Your opinions on a Kimber please.

[Mexican_Hippie]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

I know Sig_Fiend just had a long post on this, but ditto. If you get a 3" you have to be prepared for the extra maintenance and regular testing they require.

 

[Waterguy]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

After reading through all the post, I have come to the conclusion that the kimber1911 is a very good pistol, but the compact ones are good,
but need more attention. The tolerances are closer on some and a bit loser on others. The one I am looking at seems to be ok,
not one fte or ftf out of over a hundred rounds. Tho it is a bit pricey, I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for.
Some say there over priced some don't. The way I look at it if something is priced higher than others and hold that price through the years,
there has to be something to that.
The information yall have given me here is priceless.
The varying opinions that were given here shed a lot of light on a subject that I didn't know that much about.

Thank yall.

 

[zembonez]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

Pick any product.

Next pick one of the manufacturers of said product.

Look for reviews.

There you will find people who think it's fashionable to hate on that product because others like it or they have another favorite. They are generally pretty transparent.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

That's one of the key reasons I always try to point out my own bias on anything. Many of you know I don't like Glocks. I'll also say that I owned one, it ran fine, and I was spot-on accurate w/it....I just didn't care for it. If I *really* think something's a POS, you'll have NO doubt that it's based on substantial reason(s) - because I try to be very clear if it's "for cause", or "just 'cuz".
Talked with a feller out at the range today, and Charter Arms came up. He thought they were "okay" guns, and as we talked we realized that my dislike and his "okay" were pretty much the same. If I "dislike" a gun, it's generally because I don't think it's one that'll hold up to heavy use. He felt that CA's were good for an "entry level" or "house gun", but he wouldn't take it to the range regularly....by talking, we discovered our definitions were different - not our opinions.
That's why it doesn't bother me to differentiate between opinion and factual information - some folks will dislike something that I like. Neither of us are wrong (or right) - we just have different goals/hot buttons/preferences.

 

[zembonez]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

I appreciate a good opinion with a few facts to back it up. Travis (Sig Fiend) speaks his opinion pretty clearly plus includes why he thinks what he does. We all have stuff we like or dislike.

 

[Texas1911]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

After reading through all the post, I have come to the conclusion that the kimber1911 is a very good pistol, but the compact ones are good, but need more attention.

Kimber really is a middle of the road manufacturer, but the vast majority of their product is good stuff. Just test out whatever you get, regardless of what name is on it. I've seen every kind of gun have issues at one point or another, and the gun one guy has may be flawless, but you'll get a lemon. In the 1911 world, there are so many fitted parts and tolerances in the gun that they are pretty finicky about lubrication and build quality. I've seen homerun Kimbers and dud Wilson Combats ... so it's not really a brand per se, it's more into the specific gun, and that's why we say to test it out.

 

[Waterguy]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

that's why we say to test it out.


Oh I plan on getten in more range time with it before anything changes hands.
I know the owner so playen at the range is not a problem.

 

[bufford]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

Had an Ultra CDP that was a very sweet gun... just waiting for the solo to get the bugs out.... that should be nice in about a year.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

After all that, I still want a Combat Commander, Officer's, Defender, STI Escort, and probably a dozen other 3-4.25" 1911's. lol They're cool little guns. I doubt if I'd ever carry one, though if I personally tested the hell out of it and vetted the individual gun myself, like I said, as long as you do that you should be good to go.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

After all that, I still want a Combat Commander, Officer's, Defender, STI Escort, and probably a dozen other 3-4.25" 1911's. lol They're cool little guns.

Y'mean......sumthin' like this?




Or, this?

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

I love my Kimber, accurate as hell, but had many FTF/FTE & it took aftermarket springs & mags to get it to run properly (CDP II Pro).

 

[TheDan]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

Get a Rock Island instead. The price difference can buy quite a lot of ammo to practice with and get familiar with your gun. That is more important than what brand of gun you have...

 

[claymore504]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

I have always thought Kimber has some of the best looking 1911s. I never ended up with one though. I always went with something else when it came time to buy....Springer......STI. Since owning an STI I have quit looking at other brands!

 

[OLDVET]

Re: Your opions on a Kimber please.

I second the above statement. In the 80s Colt was building 1911s that were basically junk, but if you wanted a 1911; the Colt was about all there was. So in steps Kimber to offer the general public a better product at a decent price. In their early years, Kimber produced an excellant line of pistols. As Kimber's popularity grew and their production increased, their quality started to slip. It is the same thing that happened to Harley Davidson when AMF bought the company years ago. Kimbers are still a fine gun, but in my opinion they are over priced. I am friends with three guys who make a living as gunsmiths. My opinion of Kimbers is based on information they have passed along to me. I am fully aware that each of us has his own opinion about brand loyality. Over the years I have become a Sprinfield supporter due the fact that each of the four I own do exactly what I want them to do and they are reasonably priced. I owned a Les Baer Premier II not long ago. It was a nice gun. It didn't shoot any better for me than my Springfield "Loaded" model does, so I sold it after a couple of thousand rounds at the range. I highly recommend you find a pistol that fits your hand and feels good. Buy it, and do not listen to what others may say. Besides if you end up not liking it you can always trade it or sell it and get something else. I bought my first 1911 in 1978. Over the years I have owned probably more than forty. I sure wish I had a couple of them back. Oh well you live and you learn!.

 

[Waterguy]

Ok, yall talked me out of the smaller ones. I have decided to hold out for a full size.
I went looking through the 1911 picture thread, and that pushed me over the edge.
Them full size just look sweet.

 

[Charlie]

Ok, yall talked me out of the smaller ones. I have decided to hold out for a full size.
I went looking through the 1911 picture thread, and that pushed me over the edge.
Them full size just look sweet.

Well..................you probably know the "best" answer..............buy one of each 3", 4", and 5"!

 

[Waterguy]

Well..................you probably know the "best" answer..............buy one of each 3", 4", and 5"!

That would be the thing to do huh...lol

 

[TexasRedneck]

Or, buy one and judge for yerself....

 

[Lobo_79]

Ok, yall talked me out of the smaller ones. I have decided to hold out for a full size....

During your research you've probably already been to this site: The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site -
This is one of the best 1911 sites IMHO. It's difficult to separate fact from fiction on the internet, and most manufacturers are not going to give you their failure statistics for each version of their product. I think most of the folks here are trying to help enlighten you about the higher than average potential of having issues with the subcompact 1911 design. They're well documented...even for the internet.

 

[Waterguy]

Found this the other day.
I think I'll keep her.

I want to thank yall for the input.
An informed choice make looking for something
a whole lot harder...lol