love a 1911

I've been a wheel gun guy and recently got a Essex frame Colt parts Frankenstein pistol 1911 45 acp. I'M in LOVE with this awesome shooter.Fun,Fun,Fun ! Now I'm thinking I want to Colt,Remington,Kimberly and so on. What 1911 do Yall like ?

Springfield Armory.

But that's what I like and can afford. I like me some Les Baer stuff too.

Colt and Kimber

I hear there real nice.

Les Baer SRP, and I say that after having owned two Wilsons.

Ruger. Their 1911s have some of the quality features of the high dollar 1911s but at a reasonable price. You need to form your own opinion but I would stay away from Kimbers all you are buying is the name, there is nothing special about their guns. For about $1100 you can get a Smith and Wesson performance center 1911 that has phenomenal feel and trigger.

Springfield Loaded. Love that pistol.

The one I shoot the most is my Para Expert (not GI Expert).

Kimber and Smith and Wesson, by a mile.

I've been wondering myself how the new Colt government models compare with the similarly priced Kimbers. I've got a buddy with a Kimber Eclipse II, and it's probably the nicest pistol I've ever shot. Insanely well designed and built.

I am not one to tout a brand but Imma gonna ask....My colt is 41 years old and has never had a FTF with the exception of some handloads I crimped too tight. It shoots where I aim it. One of my best friends has a Kimber that he likes to call "particular" about what loads it "likes". What makes these copies so much grander than the original?

Can't say I've ever seen my buddy's Kimber ever jam. If your friend's is, he should send it back. Most don't.

It does, I have seen it. He bought it new.

My Colt M1991A1 has performed flawlessly since I bought it 13 years ago.

"by a mile" ? Really?

What other 1911's have you shot for comparison?

Have you shot Wilson, Baer, or Brown for just a starting point?

And she's purdy, too.

My money goes to the ruger SR1911.

If I'm spending your money then Wilson combat.

I've gone from a RIA to a Kimber to a Sig. I liked all 3 for what they offered. The RIA was just fun to play with, being cheap. The Kimber never failed. Ever. The Sig's new to me and I love her more than I did any other so far. She may be here to stay for a while. The bronze color just does something to me when I clean it.. . . . . . . . I'll stop there. Love that gun!

Great replys. I should go to a indoor range and rent a few different models and see which one I shoot the best.

here is another Plug for The Ruger SR1911 in SS ( beautiful gun & awesome accuracy)
for a sub $700 closer to $600 its hard to beat even with $1000+ guns. it has the looks and feel of much higher priced guns.

as a carry gun - I would have no problem ( if I carried a 1911)

hunting/ woods gun - no problem

Range toy - again no problem you will not be embarrassed but you may embarrass others !

Match shooter - Not really made for that but could be tricked out

Springfield Trophy Match, TRP, or RO. get a trigger job done on whichever you choose and you will be set!

STI Duty One.

Made in Texas.

Wilson Combat if budget was no option. With a reasonable budget Springfield Range Officer.

I love 1911s, mine back in early 70s saved my life many a time...probably an old WWII gun, wore out, rattled but better than a big rock....I still carry a 1911 every day, my favorite is a middle of the road Ruger SR1911....love it.

I love 1911s, mine back in early 70s saved my life many a time...probably an old WWII gun, wore out, rattled but better than a big rock....I still carry a 1911 every day, my favorite is a middle of the road Ruger SR1911....love it.

sorry bout double post

I wasn't saying I didn't believe you. I was just saying that's an anomaly for a Kimber and he should send it back.

I really like my Para-Ordnance P-14. .45 ACP Had it since '97. Kind of hard to carry concealed but I keep it in the console of the truck a lot.

I have owned many 1911's over the years. My current ones are a Ruger SR1911 Commander which I dearly love - can't beat it for the money. And one that was even cheaper - an ATI Titan Tactical lightweight compact. The Ruger is American the ATI is an import from the same company that makes RIA. Both are accurate, concealable, and reliable. Both will make a bad guy just as dead as a high dollar 1911.

I say pay attention to the length of the barrel too. While a 5" can't be beat as far as accuracy is concerned, it's a little much if you plan on concealing. I prefer the 4" or even the 3.5". Just a thought bud. Happy shopping!

