# 1911????



## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

My question is, is a $1200 Kimber that much better than a $730 Springfield? $1200 for a pistol seems like a waste of money to me. I really don't know jack about pistols but I'm assuming you're paying a little extra for the Kimber name, aren't you? I have a SA XD 45 that I'm thinking about selling or trading in on a 1911. I've had that XD since they came out and probably only shot it 50-60 times. I probably couldn't justify buying a $1200 pistol eh? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks


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## wish2hunt (Apr 3, 2009)

im not an expert on handguns, I cant explain which one is made better. but this is how i made my decision on what type of concealed carry weapon to buy. At the time i was looking for a handgun, i was torn between a Kimber and a Wilson. I knew the WIlsons were much more expensive thatn the Kimber. I think it was $1K more!! Ouch. But i figured that since it was more it was obviously a better weapon. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which one i wanted. I even went as far as putting an add out in the local paper to see who owned a Wilson?Kimber and would be willing to meet me at a gun range to squeez a few rounds out of it. 
I eventually foun some guys and they met me so i could try them out. I was impressed with both guns. But...One of the guys had an XD-45 Tactical, that he said i should shoot. I shot that one, and loved it. I felt like it was comfortable in my hands than the other two. The other two are great guns, but the XD was a perfect fit for me. So i bought it.

So my advice would be...its worth the money if its right for you.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Starting out with a bone stock pistol, if you like to shoot quite a bit, you will want to start the upgrade process. If you start to add, oh let's just say, a barrel, trigger job, spring and extractor upgrades and a decent set of night sights, you will quickly see where the extra money goes. I'm not talking aboput building a match gun here, just one that will shoot well, and function reliably with about any kind of load you care to feed it. The Kimber you mention most likely has all of these features and will, in all likelyhood, justify the price you are seeing. If you are simply an occasional shooter and don't need added dependability and reliability of an upper grade pistol, skip it, and go with a simpler, more economical design. Your XD is a good choice in that category, as are many from Ruger, Taurus, CZ and Springfield. I'm amazed at the quality of pistol that is offered for 5-6 hundred dollars, and less, these days. 
Burl


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## HARRY2 (Jul 26, 2004)

I just bought a Rock Island Armory 1911 for 450.00. I dont have anything bad to say about it, but i have never fired a 1000 dollar plus 1911 either. If you just want a 1911 for plinking i would recommend the RIA 1911. It has never jammed and goes boom everytime.


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## darkgael (Feb 10, 2006)

I'm no big fan of high dollar guns. Certainly they are well finished. They work well. But....that question "Is it worth....?" is a good one. Is a - forget a $1200 Kimber - a $3K 1911 four times better than a $750 Springfield?
Not to me. There is, of course, pride of ownership which is an important fact for many shooters. Can't say that is wrong; it's not something that I'm overly concerned with. If a $750 gun is reliable and accurate, I'll buy it and have more money for ammo. 
Will a $1200 Kimber shoot 50% tighter than a $750 1911? Will a $3K 1911 shoot four times "better" (whatever that means)?
No.
Pete


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

I could rant on and on about this but I will not. Go get a used S&W model 10 for around 300-400 dollars and then when you get into a gunfight with a bad guy that has one of those Kimbers just take it of his dead body!


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## People (Jan 17, 2005)

I do not know if they are worth that much. I just got my Kimber stainless custom II in 10mm. It was 1,015 when I bought it this January. I have not really had any truly nice days in witch to do serious load development. Right now I am shooting some 180gr rainier bullets with a full charge of HS6. If I do my part resting my hands on the bench I can shoot one inch goops at 25yds. I would not be surprised if it shoots much better than one inch. I have called every flyer I have shot with this pistol after the first 100rds went down range. It took me a little to get used to it. 
I can not honestly say the extra cost will make your gun shoot that much better than anything else unless you buy a low quality gun.
I do have some problems with this pistol I know it is a right handed gun when I bought it but seriously why not have the ambi safety on all their guns? I know they can now sell me aftermarket parts. I would have to say this is the most accurate pistol I own. I also kicks my 10mm brass out 430 and 20 to 30 feet.

