Guns 2011-11.pdf - Jeffersonian

• H O L T B O D I N S O N •No illusion. The 1911-22 is an85-percent sized version of JohnBrowning’s classic Model of1911 .45 ACP.Small Scale 1911Browning’s 85 percent solution.y favorite picture of John Browning shows himMstanding in his workshop, holding up his handand estimating the size of a needed new part betweenhis outstretched thumb and forefinger while one of hismachinists has grabbed a vernier caliper and is quicklymeasuring and recording the distance between thosegifted fingers. It exemplifies the mechanical genius hewas, not someone hunched over a drafting table, but amechanic who would file, chisel or machine part-by-part ofa new firearm design he could visualize in his fertile mind.The Browning scaled down 1911-22 is as perfectly proportioned asthe full-size 1911, and handlesexceedingly well.I can imagine him today standingthere at his cluttered workbenchwhich has been recreated at the JohnM. Browning Firearms Museumin Ogden, Utah, setting out thedimensions of a new Model 1911chambered for the .22 Long Rifle.That he didn’t, opened up a uniqueopportunity for Browning’s currentengineers to do something especiallycreative for the 100th anniversaryof the United States Military’sadoption of the Model of 1911. Whatthey created has turned out to be asensational, new rimfire handgun. Solet there be a nice drum roll for theintroduction of the Browning 1911-22.According to Browning’s FirearmsManager, Denny Wilcox, the 1911-22 has been in the hopper since 2008when work on the concept began.It’s existence up until the 2011SHOT Show was a well-kept secret.Browning knows how to keep secretswhen it comes to firearms in thedesign phase. I had an opportunity tovisit the Browning engineering officesone summer. When you entered anengineer’s office, he either turned hiscomputer off or turned to somethingless than confidential. It remindedme of the stories of the old Englishgun trade in which the individualcraftsmen would cover up the workon their bench with their apron ifanyone approached. Anyway, I don’tthink you’d have much luck beingan industrial spy in the Browningengineering offices.Ryan Cook, Browning’s LeadDesign Engineer, said the first thingthey did was to model a full size 1911in their CAD system. The challengewas to determine what the optimumsize should be for a .22 rimfire builton the 1911 design. They began witha full 100-percent rimfire modelwhich was progressively shrunk andprototyped at 90 percent, 85 percentand 75 percent of full size.What finally “felt” right was the85-percent prototype. What ringstrue and is remarkable to me is at the85-percent scale, you can still get allof your fingers on the grip, instead ofhaving your little pinky floating out inspace or wrapped under the magazinefloorplate. I also noticed that at 8518WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • NOVEMBER 2011