Suppressors Which 1911?

[i_Adam_i18]

My buddy has been looking at the Kimber super carry ultra

But I told him to stay away from Kimber due to reliability issues that I've heard so much about. If it were just a few rumors here and there, I wouldn't worry about it because you'll hear them with just about every manufacturer sooner or later. But the amount of crap I've heard about new Kimbers is enough to steer me away and my friends.

So for all you knowledgeable 1911 guys out there, what would you reccommend for a comparable gun at a comparable price that will run like it should out of the box? $800-1100 range.

 

[Doc1911]

Re: Which 1911?

Not really a comparable price, but you get a WHOLE lot more for the $$$ - Nighthawk Custom http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/

Here are a couple of mine:

You can find some great used bargins at times ... He may also desire to consider a Wilson, or ...

 

[68GT]

Re: Which 1911?

lots of info here: http://forums.1911forum.com/

 

[ChadJamesR]

Re: Which 1911?

I can't give advice on which 1911 to get in that size for that price, but I can tell you what to stay away from. All the 1911 gun smiths that I have spoken with have told me to stay away from any 1911 with a barrel less than 3.5" as they are tricky to get them to run reliably. From the people I've known who have own a 3" Kimber, they have had feeding/jamming issues.

This being said, I know people with 3" barreled 1911 that run great but they have between $2500 and $3000 in work done on them by George at EGW.

If I was buying a non-custom 1911, I wouldn't go shorter than a commander barrel or I would send it off to a good smith to have a reliability job done on the pistol. As a self defense weapon, I wouldn't want to take the chance of it not working when I need it.

 

[mattkarstetter]

Re: Which 1911?

i had alot of problems with my kimber ultra so i went to a pro (4") kimber. i have shot ipsc single stack for the last 4 years and learned quite a bit after 25000 rounds. my best advice is magazines, good lube and breaking them in.

my current competition gun is a desert warrior. this was the gun that i started shooting ipsc with and at first i had problems. first of was that i was trying to feed it semi wad cutter hand loads and these were a nightmare for feeding. the shape of the bullet just was not reliable. but when i switched to 230 ball/ round nose it ran alot better.

alot of my problems were magazine related. i was running chip mccormick power tens and power 8's. the follower is not ballanced and caused alot of ammo to nose dive. after one bad day i had had enough and set out to get the best mags i could find. what i settled on was the "cobra mag" from tripp research. these things are amazing. i feel that they are as good or better than the wilson mags.

another thind i did was use slide glide from brian enos. my experience is that in almost any weather the light weight slide glide is perfect. the only time i use the medium weight is in very hot weather when i am going to run the gun alot. by alot i mean 3 - 400 rounds in one day with no cleaning. you need to keep a 1911 "wet" if you are going to run it hard. the slide glide is a grease type lubricant that stays where you put it and seems to surround and isolate carbon and has really worked well in preventing excessive where over many thousands of rounds.

my last thought is that you need to take these new tight fitting guns and run them to help loosen them up and increase reliability. i would say 500 to 1000 rounds.

today i carry a kimber 4" with an aluminum frame. i think its a tac pro. i put on crimson trace grips to go along with the tritium night sights because i feel that in the stress of a real life self defense situation they add alot of value but i think a person should no how to shoot with the sights first and learn to index the gun for up close work, but i like the crimson trace for unknown situations.

just my thoughts. the tripp mags and good lube with slide glide makes me very confident in this setup. and with the aluminum frame it isnt to heavy. check that your self defense ammo functions well. ive had some rounds, the tap 230 hollow point comes to mind, catch the slide lock tab on the inside of the frame and lock the slide open. make sure you test your ammo and your gun.

 

[Win70chris]

Re: Which 1911?

I really like the Sig 1911, it is very well made.

 

[dukedurham]

Re: Which 1911?

I vote Sprinfield; full size TRP and Champion for everyday carry. Not exactly the size you're buddy was looking for or the weight. And heed the advice on the SLIDE GLIDE. That stuff is the foshizzle!!!

 

[desertghost]

Re: Which 1911?

I have been told to stay clear of Kimbers by the gunsmiths at Novaks. They will actually charge more to work on a Kimber because of the poor quality of materials. Personally I own a wilson combat and 5 colts. I would suggest for overall quality and resale value to buy a colt model 70 and have some work done on it. If you don't know much about 1911s, call up novaks and they can tell you more they you need to know. I have everything from a full fbi spec 1911 to a lightweight commander in 38 super. I actually prefer my colts that I have sent off over my wilson. If you want out of the box value, get a colt 80 series or any springfield. Understand that if you want a lightweight aluminum frame 1911 for carry it won't be as durable as a steel framed 1911. There are thousands of opinions on these guns. My suggestion is to called and talk to charlie at novaks.

 

[nock]

Re: Which 1911?

