So, to make training more affordable, I ordered one of these today:
A Sig Sauer CO2 powered BB gun 
Crazy as it sounds, I am looking forward to shooting this in the back yard. It has functional thumb and grip safeties, and even though POI might not be exactly POA, I am going to try to be like the US Marines and work with with I’ve got! I say that because way back when I used to design simulated training equipment, the Marines would always work with what you got today, and upgrade when you had something better. My fondest memory was indirect fire with the MK-19. We sorted out the problems with lobbing in at long range targets, but the Marines trained with direct fire until we figured it out.
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I just picked up a Sig Sauer P320 CO2 pellet gun. The trigger isn’t as smooth, and the blow back is really only a phantom of the “real thing,” but it’s a lot of fun and surprisingly accurate!
Oh yeah, and a weighted P320 blue gun too.
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Practice/training are very important and that is a great idea. Gun looks authentic. At least you are not bored.
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That blue gun is an exact replica @Alces_Americanus 
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I know! 
And it’s fully weighted too. I stumbled it a month ago, maybe; I had thought they were all lightweight pieces of plastic.
Anyway, it’s great for practicing draw.
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Kind of interesting to me is the manual indicates the sights are set up for 6-o’clock alignment. Every tactical Sig Sauer I’ve shot has sights set up for combat alignment. I’ve also read several reviews that confirmed the BB-gun version does indeed have a POI that is high.
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The Spartan BB gun arrived with a broken thumb safety. It is some sort of pot metal made in Japan and there are enough reviews online with the same issue it looks like it is a packaging issue. It doesn’t really matter to me because I broke off the offending part with a butter knife and made it functional again.
I loaded it up with the included BBs, a Crossman CO2 cartridge and took it out behind the pool house for a trial. I have to say the recoil was a lot more realistic than expected. The trigger is mushy, doesn’t break like glass, and the reset does not feel like a real 1911 - but what do you expect for less than $100? Trigger pull measured right at 5.5 lbs.
I got 56 shots out of the CO2 cartridge and especially considering those 56 shots cost less than a dollar, I am very pleased. The sight picture seemed more like “Center of Target” vs. 6 o’clock so am happy about that. I used a cardboard box with a target taped on it. The first couple of 16 round magazines went thru the front and back of the box and some even embedded in the wood fence backer behind the box. Towards the end of shooting the BBs only made it thru the front cardboard and stayed in the box.
Bottom line I think I am going to really enjoy live firing this between range sessions with real firearms. I will edit this post with a photo of the first 56 shots taken with my phone:
Range was 5 to 10 yards …
Edit: weight is more comparable to a Compact/Commander 1911 at 33 ounces.
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