Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

[Rollo]

Here's what I was trying to post earlier...

A Quick Bit on 1911 Mags.

Thanks JD, that's a lot of good info.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[jonconsiglio]

Carrying a 1911 daily for a number of years now. I have about 50 mags laying around, mostly Wilson 47D's with some Nighthawks (blue and stainless), Wilson ETM's, CobraMag's and a couple DW's.

I prefer the Wilson 47D's with the slim steel basepad for my Commanders and bobtails. You can order the basepads for around $5 as an afterthought. For my full size guns I like the same since I don't run magwells except on my Benny Hill that has it built in. On a magwell gun, I like the ETM or even the blue Nighthawk mags, but mostly for competition, the range or a class.

The only advantage I see in the ETM, CobraMag, blue Nighthawk mag - is that it seats a little easier than a 47D, but I slam them in and have never once had an issue. That and if you get a stuck mag, it's easier to rip out with the wider basepad.

I might add the VBOB (not the CBOB) is worth every bit of it's cost, if you'd ever actually pay that anywhere. I say that carrying a Nighthawk daily, another two on order and probably another one or two after that this year. It's a very nice gun and I've owned 5 Kimbers (all are gone), 2 Springfields, 2 other customs, Wilson CQB, Brown Executive Carry, Nighthawk Talon II (with a custom PDP and a Predator on the way) a few old Colts for the heck of it and from my Dad, etc. The VBOB is a very nice gun for less than half of the $2,950 of my Talon and $3,500+ for the PDP and Predator.....but I have to say that even though I'm not getting twice the gun, I love Nighthawk!

Here's a quick review I did on the VBOB - http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulle...son-brown.html

[cmdrdredd]

A 500 round break in period??!!?? That's like 200 bucks worth of ammo...

Heh I hear that, but yes they won't look at it if it has any issued prior to 500rounds. They'll really push you on it if you tell them you fired that many already.

Personally any gun that doesn't go bang perfectly, every time, from my first round ever to my last round fired yesterday, will not be carried. My Dan Wesson CBOB and every one of my Glocks as well as my Sig P226R have been this way. Not to mention some of the various HKs I've owned over time.

I don't want to hear about buying ammo either, I have just aquired 1000 rounds so I'm ready for my Ed Brown when it arrives.

A lot of money spent on an already expensive gun.

[cmdrdredd]

^^that's quite a price jump from a sub $900 colt/springfield armory to a $1,600 DW.

....nice, but not worth the cost IMHO.

It really depends on the buyer/shooter. To me and some like me, it IS worth it. Others just want a 1911 that is good quality and don't need the tool steel parts, and all the extra hand fitting that goes into the more expensive guns. I can understand that. It's a little bit like buying musical instruments. You can make a $300 guitar sound similar and function the same as a $1200 guitar. Even play the same music, but there's more fine detail in the more expensive model. Maybe different internals. A 1911 is the same way. External appearance, and internal parts and springs make the difference. Production vs semi-custom.

[Cloudpeak]

A 500 round break in period??!!?? That's like 200 bucks worth of ammo...

When I get a new 1911, I remove the barrel and recoil spring from the slide, lube the slide and frame rails up, install the slide to the frame, cock the hammer and work the slide back and forth a few hundred times. Throughout this process, I'll remove the slide, clean the old lube from frame and slide, re-lube and go at it again. My STI 9mm (6493 rds.), CBOB .45 (1733 rds.) and Kimber U.C. .45 (712 rds.) never missed a lick from the first round on. You can feel the friction reduce as you continue this process and will see the wear metals in the oil you wipe off.

The "Operator" configuration will limit choices on holsters I believe.

If you haven't already bought the Operator, you might look at STI. They're a bit lower cost than the Dan Wessons and ever bit as good, IMO. They make quite a few configurations, i.e. barrel lengths, calibers and frame material. The high cut on the trigger guard and high rise grip safety on the STI really suits my hands the best of any of the few 1911's I've owned as I can get a bit higher grip which seems to help my shooting quite a bit.

The STI and Kimber come with plastic mainspring housings. I've had no problems with either but I did change to a metal MSH on the STI because I wanted to add a mag well.

My first two 1911's were Springfield's, a 5" SS loaded and a LW Champion. Both were great pistols but I prefer the three I own now. The Champion did have to go back for various problems but Springfield's service was fast and, for the most part, effective. I still had to lessen extractor tension on the Champ and change bullet design (from the Lee 200gr SWC to Lyman 200gr SWC lead bullet) to get it to function 100%.

[Rollo]

When I get a new 1911, I remove the barrel and recoil spring from the slide, lube the slide and frame rails up, install the slide to the frame, cock the hammer and work the slide back and forth a few hundred times. Throughout this process, I'll remove the slide, clean the old lube from frame and slide, re-lube and go at it again. My STI 9mm (6493 rds.), CBOB .45 (1733 rds.) and Kimber U.C. .45 (712 rds.) never missed a lick from the first round on. You can feel the friction reduce as you continue this process and will see the wear metals in the oil you wipe off.

