Which 1911 to buy

[Chuck Warner]

...

I would give the Dan Wesson a real close look. Having almost 60 different 1911's in stock, the quality is second to none. CW

 

[JaxNovice]

I think that if you are seriously looking at a Kimber, you really should take a very hard look at the Colt.

 

[neal7250]

Springfield Long Slide

I just aquired a Springfield Long Slide 1911. When you have a full magazine, with one in the chamber, the second shot always fails to chamber. After you clear it, it works fine.

Has anyone else encountered this?

 

[Rob96]

Four different Kimbers, and four different problem guns. Service was less than stellar in trying to rectify the problems. One gun would fail to feed about every 3rd or 4th round. Came back from Kimber as a reliable single shot. How do you send a gun back worse than it was and say you tested it?:banghead:

 

[GLI45]

My .45 suggestion - STI

Like many of the other replies I also find Kimber to be a good gun, but when it came down to making a purchase I opted for STI out of Georgetown, TX. (Eagle 6.0) You would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't check our STI. They specialize in .45 in the 1911 style. Unlike many of the other manufacturers they don't have an assembly line that cranks out thousands guns. Their guns have the feel of being almost hand crafted. The fit and finish cannot be beat and you can't find a more accurate .45. Check them out. Once you've racked that buttery smooth slide, you might be hooked.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

Everyone is gong to post their personal favorite, mine is a full size Kimber.
There isn't a manufacturer that has never produced a problematic weapon. Get what you want, run enough rounds through it to get good with it and if there's a problem with your individual purchase the manufacturer will make it right.... Then practice some more.

good luck

 

[sophijo]

1911

...consider Dan Wesson

 

[smee781]

Like my Kimber pro carry 2

 

[ttpmti]

We have S&W 1911, (3) Kimber 1911's, and a Taurus 1911. No problems on either gun. Kimber is very accurate, even at 25yds. Taurus and SW are plenty accurate as well. Will be buying a Kimber Pro CDP II for CCW. Can't go wrong with a good name gun. Customer service at all three are just fine. No complaints. Just make sure the gun you get fits your hand well, the sights "feel" good to your eye. If you get a Kimber, get some Wilson mags for it. Good luck.

 

[mljdeckard]

After carrying MANY other handguns extensively, I think I will be buried with my Kimber Custom II. 5 years ago I paid $230 NIB, added night sights and Hogue wrap-around finger grips. I don't remember the last time I had a stoppage, if ever. I carry it everywhere, I open carry it out of town, and if I were allowed to, I would carry it to war tomorrow. I'm done. I shot a $2700 Nighthawk and I have absolutely no idea what it is you get for the extra money.

I think if one notices a lot of malfunctions with Kimbers, one must also remember how popular they are. If there are more Kimbers in the marketplace, there will be more problems just from the law of large numbers.

 

[wtfd661]

My vote is for a Kimber, my Kimber Tactical Ultra II has been 100 % reliable out of the for 3 yrs now. The only thing I've had to do for it is,..... buy more ammo and it hasn't been picky (like me it will eat anything, FMJ/JHP it doesn't care).

 

[benderx4]

That Taurus sure is a lot of gun for the money!

 

[2RCO]

Kimber

 

[CObrad]

Hi folks, my first post here. For what it's worth; I once had a colt that never failed to run, but in a moment of bad judgement I sold it. Last year I decided to get another 1911, so I called Gunsite and talked with their 'smithy about which one. Their advice was to go with S&W or Colt as these two seemed to have the least amount of problems. I bought a S&W 1911 PD Commander that had a Performance Center trigger job. Great pistol. It just plain shoots. I also bought a S&W 1911 PC with the same great performance. I'm happy with my Smiths.

 

[CPshooter]

I'd like to hear more about the Sig 1911s myself. I, too, am looking into buying my first 1911. Sig and Kimber are the two brands I've narrowed it down to as well, so this thread could help me out a lot too.

