1911 owners
 

Which make would you go with, Kimber or Springfield Armory?

Re: 1911 owners
 

No knowledge on quality differences, but I did want to buy the Springfield for my stepfather.

Does your state require a fired shell casing to come with the gun for crime solving purposed (sigh)? Mine does, and my FFL told me that Springfield puts no rush on firing and collecting spent shell casings for those particular states and that he could not guarantee that my order would be filled within 60 days. Just something to think about, if it pertains to you.

Re: 1911 owners
 

I would go SA but only because I had heard a few people say their kimber experience was not always what they hoped it would be for reliability, feeding and ejecting.

www.thehighroad.org is a good site for user reviews/comments etc on most firearms/manufacturers etc

Re: 1911 owners
 

I've got one of these....and I love it.

http://www.taurususa.com/products/pr...ategory=Pistol

http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun...505/index.html

Shoots and feels like butter in my hands.

But you said Kimber or SA......sucks for you.

Re: 1911 owners
 

One more for ya....

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?p=1316877

Re: 1911 owners
 

Big spread in prices between SA and Kimber. Kimbers are high end 1911's and SA does make everything from entry to high end 1911's.

I've got a SA 1911 A1 gov model and I love it. Runs like a top. Problem with kimber is a lot of them take A LOT of work to get them running for what their price sticker demands.

Out of the box expect to pay alot more for the kimber and for it not to run any better (possibly worse) than a entry level SA 1911. Atleast one to two trips back to kimber are the norm for kimber owners. Once you get it running, they are really sweet guns.. how much do you want to spend and how much time and hassle are willing to deal with? ... thats the question.

Anyway I like my entry level SA and I got it for $425 brand new and out the door (thats near wholesale so expect to pay at least 25 bucks more unless you deal with a wholesaler). My only complaint are the sights, but the sights are identical to the 1911 A1 issue gun so it's not a SA complaint but a complaint to uncle sam, ;) Easy and cheap fix you can do yourself with a set of punches.

I wanted to add, a lot of serious competitors buy base SA 1911's and trick those out rather than spending all the money on a kimber or similar and replacing all their internals. Something to consider if you ever want to 'do it up'.

Re: 1911 owners
 

Why limit to only Kimber or Springfield? I would have Kimber automatically but I didn't know that they had to be tuned.

Re: 1911 owners
 

One of my 1911s is a Springfield A1. It's a good gun. A friend of mine spent a bunch of money on a high-end Kimber. He loves his Kimber, but it's just like you said. It took a bunch of fiddling around with to get it to where he wanted it, and frankly, I can't see any real difference in how he shoots with my Springfield and his Kimber. (He doesn't shoot in pistol competitions; we mostly just plink with pistols.)

Re: 1911 owners
 

I think Kimbers are capable of being fine pistols (for a 1911) but both of mine needed to be polished (breechface was rough) in order to feed reliably and fired enough to loosen up a bit because they were way too tight...disassembly was difficult. Also get the sights you like the first time, cuz you will have to send it back to Kimber to replace 'em (press fit).

A friend's Kimber had a recoil spring and guide assembly jam up and getting it apart scored the inside of the frame badly.

I have owned a Springfield or two. Good quality at an affordable, reasonable price. But today, I might look at one of the Wilsons if I were in the market for a 1911.

Re: 1911 owners
 

Thanks everybody, Wilson's are a fine weapon but pricey. Again, you get what you pay for. I'll probably go with a Kimber or SA and upgrade some parts as I go along.

Re: 1911 owners
 

Re: 1911 owners
 

I bought a SA GI model in 2005 - No complaints, but I've fired it very little. Maybe 200 rounds or so.
Take care,
Mod1

Re: 1911 owners
 

I chose the Springfield GI-45 after lots of research. They have the best warranty by far
and I wanted a no frills 1911 close to the WWII design, mine was $400 in like new condition on Gunbroker. The forged frame and slide are one of the main benefits.
Then I bought some surplus WWII Ithaca grips for it for $12 online and it looks very close to the WWII originals but is new. I am very happy with it. Its the best bang for the buck out there.

Re: 1911 owners
 

Kimber, got mine out of box and it works like a charm. Custom TLE II. Bad ass mofo, but I run Wilson mags through it. Sumbitch to clean.

Re: 1911 owners
 

I have a Remington UMC model 1911 that is a govt. issue gun (marked property of US Govt) It is one of the guns that was refurbished and re-issued. It was re-parkerized as well. It has matching serial #'s. I don't think it has been fired since it was re-done. The guy I bought it from said it was covered with cosmolene when his son brought it back from 'Nam. Any of you experts have an idea what it is worth? I know the 1911's manufactured by other companies are worth the most (Singer, Union Switch & Signal, Remington Rand) I haven't fired it, but I'm thinking of buying some goodies for it, and turning it into a shooter. Thanks for any responses!

Re: 1911 owners
 

Thats one sweet pistol. I was thinking of buying that same gun before I found the 24/7 pro in .45