I bought a Citadel compact in 9mm awhile back. Nice pistol, but the factory mag's suck.

Hopefully I can replace those with Wilson or Chip McCormick.

You should be able to. I use Wilson Combat Officer's mags in my compact ATI. Earl

I got friends that are Kimber snobs....I think they are overpriced....I don't want a pistol with "Yonkers NY" on it, Prescott Arizona looks better. maybe an STI in the future too.

Just for fun, look at SVI.

I don't care what name is on the side of the pistol. I have shot most of the $800-$1200 1911 brands (not every model from every brand). And Kimber seems to always be the one that I can shoot the best. I don't even own one, although I'd like to. Just can't bring myself to drop a grand on a pistol. My $350 Taurus 24/7 has never jammed, is very accurate, and holds twice as much ammo.

As you can tell you will get a 1000 different opinions. I highly recommended you shoot a Ruger 1911 before making your choice they are great guns at a low price. They have a titanium firing pin which is usually only found in high dollar guns. Again I will say Kimbers are overpriced junk.

Can't wait to try a few other 1911's
like I said my Essex frame Colt parts gun is a excellent shooter it's just not much to look at. I've seen some PURDY ones latly.

1000 ?

of all the 1911s I have

STI was the most precise; followed by
Wilson Combat Super Grade
Kimber Gold Match
S&W Performance Center
Springfield
COLT Gold Cup

stay away from the cheap Norinco

And you will also get replys that don't help you out at all with your question.

Colt for me

If I were looking at a couple of budgets, I'd expect to be just south of $1500 for a semi-custom pistol. I'd probably look at S&W performance, STI, and Springfield TRP, and I might even look at a Dan Wilson. Under $1000 and I'd probably look at Sig, Ruger, and maybe a Colt.

If I was on my Budget, I'd probably be looking for a used Rock Island, Taurus, or Turkish import.

I remember when the Norincos hit the market here in the early or mid-90s. I ended up with two of the 1911A1s at the hefty price of $212 apiece.

They weren't terribly accurate, but they were as reliable as stones. You could even load the mags with empty cases and cycle them through, racking the slide and turning it loose. Both of them would feed empties like that, mag after mag after mag. But attractively finished? Hardly. Nicely fitted? Nope---not even close!

One of mine got away from me in a swap, then I ended up swappping the remaining one for one of the Norinco Commander-sized 1911s. That was a mistake. The 4" Norinco was a jam-o-matic. It eventually got swapped too and I was out of Norinco 1911s, presumably forever.

I wish I still had the two original 5" 1911A1s, though. I'd have customized one and left the other dead stock.

They really weren't that bad a gun, if your expectations weren't too high. I'd say they were easily worth $212 in 1993. Not sure I'd give more than about $400 for one these days though.

Yep I wish I still had some of those Norinco's too...I had several back in the day when they were $225-250. Now days I rarely see one under $500-5550.

Good website to compare 1911's:

http://www.1911addicts.com/showthread.php?511-Buyer-s-guide-for-all-you-1911-addicts

Really enjoy my Springfield Operator. Yesterday it finally failed to eject Only took four years without a cleaning. Guess I'll clean it now.


Oh, and Grandad's Remington Rand, circa 1943, still runs fine.

My Range Officer is a sweet shooter, but I'll tell you it HAD to have a trigger job. Thankfully, I have the jig for it and now it's finer than frog's hair.

STI Shadow.... By the same mile as the guy up there^^^!
However, I have yet to shoot a Wilson, Baer, or Brown.

If the wallet would let me if have Wilson, les bear, nighthawk, Ed brown. Until then I'll stick with kimber colt or Sti

STI Shadow.... By the same mile as the guy up there^^^!
However, I have yet to shoot a Wilson, Baer, or Brown.

Why do you think a titanium firing pin is a good thing?

Umm because titanium is stronger and would be more durable.

Titanium firing pin? You must be from Kalifornica!
What about a titanium hammer and titanium hammer strut.
RIA comes with titanium firing pin also.

I'm no expert on 1911's but I can tell you the Gunsmith at Elk Castle in Ft Worth has a shelf full of Kimber's with problems to be worked on, and very few of any other brand of 1911.