Chuck Norris invented the bolt-action rifle, liquor, sexual intercourse, and football-- in that order.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Comparing a Kimber to a Springfield Arms is kind of like comparing a Weatherby Mark V or H-S Precision Pro Hunter to a Savage 111...

Here's my experience, Adam. I've been shooting & carrying a 1911 of one type of another both off duty & professionally since 1979. I've had or used everything from a WWII era stock Remington-Rand (in the service) to the Kimber Custom Shop Raptor II I use today....

Hands down the smoothest, best built, most reliable, most accurate 1911 I've ever had in my hands is the Kimber. So IMO, the Kimber is worth every penny I paid for it...


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

> Hands down the smoothest, best built, most reliable, most accurate 1911 I've ever had in my hands is the Kimber.


Captain, when you talk about the "most reliable" what exactly do you mean? The only .45s I have shot are the S&W 4506 and the Springfield I used to own. I never had a misfire in either of those. What more should I be looking for as far as reliablity goes when I want to buy another?


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

Hey Laite and Terminator, what do you know about Kimber customer service? I've owned (emphasis on past tense) 2 Kimber of Oregon rifles and I was so ****** when I hung up from my second call to them about the second rifle (both had bolt issues) that I made a vow to myself to never buy so much as a paper clip from a company called Kimber!

I've been told that the pistol people are different than the rifle people, and not even in the same state, I believe. But just curious if my experiences were the exception...or the rule.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

I will take back my last post as I was just on the Kimber website and I gotta wipe up all this drool of my desk. The Kimber Desert Warrior yes I gotta have it!!!!!


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

Bore.224 said:


> I will take back my last post as I was just on the Kimber website and I gotta wipe up all this drool of my desk. The Kimber Desert Warrior yes I gotta have it!!!!!


Haha, If I was to buy a Kimber, which I more than likely will, I was debating between that one:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/cu ... t_warrior/
or this one:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/cu ... tle_rl_II/

This one is pretty sweet also:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/co ... covert_II/

Thanks for the input guys.....


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Chris, the Kimber feeds & ejects every time, no fail. I've never carried another 1911 that I can say that about, although a couple Colts in the 80's came close.

In my time with the PD we have issued both the Smith 645 and 4506, and I carried my personal compact Smith 45 off duty as well (kinda wished I still had that little belly gun, oh well...). not entirely fair to compare them as they are DA (our 4506s were DA only, which I despise), and they both had their feeding & ejection problems, particularly when shot dirty...

CS, I'll take your word for it, as I've never had to get an service done on my Kimber...


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have a Kimber, and it was only shooting about three inches at 25 yards. I put an 18 1/2 pound spring in and that group shrunk to about two inches. I guess I am getting tighter lock up or something.

I did get some jams last year when I was shooting to qualify. New springs in clips that had been fully loaded for six years fixed that.

I have also put 22 pound springs in the Kimber and loaded 200 gr cast to 1100 fps. It felt like I was shooting a 44, but after 50 rounds there was no evidence that the slide had ever contacted the recoil buffer. Accuracy was very good also.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Plainsman said:


> I have a Kimber, and it was only shooting about three inches at 25 yards. I put an 18 1/2 pound spring in and that group shrunk to about two inches. I guess I am getting tighter lock up or something.
> 
> I did get some jams last year when I was shooting to qualify. New springs in clips that had been fully loaded for six years fixed that.
> 
> I have also put 22 pound springs in the Kimber and loaded 200 gr cast to 1100 fps. It felt like I was shooting a 44, but after 50 rounds there was no evidence that the slide had ever contacted the recoil buffer. Accuracy was very good also.


This is a huge advantage of the 1911 design. Much like the Remington 870 shotgun, it's been around so long and has been so thoroughly studied & tweaked that good aftermarket drop in, home gunsmith-able fixes & upgrades are almost too numerous to count...


