gonetoshoot

x2 on Kimber going down hill. This is a difficult choice to make. You are comparing custom hand fitted 1911's to production 1911's. Springfield Armory has come a long way in past few years quality wise. I have shot Nighthawk, Wilson Combat, and Les Baer 1911's, all of which are fine custom handguns....Unlimited money to spend I would get a any of those three. I carry a Springfield TRP at work and it has been flawless. The TRP gets a little custom tuning in the Springfield Custom shop, but you pay for it and the TRP stamped into the side of it. I would stay away from any Kimber that has a II stamped into it if you are using it for self-defense. I have personally experienced a catastrophic firing pin safety malfunction that left the gun nothing more than a paper weight. Stay away from series 80 1911's.

GreytSilly

I wouldn't fault an entire line of guns because of one gun's failure. My son shoots an Eclipse Target II Kimber and it has been flawless. My Custom Classic is of a vintage from Kimber's first two or three years of production. There are lots of "I heard" stories about any gun maker. From my own personal experience with four different Kimber .45's, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. A 3 inch barrel, Crimson Trace gripped carry gun is on my wish list but, unfortunately, not on my wife's.

Skoalman

Oh yeah....and spot on with the unlimited funds part....but a Les Baer .45, any Les Baer .45 is mucho sweet......

And probably a family heirloom.

gonetoshoot

I'm not basing it on one guns failure. I am in law enforcement and it is a well documented problem that is occurring nation wide with the series 80 1911's, which are primarily manufactured by Kimber. I'm just saying I wouldn't carry a Kimber II series gun to protect my life. I own a Kimber 1911 as well. It is a SIS series 70 with out the schwartz safety, its a great gun as well.

jeepn0811

I also like the 1911. I just wouldn't trust my life to the one that I had problems with. My Warrior was awesome. I wish I still had it. I never shot tighter groups than with that gun. The military used them for almost 100 years, and some units still do. I plan on getting another one..... after I tile the house, remodel the bedroom, buy new couches, etc..... but I plan on getting a plain jane one. My brother in laws $500.00 dollar Rock Island Armory Tacticle shot every bit as good as my Kimber for less than half the price.

Sgt P

This is a tough one...

I'm a 1911 guy, and I own a Springfield Armory. But I've shot and am familiar with Colt and Kimber too. I voted Kimber, but I'm guessing that if $$'s were not a problem, a custom would be the choice.

I do agree with my Devil Dog brother, Jeepn0811, that there are some great 1911's out there for right around the $500 mark (Rock Island, etc.)

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As a side note, if you love the 1911 and shoot alot, get a 22lr conversion (mine is a Kimber.) YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!

JeepinMass

Springfield, I may be biased since the armory is in my backyard basically.

KCFIRE187

I have a Ultra Raptor Kimber and it's my vote. The problem with Kimber is it needs to be broke in a bit, and the magazines Kimber supplies are GARBAGE!!! The actual gun is amazing and anyone knocking it never fires guns regularly and has little info on the process of gun fabrication.

The CDP is nice as well, might grab that too!

gonetoshoot

WOW!!! That's a pretty bold statement. 1911's are finicky guns that need lots of TLC to keep functioning. You can't let dirt, lint, etc build up in them like a glock and still expect it to function. Most production 1911's need some fine tuning to make them reliable for self defense. I shoot 20,000 plus rounds through my 1911's, 2011, and Glock's in a year for USPSA practice and matches, SWAT training, and as one of my department's firearm's instructors. I am also a 1911 armorer. I spend a fair amount of time "behind my gun's" shooting on a weekly basis, and tuning officer's 1911's. All 1911's need a break in period. So here is my take on Kimber....They make a fine gun. Some of their lines are better than others. As I stated before, stay away from Kimber's series 80 guns, the schwartz firing pin safety is not reliable. Kimber, as a company, blew up fast. Their product was in high demand, so they needed to increase production. In doing so their quality control took a dump. Kimber's sales is based out of the city I live in and I know several of the salesmen. They are getting overwhelmed with complaints from their distributors over customer complaints. One of the local distributors dumped Kimber because they would not take resposibility for many of the complaints (kind of like Ford and the Pinto, Mustang, Crown Vic's bursiting into flames with rear end collisions). I feel they got too big, too fast. Go on the 1911 forum and research it...lots of problems on their newer guns. Thats not to say all gun manufacturers are going to have problem guns and produce some lemons. Kimber is notorious for using MIM parts, which are decent, but more prone to failure than parts machined from barstock. I realy wish Kimber would spend an extra few buck when they put their guns together and put in a metal main spring housing, as opposed to their current plastic housing. Most custom 1911 maufacturer use barstock machined parts, hence the higher price. You get out of the box reliability with a custom gun. I still own Kimber's and will continue to, but i shoot them for fun, not self defense. And KCFIRE, you are right, their mags are garbage, I only use Wilson Combat mags for reliability and function.

yetibear

But the gun maker, Springfield Armory, is out of Geneseo, Illinois. Except for the name, there is no connection between the two. S&W is still in Springfield, so you must have ment to say- "buy a S&W."