Colt or kimber?

[allendlk]

I'm going to buy a new carry pistol, and looking seriously at the Kimber Super Carry Ultra, vs the Colt Defender. Dumb question on any gun forum, but does nyone have an opinion, pros/cons for either?

 

[Rail Driver]

I'd go with the colt defender. In my experience it needs less work (or maybe just less of a "break in period" for you Kimber fans) out of the box than the Kimber.

 

[2wheels]

Colt Defender!

I've got the New Agent, almost the same gun minus the sights. I've put a few rounds downrange through Defenders too. Great reliable CCW 1911s, easy to carry around all day, and much more accurate than you'd expect.

 

[K9american]

Colt. No doubt about it. Long track record of reliability.

 

[gpa mitch]

vote for Kimber

I've had a Kimber Ultra CDP 45 for 10 years - never a single glitch. Carry it a lot and run 25-50 rounds thru it once or twice a year and use it for carry license qualifying. Shoots better than I do, 25 oz +/- - pretty sweet.

Figured Kimber needed a vote on this question ;-)

Mitch

 

[EddieNFL]

Three time Kimber owner here: get the Colt.

 

[JoeMal]

Colt. When you do you hear people complaining about Colts? How about Kimbers? Spend 10 minutes on the forum and you will see

 

[m19862]

Colt was good, but it lost it's edge years ago. Who knows how many times they have been sold, and resold. Just try to figure it out-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt's_Manufacturing_Company

Kimber was good once. Then they were sold, outsourced, and cheapened, as well-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimber_Manufacturing

So, who is left? STI. American made quality, reliable, and current. Check them out:

http://www.stiguns.com/guns/OffDuty/OffDuty.php

 

[451 Detonics]

Seems to me the majority of functioning complaints directed at the 1911 platform center around these ultra small guns. Doesn't seem to matter who made them either, the complaints of functioning are spread evenly between them. For myself i would not go smaller than a Commander in the 1911 platform.

 

[varoadking]

Colt.

 

[zstephens13]

Kimber

 

[nwilliams]

Colt all the way

Although I personally prefer the Colt Commander over the Colt Defender, it's a bit larger but not too large for concealed carry IMO.

 

[mrayw]

WOW

Happy with my Kimbers,very good quality made in USA.
Happy with my Ed Brown Kobra carry also!

 

[stevek]

Happy with my Kimbers,very good quality made in USA.
Happy with my Ed Brown Kobra carry also!/QUOTE]

Ditto. We have Three Raptor II's, full size, Pro, and Ultra. Not a glitch out of any of the three, and the Ultra is definitely in the carry rotation.

 

[Jed Carter]

Personally I would not own a 3" 1911, but if I did it would not be one of your choices. I would choose an STI Escort or Shadow. I carry a SIG RCS 1911 it has a 4.2" slide on an officer size frame, hides great, shoots great, works great. 3" Reliability issues aside the .45ACP's marginal velocity out of a 5" barrel are less than acceptable from a 3", size does matter. Get an STI and you are going to get a pistol that will work right out of the box. This is my choice, http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/1911-rcs-nitron.aspx in a 4.2" or a 3" http://www.stiguns.com/guns/Shadow/Shadow.php

 

[mljdeckard]

I will second that getting a compact is more likely in and of itself to cause a problem regardless of who made it.

I have owned both, the Colt wasn't magical, I don't remember it shooting nearly as smoothly as my Kimber.

 

[Ankeny]

When you do you hear people complaining about Colts?

Starting around 1980.

 

[Ruger745]

I would go with the Kimber, my dad has both the crimson ultra carry and the crimson pro carry. Both are excellent by means of accuracy, and machining. The trigger breaks like glass, and for me, recoil is minimal like a 38 special. The day on the range, I was able to shoot both these Kimbers and My dad's Colt Delta Elite. I love the 10mm, but I would have to say that the Kimbers (new out of the box) seemed of better quality than the Delta Elite (in use since 1991). Either way, you could go wrong.

God created men. Samuel Colt made them equal.

 

[G27RR]

I have a good amount of time with each of these three in the 3" size and would recommend any of them that fit your desired feature set and price point.

STI Shadow


STI Escort


Colt Defender


If you don't mind slighty bigger and a little heavier, go with an STI Ranger II with its 4.15" barrel and steel frame.

 

[larryh1108]

Win/Win. 2 winners to choose from. You hear a lot of Kimber complaints because they sell so many more than everybody else.

 

[gym]

Go and look at the particular gun you intend to purchase. Many times you can see a flaw in a gun by looking and feeling it. Things like trigger travel, creep, slide tightness, fit and finish, I realize there are many things you can't tell until you fire the gun, but about 30% of them can be seen by a person who knows 1911's well. If you have a buddy like 1911 tuner let him examine the gun right there before you pay for it, and please don't buy a 1911 over the net. You could be getting a gun that someone sent back,dropped, or othewise scewed with, or the shipping guy played catch with, "how can you really be sure.

 

[Winkman822]

Hands down Colt.

 

[InkEd]

I would suggest a 4" model. The 3" 1911s seem to be finicky across the board.

Don't forget about the offerings from Springfield Armory.

 

[Sgt.Murtaugh]

from the 2 Kimbers I have shot and the countless Colts I have shot, I would have to suggest Colt. Never a single malfunction on ANY of the ones I have shot and I probably shot over 3,000 rounds through the Colt 1911s.

The Kimber I shot was very nice but was having some Feeding issues with various hollow point ammunition. Colt ate everything flawlessly.

Colt wins

 

[cyclopsshooter]

When you do you hear people complaining about Colts?

Their revolvers-