I disagree with the author. The "American Classic" 1911, made in the Phillipines is a very good 1911, and still is reasonably priced. I think it is the best value on the market today. It is also very accurate out-of-the-box and comes with several desirable extra features as standard. I would much rather have it than a Taurus 1911! Also, the early Kimbers were very good. The ones made recently are not as good. - Old Greybeard
Had a Kimber Pro Carry once. It was a sweet shooting gun and damned accurate with ball ammo. About one out every 10 rounds the brass would eject and hit me square in the forehead - ejected brass is flung harder than I had imagined it ought to be. A little emery filing on the extractor solved that problem. I was shooting at the woodpile one day not long after - I had 7 in the mag and on the first shot the bottom of the damn magazine came out and the remaining 6 rounds plopped to the ground. The spot-welds had actually broken on the factory magazine floor plate. I took that as a sign to sell that particular gem. It looked mighty nice though.
I have owned a Colt Commander and run 1000s of rounds thru it. I am on my 3rd barrel and have had it "peened", I should buy a new one and I guess I will have to. It is like an old friend, and still my favorite when I am going into the bad part of town.
Funny, yet again we hear the meme about RI being a hit and miss while proclaiming SA to be a much better option. Don't know where all of the "numbers" are coming from, but in my experience of guys who have asked me to check out their SA 1911 that had issues with feeding, and extracting BALL out of the box, I have still not had anyone who has owned a an RI that had these issues. In every case, I instructed the owners of faulty SA 1911s to send 'em back to SA so they can get 'em to run properly. Oh that's right, gotta shoot 500 rounds to break 'em in so they run right. Guess they forgot to de-burr after machining.
The first book one should read if you are seriously considering the 1911 is, Dead or Alive - a Textbook on Self-defense with the .45 Automatic by Fred L. Rexer, Jr.
Though it reads a little dated today the advice in the book is well reasoned and effective. It is most useful for the beginner by explaining what not to do and why.
I have had a Colt Mk IV Mod 70 for close to 40 years now. I have no idea how many rounds I have run through it, but at one time I was practicing an hour a week with it. It has consumed premium factory ammo, gun show cheapies, and my own carefully crafted reloads. Some guns are finicky about bullet shape, as is my 1913 Erfurt Luger P08, but my Colt has eaten round nosed, truncated cone and semi-wadcutter, all of both cast lead and FMJ construction.
It also plays a starring role in one of my recurring nightmares where I'm confonted in some off the wall scenario where a bad guy needs shooting and my Colt jams. That's when I realize I'm dreaming and go back to sleep, because in my wakeing life my Colt has, as of yet, never failed to feed, fire, or extract. Not once. Not ever.
Don't nickel and dime where your life is at risk. Buy the Colt.
I'm on my 30th 1911. I'v had 3 kimbers THEY SUCKED over priced and over rated. The modern colt is also vastly over rated.Too many plastic parts. I like the Springfield Armory and Armscorp 1911s. Never had a problem with ether one. My wilson combat is So-So . It works, but no better that the 450$ High Standard .45 next to it. In fact I belive that the 500$ Taurus I own is a better handgun than any of the high dollar 1911s. I can say the same for the Armscorp ,Springfields, or S&Ws. Folks, if you are paying 800$ and up for a 1911 all you bought was a name.
I bought 2 Kimbers, Commander and Officer sizes several years ago and both perform flawlessly and are extremely accurate. I would never sell either of these two gems. Also have a full size gov model Colt, which although never jams, is not quite as accurate as my Kimbers. I don't know what this guy has against Kimber, other than being made in NY, my experience with them has been all very good.
Warrior Class, It may be that all three of the kimbers I'v had were defective. They were ALL out of spec. Jam-O-Matics. Defect DOSE happen, even with the best intent. It may have just been bad luck on my part. I still would'nt trade my Remigton Rand, My Savage or My Ithica to one.
A friend of mine has one of the Remington R1's and he loves it, no issues with it that I've heard of. I recently acquired a Sig tactical operations 1911's in a trade. I haven't put that many rounds through it yet (only 200 so far) but I have had no ftf's or fte's with various types of ball and hollow point ammo, shoots like a dream so far.
16 comments:
I disagree with the author. The "American Classic" 1911, made in the Phillipines is a very good 1911, and still is reasonably priced. I think it is the best value on the market today. It is also very accurate out-of-the-box and comes with several desirable extra features as standard. I would much rather have it than a Taurus 1911! Also, the early Kimbers were very good. The ones made recently are not as good.
