Which of these 1911's for USPSA?

[XD Niner]

I want to buy a .45 cal 1911 style pistol for USPSA Limited 10 competition with a 5†barrel. My budget is $1000. I’ve narrowed my choices to the following (all prices are shipped to my local FFL):

Kimber Eclipse Target II – $965
Smith and Wesson Model SW1911DK Doug Koenig – $930
Springfield Black Stainless Model PX9152L – $830

All have adjustable target sights and the S&W and Springer’s are night sights to boot. The S&W has a stainless steel frame with carbon steel slide while the other two are totally SST. The Springer’s capacity is only 7+1 while the other two are 8+1. Kimber’s warranty is only one year while the other two have lifetime warranties (S&W’s is only for the original purchaser.)

I’d appreciate any input from people who currently own or have owned or fired any of these pistols. As usual, the experiences of actual users are vastly superior to the writers for the various gun mags.

 

[Gunsnrovers]

FWIW, put the Kimber or S&W magazine in the Springfield and it will be 8+1 as well.

 

[Old Fuff]

Don't see that night sights will serve any purpose in the application you have in mind, but maybe someone else will see it differently...

 

[Jim Watson]

No, I agree. Night sights are no help to USPSA.
I really like the fibre optic front sights at my age, even though I shoot mostly IDPA where we do have the occasional low light stage.

I have no direct experience with any of those 1911 mutants but they are all mass produced pistols, even at nearly a grand, and you might get a jewel, you might get a lemon, or you might get something just ok.

Seven or eight shot magazines do not signify. It is Limited - TEN and you will be well advised to get several 10-round magazines. The McCormick Power 10 protrudes the least. I use their 8-round magazines because that is the maximum allowable in IDPA, but you can and should have the tens.

 

[raz-0]

I've been happy with my springfield. Just buy a good replacement extracter with it if you plan on shooting a lot. Multiple cases of them jsut kind of getting beat at about 2000 rounds. Good odds you'll want to tinker, and me and my friend have been finding them pretty compatible with things like trigger kits and whatnot.

At least at our matches, newer kimbers aren't fairing very well in the reliability/durability department.

Not seeing much of the S&W 1911 around here, so can't really comment on it.

Some slide glide goes a long way to making tight out of the box 1911s run reliably. Between an aftec and slide glide, I ahve to clean my mags more often than the gun to keep it humming.

 

[Pointman1776]

I have the SA Black Stainless and the Kimber Team Match II. I use both for USPSA Lim10 and love them equally.

For USPSA Lim10, you are definitely going to want the following:
- Four 10-rnd mags: either Chips or Wilsons (will increase capacity of either pistol to 10 rounds)
- Ambidextrous Safeties!!
- Extended & beveled mag well
- Fiber Optic front-sight, either .090 or .125, preferably red
- Kydex holster (not injected molded) like from Ky-Tac (but Dave has a long wait)
- Good double-thick 1.5" wide belt, like from Concealed Clothiers, unless using inner/outer velcro rig
- Hogue rubber panels, or finger grooves, or skateboard grip tape, or at least a checkered back AND front strap

Go for the Kimber or the SA. But not the Kimber Eclipse; doesn't have ambi-safeties or extended/beveled mag well. If Kimber, go for the Team Match II (I got mine for $1075 NIB otd, have seen some on GunBroker.com for $950 NIB). Comes with everything you need (adj. target sights, extended beveled mag well, match grade barrel, match grade trigger, etc. etc. I also have the Springer Black Stainless (got mine for $800 NIB otd)...love it as much as my K-TMII. I use both in USPSA Lim10. The Springer doesn't have quite as good tolerances as the Kimber (barrel/bushing, barrel lockup, slide/frame, etc.), and has a heavier factory trigger pull than my Kimber, but the trigger out of the box was slightly smoother on my sample with almost no creep (my Kimber had the tiniest bit of creep). To me, the barrel/bushing and slide-lockup tolerances were more important than the factory trigger since all my pistols get a trigger action job anyway, and my 1911's automatically get taken down to 2.75 - 3 lbs for action shooting, and about 1.5 lbs for bullseye shooting. The Kimber's visual loaded-chamber barrel U-notch and palpable external extractor when chamber is loaded are helpful, but not required.

With either pistol, you're going to want a 'smith to lightly polish of the barrel feed ramp so you can accept 185gr semi-wadcutters, unless you prefer to shoot 185gr flat-nose like I do to reduce the chance of a feed jam.

You're also going to probably want a 'smith to bring the trigger pull down to around 3 lbs with zero creep and supremely smooth action.

Good luck! And we want pictures. And a range report. And a match results report!

 

[Morgan]

Consider also the STI Trojan. That's what I would buy if I wanted an out of the box 1911 for Limited 10.

 

[stans]

Good advice has been given. When I was shooting IPSC/USPSA I used a single stack (couldn't afford to buy all new mag pouches and magazines to go high-cap) 1911. I would say to stay away from night sights. Adjustable rear sight is nice, but a well regulated set of fixed sights would be just as good, cheaper, and less prone to breaking. You will want a trigger that breaks right around 4 pounds and with as little creep as possible. As for which brand of 1911 I think I would opt for Springfield or Colt Series 70 new production. Firing pin safeties are just one more thing to break.

I used Wilson's 10 round mags when I was playing the game and they worked well, just keep them loaded for 24 hours before the first use or they will jam that top round every time!