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## Lakota (Apr 23, 2011)

I'm sorta of a 1911 whore--I have 7 of 'em. I have 4 Jim Clark built Colt 1911's for investment purposes; & to fondle once in a while. Love those "Tiger Paw" stippling. Also 1 Series 60 Colt National Match (67') real nice; Series 70 Gov't Model--BoMar sights, Clark NM barrel, accurized--2 1/2 lb trigger; and a Series 80 Stainless Gold Cup accurized.

Love 'em all. With real nice triggers & adjustable sights they are right on with whatever ammo you choose. The feel, the accuracy, the quality---the holes on paper. Superb!! This from a BenchRest Shooter w/ sub .200 groups 6PPC


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## pat5150 (Apr 26, 2011)

does anyone have experience with the Remington R1 1911 that came out recently?


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

It quite the coincidence this thread gets a breath of life in it at this time.....I never did buy my 1911 back in 09, but I did shoot another Kimber last weekend, and beings I got a little tax refund money, it lit a fire in me to start my search again.

I've been reading a ton of reviews, and I have never came across much on the Remington. What I did find though, was A LOT of bad reveiws on Kimbers, generally from the more serious pistol guys (on the internet- so you have to take that for what it's worth). That kind of took me by surprise, as a Kimber was what I was going to buy. And I still may. The only 1911s I've ever shot were Kimbers, and they feel great in my hand.

I'm also considering the Springfield TRP model. This is the most expensive of the 1911's I'm looking at though. But I have yet to find a bad thing said about it. It doesn't look anything special, but apparently has unmatched quality when it comes to production 1911s.

Since Lakota posted about Colts, I was checking them out. The "Rail Gun" caught my attention. I've found mostly good reviews about that gun too, with the exception of all the sharp edges on it. Sounds like if you were ever in a pinch for a razor, the Colt Rail Gun would suffice.

And lastly, I was looking at a couple different models in Sigs lineup. I really don't know where most people stand on the Sig 1911s. But Sig is notorious for quality, so I would think their 1911s are no different. One thing about the Sig that a lot of people comment on, is it supposedly has the least amount of MIM (metal injection molding) parts out of any production 1911s. I'm no pistol expert, but apparently MIM parts are regarded about as highly as Remingtons factory toy stocks. For as much as I'd shoot, probably not an issue though.

So, since this thread has been brought back to the top, I might as well ask if anybody here has any feedback on the pistols I'm considering?


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Hmmm typed a long resonse, hit spell check, and everything disappeared. Now I think I know where my last three posts went.

Anyway, Adam, I have had a few colt 1911, and was not that impressed. I now have a Kimber and a Springfield XD and I am still not impressed. It's hard to be impressed after 30 years of Smith wheelguns. My 629 will do under an inch at 25 yards off bags. The 45 auto's are right at about three inches.

I carry the XD concealed, and the Kimber I often carry with heavy loads. I buy aftermarket springs from Brownell's ranging from 10 lb to 24 lb. Recoils springs that is. The factory is 16 lbs. I have the Lyman Devastator mould and cast that bullet at 190 grs, and shoot it with a 22 lb spring at 1200 fps. I'm afraid that with the factory spring or in the XD I would have gun parts laying around me after a few rounds. It's my evening ride around look for skunk load. 

Edit: oh, ya, the standard Colts grouped about five inches.


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## ac700wildcat (Oct 30, 2006)

I don't have a top of the line 1911, just a rock island that has been pretty reliable, but it does leave a lot do be desired as far as fit, finish, and ergonomics go. After reading about 1911's for the last 3ish years I think that if I ever put the money together I'll be buying a Dan Wesson. You can check them out on CZ's website. They are beautiful guns with great reputations as far as reliability and accuracy goes.


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## specialpatrolgroup (Jan 16, 2009)

Kimbers have taken a lot of heat lately for malfunctions, some departments around the country are dropping them as their service piece.


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## AdamFisk (Jan 30, 2005)

Well, after nearly 2 years wanting a Kimber, I got one. Had a hell of a time finding the model I wanted, but Gun Broker came through. I'm no pistol marksman, but still excited to get out and put some rounds through it.


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