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John Browning designed the famous and ubiquitous Model 1911 .45 ACP. The handsome single-stack 10+1 Browning 1911-22 is largely an 85% scale version of the original that’s been designed around smaller and far less expensive .22 LR ammo. It’s actually an entire range of guns with different options in sights, sizes, grips, slide and frame color combinations and both aluminum alloy and polymer framed versions. Regardless of configuration, they look great, feel great and evoke a piece of history you’ll cherish even if you never fire them.

The 1911-22s smaller size makes it a great fit not only for large hands but for smaller ones too. So the gun is 85% of the original. What does that actually translate to? First, the matte steel barrel is 4.25” while other key dimensions vary per what is outlined below. [Please note: there is an even smaller 1911-22 Compact set of models that have a 3.625” barrel, but that’s outside the purview of this write up.]

The vaulted slide has a beveled and lowered ejection port. The recoil housing, trigger guard and grip front strap are all rounded for snag mitigation. The barrel has a target crown and protrudes just slightly ahead of the muzzle bushing.

The 1911-22 was designed with safety in mind. It has a grip safety at back and a manual thumb safety at back left. The magazine release and slide stop are also on the left.

The gun’s solid curved alloy trigger has a matte black finish. The trigger is single-action and has a crisp, clean break.

The gun works with a 10-round heat-treated steel body and coil spring magazine that’s been designed for easy, reliable, loading and flush-mounting into the magazine well.

There are actually quite a few 1911-22 models, and they fall into several broad categories. Here are just three:

Models with an A1 Full Size suffix, such as the 1911-22 A1 Full Size have small black A1 sights in front and back, and they’re separated by a 5.5” sight radius. Overall length is 7.375”. Weight is impressively low at 15 ounces. In back is a touch-friendly serrated hammer and a medium beavertail. The slide has vertical rear grip serrations. The side panels aren’t G10 polymer, but rather actual wood. And they’re the classic double-diamond panels fastened with flat-head screws with laser cut diamond checkering in between.

Stepping up, 1911-22 Black Label Full Size guns have three dot dovetail sights, of which the front one is a green fiber optic. Black Label indicates the further addition of an ambidextrous thumb safety, diagonal rear slide serrations, a longer beavertail, skeletonized loop hammer, double-rectilinear ported trigger and composite faux wood grip panels without the double-diamond pattern but with a broad swatch of texturizing. The 1911-22 Black Label Full Size’s sight radius is 5.375”, overall length is 7.5” and weight is 15 ounces.

1911-22 Black Label Medallion Full Size guns have three dot steel dovetail sights and a longer beavertail, skeletonized loop hammer, high quality rosewood grip panels without the double-diamond pattern and with a small block of checkering and the gold Browning logo Buckmark inlay. The sight radius is 5.375”, overall length is 7.5” and weight is also 15 ounces.

There are several others current production models as the 1911-22 are very popular, but there are also many discontinued models based on different features, color schemes and sizes.

The Browning 1911-22 semi-automatic pistols are Made in USA.

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