Considering a new carry 1911

[tex4711]

I was either thinking about getting a snubbie for summer carry or a compact 1911(probably lightweight champion operator). I know the snubbie would give me a summer carry, but good lord do I love the feel of the 1911.

I know what you mean.... I have a full size 1911 and a BHP and been looking for a summer carry. Been bouncing back between a LCR and a Colt Defender / SA Micro-Compact / SA Loaded Lwt. The 1911 just feels soooo good!!
Good luck....
Steve

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[das38spl]

I was either thinking about getting a snubbie for summer carry or a compact 1911(probably lightweight champion operator). I know the snubbie would give me a summer carry, but good lord do I love the feel of the 1911.

I don't carry a 1911 as my EDC....but the SA Champion Operator has caught my eye, too!!
Currently I have 3 1911a...all are 5" .45...just too big for this small body to comfortably carry concealed (I've TRIED!!)
SA has a fine reputation....you MIGHT have a wait on the Compact Champion, though...some folks in certain areas are (supposedly...) waiting on backorders....
BTW.....one of my 1911s is the SA Loaded.....Sweet shooter!!
Good luck with whatever you go with!!

[Rugergirl]

When I first started shopping for a carry gun I looked at the Kahr CW9, didn't care for it, tried Dad's M&P 9C, OK, but I wanted something more. We rented a Kimber full size, and after the first mag, I knew what I wanted. We got twin Pro Crimson Carry II's. I carried it everyday at home even before I got my CPL and still after my permit was approved.
Then Dad finally decided, after 36 years to sell the Chief Special I first learned to shoot with. The minute I put it in my hand, I knew what my Kimber was missing. The wheel!
A month or so later I picked up a 686+, a couple months later, the Model 29 and just a couple months ago a Model 65.
Nothing whatsoever wrong with the Kimber and I do still carry it occasionally. I've got a couple thousand rounds through it and it's been perfectly reliable.
Rollo if you like the Kimber, go for it, but remember, it is a bottom feeder.

[Rollo]

Although I don't think I am going to purchase one for a while (I have other purchases to make first) when I do it's going to be the.................RIA! Out of every review I have read I havent read anything about function failures on the RIA. A Dan Wesson would be nice but I don't want to drop that much on a carry gun. I like the kimber but it's hit or miss. So RIA it is. The RIA is a bit heaveir then I wanted but I've learned that with a CBST you can pretty much carry a field artilery piece comfortably.

[friesepferd]

the kimber pro carry is a great gun. i carry the kimber utlra aegis (3" 9mm version). very reliable. very accurate. wouldn't get anything else

[Cloudpeak]

Rollo, I have an Ultra Carry ll that I bought a few months ago that I've had good luck with. It seems Kimber gets bashed quite a bit but I have several friends who own Kimbers and never had any problems. Then I shot a friend's Ultra Carry ll and the accuracy was very good and was a surprisingly soft shooter so I bought one. Mine has over 650 rounds of cast bullet handloads through it with no problem.

I think Kimber customer service seems to generally get fairly good reviews but they also have their fair share of disgruntled customers. More so than I've read about with S&W, Springfield, Dan Wesson and STI. Kimber probably sells more 1911 pattern guns than anyone else so it makes sense that there are more problems discussed on various gun boards. I'm not wild about the "Schwartz" safety on the Kimber but, at $750 delivered (from Bud's) it fit my price and "mission". If I could have purchased a 4" lightweight with officer's grip for the same price, that's what I would have bought.

The aluminum frame does make for easier carry but one thing you'd want to think about is the length of the grip. For me, this is the hard part to conceal and the "officer's" grip conceals better than the grip on my CBOB or STI. I think a 1911 with an aluminum frame and a 4" barrel with an officers grip would an ideal carry package.

My first two 1911's were Springfield's, a full size SS loaded and a LW Champion. I liked the size of the Champion and the light weight but that gun had to go back to Springfield for a couple of problems. Springfield has excellent customer service but I still had to tweak the extractor tension to get reliable feeding in the Champion.

Others have mentioned the CBOB and it is an excellent pistol, though heavier than what you want. Also, the prices have gone up since I bought mine. Customer service seems to get fairly good reviews though I've read a few posts from people who weren't pleased.

You might look at STI. I have a 5" 9mm Trojan that is an outstanding gun. I have over 6,000 rounds of cast bullet reloads through this pistol with no problems. Customer service seems to get very good reviews. My Trojan is blued and it shows wear quickly. Hard to beat a stainless steel gun for durability. STI makes many different configurations and calibers and they make models with lightweight frames.

RIA makes a compact tactical (has a beavertail and better sights) with an officer's grip and 3 1/2 barrel but it's all steel so is heavier than you want. It's very reasonably priced and customer service seems to get rave reviews.

I do like the "upcut" trigger guard and high rise beavertail on the STI. The CBOB doesn't quite have as much upcut but still fits my hands better than the Springfield's I owned.

From my limited experience, I rate fit and finish (best to worse): STI and CBOB (tie), Kimber (close second), then the Springfield's.

(on edit: Rollo's post showed up as I was writing the above.)

[metallic]

I couldn't agree more on the Dan Wessons. Much more gun for the money.

Only problem is that Dan Wesson has doubled their prices this year For the kind of money they are asking now, I'd just pick up a used Ed Brown, Wilson Combat, or Nighthawk Custom.

[OD*]

I'm not wild about the "Schwartz" safety on the Kimber

Just for clarification, and because it was the man's name, it's Swartz.

[Cloudpeak]

Just for clarification, and because it was the man's name, it's Swartz.

Right you are. I went with the "spell checker" and was wrong

[madplmber]

Rollo you gave me some advice on a post I made and maybe now I can return the favor I read alot about 1911s and looked into the reliability of each brand and their all pretty good but for the money ,reliability and customer service look at Springfield you get alot for your money just my 2 cents

[cmdrdredd]

Only problem is that Dan Wesson has doubled their prices this year For the kind of money they are asking now, I'd just pick up a used Ed Brown, Wilson Combat, or Nighthawk Custom.

No they didn't. They went up sure but so did everything else. Double? Nah... The current Buds price on a CBOB is $1349. When I bought mine they were $898. That's not double.

But availability? That's a problem itself. They're real hard to find in retail. So maybe gunbroker, or someplace like that.

[Ridgeline]

I just purchased a new Kimber Tactical 5in. and I LOVE it. Nuff said!!!

[metallic]

No they didn't. They went up sure but so did everything else. Double? Nah... The current Buds price on a CBOB is $1349. When I bought mine they were $898. That's not double.

But availability? That's a problem itself. They're real hard to find in retail. So maybe gunbroker, or someplace like that.

The CBOB is discontinued as of this year, It's replacement, the VBOB, has an MSRP of $2040. The old MSRP for the CBOB is $1224, so there has been a 60% increase in the last year. To make matters worse, if you can find a VBOB, they are going in the $1600-$1700 range, which is nearly a 100% increase over a year ago.

Sorry for the garbled post, I'm working late to meet a deadline and I'm exhausted.

[alexcantslee]

Just like everything else, everyone has their own opinions.

I carry a Kimber Pro Carry every day during the cooler months, day in and day out. I do not hesitate to trust my life on that particular handgun. I have never has a single FTE or FTF and the thing shoots incredibly accurately and packs a mean punch to boot. Fun to shoot and slim IWB too.

FWIW

I gotta agree. Ive got a Pro Carry II and love it. Shoots nice and so far its eaten everything Ive put in it with no hiccups of any sort.

Alex!