As a mechanical engineer, I can tell you that titanium is not stronger than steel. Some alloys of each are stronger than weaker alloys in the other, but overall they are roughly similar in strength. It has a better strength to weight ratio, which just means it has to be going faster to distribute the same force to the primer, which would actually make it wear out faster.

Besides, how many 1911s fail because the firing pin wears out? Is that a reason to buy one gun over another?

Not trying to be inherently disagreeable, but it's tough for me to find much common ground with someone who thinks Kimbers are junk and titanium firing pins are an "upgrade".

It is my understanding that the series II Kimbers are the ones with problems. Not my experience, just seems to be the consensus around here.

I never shot the original series I Kimber 1911 pistols, but if they're even better than series II, then that opinion makes even less sense to me.

it started when Kimber went with external extractor

i worked on a Kimber CDP and found the extractor bit was too long and spring too tight

I filed down the extractor , cut 1-2 link off the extractor spring ... fixed the failed to eject
last round problem .... this is what a lot of folks are seeing FTE

Every time I see a unintelligent comment I know it's you blackcoal. I'm confused by your California remark are you saying they don't have titanium firing pins? And can you please show me where RIA says their pistols come stock with one? I'm not saying they don't by no means I just didn't know that and would like some proof. I know your feeling are still hurt because I schooled you on hollow points the other day but you don't have make some unintelligent comment every time I reply a post, you can act like a grown man.

^^^LOL^^^ Tell everyone about views about limp wristing and your views regarding proper breakin of semi-autos and whether it is needed. Your view of titanium firing pins are different from mine but also others as listed above. I just happen to be the first to call you and say I disagree. You state titanium firing pins are only found in higher priced guns. LOL. Unfortunately I don't have a buddy who owns a gun shop like you do. Also lets go to your all containing thoughts like 1000 different views. There are not that many 1911's. The OP was asking what do you like, not your view that all Kimbers are junk. Several people disagreed with you. Then if you need more lets go back to one of your early posts when a member tried to help and you accused him of being a troll because he hurt your feelings..
Grow up, not every one is going to agree with you.

Kimbers are fine. I see them run just as well as all the rest of the 1911s.

They are fine indeed

I put my Kimber Gold Match through 1600 rds in 2 hrs, gun was too hot to touch;

had 1 mis-feed , but probably due to tired and limp wristing

I apologize to the OP for bringing this crap to his post. I can't help it that this weirdo is obssesed with me and can't use the forum like an adult but to try and aggiate others. This will be the last time I respond to your unintelligent jargon Blackcoal. FYI there doesn't have to be 1000 guns to have that many views , heck you can have 100 views on one gun lol. Also never said the titanium firing pins are only on higher models but it is usually common for them to be in nice guns. I am impressed that I mean so much to you that you have read all my post , you can tell I really got in that head of yours even though that wasn't my intention. Have a nice night and please don't respond to any of my post as I won't yours Thank you.

I just always assumed a stronger firing pin would be an upgrade. I'm no expert I was just going on what I have heard from gunsmiths about it being better to have a titanium one but that wouldn't be the only reason I would purchase a gun either I was just giving him some info. As far as how many break I don't have a clue I have only owned two 1911s one being the Ruger which at some where around 3500 rounds hasn't had any problems and the other being a Kimber custom II which I had to send back twice within 500 rounds. If you will look at some of the other post like the one right above yours you can see I'm not the only one who doesn't like Kimbers.

I'd have to say that I have never handled a Kimber 1911 that I didn't like, but I'll also say I have shied away from them because of the reported problems. It may not be all that fair to just leave it at that either. The first Kimber 1911s were jewels and everyone went bonkers over them, but there were management changes and they became much more "mass produced" in character than they had been originally.

So, does that mean the newer ones are "junk?" I don't think so. They may truly be lesser than the originals but that does NOT make the new ones junk. Another thing to consider is the fact that the best selling widgets in the world will break more often than the others because there are so many of them.

Personally, I'd recommend Springfield Armory for a mass-produced 1911 over a Kimber but there are better guns than SA also. Truth be told, I'd bet the Tisas 1911 Bud's is (or was) selling are a decent, no-frills 1911 for the money. Wish I had money coming out my ears, I'd own 'em all.