Pretty tough choice and although both are good deals for the money I'm not sure one is really any better than the other is. With the Springfield (assuming you're referring to the PX9109L) you get a parkerized gun that already wears a very good set of night sights, not so with the Kimber. However, the dehorning job on Springfield's is no where near as good as the job done on Kimbers. Kimber barrels and the way they fit into the slide is also better than Springfield. Also, Springfield's front strap and dust cover dimensions are way out of spec (extra metal) but so is Kimbers slide stop notch (not really a big deal). The biggest differences are in the parts, Kimber uses way too much MIM (IMO) for parts that should be bar stock. Such as extractors and more importantly slide stops. Not that Springfield doesn't use MIM for hammers, sears, etc. just like Kimber, and not to say that MIM can't be done correctly but slide stops should be bar stock (easy fix). For my tastes Springfield uses a more user friendly grip safety and that would need correcting on the Kimber along with a better set of sights. So assuming the pros and cons of each wash each other out I would choose the Kimber. After shooting it to make sure it was reliable I would have it modified to fit my tastes (new grip safety, sights, standard recoil set up, etc.). Hope this helps.