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Posted: 6/6/2013 1:47:47 PM EST
So I ran by the lgs with the wife the other day and we were perusing the selection.  The wife picked out a kimber compact stainless.  She tried out a few other 1911's but she liked how the kimber felt the best.  I was a bit disappointed she didn't like the EMP as I'm a springer fanboy.  

This will be a .45, they had a version with a full size frame and one with the compact frame, both with 4" slides.  

Anyone have any insights as I know nothing about Kimber's, and compact sized 1911's.
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 1:51:36 PM EST
[#1]
I have an old older Pre-Series II (ie Series I) that I wouldn't let go off.  I would not want a new Series II one.  I would also say that if I had it to do over again I would get something else with a 4.25" bbl. bushing setup.
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 1:55:54 PM EST
[#2]
What happened with the series II?
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 2:05:53 PM EST
[#3]
They added the old Colt Schwartz style safety which activates off the grip safety.  IMHO it is an unneeded addition to the pistol.  In some folks opinions and lots of scuttlebutt on the forums it can affect the reliability of the gun.  It can be removed but then you have holes in the pistol.
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 2:06:17 PM EST
[#4]
DDT
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 2:36:18 PM EST
[#5]
I recently acquired an older Series I compact aluminum. It's my new favorite pistol. It shoots like a dream. All the research I have done since getting it leads to believe that the older ones are much more desirable than the new ones.



roy d...good luck
Link Posted: 6/6/2013 3:48:34 PM EST
[#6]
I think the worry about not being series 70 is over rated.  So many newer weapons have some kind of firing pin block.  And they seem to run.  Yes, it's a few more parts that can break, but it also adds a bit of safety.  Either way, combat guns have them, like the M9 and Sig and they're fine.

My question to the OP is did your wife fire the pistol or any other .45 for that matter?
Link Posted: 6/8/2013 9:43:43 AM EST
[#7]
Quoted:
I think the worry about not being series 70 is over rated.  So many newer weapons have some kind of firing pin block.  And they seem to run.  Yes, it's a few more parts that can break, but it also adds a bit of safety.  Either way, combat guns have them, like the M9 and Sig and they're fine.

My question to the OP is did your wife fire the pistol or any other .45 for that matter?


Actually yes, lol.  She has fired my TRP but does not like the 25lpi checkering on the front strap.  She also favors my CZ SP01 Tac in .40 and is quite the shot with it.  So she has experience handling the larger calibers, but has not yet fired .45 through a smaller gun like the compact.  Also the checkering on AL framed guns seems to be softer than the steel framed ones.
Link Posted: 6/8/2013 10:49:36 AM EST
[#8]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I think the worry about not being series 70 is over rated.  So many newer weapons have some kind of firing pin block.  And they seem to run.  Yes, it's a few more parts that can break, but it also adds a bit of safety.  Either way, combat guns have them, like the M9 and Sig and they're fine.

My question to the OP is did your wife fire the pistol or any other .45 for that matter?


Actually yes, lol.  She has fired my TRP but does not like the 25lpi checkering on the front strap.  She also favors my CZ SP01 Tac in .40 and is quite the shot with it.  So she has experience handling the larger calibers, but has not yet fired .45 through a smaller gun like the compact.  Also the checkering on AL framed guns seems to be softer than the steel framed ones.


Probably if she can handle a .40 in an SP01, I would think she'll be fine with .45, even is something a little lighter.  But, it does shove a bit.  I hear people say they like .45 over a 9mm because 9mm is too snappy.  And I scratch my head.  I have always felt 9mm is easier to shoot than a .45.    Meaning I can recover faster between shots.
Link Posted: 6/8/2013 12:59:50 PM EST
[#9]
Quoted:

I hear people say they like .45 over a 9mm because 9mm is too snappy.  And I scratch my head. .


My wife says the same thing.  .45 is easier to shoot than the 9mm because it "kicks less"  By which she means it's a slow push rather than a "snap"
Link Posted: 6/8/2013 3:18:05 PM EST
[#10]
Quoted:
Quoted:

I hear people say they like .45 over a 9mm because 9mm is too snappy.  And I scratch my head. .


My wife says the same thing.  .45 is easier to shoot than the 9mm because it "kicks less"  By which she means it's a slow push rather than a "snap"


Interesting.  I guess I'm weird.  9mm just feel like less altogether to me.
Link Posted: 6/9/2013 4:32:18 AM EST
[#11]
Yea, I think the .45 has more of a heft to the recoil than a snap, especially in the heavier TRP.  I think I'm most accurate with my SP01 though, have the most range time with that gun.
Link Posted: 6/9/2013 1:08:25 PM EST
[#12]
Personally I feel 9mm has almost no recoil, 45 is a nice smooth push, and 40 is snap recoil.
Link Posted: 6/9/2013 7:21:45 PM EST
[#13]
The compact .45acp Kimber's are extremely nice guns.  We have an Ultra Crimson Carry II that is a fantastic gun and a Kimber Solo CDP (which is the nicest of the super compacts IMO especially since it's a 9mm and not a .380 *shudder*).  Here's the single most important thing I've learned about Kimber's in the last 5 years...NONE of the bad things everyone told us would happen if we bought them happened...none of them.  When I brought up I was trying to find a Kimber Solo for my bff you would have though I said I was wanting to buy a radioactive rattlesnake by the number of people who warned me not to do it.  Oddly enough, none of the people that I asked even owned a Kimber but were going by what they heard.  That little Solo CDP is one of the most amazing guns I've ever handled or shot, it shoots and shoots and shoots without any malfunctions which is completely contrary to everything I was told beforehand.  

I have no doubt, considering the number of actual owners that complained, that Kimber went through a bad time and shipped out some bad guns but that was an isolated occurrence IMO because there are a hell of a lot more happy owners that upset ones.  Buy with confidence, current Kimber's are good to go
Link Posted: 6/10/2013 9:08:05 AM EST
[#14]
I'm really regretting that I sold my Custom II now.  I have heard a lot of stuff about kimber too.  Someone was posting on here the other day that a neglected kimber had some rust on the mainspring and that somehow all Kimbers get rusty quick.  I don't know if there is truth in it or not.

But here's the deal, I had a springy milspec, and for 250 dollars more I got a custom II that shot circles around that springy in my hands and others, had a better trigger and the obvious upgrades.  

I've been eyeing up the Aegis for a carry gun for ever.  And there is a lot of good feedback on 1911forum.  

Plus, Kimbers are made here in the USA.  Unlike a lot of other 1911's.
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