- Old Greybeard
Had a Kimber Pro Carry once. It was a sweet shooting gun and damned accurate with ball ammo. About one out every 10 rounds the brass would eject and hit me square in the forehead - ejected brass is flung harder than I had imagined it ought to be. A little emery filing on the extractor solved that problem.
I was shooting at the woodpile one day not long after - I had 7 in the mag and on the first shot the bottom of the damn magazine came out and the remaining 6 rounds plopped to the ground. The spot-welds had actually broken on the factory magazine floor plate. I took that as a sign to sell that particular gem. It looked mighty nice though.
I have owned a Colt Commander and run 1000s of rounds thru it. I am on my 3rd barrel and have had it "peened", I should buy a new one and I guess I will have to. It is like an old friend, and still my favorite when I am going into the bad part of town.
Just remember, it IS five years old at this point, and some things have changed in the last five years... Not much, but some.
I should probably do an update to it at some point.
Funny, yet again we hear the meme about RI being a hit and miss while proclaiming SA to be a much better option. Don't know where all of the "numbers" are coming from, but in my experience of guys who have asked me to check out their SA 1911 that had issues with feeding, and extracting BALL out of the box, I have still not had anyone who has owned a an RI that had these issues. In every case, I instructed the owners of faulty SA 1911s to send 'em back to SA so they can get 'em to run properly. Oh that's right, gotta shoot 500 rounds to break 'em in so they run right. Guess they forgot to de-burr after machining.
The first book one should read if you are seriously considering the 1911 is, Dead or Alive - a Textbook on Self-defense with the .45 Automatic by Fred L. Rexer, Jr.
Though it reads a little dated today the advice in the book is well reasoned and effective. It is most useful for the beginner by explaining what not to do and why.
I have had a Colt Mk IV Mod 70 for close to 40 years now. I have no idea how many rounds I have run through it, but at one time I was practicing an hour a week with it. It has consumed premium factory ammo, gun show cheapies, and my own carefully crafted reloads. Some guns are finicky about bullet shape, as is my 1913 Erfurt Luger P08, but my Colt has eaten round nosed, truncated cone and semi-wadcutter, all of both cast lead and FMJ construction.
It also plays a starring role in one of my recurring nightmares where I'm confonted in some off the wall scenario where a bad guy needs shooting and my Colt jams. That's when I realize I'm dreaming and go back to sleep, because in my wakeing life my Colt has, as of yet, never failed to feed, fire, or extract. Not once. Not ever.
Don't nickel and dime where your life is at risk. Buy the Colt.
I'm on my 30th 1911. I'v had 3 kimbers THEY SUCKED over priced and over rated. The modern colt is also vastly over rated.Too many plastic parts. I like the Springfield Armory and Armscorp 1911s. Never had a problem with ether one. My wilson combat is So-So . It works, but no better that the 450$ High Standard .45 next to it. In fact I belive that the 500$ Taurus I own is a better handgun than any of the high dollar 1911s. I can say the same for the Armscorp ,Springfields, or S&Ws. Folks, if you are paying 800$ and up for a 1911 all you bought was a name.
I bought 2 Kimbers, Commander and Officer sizes several years ago and both perform flawlessly and are extremely accurate. I would never sell either of these two gems. Also have a full size gov model Colt, which although never jams, is not quite as accurate as my Kimbers. I don't know what this guy has against Kimber, other than being made in NY, my experience with them has been all very good.
Those weren't 1911s in Pulp Fiction. Look close, they're Llamas. The external extractor is the giveaway.
Scratch that last comment. I was confused. I meant Star Model B were the pistols in Pulp Fiction. Almost a 1911.
Warrior Class, It may be that all three of the kimbers I'v had were defective. They were ALL out of spec. Jam-O-Matics. Defect DOSE happen, even with the best intent. It may have just been bad luck on my part. I still would'nt trade my Remigton Rand, My Savage or My Ithica to one.
The ruger 1911 is I believe entirely made in the USA.
Any thoughts/comments on the new Remington R1?
"The Gospel According to John Moses Browning"
http://www.frfrogspad.com/jmb.htm
Read enjoy and pay homage!
Regards - MW
A friend of mine has one of the Remington R1's and he loves it, no issues with it that I've heard of. I recently acquired a Sig tactical operations 1911's in a trade. I haven't put that many rounds through it yet (only 200 so far) but I have had no ftf's or fte's with various types of ball and hollow point ammo, shoots like a dream so far.
Jerome
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