mossytxn wrote:Springfield Range Officer.
We can close the post now....
....and Springfield does indeed make nice 1911s. I own a "Loaded" model, and I like it very much as a utilitarian 5" "fighting gun." But I'm going to disagree here and say that Springfields are not any more perfect than any other 1911 brand in a given price range, Kimbers included.
We hear on these pages ocasionally from disappointed Kimber owners (substitute name brand here in place of Kimber, including famously reliable brands like Glock), but we rarely ever hear from the thousands of satisfied owners of Kimbers (or, again, substitute name brand/platform here) because it is human nature to not say anything unless it is to complain.
Our member "randomoutburst" (where has she been lately?) purchased an STI 1911 in commander length for herself a couple of years ago. She was in a public restroom and set the pistol down on top of something, from which it fell, striking the floor. When it hit the floor, broken parts flew off of it (I don't remember the parts). So much for the mighty STI's reputation, but I never saw any of the same kind of responses against STI in that thread as I have heard against Kimber in similar threads. I used to own a Sig GSR Stainless Carry 1911 in commander length—without a doubt
the most unreliable gun I've ever owned bar none, but people sing their praises, and you don't ever hear much negative feedback about them. Mine was so bad that I swallowed a $120 loss and turned it back in to the store I bought it from, and used the credit toward the purchase of my flawless Kimber. Name a brand of higher end
production 1911 makers, and you will find a community on the web dedicated to smearing that maker's name.
That's why I don't pay much attention to the criticisms anymore, nor to the claims of vast superiority of one brand over another in the roughly $800 to $1,500 price range.