I am thinking about buying a nice 1911 pistol to use in IDPA competition.  I have a little over $1,000 to spend and have looked at the following pistols:

-Kimber Gold Combat
-Springfield Armory TRP
-Rock River Arms Standard Match

All three pistols are roughly the same price and have many similar features.

Have any of you all shot any of the pistols above?  If so, what did you think?

I shoot a Kimber stainless gold match  in IDPA. very accurate and dependable. buy the best gun you can afford

The Rock River Arms pistols are outstanding, but the wait time is nearly a year.  

How about buying a basic Springfield or Kimber for about $600 and upgrading it as needed?

Or you could buy a Caspian frame and slide and have a gunsmith build you a very nice pistol for under $1000.

It would be more like 1400 I did the Caspian thing last year but the high point is you can get everything you want then.. mabe you could do it for a grand but I went a little wild. STI carbon triger exc

another thing you can do is go to the matches and ask around I got a very nice wilson lower and combat comander upper for 7 bills last year. rember we want more people to come out and play with us.

Brian C., if you are just starting out I would
suggest a Springfield. I picked one up for $500,
LNIB. Shoot it for a season and keep your eyes
and ears open. You will learn that the guys
with the fancy guns don't score very high.
When you become more seasoned you reward your
hard work and effort.

Brian C, I can't speak for the other 2, but I really love my Kimber Gold Combat.  It has proved to be a very reliable and accurate firearm.

I shoot IPSC and IDPA, here's my opinion.

Get a Kimber Custom Target, same thing as a Custom Classic but with an adjustable rear sight (Bomar copy). For either IDPA or IPSC it will be accurate enough. Spend the extra on reloading components.

If you don't have any expirence with 1911's shoot it as is for a while, then get a trigger job. Get the trigger pull down to around 3lbs. or so.

Back in 94 I bought a plain jane Springfield and put better parts into it (trigger, hammer, sear, safety, beavertail, guide rod, and Bomar). I have as much into it as my Kimber CC. Now my Kimber is getting a Bomar because it shoots low with my prefered load. I should have been smart enough to get a Custom Target in the first place.

By the way the Springfield has more than 10,000 rounds through it, no major problems, I only bought the Kimber because I wanted a new gun.