1911: Kimber, Springfield, or Colt

Was at my gunshop tonight, picking up my new Glock and waiting on my sig. other to finish her CC class. The shop owner is an old Marine, and we got to talking to guns and the 1911 was brought up. Next thing I know I am holding a Colt 70 series 1911..it felt good in my hands and I really liked it.

But, I know there are a lot of Kimber guys on here, and I am also considering a Springfield.

What can be said between a Kimber, Colt, or Springfield 1911?

Yup! They'll do that to you. Colt's can be very nice.

AJVigs - It's been a while since you posted, and I don't know if you made a choice.

Colt. The original, though even back long ago there were several different makers of 1911's. I think even Singer Sewing Machine got into the game with a few.

I have a 1980's Colt that I got brand new as a present from Dad. Great little .45 Officer's Model. It's been 100% trouble free, and accurate. Looks great. The fit and finish are very high quality.

I was once issued a 1980's stainless steel Colt 1911 for police work. It was "okay" but obviously suffered from a lack of quality control at the factory. Looked good. Shot... Ummm... Okay. It's why I bought a Kimber later.

Springfield. Had one that I bought at the base PX. Took it to a true master gunsmith and had him work it over. Beavertail grip safety. Better trigger. Wilson Combat three-dot sights. He really made it into quite a gun. Sold it to a fellow who really wanted it bad. A year later the slide cracked. I dunno...

A buddy of mine is retired from the FBI. Was on a west coast FBI SWAT team. They used Springfields and he was pretty high on them. He had Springfield make him a very nice 1911, about identical to what he'd used in the FBI. It was an extraordinarily well built 1911, and it shot GREAT. I was a little jealous.

Worth noting that as far as I know, Springfields are still made in Brazil, though the high end versions were (are?) assembled here in the U.S. This is nothing new, and it's something that Springfield has kept fairly low profile, though they didn't deny it. I haven't checked to see if this is still true in quite a few years.

Kimber. Burst on the scene in the mid 1990's when they re-created themselves. They had been a semi-custom rifle maker in Oregon. They became a pistol maker in New York. Invested heavily in CNC machinery and started churning out 1911's of very high quality. I bought the first one I saw, in 1997. I'm still shooting it, trouble free.

Now... That's not your casual 1911 user. I'm a cop, the lead firearms instructor for my little police department, and was on SWAT for 10+ years. This pistol has seen a LOT of use. The "MIM" parts haven't even whimpered. The slide to frame fit isn't as good as it was about a zillion rounds ago. I've replaced:

The sights, when the tritium in the early night sights lost their glow.

The recoil spring & firing pin spring, many times. I try for every 1,000 rounds. Likely manage it every 2,500 or so on average.

The grips. Three times now. I keep wearing them out from shooting.

Had to re-stake the plunger tube assy once or twice.

Otherwise, an accurate, and reliable gun. Love it! Still. Enough so that when it was time to get my son his first 1911, I bought another no-frills Kimber 1911 for him.

You have to remember that all the cool features we see on many 1911's used to be offered at great expense by custom gunsmiths. Kimber changed that dramatically in 1997 when they started offering those features standard on their 1911's.

Colt was having SERIOUS quality control issues then. Some of their pistols would barely run. Kimber literally took the market from them, by offering a high quality 1911 at a good price.

Colt has come back a long, long way since those days, 15 years ago. They've reorganized, and put a real shooter/gun guy at the helm. Still, the new ones are hard to find.

I'd buy another Kimber without hesitation. I'd look real hard at a Colt. I'd be okay with a higher end Springfield too.

Take your time, shop carefully. There are a lot of really well figured out 1911's on the market anymore and some I wouldn't touch.

FWIW, Guy

I would take a look at the Smith & Wessons as well. I bought their original SW1911 stainless when they first came out about ten years ago. It is very accurate and eats all of my reloads including SWC and HP loads. I have a newer Sig 1911 for my 460 Rowland kit but the Smith is my favorite. I would also try out a bobtail grip model to see if its more comfortable for you. The Dan Wesson bobtails have been tempting me for some time now.

I would buy a new(!) Colt. Had two Kimbers' including a Custom Shop and had issues with both.

Guy and others,

Thanks for the responses. I have been eyeing several different 1911's, and I am now leaning towards an STI 1911. I have been hearing lots of good things about them, and for my price range I have found two models I am looking into. Both are commander sized as I prefer a little shorter of a barrel for both duty and EDC.

G'Day Fella's,

Ajvigs, these days for a conventional type 1911, I would only bother looking at a Kimber, a S&W and a Sig Sauer!
In my limited experience with the others, I find it hard to beat my 3 nominated brands!!!

Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer

I carried a 1911 off duty until I went to the Sig P226 DAK.

My last 1911 was a Colt Rail Gun, new, that ran like a scalded goose out of the box. For quality I'd say a new Colt would be the way to go. Kimber has had issues of late. If you can't get a Colt my second choice, and what I carried before the Colt, would be a Springfield. Bear in mind the Colt gets top billing due to reliability and quality. I've had some minor issues with the Springfield but nothing that wasn't easily fixed. Kimber, they were a great pistol but I've seen too many have issues at the range in the past five years or so to stake my life on one now if given another choice.

Like Guy I change the recoil and firing pin spring frequently.

Just picked up a nice little 1980's Colt Officer's Model in great shape - except for a few rust spots I need to scrub away. It shoots GOOD! :grin:

Sounds like a steal, Guy. Pictures soon?

This is the one I am more then likely going to pick up in a few months:

http://www.stiguns.com/the-sti-ranger-ii/

Very Nice!

Nice looking STI-1911! I like it.

I have no doubt that you'll be quite pleased with the STI-1911.

There are lots of nice 1911s available these days. I've not heard anything bad about the SR1911, and I like the Remongton R1 also. I think amongst all the ones mentioned you could pick one with the features you like and get along fine with it.

Personally, if I could have any 1911 I wanted I think I would get a Les Baer but I know I'd be happy with a Range Operator or a Kimber, a d id take a SR1911 if one comes my way. I think I'll be getting another single-stack 1911 one day soon to accompany my P-13.