Chiappa or Colt—will the real 1911 .45 please stand up
by John C. Krull
Gun Week Production Manager
Probably my all time favorite gun is some variant of a 1911-type pistol—in .45 caliber of course. I have several from manufacturers like Colt, Springfield, Double Star and Detonics. The gun feels right, is dependable, fires a tested caliber that does the job it is meant to do, has the correct angle from the frame to the grip for near perfect natural pointing of the muzzle at your target. What could make it any better?
The .45 caliber ammunition has in recent years gotten up their in price, making some of us have to cut back on the amount of shooting that we allow ourselves to do. I’ve thought about a .22 conversion kit, but they seem to cost as much as the gun that you’d be converting and you don’t have your .45 while the kit is in place. Actually a conversion kit would cost me more than my Series 70 Colt Gold Cup because I only paid $125 for it brand new.
Late last year or early this year I got an email from one of my customers wanting to know if I could get a gun by the strange name of Chiappa (pronounced kee-appa, sort of like the Chianti wine). I didn’t really know. So after some investigation online (sometimes computers do help us) I found their website—chiappafirearms.com. The return email said I had to contact MKS Supply for more information.
I’ve known Charles Brown at MKS Supply for a number of years and saw him and the Chiappa Firearms (6785 W. Third St., Dept. GWK, Dayton, OH 45427; phone: 937-825-5000; online: chiappafirearms.com) at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I liked what I saw and when I got back from SHOT, I put in an order for three of their 1911-22s, two for my customer and one for me to play with.
There was one draw back that I didn’t know about when I ordered the guns and I want to make dealers out there aware of it in case they live in a Gestapo state like New York. We have here a program called COBIS. I forget what it stands for but for every new handgun that comes into the state through a distributor we have to provide the state police with a fired case from the gun that was fired at the factory or point of importation. The Chiappas don’t come with one of these fired cases. I ended up taking a couple of vacation hours from work to drive the 70 miles round trip to Batavia, NY, so the state police could fire the guns for me and take a sample case. The police were nice enough about it. It was just the time and gas involved in having to do it. So you guys are forewarned. I sure was glad I had ordered three guns because I would have been unhappy if I had to do all that for just one gun. New York state still hasn’t solved a single crime with this COBIS program with the millions of dollars it is costing the taxpayers each year, but I’m certain they will any day now.
The Chiappa comes in the customary black plastic box which can be locked with a padlock. You also get a cleaning brush, a manual, but just one magazine. There is also a key that will engage a hammer block, which allows you to disable the pistol from firing. This is sort of like we have been seeing on the Taurus and S&W handguns of late. On the right hand side of the pistol you will see two small holes for the key and two red dots. When the dots are lined up the gun will fire.
The gun is a spitting image of a 1911 .45 caliber pistol. It even has laser-engraved walnut grips which are really a nice feature. The pistol weighs in at 32 ounces. The one 10-round magazine which is shipped with the gun is made of plastic—not my favorite material, but they seem to be well made. I had a couple of malfunctions with the first string of 10 rounds I fired but have been malfunction free since that first mag. The manual does suggest 100-150 rounds being fired for a break-in period. The manual also suggests ammo with a velocity of at least 1,066 feet-per-second (fps). If your first choice of ammo fails to function properly in the Chiappa, then change to a different brand or variety of .22 LR ammo until you find one that your Chiappa likes.
The rear sight is similar to the one you would see on the government issue .45. It is fixed with a small notch. The front sight is of the blade type. For now you will have to do some filing on the front sight if you want to adjust your point of impact. You can only do this once, so do it right. There is soon to be a target version which will have adjustable sights.
At present the only color that the Chiappa comes in is black but soon tan and green will be introduced.
I suggest that you get a couple of extra magazines with your pistol. They are always better to have and not need than to need and not have. I still have brand new mags (also plastic) for my semi-auto .22 LR Daisy youth rifle. I’ve been offered much more money than I paid for them but will hang onto them so long as I have the gun. The cost for each extra Chiappa 1911-22 mag is about $26 each. I had order four extra mags when I got my first three guns, with the intend of keeping all of them for myself but my customers who bought the Chiappas each bought one, so I’m down to three mags for now. I will order more mags with my next order of guns.
The Chiappa impresses me for several reasons. The first is its price. The retail price for the Chiappa is just $299. That is less than you will pay for some conversion kits. Next, it shoots inexpensive .22 LR ammo, besides I can shoot it in my basement range. But maybe one of the reasons I like it the best is that I can teach those who aren’t familiar with semi-autos how to handle them on a .22 LR platform rather than a centerfire platform. Let them get used to the gun, the control, the sighting and aiming before they are introduced to the recoil.
Disassembly and reassembly isn’t all that bad once you have done it a couple of times. I found the bushing very difficult to turn at first but I’m sure that once it gets worn-in it will be a lot easier. They do suggest they you field-strip and clean the gun every time it has been used or exposed to sand or dirt. Use your judgment!
The Chiappa is fun to shoot. The trigger is a little heavy. On my trigger scale it weighed in at 8.25 pounds. Not exactly a hair trigger. This can be another good form of training in getting students to squeeze the trigger directly to the rear and not to pull the trigger and bring the sights off target.
The only ammo that we used in the Chiappa was Federal Premium Gold Medal (900 Ehlen Dr, Dept. GWK, Anoka, MN 55303; phone: 763-323-2300; online: federalpremium.com) ammo. This has a 40-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps so it does meet the suggested requirement given by the instruction manual. I only have 150 rounds left from the brick so we’ve put 350 rounds down range with the Chiappa. We shot from a distance of 25 feet. The group that we measured was 1.75 inches by 1.5 inches and about an inch low of our aiming point.
We started our test firing with some targets that had been photocopies of targets we use for hunter safety. These were fine for the break-in period, but we switched to Orange Peel targets for the real testing. These targets are put out by Caldwell. They are orange in color, and you peel the back off and stick them to just about anything. For more information on these and other Caldwell products visit their website at caldwellshooting.com.
The Orange Peel targets show up the holes in the target really well, especially for the purpose of showing you guys. When some of us writers use the old type black and white paper targets, we will have pictures taken of us with the target and the gun but you can’t see the holes in the target. On the Orange Peel targets you can most definitely see the holes in the target. This feature also makes them nice for use at longer range when you are trying to see where you have hit through your spotting scope. They have all kinds of great products for the shooter including the lead sled, some fine Gunsmithing tools and target holders. Check them out.
One more product we have used on this handgun and several other guns over the last few months is one of Rusty’s Rags (PO Box 6624, Dept. GWK, Douglasville, GA 30154; online: rustysrags.com). These are sheepskin that have been impregnated with silicon. They get the silicon into the nooks and crannies where it needs to get to help prevent rust. I have two, one that is rifle sized and the other is smaller for use on pistols. I have probably been using the pistol one for 6 or 7 months already and haven’t noticed that I need to replace it yet. If you wipe your guns down every time after fondling or shooting them Rusty’s Rag will help keep them in good shape. The pistol rag is $9.25, the rifle rag is priced at $10.25, but Rusty does have a combo deal of both for only $15 with free shipping. There are also discounts for buying in quantities of 3 or 6. Try them and you’ll like them. Oh, by the way Rusty is 82 years old.
I hope you have gotten the direct impression that I like the Chiappa, that it is fun to shoot and economical to purchase and shoot. There is a WARNING sheet included with the Chiappa that warns you about being careful if you remove the left hand side grip. I’m not going to explain it, I just wanted to make you aware of it so that you do read it.
That’s it for now. When you are contacting any of these manufacturers let them know that John at Gun Week sent you.
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