Colt/Walther 1911A1 Gold Cup Trophy .22lr

[TonyS. 12]

Anyone own a Colt/Walther 1911A1 Gold Cup Trophy .22lr or one of the Colt/Walter 1911A1 .22 variants?  I know the mags can be hard to come by but I've found them at a few places. I held the 1911 Gold Cup Trophy 22 edition a few weeks ago and really, really like the ergos. I've never shot a 1911 in any caliber before but just holding the Colt/Walther made me smile like a goofball.    So anyone with one of the Colt/Walther 1911 .22 variants, how do you like it and any other comments or critiques on them?

[Frank Rizzo 59]

I have the rail version. http://www.waltherarms.com/products/tactical-rimfire-replicas/government-1911-a1-rail-gun/     Its a great fun firearm, rock solid reliable too.  Fortunately, I was able to score a few extra mags before availability became scarce.  Sadly, for no good reason, it's become a safe queen. 

[1LtCAP 4,262]

Anyone own a Colt/Walther 1911A1 Gold Cup Trophy .22lr or one of the Colt/Walter 1911A1 .22 variants?  I know the mags can be hard to come by but I've found them at a few places. I held the 1911 Gold Cup Trophy 22 edition a few weeks ago and really, really like the ergos. I've never shot a 1911 in any caliber before but just holding the Colt/Walther made me smile like a goofball.    So anyone with one of the Colt/Walther 1911 .22 variants, how do you like it and any other comments or critiques on them?

i just got mine a couple weeks ago from rob at hometown firearms. it's a REALLY fun gun. feel is just like a normal 1911, but you're shooting .22. so far, i've only run minimags and remington thunderbolts in mine.....about 100 of each, without a single malfunction. and yes, i was not only smiling, but laughing my ass off the first time i shot, 'cause you get all set for the .45 recoil, and then get the total lack of recoil, lol. it's a fun gun.

[Scrap 4]

I came close to buying one the first few days I moved to FL in April.  I got down here, got moderately situated, and went to check out the in-town gun shop I had found on the web during my research before I actually arrived here.  I was shocked and disappointed to see they had like, maybe 20? guns actually in stock and the rest, of their extensive inventory 'in stock' on their website, was , uh, 'in stock' at the 'distributors warehouse..... you know, in stock for me to order and have it shipped. '  That was a little whack but anyway.  I really wanted to buy myself a firearm over-the-counter as a moving to FL present and since, you know, I could do that down here.  But money is always an issue but EXTREMELY issue-causing during a move where money flies outta your pockets.  I wound up checking out their Colt Government model 1911 .22LR ... pretty nice.

 

It was cool because while it was a .22LR it still "felt like a gun" ... one of the things I llike but also others dislike about say my .22LR S&W M&P 15-22 rifle is it is soooo light, it can feel like a toy.  The Colt 1911 .22 feels like a WWII style 1911 gun, metal and GI sights . hammer, etc.  Felt good and looked like a lot of fun.  He was pretty high priced so I said I'd think about it and then did some home research.  I found out they make a .22LR version of the FDE Rail Gun, which looks just like the Colt Marine M45 gun so I thought I'd order that....

 

I wound up saving my money and buying myself a real gun for moving, a Sig MK25 9mm, and later in the summer bought a Smith and Wesson M&P 22 Compact to satisfy my .22LR niche. -- the M&P22C has been amazing, pretty much outstanding.  -  I'd still love to have that .22LR 1911, but I don't HAVE to have a Colt.  Sig had a sale earlier this year on their black, OD Green, and FDE 1911 .22s, I think it was Grab A Gun, $275 - hard to beat with a stick.

 

Anyway good luck whatever you choose.

[lionelfan 2]

Anyone own a Colt/Walther 1911A1 Gold Cup Trophy .22lr or one of the Colt/Walter 1911A1 .22 variants?  I know the mags can be hard to come by but I've found them at a few places. I held the 1911 Gold Cup Trophy 22 edition a few weeks ago and really, really like the ergos. I've never shot a 1911 in any caliber before but just holding the Colt/Walther made me smile like a goofball.    So anyone with one of the Colt/Walther 1911 .22 variants, how do you like it and any other comments or critiques on them?

I have the Gold Cup version.  Purchased it when it first came out.  It's a fun gun to shoot and it mimics the full size 1911 right down to many of its internal parts, but don't expect much in the way of accuracy (see below).  I have shot mostly CCI mini-mags with nary a failure to load, fire, extract or eject.  I have replaced the rubber grip with a set of wood grips wih brass colt logos because I prefer wood grips  -  they fit perfectly  There's a good reason why they give you the wraparound plastic grips like the 45ACP Colt Gold Cup.  The black finish on the frame wears off exposing the underlying alloy metal at the edges, the trigger and exposed parts of the grip.  Didn't like the trigger pull - it measured 6 lbs.  When I contacted Umerex (they were the initial importer - now taken back by Colt), they indicated they could/would not do a trigger job to reduce the trigger weight.  Since it uses the same sear, trigger & hammer springs as a full size 1911, I ordered a set of lighter springs from Brownell and am now enjoing a 4 lb trigger pull!