Look into the Springfield Armory Professional model. They are about $2600.00 but they are worth it.

http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdoors.com/SPstory06.php

If you want one I know a dealer that has one in stock. Pm me if interested

 

[ZOMBIE101]

Re: Which 1911?

Buy a simple Colt 70's just like I did....

 

[Rob_0811]

Re: Which 1911?

For your stated price range, go with STI and never look back.

 

[Downzero]

Re: Which 1911?

Series I Kimber is hard to beat at any price, but STI has some great guns, too.

 

[KTDLS7]

Re: Which 1911?

Check out the following:

http://www.10-8performance.com/1911_Duty_Use.html

Hilton has an excellent analysis of 1911s. He explains why to steer clear of certain models. Then read the rest of his articles regarding maintenance. An excellent primer on 1911s.

 

[VKC]

Re: Which 1911?

1911s are already fairly thin. Why not get a full sized? The smaller 1911s are tough to shot accurately, especially the lighter aluminium framed ones. For CCW the thickness and grip length are the important dimensions. No use to have a comfortable gun to just carry if you can't shoot it accurately.

 

[crod1972]

Re: Which 1911?

springfield armory is a great pistol for the money

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: Which 1911?

I just got a SA 1911 Operator for $1k and it's been a great shooter. Get all the options you want in the gun when you purchase it instead of customizing as you go. You'll save money in the long run.

 

[lostangel]

Re: Which 1911?

Ed Brown Special Forces 5" barrel

 

[GardDog]

Re: Which 1911?

A friend's Dad won a Springfield 1911 at a NRA convention. It was a basic model (I can't remember the specific one) and was a little rough around the edges. Trigger pull was harsh and the reset was not attractive. At his request for help, I brought it to my go-to armorer / addiction enabler, and he worked on the guts while holding a conversation at the counter of his shop. Maybe 20-30 minutes of polishing & tweaking later, it was smooth as silk and felt like a custom made piece. My point being, if you can't afford the top end prices, but can have a capable 'smith smooth some rough edges for you, even the low end SA models can be made to feel custom.

 

[JByrd]

Re: Which 1911?

wilson combat compact cqb great gun , ive heard tha same bad stuff on tha ultra length pistols, ive got pro covert, it run flawless. stay pro or longer they'll run like sewin machines i love tha crimson grips, they are impossible for me to co witness, but i agree that they would be very functional in real life situation.

 

[tacticalrifleman]

Re: Which 1911?

My vote would be for stock or lightly worked Colt commander or lightweight commander. They usually work pretty well stock but tweaked a little they just plain work. As previously stated try your duty (carry) rounds and ensure they function reliably, and last reccomendation would be to send it off to be coated something like ROBAR. The factory bluing wears off with daily use. I prefer the dark coating over the satin nickel looking stuff.

 

[Blackhawk 1]

Re: Which 1911?

When I was shooting IPSIC I shot about 35K rounds per year of 45. I have owned Wilson, Novak and several other well known gunsmiths pistols. Whatever you buy practice practice practice and stick with one gunsmith don't mix and match services.

 

[ggmanning]

Re: Which 1911?

I have a Series I Kimber Custom full sized and an Ultra II that both have been flawless. The Ultra II is my everyday carry gun so that will tell you how good it runs for me to trust it that way. They are not as nice as my Wilson CQB but are good 1911's. I have read of folks having some issue with Kimbers but maybe that is explained by them having many more in the market than say Wilson or Knighthawk or Ed Brown (not implying that they have the amount of handfitting/craftmanship that those guns have). I ran mine real wet for 100 rounds each and spent some time cycling the slides. Then I run them to 500 rounds to work out any tightness and the last 100 rounds or so of that with the hollow points I will carry before I trust any of them. They both have been very reliable with ball or hollow points. With any 1911 quality magazines are a must and even the high end guns need to be run enough to break them in well. Opinions on 1911's are like opinions on scopes here at the Hide.

 

[Phantom F4E]

Re: Which 1911?

I would not recommend Kimber. I had a plain jane model. I forgot the model name. I would not run on Blazer Brass FMJ for some reason. I was okay w/ Rem or WWB but not Blazers. I traded it in for a S$W M&P-9.

 

[jp_colt]

Re: Which 1911?

1. Colt
2.Springfield

 

[tyson77]

Re: Which 1911?

I have been hearing a ton of bad stuff about Colts as of late Colt 1911 Thread . I also have a Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry 2 and it has run flawless so far I have about 500 rds through her because of the bad publicity i have not carried her yet just out of fear but I will in about 2-3 hundred more rds

 

[outlaws51]

Re: Which 1911?

Any word on the Dan Wesson 1911's. Are they worth the money? Same price range as the Kimber.

 

[BoleCailey]

Re: Which 1911?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: demolition51</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Any word on the Dan Wesson 1911's. Are they worth the money? Same price range as the Kimber. </div></div>

They are good, real good from everything I have seen.