Legacy Sports International recently announced adding two 1911s chambered in .22 to their catalog, but an M1 Carbine is considerably more unique. Made by Chiappa, these carbines are not only true to the M1 looks, but are downright cheap.
These .22 Long Rifle M1 replicas are patterned on the original military specifications, although it ditches the short-stroke gas piston system in favor of a more rimfire-friendly locking blowback action. The rest is fairly true to form; it has a 35-inch overall length, an eighteen inch barrel, and weighs about five pounds (4.8, compared the the M1’s 5.2).
The Citadel M-1.22 will be available in two configurations, a traditional wood-stocked rifle as well as a less-expensive version with a polymer stock.
These carbines come with two ten-round magazines, but it’s the price that’s the most appealing thing about them. The MSRPs for the wood- and synthetic-stocked .22s are $400 and $350, respectively. We hope to see them in stores soon, as they’re intended to hit shelves “early 2012”. A few places list them as “out of stock” but at prices between $250 and $350. That should be a good guide for what to expect when the do become available.
What can you do with an M1 Carbine in .22? What can’t you do? And actually, we think these will shape up to be great beginner rifles, the sort of thing you could take to an Appleseed match.
Project Appleseed is a marksmanship program geared to teaching people both history and riflery, and it’s lessons are centered around natural point-of-aim shooting and techniques perfected with rifles like the M1 Carbine. Plus, it’s downright fun. But you will run through about a thousand rounds of ammo in a couple of days, so yeah, bring on the .22s.
Chippa has a decent reputation when it comes to making .22 replicas, and if Legacy can keep bringing these M1 Carbine replicas to market at these prices, we expect them to be plenty popular. Even the ones with synthetic stocks.
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