kimber vs other 1911

[DHart]

halvey... yes, the dreaded Schwartz parts can be removed/disabled, but you may want to think twice about doing so on a pistol you might have to actually use in a defense situation. A justified shooting is a justified shooting, but someone might try to destroy you for intentionally defeating the factory safety on a gun. If you don't want the system in the gun, better to buy a gun that doesn't have it... then there's nothing to remove!

I agree with the post above, if you must have a Kimber, buy a Anniv. model.

I understand that lots of people buy Kimbers because they think the parts on them are "extras". There is little if anything "extra" on Kimbers, the parts are just different design. And typically of lower quality than provided on guns such as Colts. And many new 1911 buyers have come to believe that a 1911 must have a certain set of parts to be good, whereas most of us who own a number of 1911's have come to realize that the traditional feature set is mighty fine just as is. That said, no matter what 1911 you buy, you will probably want to make a few modifications at least... it just goes with the territory. And even if the Kimber has the type of features you think you have to have, consider that Kimber's parts are of lesser quality than other parts which are available. Kimber's MIM parts are notorious for breaking. Yes, I have a few Kimber Series 1 guns and they are nice guns and they work well and all that. But Kimber isn't the "holy grail" as some have been lead to believe by gunshop salespeople and magazine marketing.

 

[halvey]

Not to worry. I have my HD and carry guns and I have my target guns!

 

[mjb]

To me, if it isn't a Colt, than it's just a copy. Have two 1911 Colts going on three.

 

[DHart]

Here's a Colt Commander with matte blue finish which might appeal to you... I bought it earlier this year new... priced about $550... fine quality, utterly reliable, nice 4# trigger, excellent quality metalurgy & parts, versatile size, deadly. Works great as is, but I may add night sights some day.

Colt ORM Commander - Brown Arched MSH, Colt Short Trigger

 

[Rob96]

WildAlaska: The thing I think appeals to a lot of people with Kimbers, is they get the add ons right out of the box. We can argue about what is needed or not, but the fact is people want certain sights, hammers, triggers etc. without having to deal with a gunsmith.

DHART wasa right when he said that they aren't extras, just different desing. But they are crappy parts. I would rather spend the extra money on quality parts , if I wanted to change out the mil-spec grip safety and such.

 

[Curare]

halvey... yes, the dreaded Schwartz parts can be removed/disabled, but you may want to think twice about doing so on a pistol you might have to actually use in a defense situation. A justified shooting is a justified shooting, but someone might try to destroy you for intentionally defeating the factory safety on a gun. If you don't want the system in the gun, better to buy a gun that doesn't have it... then there's nothing to remove!

How is a firing pin safety relevant to a "justified shoot"? The trigger was pulled intentionally.

People make the same argument about trigger work, but unless you are claiming that the gun "went off" by itself, the modifications are not relevant.

Finally, I set up my guns to be best for hitting what I'm shooting at, quickly and accurately--not to be lawyer proof.

 

[DHart]

Rationally, the FP safety isn't relevant in a justified shooting, but by removing it, an aggressive lawyer could try to paint you like a reckless gun nut who removes safeties from guns! Now if you removed the safety and the gun accidentally was dropped and discharged, injuring or killing someone, you'd REALLY be in a fix for having removed a factory installed safety device. Of course if the gun never had one installed in the first place, the issue would never even come up.