1911 help

[zhigdon91]

I'm looking to buy a new 1911 compact. I own 1 kimber ultra carry in 3" but I'm stuck on what I want now. So far I have spoke with someone about a kimber ultra elite but I can't find much out about them the guy is asking 900. Also looking into a kimber cdp ii for 900. I do like sigs also but don't have any experience with them. Any input would help. Thank you

 

[88E30M50]

One of my favorite carry 1911s is a Kimber Compact Stainless II. It's a 4 inch 1911 with the same officer size grip you have in the Ultra. I used to own an Ultra Carry as well, but ended up selling it when it became apparent to me that there was no situation where I would choose the Ultra over the Compact. That extra inch of barrel length seems to balance the pistol a bit for me. I also own Sigs and they are one of the few pistols I carry completely box stock. I've needed to do nothing to them before carry other than shoot them a bunch. Sigs are great carry 1911s and usually come with night sights installed and nice front strap checkering along with a metal MSH. Just about all of my other carry guns needed a tweak or two before I was happy carrying them, but not the Sigs. Glocks get connectors, grip tape and sights, Kimbers got night sights and CZs get trigger work done and sights. The Sigs just got shot a lot before carry. Both of my Sig 1911s are full size, but from what I've read, those that bought the compact Sigs have a similar experience.

 

[zhigdon91]

I just decided I'm getting a sig scorpion carry 1911. I will be picking it up from Usds this weekend. I really like the new combat trigger and fit and finish on it was great. Thank you for helping me decide on a sig. I would like it to be reliable out of the box and everything I've read on kimber states they have a 500rd break in period.

 

[88E30M50]

The Scorpion is a nice gun. One of the Sigs I have is a full size Scorpion and those guns are built like a tank. I've toyed with picking up a Scorpion carry, but am into the NP3 finishes now days. Good luck with the Scorpion. It's hard to go wrong with a Sig.

 

[LCSOSgt11]

I just love my Colt Officer's Model. With that said, they may be somewhat hard to find. Kimbers are satisfactory, depending on caliber preference, I have handled one of Springfield's small 1911's (EMP?) and found it intriguing. It comes in 9mm or .40 cal, however.

 

[zhigdon91]

If I could find a Springfield emp I would be all over it but they are pretty tough to track down.

 

[Wabatuckian]

I am not a huge fan of Kimber. You might check this thread:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...or-1911s-real-1911-over-others-available.html

Josh

 

[Cam]

If you like 3" 1911s I have nothing but good things to say about my Colt Defender.

 

[zhigdon91]

I almost bought a colt defender but I fell in love with the sig scorpion carry once I got to handle it a bit. My dad has a colt defender I could just bug him until he sells it to me

 

[88E30M50]

I am not a huge fan of Kimber. You might check this thread:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...or-1911s-real-1911-over-others-available.html

Josh

I'm the one that started that thread and the point of it was whether the Armscor style plain-jane full size 1911 without a firing pin safety was closer to the original M1911A1 than most 'GI' offerings today. There was some quality bashing in there for several brands with the AO built 1911 taking the worst beating. I just scanned it again and don't see anything that would push me away from a Kimber there. Mine have been good to go. Kimbers can be bought cheap but they do suffer on the price vs. value scale when you look at factors like night sights, grips, finish and checkering. Sig 1911s come complete in that regard.

 

[Wabatuckian]

88E30M50,

Yup, you did. I didn't mean to push anyone away from Kimber, but I personally have witnessed more failures in custom and semi-custom Kimbers than most brands.

They just try for tight tolerances with minimal hand fitting, and this just isn't something that should be done with a 1911. Neither do I like MIM, but I respect that most of it works most of the time.

My only intention in pointing to that thread is that it drifted enough that a lot of good points about most brands of 1911 pistols were made. I personally keep thinking about the fit of the lugs, though, in a lot of 1911s.

For example, you remember the lug bump issue? Most slide stop pins are about 0.198" in diameter.

Slide stops are really easy to replace, and most replacement slide stops are around 0.200". In some cases with tight tolerances, this is enough to cause lug bump. It certainly was in the case of my Rock Island. Now some makers offer 0.203" oversized slide stops. If one expects to just drop it in, chances are there will be problems with the lower lugs that won't show up for a few hundred rounds.

In my case, I replaced the slide stop because the slide didn't always lock back; the slide stop would jump the follower. This is a fairly common issue with some makes, though I admit I don't know how Kimber's slide stops are with it.

I've also seen stock Kimbers not function correctly due to improper lug fit. The goal was supreme precision and lockup but man, even 0.001" less on the lower lug would have fixed the problem completely.

I'm not just picking on Kimber; a lot of these "custom" and "semi-custom" 1911 pistols suffer from this problem.

Josh

 

[SERparacord]

Always amazed when people call Kimber a custom model.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Always amazed when people call Kimber a custom model.

Notice the quotes.

They say it, too: Kimber America | Custom II 1911 Pistol Collection

I always had a problem with that...

Josh

 

[calcot7]

If you like 3" 1911s I have nothing but good things to say about my Colt Defender.

Ditto on the Defender. I have one in .45 and one in 9mm. I have not put enough rounds through the 9mm yet to trust it to be a carry tool. The .45 runs reliably with 230 gr. Gold Dot HP's. It chews up most ammo without a problem as long I keep new springs in her. I change them at 3000 rounds just like my oil change miles.

 

[benzkomp]

Sigs are very nice guns but you are paying a little extra for the same. I would go with a remington 1911 or even a springfield like someone else mentioned

 

[88E30M50]

Sigs are very nice guns but you are paying a little extra for the same. I would go with a remington 1911 or even a springfield like someone else mentioned

I disagree. I own a Remington R1S and it's one of my favorite guns to shoot. But, it's not the same as the Sig 1911s I own at all. The Remington comes with standard 3 dot sights, a smooth front strap and poly coated walnut grips. The Sig comes with night sights, a nicely checkered front strap, lightweight hammer, a beavertail grip safety with speed bump, magwell funnel and a very nice set of G10 grips. On my Remington, I stripped the poly coated grips, restained and refinished them with BLO and I hand checkered the front strap. I have not addressed the sights yet since there is a limited number of sights available for the R1S. To bring the R1S up to the Sig standard, it would cost more than the $300 difference in price if I had paid for the front strap checkering. Even if I just applied a bit of speed tape, it would still have cost more to buy and fit all parts needed to make them comparable.

 

[dyerwatcher]

I have a full size TTT. I'm a big fan.

 

[Bottlefed]

I like my kimber cdc2 that being said there not worth the money i bought mine to help a friend out but I would rather of bought a warthog or another para p14. My colts have never let me down along with my rem rand but I don't shoot them much. If you want a good 1911 for the cash ruger makes a quality piece for a good price. My sig c3 has also been a great pistol.