Tons of fun! - Advantage Arms 1911T Conversion Caliber

I purchased this for plinking, practicing tactical (IPSC) shooting with failure to fire drills, and to let my 8 yr old son shoot it. The weight of the gun helps mitigate any snappy recoil some .22 conversion kits have, so it was easy for him to learn to shoot on. The primary firearm this will be used on is a Colt 1991A1 Series 80.

Most of my available ammo was specifically called out by AA as being incompatible with the conversion kit, but we went shooting anyway! I have 5 magazines (GSG M-1911) that functioned with my older 1911-22 conversion, so I took them along for the ride.

Ammo Used:
Federal Champion Copper Plated 36gn: Failure to cycle second round occasionally during the first 150 rounds, but then cycled flawlessly for a hundred rounds. Would occasionally fail to lock the slide back after last round. Pleasantly surprised since AA said Federal ammo won't work with this slide, and it's the bulk of what I have on hand.

Aguila Copper Plated High Velocity 40gn: Cycled flawlessly for 100+ rounds. Locked slide after last round.

Aguila Lead Standard Velocity 40gn: Cycled flawlessly for 50 rounds, but did not lock slide back after last round.

Federal Auto Match Target Grade Lead: Consistent failure to cycle. Would jam during mag changes when releasing the slide, then for every single shot fired after. Not surprising since they provide a giant yellow card that says Federal ammo won't work. Don't shoot this ammo and blame it on the slide!

Design:
The target model has a split non-traditional slide, with the sights staying fixed and the lower part of the slide cycling. You need to pinch the sides to pull the slide back, you can't grab the upper half of the slide like you can with the standard 1911. I typically pull and release the slide when changing mags, so I kept grabbing the fixed part of the slide until I got used to it. It has a full length Picatinny rail, I may end up throwing a cheap red dot on it someday. Having the slide fixed will eliminate most of the wear and tear on any optic, which admittedly isn't much on a .22...

Function:
Most of the issues I encountered were expected while breaking in a brand new semi-auto .22lr conversion. With the exception of the Auto Match ammo, slide performance improved as I shot, cleaned, and shot it again. The only thing the Auto Match ammo will be good for is mixing it into your loadout to force a jam so you can practice failure to fire drills.

My rates of fire were slow initially while I played around with the different ammo. As the day progressed, I shot faster and faster to see how it worked. Aside from occasionally failing to cycle the second round with the Federal Champion ammo, you can shoot as fast as your finger will let you without issue. I blazed through 10 mags of Champion without a single issue before calling it a day. I didn't count any failure to lock the slide after last round against the conversion kit when rating since I was not using the recommended ammo (40 gn High Velocity), particularly since my Aguila 40gn HV ammo worked flawlessly.

The included polymer magazine worked as intended, but it can be difficult to load. There is a random rod included in the kit, maybe it's for pulling the follower down and relieving the pressure? The GSG M-1911 magazines functioned without issue and had the added bonus of dropping free.

Disassembly and cleaning is intuitive.

Sights are high quality and fairly dialed in. I was shooting slightly high and left, I'll adjust the sights next time I go shooting. I didn't bother since I was shooting a wide variety of ammo, I'll pick one and set it up for that. Didn't stop my 8 yr old from hitting a 10" steel plate at 30 yards on his first shot!

Cons:
I'm not a huge fan of the fixed upper slide, I would prefer it to operate like a traditional 1911. That being said, it does function well.

Instructions are fairly lacking.

Overall:
Extremely happy with the purchase. I love shooting my 1911, this lets us plink for hours for the cost of a one box of 45ACP. The fact that my existing magazines worked is a huge plus, negating any gripes I have about the slide design. Highly recommend if you're in the market for a slide conversion. Don't be afraid to shoot what you have on hand (unless it's Hyper velocity), and don't bulk buy ammo until you find something it likes to eat.