purchasing a Ruger 22/45 and shooting it a lot you'll really love the pistol and will also be able to let your wife shoot it as well. Now, so far as reloading equipment and space to set it up in, well you don't need to move out to the shed to do that. There's all kind's of space saving set up's people have used in houses and apartment's. I think simply mounting the press on a piece of 1" thick plywood and "C" clamping it to a table will do nicely until you've got more room. Starting out for your need's a Lee Classic turret press will get the job done, but a Dillon Square Deal B will bring a smile to your face.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

For the price of a good dedicated 22 pistol you could own a Marvel .22lr upper that will go on your .45 frame! That way you will always have the same grip feel and same trigger feel..

[Guest Lester Weevils]

For the price of a good dedicated 22 pistol you could own a Marvel .22lr upper that will go on your .45 frame! That way you will always have the same grip feel and same trigger feel..

I've barely shot my nice Ruger Mark II slabside since getting a Beretta 92 .22 conversion slide for that reason. The design of the Beretta .22 conversion is such that it is only incrementally more accurate than a 9mm 92FS. But the practice with the .22 conversion slide directly translates to better results with the Beretta 92 in 9mm. Shooting the Ruger mark II is different enough that the skill set doesn't as directly translate over to the 'practical pistols'. I have 2 92FS, so it is convenient because I just leave the .22 conversion on one frame, and can shoot 40 rounds out of the .22 and then 10 rounds out of the 9mm as a 'reality check'.

It has worked out so well, next want to get a CZ Kadet or CZ-75 + Kadet slide, to match the CZ-85, for the same kind of 2 pistol money-saving practice on the CZ platform. The Kadet is reputed to be pretty accurate, probably more accurate than the 92FS .22 conversion slide.

Eventually want to get a .22 1911 and a 9mm 1911 for the same purposes. Reviews on some of the inexpensive dedicated .22 1911s are pretty good. Before going into that, need to research and discover the bestest dedicated .22 1911 that is most-similar operationally with whatever 9mm 1911 I decide on. Maybe the best solution would be to buy 2 identical 1911 frames and put a Marvel .22 upper on one of them, but that would be more expensive.