I heard that the Sig 1911 wasn't slim like a standard 1911. After holding and comparing both at Sportsman's Warehouse, I can't even tell the difference. The unique slide milling on the Sig is just deceiving if you ask me. I really really liked the C3 I held..seemed like a high quality firearm to me. It was very good looking too and would make a great carry gun IMO. I'm just concerned about getting a lemon.

I know lemons can be produced by any gun manufacturer, but most of the time it happens when a gun first comes out and none of the "kinks" have been worked out yet. I'm sure this is the case with a lot of the Sig 1911s that were rumored to have problems. So would anybody here have information on what serial numbers to look out for with the Sig 1911s? I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I knew it was very recently produced.

 

[R12GS]

For Sigs the early "manhole cover" ones are the ones to primarily avoid, although there are those who swear by theirs as well. As for the revised current edition, any serial number 7k and above.

I absolutely love my Sig 1911. As a comparison to another 1911 I own (Springfield 1911A1 Loaded SS) the SIG is:
-better fitted
-better finished
-better trigger
-came with nightsights
-original GI plug instead of the 2pc rod that always shoots loose at the range
-No MIM parts if that is important to you (personally I'd rather have bar stock parts than MIM but thats a personal thing)
-Just as reliable


The only cons is that because of the slide profile, finding off the shelf and readily available leather for it will be more troublesome. Many holster makers make holsters for it, but you will just have to wait a bit for delivery. Another thing that may throw off the tradionalists is its external extractor. The new SIGs are definitely a great buy.

 

[Knives]

I have nothing bad to say about my Kimber. It's a great gun and definitely one of my favorites in my collection so my vote would certainly go that direction. I've never regretted buying it.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

I have a Kimber stainless II, External extractor and it functions flawlessly! RN, HP's, SWC's, even Truncated Cone bullets. No problem. It's been my beginner's Bullseye gun. Much more accurate than any production Colt I've had my mitts on.

-Steve

 

[possum]

i would personally go with sa but between the 2 that you stated i would go with the kimber. why? i trust them and they have been making the 1911 for longer than sig. there are many proven kimber 1911 models out there.

 

[Mainsail]

I vote for the Sig. Here's mine- I did add an arched mainspring housing:

 

[magnumman44]

Okay, what is MIM anyway???

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

MIM= Metal Injection Molding

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

Do a few searches in the autloader or Gunsmithing forums here in THR. Quite a few discussions (sometimes heated) about this subject.

-Steve

 

[CPshooter]

-original GI plug instead of the 2pc rod that always shoots loose at the range

Where is this in the gun, and what is its function? I'm not familiar with 1911s and again, I'm looking to buy my first one.

Sorry to keep hi-jacking your thread, but you are looking at the same two brands as I am, so I figured this is a good place to post rather than making another thread.

 

[ugaarguy]

Part of the beauty of the 1911 is that it can be detail stripped without tools, as long as you have slotted grip screws, a GI style recoil spring guide and plug, and an internal extractor. Grip screws, and the spring guide & plug can be put into almost any standard 5" 1911. External extractors, however, are there to stay, and there is no standard for them. Every manufacturer has their own proprietary external extractor designs. Internal extractors are standardized, and they just require minor fitting & tuning to install. I also don't care for firing pin blocks; I've had one break and render the gun inoperable.

That would leave me looking at a new Kimber Warrior or SIS, used pre series II Kimber, new or used Springfield, new Colt 70 series repro, used pre 80 series used Colt, new or used 80 series or later Colt with FP block system removed, or one of the newer Dan Wessons with internal extractor.

Of those, any in a 5" gun could be configured with a GI guide & plug. When we get shorter than 5" only Colt and DW offer internal extractor guns with true commander 4.25" length barrels which have a conventional bushing. This conventional bushing allows for the GI style guide & plug. The DW is ready for those parts to drop in, but on a new Colt I'd remove the FP block mechanism first.