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I had a day off last week and spent it going around to several gun stores looking at 1911s. I have two pistols I was considering trading in for either a Kimber Ultra Carry or something similar. The trade ins were a new XD40 I had bought for my wife at Christmas. She didnt like the feel of it, and I ended up getting her a Walther P99. The other was my Ruger P345. Noone would offer more than 500 bucks for the pair, so they are still in my stable.

I like the Kimbers, but are they really worth the money they are asking for them? I would prefer to get an American made gun, but I have to confess, if Taurus made a compact 1911 in .45, I would probably buy it. The PT1911 I looked at seemed comparable to the full size kimbers in quality. Of course I couldnt shoot it, but it seemed to me like a good quality gun.

So if you were in the market for a commander or compact sized 1911, is the extra money for a Kimber really worth it, or is there something else you would consider? Would I have better luck with the trade at one of the upcoming gun shows?

If you were looking to buy a full size, I would definitely recommend the Taurus.

However, Springfield makes the GI series Champion that sells for a fair price.

It is available as a 4", lightweight 4" and 3".

They also offer the Champion series in their more expensive 'Loaded' line. It is also a fine pistol, but be aware when you are shopping to keep the two Champions separate or you will see a wide disparity of pricing.

Springfield's service department is the best. When my 4" Champion was having some feeding issues, they corrected them and then test fired without failure the following 100 rds Win FMJ, 25 rds Federal Hydrashok, 25 rds Golden Sabre, 25 rds Speer Gold Dot, and 50 rds Speer Lawman. I've never seen Kimber or anyone else go to those lengths.

Others may recommend the Rock Island Armory, as they offer a compact, but I have no personal experience with RIA.

I really like my Kimber Ultra carry. I have not had any issues with it. I have used it for IDPA matches and for BUG (backup gun) matches. It has performed well and helped me place well at these matches!

In my opinion it is a very nice gun.

What is the intended use of the gun? Carry gun or range gun? I like the options in the ParaOrd LDA line for a carry gun, but for a range gun I would probably go with a full sized more true to the GI 1911. I think Dan Wesson would have been my first choice 5 years ago (prior to going under and being bought out) as they were an incredible value. Now they just rank up there with the other good ones. But they are a US company (owned by CZ now).

I have a couple of Kimbers and a Colt and I definitely think that the Kimber's are worth the money. Of course if you shop around you can usually find them used for a decent price.

Itll be my carry gun. As much as I like the Ruger, I want something a little more compact. Itll be either the Kimber, SA, or Para. Im hoping someone at the gun show will be willing to do some trading.

i think now a days, production 1911s are not what they used to be. esspecially kimber, their quality fell over the years and and IMO are crud now unless you go with their higher end or custom shop. from what i was told, they took over sig sauer's 1911 line and that now is what kimber used to be.

springfield armory's 1911s are nothing but great guns IMO, and a bit more affordable then kimber, not to mention the lifetime warranty and quick turn around times.

Para Ordnance doesnt really get the limelight it deserves, but their 1911s are hair splitters.

but a really affordable and good first time 1911 would be rock island armory hands down. cant beat a sub $400 1911 that is just as accurate as the higher ends.

then of course you can go into the fancier ones, Dan Wesson CBOBs never really took off, but are great guns none the less, Ed brown, les baer, wilson combat, Nighthawk custom, etc. all fine 1911s.

might i add if you're going to wish to carry a 1911, id advise you get a full size and get used to how they operate, followed by a compact for carry.

if i had the body for it, id carry full size..

Here is one HECK of a deal

Its a RIA (Rock Island Armory)1911, its about as GI as you can get
http://www.centerfiresystems.com/index. ... rodID=1083

$339.99 (FFL Required or shipped to your FFL)

personal opinion here but the main thing i dont like about GI is that the sights are so low they're hard to see. that and its hard to get a high grip on the gun. maybe its just my mechanics or lack thereof. but to each their own.

an old timer told me they opt for low mount iron sights because the soldiers kept knocking the sights off in battle. you'd think they'd just make stronger sights..

You didn't mention a price range. (or I didn't see it) I've had a Kimber Ultra CDP for almost 6 years and it's been perfect for me. It is surprisingly accurate and easy to shoot (it a lightweight) so I imagine the steel ultra carry is very easy to shoot. One thing I noticed over the past 2-3 years is that every range I go to has kimber ultra sized pistols available as rentals. You could try one for $10 and a box of ammo.

Cost is personal but I figure that if I am willing to stake my life on it, what's a few extra dollars? I spend thousands per year on other insurance and I can't shoot it on the weekends. ...lol

The CDP's are pretty expensive but they are lightweight (easy to carry all day every day) have beveled edges /carry melt, checkering where I like it, and all the options I wanted. I'm seriously considering another one, in a 4" or 5".

There are other nice 1911's in that kimber $$ range so you just need to make a list of all the features you want and do a little looking- I bet you'll find what you want.


As far as kimber quality goes... mine have been flawless and I've only heard the negative rumors on internet forums.

My current carry gun is a RIA (Rock Island Armory) compact 1911 in their "Tactical" configuration. This little gun shoots like a dream, hits what you want it to, and repeatedly puts more bullets there. The trigger pull is outstanding, and the price isn't bad at all. While at the range I have had people have asked me "Do you trust your life to that cheap gun?" My response has always been "its a top quality gun with a cheap price tag, It goes bang every time, it hits what I want it to, it cycles correctly every time, and most importantly I trust my life to it everyday." Its not a matter of dollars that makes a gun dependable and trust worthy, its the quality and failure history (or lack thereof). I know of a Colt Series 80 pistol, and a Kimber TLE II I would never put in one of my holsters, yet I know of other pistols from these same manufacturers that I have put in my holster.

My normal carry gun is an old model Springfield Champion. I've done some work to it, but not things it needed, things I just wanted. I thought it was a great pistol right out of the box. You know how us guys can be! Before someone starts, stainless does NOT glow under whatever covers it!

flechero wrote: I spend thousands per year on other insurance and I can't shoot it on the weekends. ...lol

Haaa! I like that.

asleepatthereel wrote:The PT1911 I looked at seemed comparable to the full size kimbers in quality. Of course I couldnt shoot it, but it seemed to me like a good quality gun.

My son has a Taurus PT1911, and it is indeed a nice 1911 pistol... ...for the price. I have a Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II, which I purchased partly by trading in a Sig GSR Stainless Carry 1911. The Sig was a fickle mistress, and not nearly as reliable as a gun which retails for around $1,100.00 ought to be. In fact, it was downright unreliable. The Kimber, which including the trade in cost me $939.00, is a superb weapon which is reliable, more accurate than any semi-auto with a 3" barrel has any right to be, shoots easily and makes me look good doing it, and is in all aspects a better pistol than the Sig.

Comparing my Kimber to my son's Taurus boils down probably more to long term build quality. The fit and finish on the Kimber and the general quality of manufacture is better than on the Taurus. My son, who loves his Taurus, would agree with that assessment. However, in pure shooting terms, the Taurus is just as good as the Kimber. My son can flat wear out the bullseyes at pretty much any handgun distance with his. (I'm not that good of a shot.) The only complaint about the Taurus is that, after pretty much every range session, it seems that the ambidextrous safety on the right side of it has shaken a little loose. Once it was loose enough that that it would no longer engage or disengage the safety. So part of his cleaning ritual after every range session is to get out the mallet and the nylon punch and tap it back down into place. If it were me, I would just replace it with a standard non-ambi safety since my son is right handed anyway. Other than that, the Taurus runs like a champ and shoots well.