The "Operator" configuration will limit choices on holsters I believe.

If you haven't already bought the Operator, you might look at STI. They're a bit lower cost than the Dan Wessons and ever bit as good, IMO. They make quite a few configurations, i.e. barrel lengths, calibers and frame material. The high cut on the trigger guard and high rise grip safety on the STI really suits my hands the best of any of the few 1911's I've owned as I can get a bit higher grip which seems to help my shooting quite a bit.

The STI and Kimber come with plastic mainspring housings. I've had no problems with either but I did change to a metal MSH on the STI because I wanted to add a mag well.

My first two 1911's were Springfield's, a 5" SS loaded and a LW Champion. Both were great pistols but I prefer the three I own now. The Champion did have to go back for various problems but Springfield's service was fast and, for the most part, effective. I still had to lessen extractor tension on the Champ and change bullet design (from the Lee 200gr SWC to Lyman 200gr SWC lead bullet) to get it to function 100%.

I had considered doing something similar. Actually, I had considered doing exactly what you described with removing the spring, lubing it up and working it back and fourth by hand. I also considered the holster selection but honestly I doubt I would ever carry the thing in anything other then a CBST, HOWEVER it would be nice to have more options for OWB in cool weather.

I looked at STI when I was reseaching guns however my LGS isn't a dealer and I don't like the idea of spending that much on a I can't put my hands on first.

In the end it's jsut a crappy position. The Kimber is the gun I want as it feels the best for me but the SA jsut has so many things going for it.

[Guardian]

We better see lots of pictures since you've been talking about it so long.

[Rollo]

We better see lots of pictures since you've been talking about it so long.

I'll be picking up a fresh set off batteries :)

[Frogbones]

And hopefully the gun will work at the end of it...hopefully.

Coming from him...he's being nice.


Rollo....I think you'll be good no matter which peice you choose.

I like both companies and the 1911's they make.


Tis a hard choice pray. Methinks Kimber.

I have a GI Springer:


And Kimber UCII:


Both are great guns!!!

[pirate]

IMO the SA is the better 1911.

[retsupt99]

Some individuals in this thread don't like Kimbers, and that's OK.
I've seen guys in the gun shop bringing back $2500 guns because of problems. If it's mechanical, it can have problems.
I've had 3 Kimbers...I still have two left, and none of them have ever given me any difficulty...great shooters.

[jonconsiglio]

I had 5 of them and they were all pretty good and my SIS was great, it's the company and the people there that I don't care for....and I don't call about trivial issues or ask for anything free or discounted, etc.

I ran about 10,000 rounds through one in the course of a year or so and it never had any real issues, the others all had a few thousand through them, but in the rare event something goes wrong that i can't take care of, I want them to fix it, without all the bs.

Other than that, the gun themselves have all been pretty good.

[High Altitude]

I don't purchase Kimbers or any firearm from a manufacturer with out top of the line customer service like Glock, S&W and Springfield.

[ECHOONE]

It's Part Personal and part Product service and reliability! You'll get as many different answers here that will leave you right were you started,CONFUSED!
Only you can decide,make a Pro and Con list on both,Shoot both,then decide.
I personally would go with SA.Reasons:Far superior Service,I feel SA is a more Reliable Pistol,also feel the Finish is better,Accuracy is same on both.I think the Rail is whats making the SA feel more blocky and feel heavier to you,I think the rail is a big + but it might pose a problem finding a holster for you,again that's something you have to decide if you want! Kimber makes Sweet looking pistols,but a Sweet looking pistol doesn't do you any good if it isn't reliable and they have had issues,I'm not the type that is going to take a chance on a manufacturer that most of the time!Good luck

[Rollo]

It's Part Personal and part Product service and reliability! You'll get as many different answers here that will leave you right were you started,CONFUSED!
Only you can decide,make a Pro and Con list on both,Shoot both,then decide.
I personally would go with SA.Reasons:Far superior Service,I feel SA is a more Reliable Pistol,also feel the Finish is better,Accuracy is same on both.I think the Rail is whats making the SA feel more blocky and feel heavier to you,I think the rail is a big + but it might pose a problem finding a holster for you,again that's something you have to decide if you want! Kimber makes Sweet looking pistols,but a Sweet looking pistol doesn't do you any good if it isn't reliable and they have had issues,I'm not the type that is going to take a chance on a manufacturer that most of the time!Good luck

That's stated REALLY well. I think your right, the main sticking point for me is the rail. Although I'll carry this gun 80 percent of the time in a CBST I'd like to have options for OWB carry.