GSG 1911

[usmcpaul]

ITEM REVIEWED: GSG 1911

PURCHASED FROM / COST: I bought this gun from Michi-Gun about 5 weeks ago. $325 (it was normally 350, but it had a small scratch)

Background: My daughter and I have been going to the local range (CQT on 23 and Schoenner) for about 2 months now, and we are shooting on their "league night". Well long story short, .45 ACP was getting to be very cost prohibitive, since I absorb the cost of everything. So I needed a lower cost alternative, in order to keep shooting/practicing with her. I love the look and feel of the 1911 frame and wanted to practice with a gun that was similar in look, feel and operation to the 1911. (She has a Browning Buckmark and loves it, so no worries there)

After some research, I found 3 guns that fit into this category.
1. Kimber rimfire 1911
2. Chippea (spelling?)
3. GSG 1911

I absolutely love Kimbers, and own a couple .45's already, however the $800-$1200 start up cost was just too much for my budget right now. (although I am saving for another one )

The Chippea: It got fair reviews on-line and was priced pretty low, but I just did not like my 'gut feeling' about this one.

Anyhow, I called Michi-Gun and they had a GSG, so I went and looked at it. The reviews I have read were good, and I really liked the way it felt, and the build quality seemed pretty good for the price. It is certainly no Kimber, but it doesn't have the Kimber price tag either.

I now have about 5,000-7,000 rounds through it and I am pretty impressed. It is very accurate, as well as, reliable for the most part. The reviews I have read said that the barrel bushing's were cracking, so I knew that could be an issue up front. Well sure enough, mine cracked last week. The good part is that many of the parts (the company claims 80%) are interchangeable with regular 1911 parts. So I swapped it out with one of my Kimber 1911's bushings and it worked great. I have heard that they have recently fixed this problem, but I have no first hand knowledge about the new bushing.

I have since made my own bushing from some stainless steel stock I had laying around, and it works flawlessly. It really likes that bulk federal ammo from Wally World and has about 3-4 FTE for every 550 rounds. But in all fairness, most of them happen after about 1000 rounds and no cleaning.

Since we shoot side by side, I can say that this gun is just as reliable as the Browning so far, although the browning has far superior sights on it.

The rear sight is adjustable for windage, however; I overtightened it and it striped out, so I had to tap it for a larger set screw, it is plastic so it was not hard to tap, but that is probably the reason it stripped in the first place. I will probably make one this weekend out of stainless.

It also comes with 2 different height front sight posts, although I have not had the need to adjust my elevation.

All in all, this is a great gun, that is fun/cheap to shoot. I do see a little wear on the slide stop but not too bad, we will see.

I know about the Kimber 22 conversion kits, but I wanted a dedicated gun.
(I dunno, maybe I just wanted to buy a gun )

PRO'S:

1. low start up cost
2. low ammo cost
3. above average fit and finish
4. many interchangeable 1911 parts
5. Fits all my current 1911 holsters to practice with
6. nice clean trigger break (for a cheap stock gun)

CON'S:

1. Barrel bushing cracked after a few thousand rounds
2. Rear sight stripped and is made of plastic
3. Wasn't free

In closing, I would definitely recommend this gun to a friend.

[pkuptruck]

great review.... like the thourough part... not just...
"shoots good... buy it!" lol

might think about selling those "stainless bushings"... looks to be a good market for it!

thanks again...

[rjrivero]

Great review. You forgot to mention the GSG has a threaded barrel and can accept a suppressor......oh, wait. That's not important in Michigan......yet

[usmcpaul]

might think about selling those "stainless bushings"... looks to be a good market for it!

Yea, but considering the time I have invested in it, I would have to sell them for about $1,495.99 each to make any money.(free ground shipping of course) Brownells sell them for $20 + shipping.

I only made it because I wanted to see if I could actually do it.

[usmcpaul]

I have to post 10 times before I can post pictures so here it goes......4

[usmcpaul]

3 to go

[usmcpaul]

2 to go

[usmcpaul]

1 more to go.

[usmcpaul]

0 to go, I hope there is no secret handshake that I need to know.

[usmcpaul]

Here are some pics of the old and new bushings, It's not perfect, but I am happy with the result. The original looks bigger, but I assure you it is within .001 of the original. Also if you look closely at the original bushing you can see the crack in it.