Here is another opinion
This is not intended as a critique of the previous posting, although I did express my thoughts on a few of the items. We can all have differing opinions on a pistol's feel and shooting comfort.
My .22 HW45 weighs in at
2 lbs 8.8oz. A Colt 1911 .45ACP weighs about an ounce less when empty and likely a bit more than the HW45 with a full magazine.
The HW45 is 11" long while the original Colt 1911 model is 8.25". The upper frame on the HW45 is higher to accommodate the compression tube.
The HW45 frame is made from aircraft aluminum which doesn't take a bluing. Some sort of painted finish has been applied. If the HW45 was made of thick steel, it would sure weigh a lot more than 2.5 pounds.
The HW45 uses the same basic checkered walnut grip panels that come with a Colt 1911. These can easily be changed to any of the Pachmayr or Hogue rubber grips or custom wooden grips. I used the factory walnut for many years and then installed a Pachmayr wrap-around grip.
As for power, my .22 HW45 shoots 14.5gr pellets at 420fps. Pellets will blast through both sides of a metal soup can at 10 yards. At 20 yards, it will blast though one side of the can... or both.
Some shooters complain about the difficulty in loading the HW45. After shooting more than 30,000 shots from my HW40 and HW45, I have a system which isn't too difficult. I grab a pellet by the base, between thumb and index finger, and drop it into the barrel. A push with my index finger seats the pellet.
Complete review at
http://my.tbaytel.net/~coopers@tbaytel.net/HW45Review/
Tin cans at 20 yards
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2...7/image011.gif
MV with 14.5gr RWS Super-H-Points
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2...s7/HW45vel.jpg
HW45 with Pachmayr grip
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/airpics7/HW45a.jpg
Cheers,
Todd