I am currently debating between a Kimber Ultra Carry and a Springfield Ultra Compact.  I own a Kimber Custom II and would hate to go elsewhere after being thoroughly impressed with the quality of Kimber.  However, I have also considered an XD, Steyr, or something of equal quality chambered in either .45 or .40.  Sorry for those 9mm bubbas out there but the only thing I like about 9mm is it is cheap plinking ammo.  I have heard good things about .45 GAP and am interested in that as well, but I thought I would come to the gun gurus of America and ask them their honest opinion.  I am 6'5, 230lbs and could easily carry a full size weapon, but would rather go for something more ergonomical.  Thanks for any help or input.  

well you already own a kimber and you're happy with it , correct? So why wander from your flock? You mentioned  the G.A.P round  so you must not have anything against glock. have you looked at other Glock models chambered in 45 APC?Just b/c you're  a full size guy doesn't mean you HAVE to carry a full size gun. Glock's G36 is a nice size frame in 45 acp. But really the best gun is the one that fits the shooter.

Quoted: But really the best gun is the one that fits the shooter.

I agree.  It's easy to get hung up on equipment.  I've seen people with $3,000 race guns that were lousy shots.  Carry whatever YOU are most proficient, comfortable, and safe with.

>>>I posted the following over at Battlerifles.com<<<<

I compete with a Kimber 5” 1911 and in the last year or so have put in excess of 25,000 rounds through it without a problem. When it came time to buy a carry gun I naturally looked at a 1911, specifically a 3” 1911 and the Springfield caught my eye because it had Hogue grips just like I put on the big gun.

I had heard all of the horror stories about how finicky the little guns were so I spent a couple of months in heavy research to find which one was the most reliable, not the prettiest, not the most accurate (gunfight ranges are short), not the most prestigious, reliable, something you can trust your life to. I absolutely haunted 1911forum.com searching back a year or more and read everything I could about the little guns.

Conclusions (this, of course, is not a scientific study but rather impressions I gathered from reading hundreds and hundreds of posts there and elsewhere):

Springfield: 3 out of 4 owners thought they were great, no or easily corrected problems and were completely happy with their purchase. 1 in 4 thought the guns they had bought were the biggest pieces of crap that they had ever owned and many had sent them back to Springfield more than once, found that they still wouldn’t run and sold them in disgust. Hmmm…

Kimber: See above but change the numbers to 4 out of 5 great and 1 out of 5 bad. This was disappointing to me because my Kimber has ALWAYS been so good. The prices for the Kimbers are dramatically higher then the Springfields also.

What did I do? I bought a Colt ($675) and almost immediately replaced the magazines with a couple from CobraMag (trippresearch.com) and now have a carry gun that I can, and do, bet my life on.

How did the Colt Defender stack up in the above study? Well I didn’t find even ONE post where the person was so unhappy with the Colt that they gave up in disgust and sold the pistol. YMMV

Ed

if you have a Kimber and like it get a Kimber.  I currently carry a Glock 23 (.40) but I am thinking about switching to a .45acp.  I am concidering a Kimber ultra carry or a Glock 36 or 30.  In my opinion the .45GAP might be a great caliber but, if I remember right the .45 ACP +p ammo out does it.  Also Ammo is going to be expencive and in some areas hard to find, walk in to any Wall Mart and you can but any of the "Big Three" 9mm .40S&W .45acp.  Right know it just seems like a novelty.  I am not saying that I would not like one but It would be inpractical for my uses.  

Thanks gents for all your input, it has been helpful.  And now comes the fun part of any gun owners life . . choosing and then forking over the hard earned cash.  Again thanks, I appreciate all of you guys here at AR15.com and your willingness to help.