Buying a 1911 but not sure which one to buy. I've herd that Colts right out of the box requires lots of work for them to become reliable. All the guys I know of shoot 1911's shoot Kimber and swear by them.

Which one?

I had a Colt XSE Gov't model that I never had a problem with. It was reliable and accurate. If I had to say anything negative at all, I would say that it needed to be deburred a little as some edges were rough and sharp. Funtionally it was perfect.

I still have a Kimber TLE II. It has been flawless as well funtionally.

In my opinion based on my experience with just one example of each, the Kimber's fit and finish is a little better and so is it's accuracy. Reliability was/is 100% with both.

(BTW my tenses are mixed up because I still have the Kimber but no longer have the Colt.)

drew

I prefer Colts. I've got three and they all run great.

I'd go Colt all the way.  It seems in the past few years, Colt and Kimber have swapped places.  I just purchased one of Colt's new 70 series, and let me tell you it's fantastic.  Lots of big name 1911 smiths are basically saying that the guns Colt is now making are some of the best that has ever come out of their factory.  One of the guys at a local shop (all he shoots are .22's and .45's) put it best when he said "If Colt was making 1911's like this 10 years ago, there'd be no Kimber".  On the contrary, I've been hearing more and more negative reports about the Kimbers.  Some think it has to do with their new safety "Kiddie Lock" system, I don't know.  
I think the Colt would be the better choice right now, for two reasons.

1. Their quality is back to what it should be.
2. It's a Colt.  

Normally things like "It's a Colt" wouldn't convince me to make a sale, BUT the fact that it's a Colt is now just icing on the cake.

The other thing to consider is, what do you plan to do with the gun?


Rich

I plan on using the pistol as a everyday defensive carry gun.

I have also herd that Colt's customer service is not as good as Kimber, and also Bushmaster for that matter.

Didn't Colt stop selling to civilans a few years back and are now just starting to sell to the public again. Is this true?

COLT

I have several 1911 pistols from Kimber, Colt and SA and my personal experience tells me that they are all very good pistols.  

All 3 have similar number of MIM parts and finish are about the same but each has some strong and weak points.  

Current Colts are very well made pistols with claasic lines that just look "right" but you are still paying big bucks for the name. Among these 3 makers, Colt seems to have the best finish but is highest price (IMHO a comparable Kimber or SA to Colt will cost about $200-$300 less).  One think I really hate about Colt is their piss poor customer service.

Kimber seems to have the best fit pistols but the worst finish.  They are usually VERY accurate and reliable.  Early Kimbers were excellent pistols but I have to say that quality seems to be going down in past few years. They do have good customer service if you need it.

SA has the lowest prices when you compare pistols with similar features.  They are usually a little "rough" and accuracy is not as good as Colt or Kimber but can be made into a great gun if you spend a little money. I would get a SA if I was to going to have someone build a pistol to my taste.  They have excellent customer service if you need it.

Personally I would have to choose Kimber as the best buy of the lot.      

Just my $0.0002 worth

 

Springfield pakerized "loaded" or Milspec.

Quoted: I have several 1911 pistols from Kimber, Colt and SA and my personal experience tells me that they are all very good pistols.   All 3 have similar number of MIM parts

Colt is still using mostly Tool steel parts.

Number of MIM parts from most to least would be
1.Kimber, Wilson
2.Springfield
3.Colt
4. Ed Brown

Sprinfield Armory "Loaded" 1911A1.
Nothing else needed and accurate as Hell right-out -of the-box.........................!  Nothing else except ammo and holster.......

O.K. whats the difference between a 1911 and a 1911A1?

I have a SA 1911A1 but I haven't shoot it that much. It's got night sights on it and I got it for a steal, $300. It doesn't have a checkered front strap, the thumb safty is hard for my thumb to reach(I have BIG hands but I can't get my thumb to flaten enogh to work the safty comfortably) and the grip safty is also uncomfortable. All the Kimbers I've ever shot don't have these problems and fit my hand better.

I was told that to add a beaver tail safty the frame will have to be grinded on to fit it. I could also add an extended safty. The checkered front strap isn't that big of a deal. Got any Ideal who much this would cost? I don't want to spend a couple hundred dollars and still not be satisfied with the pistol when I could spend that money on a new pistol.

The  1911 was accepted by the military in that year.
The dfferences are the grip angle was improved for more pointability,the frame was milled behind the trigger and the trigger was changed.
All modern 1911 pistols out there are the A1 model. These mods. were made by the manf. shortly after original production.
So, unless you purchase a 1911 that was manufactured around WWI. You will have a 1911A1.

My pistol has a curved back strap and a small grip safety. The Kimbers I've been looking at have stright back straps and beaver tail safeties. 1911 or 1911A1? If their both the same mine is different than the Kimbers I've seen.

Go to M1911.org and you will get all the info on 1911's you will ever need. History,links and all kinds of info.

Based on my personal experience with 4 Colts and 2 kimbers, I'd lean towards a Colt.

Both my series 1 Kimbers needed new extractors to function properly. Neither were reliable out of the box. My full size ss Custom LE was never completely reliable, even after replacing the extractor. The slide stop was also improperly fitted, and occasionally wouldn't lock back on an empty mag. My compact is a good pistol-after swapping out the extractor and dumping one of the factory mags. It also wears a Brown wedge MS housing.

My first 1911 was an early 1980s Colt Officers ACP. This gun benefitted from a little tuning and was so-so in the accuracy department. My 3 newer 80 series Colts have all been ready to go out of the box, although I have modified them to suit my taste (ie, added arched MS housings). I have a 1991A1 which is ~11 years old. It has put many thousands of rounds down range. Reliably and accurately. If I do my part, I can consistently hit bowling pins with it at 50 yds.

My newest gun is a Springfield loaded. I like this gun a lot, MUCH more than the Kimber Custom LE it replaced.

Lots of guys swear by their Kimbers. I tended to swear at them

I like the Kimber Compact CDP II I picked up.  It really isn't fair to compare the Kimber to the Colt Cmdr. I traded, but the Kimber has more of the things I had wanted to do to the Colt, for less money than it would have cost me to get the Colt that way.

The bone stock Colt 1991A1 functioned 100% with all types of loads and was very nice for a $500 firearm.

The $1000 Kimber also functions 100% with the same loads, but it feels better in my hand with the front strap checkering and the wider beavertail....

I think it boils down to budget and personal ergonomic preference.

I also like the loaded Springfields for about $150 more than the Colt you get a pretty decked out 1911.

I never herd of all the talk about MIM parts breaking until I started looking at buying a 1911. I've always shot a Glock and shot the shit out of it with no parts breaking. Does Glock use MIM parts?

I look at the Colts today and there finishes weren't as nice as the Kimber's or SA's IMO.

Wilsons were nice. They say the Wilson Combat shoots a 1inch group at 25 yards. At $2000.00 it should. Has anyone had any shooting time with one?

Until Kimber came out with that moronic Swartz-style firing pin safety that causes FTF just enough to worry me, I would have went with them just for the feature v. cost value.

Now Id say Colt.