Liberty wrote:I've hardly ever heard of a Ruger, HK, SIG, Beretta or Glock ever failing out of the box. However spend about twice as much and folks will end up with a 1911 that takes them months to get to shoot reliability and need constant tweeking of springs and mags.
I would offer the following 2 things:
1) The gun I traded in to buy my Kimber was as
Sig, and it was the most unreliable and frustrating pistol I've ever owned. So I got rid of it.
2) Out of the box, my Kimber required swapping out one part, which was free, which took all of 5 minutes to replace, and which I received from Kimber within 5 days of buying the pistol. I've never had to do a lick of anything to make the magazines function. They work great right out of the box, and the pistol has functioned flawlessly ever since replacing that one part 5 days after buying it.
By comparison, my H&K (which I mention because you listed H&Ks as reliable guns), which does function reliably, is nowhere near as accurate, has an
awful trigger, and this left handed shooter has been unable to procure a simple ambidextrous safety for it, after many many many many attempts, ever since he first bought the pistol almost a year ago. Why? Because H&K's concerns do not include making that part available to the 10%-15% of their customers who are left handed. I think that's idiotic; or perhaps it is Teutonic efficiency in action. Who knows? All I know is that it makes the H&K ownership experience less pleasant for me than it could have been.
When I think about price comparison, the price difference between the H&K and the Kimber was exactly $200. Unfortunately, the H&K's trigger
can't be improved upon although it badly needs it, and the Kimber's trigger was perfect out of the box. I can't get an ambidextrous safety for the H&K to save my life (even though H&K claims that they make such a thing), but it only took me a few days to have a really nice one purchased, delivered, and installed on my Kimber. The fit and finish on the Kimber is nicer than the H&K's, and the Kimber balances better in the hand. The 1911 ergonomics are better than the H&K's. The Kimber came with good night sights and the H&K didn't. The Kimber is smaller and easier to conceal. Etc., etc., etc. In short, it is worth $200 more. So really, it boils down to preferences, and whether or not it is worth it to the individual buyer to pay a little more for a fine firearm. (BTW, at $740, that H&K was nowheres near cheap.)
Yes, a gun is "just" a tool. So are cars. After all, they are "just" transportation, right? And if all you are looking for is to get from point A to point B, a Yugo (Lorcin L380) will do fine. If you want to get there reliably and comfortably, buy a Ford Crown Victoria (Glock 23). If you want to get there fast and look good doing it, buy a Corvette (Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II). If you want to do it con brio, with style, verve, and panache, buy a Saleen S7 (Les Baer Custom). Guns are the same way as cars, and they excite our passions the same way.
So for some folks, neither the price, nor the tuning (which is truly not necessary for most Kimbers) are worth the cost of entry, and that's fine. But for those buyers who chose to pay more for a nice 1911, it's not like we didn't think it through, and
most of us truly aren't having the problems you mentioned.
I could be wrong about it, but that's just my 2¢.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
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