 

I especially like that it field strips easily, similar to a 45ACP 1911, and that the slide locks back on the last round.

 

My one issue with the gun is the rear sight. It doesn't hold a set well because the blade is wobbly. This significantly affects accuracy.  You can see the wobble in this short You Tube video, (

).  I had to remove the windage spring and stretch it to increase the tension to keep the windage agjustment tight.  I'd love to replace the rear sight, but I have yet to find one that fits without modification to the slide.  I tried replacing the front sight with a fiber optic one (http://www.dawsonprecision.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=SIGHTS+FRONT) made for the gun but ran into a problem, again with the rear sight.  Couldn't lower the rear sight sufficiently to align the hit & aim points (hit point too high) with the Dawson sight.

 

Another issue that I discovered after several hundred rounds through the gun is the barrel sleeve nut can loosen because of vibration.  Be sure to check that the barrel nut is tight with the provided wrench.

 

In spite of these difficulties,  I still enjoy shooting the gun for general plinking at 15 yards with a resettable shooting gallery.   If you want repeatable acuracy and consistent groupings you should consider a better quaity handgun - perhaps a conversion slide.   I did purchase (rather expensive) a Bob Marvel 1911 Knighthawk 22LR 1911 on Gunbroker several months ago that is my go to pistol for accuracy shooting.  It features a barrel that  is integrated with the slide similar to the S& W Model 41.  The Knighthawk shoots almost as accurately as my Model 41.

 

As an FYI, the 1911 22LR Colt Gold Cup shares a lot of its design elements with the S&W M&P22, which is also made by Walther.  I have the M&P22, as well, and I enjoy shooting that almost as much as the Colt Gold Cup.

 

 

 

 

[TonyS. 12]

Thanks guys for posting about the Colt 22 variants. Bill, thanks for posting your findings, though I admit it doesn't make me feel too good about my latest purchase. I actually bought the Gold Cup days ago but have to wait until the 17 to pick it up (OGAM). I do want something accurate and preferably something that I might keep for a very long time. I was going to get a Ruger Mark III until I picked up the Gold Cup. It just felt great and as good as the Mark III. I wonder if I can get my $$ back from the store since I haven't actually picked up the Colt yet.

 

Have you tried a stiffer spring for the rear sight or a minuscule dab of epoxy? Without having the Colt in-hand yet it's hard to see how it's set up so I can't suggest any help.

[lionelfan 2]

Thanks guys for posting about the Colt 22 variants. Bill, thanks for posting your findings, though I admit it doesn't make me feel too good about my latest purchase. I actually bought the Gold Cup days ago but have to wait until the 17 to pick it up (OGAM). I do want something accurate and preferably something that I might keep for a very long time. I was going to get a Ruger Mark III until I picked up the Gold Cup. It just felt great and as good as the Mark III. I wonder if I can get my $$ back from the store since I haven't actually picked up the Colt yet.

 

Have you tried a stiffer spring for the rear sight or a minuscule dab of epoxy? Without having the Colt in-hand yet it's hard to see how it's set up so I can't suggest any help.

 

As I mentioned, despite the difficulties, it's still an enjoyable gun to shoot if you like to shoot 1911s.  I looked at the Sig/GSG version of the 1911-22 and much preferred the Colt because of its greater similarity to the 1911, especially for field stripping.  Mine is an early version, so it's possible that Colt/Walther may have made revisions.  I did complain to Umarex at the time and even sent the gun back to them to see if they could do anything to make the rear sight blade more rigid.  No luck.  I have not tried to find an alternate spring for the sight - jus stretched it a little bit which increased the tension and helped somewhat.   Depending on the ammo I am using, I adjust the rear sight for more accurate groupings, so usng epoxy is not an option for me.

 

As for accuracy, keep in mind that there is also a fair amount of play between the slide and the frame.  This gun doesn't have the manufacturing tolerences to consistently shoot tight groups.  I'm not a marksman, but shooting off a wrist rest pad at 15 yards I can consistently hit within a 3" dot target.  It's good enough to have fun with a shooting gallery that has 2.5" disks.

[TonyS. 12]

Thanks Bill. I won't get into why but I got a very good deal on the Gold Cup Trophy at a local store...$390 + usual fees, taxes, etc..  It felt very comfortable and I like the weight. I think I could become a 9mm or .45  1911 fan in short time! Fit and finish is pretty good but I do see what you're talking about with the slide having a bit of play. I guess being a .22 it needs to be that way. Otherwise, I haven't shot it yet but I'm really liking it so far.