Should I buy the Kimber ProCarry in a month or two or save for the CDP?

[chaim]

Kimber fans, the title says it all. If I wait a month or two I can afford the Kimber Pro Carry II. Is it worth the wait to go a few months longer and get the CDP?

What will this gun be used for?

Mostly range use.

Carry isn't legal for most Marylanders (CCW is near impossible to get unless you own a business and carry large amounts of cash). It will be my carry gun when I'm out of state somewhere I can carry and it will be my primary carry gun if MD ever goes shall-issue (or a more realistic than now may-issue), or should I move (though now that I've found I job I actually love that may be a few years off).

G-d forbid, if I'm ever in a home-defense situation it may get use as well. Right now I mostly keep revolvers set up for that, and that won't change. However, if I get the CDP which comes with night sights it would probably stay loaded for home-defense as well (at least until I finally get night sights for my Benelli Nova 12ga).

I can afford to wait. I have a 1911 (a Charles Daly), I have other autos (one of which is a good carry gun, all could be carried/concealed if needed), I have plenty of revolvers (several of which are decent to good carry guns when that's an option), and I have several long-guns suitable for home defense (the previously mentioned Benelli, a Winchester 94 in .45LC and an AR) so there is no hurry. However, I am notorious for impulse buys so if I wait, it may be longer than the minimum wait (there are several guns about as high on my list as the carry sized 1911 so if it is 1-3 months I may get the 1911 next, if 4-6 I'll probably buy one of the other guns on my list first and the 1911 may become a significantly longer wait).

Another consideration...If I wait it is possible I won't be able to get a Kimber at all (the political situation being fluid). MD has had a built-in lock law for a while now. Kimber doesn't have a built-in lock. However, the legislature (or it may have been regulatory through the State Police, I'm not sure) recently approved one specific external lock as satisfying the requirements of the law. As long as that lock is approved I can buy any auto (it won't fit revolvers) that meets all other MD gun laws. So, as of now I can buy Kimbers again if I want to. However, this is MD so who knows when this situation will change. Of course, there is an election coming up and things might (one can hope) get better and not worse for MD gun owners, or the legal situation could stay as it is now (either way keeping Kimbers and other previously banned autos MD legal).

So is the CDP really worth the extra money over the Pro Carry? If so, is it worth the extra wait? If so, would you take the gamble on the political situation?

 

[Tango Sierra]

If it's going to be mainly for carry I'd get the CDP. If it is going to be mainly a range gun go with an all steel model.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I had a CDP for a while, and wasn't happy. It would occasionally have FTF's, maybe 1 out of 75 rounds. It also spit the brass directly back into my face, and ping me in the forehead. This was very distracting.

Personally, if you are getting it strictly for range use, I would get an all steel 5 inch gun. I think you will have less chance for problems. Also, if you do end up carrying it, I really don't think its much more difficulte to carry a 5 inch than a 4 inch.

 

[chaim]

As for an all steel range gun instead....Yes it will mostly be used at the range because I live in MD and can't currently carry. However, I will be able to carry when I go to other states (I know I've talked about it forever, but I'm finally getting around to applying for a FL non-resident permit when I get my next paycheck and that will let me carry in PA where I spend a lot of time) so I'd like a better carry gun for those times. Plus, there is the off chance that MD may go shall carry or a more realistic may carry than the current law, or I may still leave MD in a few years (again, not for at least a couple years because I actually love my new job) and I'd like to be prepared. I'm 34, I'm still single, but I don't think I'll be single forever (if I had to guess I'd say a year to a year and a half). Even if I am still single I hope to buy a house in a year to a year and a half. Thus, even though a carry gun won't get that much use right now, I think it better to get one and be prepared now while I don't have that much in the way of financial obligations that may get in the way of buying one if I wait until I need one. In addition, it isn't like I don't already have an all steel range gun. See my first post, I have an all steel 1911 already, I have other autos (including an all steel full-size 9mm in the CZ 75B) and I have several revolvers (all of which are currently steel, most of which are medium frame, and one is bigger). This is why I'm looking for a compact, aluminum, carriable 1911 (oh, I love 1911s in general and their ergonomics so just about the only other options that are nearly as good for me would be a Kahr or a Taurus PT911 but that is for another thread).

On the 4" v. 5" issue...I have carried around the house a lot, I know it isn't the same but it gives me some idea what I like and can do as far as carry. I prefer IWB, but with my size (a "bit" overweight) smaller is more comfortable (the thickness of a 1911 is just about ideal) and when I sit, the 5" is just long enough to get in the way. I'm pretty sure that one inch is just enough to take off to allow me to sit comfortably yet it is on a full-size frame giving full ammo capacity, it gives me a decent sight-radius, and more importantly, I understand that the smaller framed 1911s are more likely to give reliability problems than their full-size and 4" barrel/full-size frame brothers.

I guess that does lead to another question...A 3" with the truncated frame certainly would be easier to conceal. The six round mag wouldn't bother me being a revolver guy anyway. How much difference in reliabilty does the smaller gun v. larger gun really make with a 1911 (my only previous experience is with full-size 1911s)?

 

[Fly320s]

I have a Pro Carry (series I) in .40SW. It is my carry gun, range gun, and IPSC gun. I have shot at least 2,000 rounds through it and probably more than 3,000. I don't keep track of my rounds fired.

I very much like my Pro Carry. As long as I keep it properly maintained, it runs great. It is an aluminum frame, which is nice for carrying, but I can't find any evidence of wear on the frame.

I say go with the Pro Carry. Take the extra money you would spend on the CDP ($300-$400) and buy good mags and lots of practice ammo.

 

[tlhelmer]

The new series CDP with the external extractor. The single best looking gun I have ever seen.