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Since there is no place around locally where someone without a badge can go to practice drawing and firing, I have been looking around for some time now at getting an air pistol modeled after the 1911 so that I can do said practice at home.
While there are many such air guns out there; BB guns, Airsoft guns, and even a couple of pellet guns; I had a hard time finding one that would approximate my Taurus without costing almost as much as an actual firearm.
I needed one without a rail so that it would fit my holster. It had to be a 5" 1911, with a working thumb safety, and preferably blowback operation to give it a little kick.
Most of the air guns that fit the bill cost at least $160.00. However, I just got one in the mail today from the Sportsman's Guide that costs $70.00.
It's made by Daisy. It is a Co2 powered 16 shot semi-automatic BB gun with a blowback operated reciprocating slide. At approximately 410 FPS it is not overly powerful to shoot in my garage. The thumb safety does work, however, that button that you see on the side of it has to be pushed in in order to take the pistol off safe. That means it is a two hand proposition to take the safety off. I removed that button, and now it works as it should. The grip safety is just for looks.
I took it out back today and shot at a shoot N see target pasted on a 6X6 box stuffed with old newspaper. I wanted to know how accurate it is before I start shooting it in the garage. At about 20 ft, most of my carefully aimed shots went into about a 4" pattern. About one shot in every 2 or 3 magazines goes wild, and didn't even hit the box. I knew that since it is a smoothbore it would not be a target gun, but I had hoped for a bit better. Still, it will suffice for the purpose at hand. I'll just have to set a plywood board against the wall in case I miss the target.
The slide does not slam back with the same authority as when firing a 185 gr +P hollow point, but it is more violent than I expected. Since some of the Co2 for each shot is used to reciprocate the slide, I was also surprised to see that I could get about 4 full 16 shot magazines out of 1 Co2 cartridge before the power dropped off noticeably. At least during slow fire. If I just dumped the magazines, I could only get 2 to 3.
It has the right size, controls and feel, (The slide even sort of locks back after the last shot.) but it is almost a full pound lighter than my loaded 1911. I'm looking at how I might fit some lead inside to remedy that slight defect. Overall, I'm quite happy with it. Although I would be happier if there were somewhere to go where I could practice with the real thing.
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Originally Posted by TucsonMTB
