Spring Am, Kimber, or Para-Ord 1911A1?

[FATCAT]

Looking at a Ultra-Compact 1911-A1 in . 45 ACP and have so far narrowed it down to either the Springfield Armory, Kimber, or the Para-Ordanence C6. 45 LDA.



Want a small firearm for carry purposes (something smaller than my Ruger P90), and want to know if any of you folks have any opinions on which one you like/dislike.



Fit, finish, quality is also important. I am partial the Springfield Armory, since I know their quality in my M1, and M1A's. But would like another point of view.



Thanks.

 

[PAYCHECK]

kimber

I have used them all, I think the kimber CDP is the best. It has the best workmanship, it is TOTALLY reliable(as is the springfield,but to be honesti don't think the para is as good. ) the weight is better on the kimber, and the Meltdown process on the CDP is second to none! I think the kimber trigger is better too. IMHO i think the only one thats as good or better than the kimber is the Les Baer customs.

 

[HillCountrykid]

I'm not sure about the others, but my friend at work has a Kimber. It's a custom model designed for concealed carry. Smoothest trigger I've ever seen on a pistol. Since it's designed for c. c. , all the sharp edges are smoothed. It also has an aluminum frame I think. Sweet pistol. Sorry I don't know what model it is. If you can't tell, I WANT ONE. But the truck sitting in the driveway is getting all the attention right now.



Brian

 

[FATCAT]

Kimber

The Kimber I would be interested is the Stainless Ultra Carry.



www.kimberamerica.com/Ultra_Ultra_Ten_II.htm



Sooooo. The Kimber looks to be in the lead. Quality Canadian craftmenship I assume.



Any more opinions out there?



Thanks HillCountryKid and Paycheck.

 

[The patriot]

I dont want to blow your boat out of the water, but I dont like the way the cast parts on the Kimber look.

Ever look at the hammer (close to the frame) when it's cocked? You could plainly make out the casting flash.

Dont get me wrong, I love the way theyre finished, and fitted. Really like the meltdown treatment too!! It's just that I'd replace some parts before I'd place my life on it.

Just my . 02

Eric

PS If youre planning on carrying it, I'd go for stainless. It's much less of a problem than blued with sweat etc. etc.

 

[mimprevento]

Weapon choice

Have owned or shot them all- my carry gun is a full size Kimber Custom Match- I have trained extensively with single action firearms and am comfortable with them but for carry I think the Para Ord is a great choice- the LDA has an excellent trigger and is in my opinion safer for concealed carry because it can be carried with one in the chamber without being "cocked and locked" which neccessitates a draw while wipng off the safety- "Condition One" carry- The LDA has the benefits of a revolver DA but the benefit of a big bullet- Para Ord has a large following- for traditional compact . 45 both Kimber and Springfield are excellent- just remember a small . 45 is a specialized weapon and needs dedicated training given the greaterfelt recoil,muzzle flip and single action trigger- good luck

 

[DarrellB]

Kimber Rocks

I have a custom stainless Kimber and love it. It is by far the best 1911 style pistol I've ever shot. I do carry mine and don't really have a problem with it being a single action. Some day I would like to buy a compact stainless which would be even better to carry but don't have the $$$ right now.



Cocked, locked and ready to rock.

Big D

 

[bvanetten]

Buy a Glock 36 and call it a day. Best factory pistol ever made bar none (the glock line that is). Say what you want about its looks, that it's made of plastic (whatever ). Beat the hell out of it, abuse it, run crappy ammo through it. It's all been done. Probably one of the most heavily tested guns ever. Bottom line, it works.



http://www.glock.com/g36.htm





Me... Glock 17

Wife... Glock 26

Law enforcment buddys Glock 40's



Dream gun... Glock 18c ( a 17 with a compensated barrel and full auto selector switch)



Let the flames begin



Bruce

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I've personally seen 3 Glock 40 S&W guns come apart right next to me. They were when they first came out and I understand that they fixed the problem - the slides would blow right off the back of the gun and cause one heck of a long blister/bruise up your forearm and hit you in the face. Call me paranoid but they are the only guns in my lifetime that I've seen come apart and I saw it 3 times within 4 months. After that I'd be afraid to hold one, although I know they are very reliable outside of those first . 40's . I personally am not comfortable with cocked and locked carry with a SA gun. I carry a Sig Sauer P228 myself.

 

[Bigsaint]

Springfiled Armory

I've had two of the Springfield Armory 1911's, both displayed excellent fit/finish/reliabilty with HP ammo and displayed decent accuracy.



A friend of mine has the custom carry Kimber 1911, SS, . 45 auto. Real nice weapon, proved reliable on the range, great fit and finish with decent accuracy for a short barreled carry weapon.



Two other options, depending on how much $$$ you want to shell out, are Wilson's and Caspian Arms. I can't comment on the price of the Caspian as it's been awhile since I've seen one, but the 1911 I did see was really well made. If you take a look at Wilson's site, you will see that they have just about every configuration that you could ask for in a 1911. The price is steep, but you get what you pay for in firearms. Here's the Wilson site... .



http://www.wilsoncombat.com/pistols/pistol_index.htm





Scott W.

 

[mimprevento]

Forgot to mention Kahr

I thought the thread was to compare among SA, Kimber and Para Ord but if you are open to suggestions re: a 9mm or . 40 in a good carry package the Kahr Arms line is strictly compact carry autos DAO or DA and are taking the concealed market by storm- widespread use as a law enforcement back-up as well for those departments who are afraid to put a single action weapon out there- Glocks are good but I am aware of reliability problems in some compact models- SigArms has just introduced a compact DA . 45 that would be an excellent choice as I believe the . 45 is the defensive round of choice.

 

[KMC]

Originally posted by Steve St. Laurent

I personally am not comfortable with cocked and locked carry with a SA gun.

I am with Steve on this one... For a defensive carry gun a SA/DA or DAO pistol is the best option. In a stress fire situation I wan't it as simple as possible, i. e. just pull the tigger... and have it be a solid decisive action. On a SA pistol it doesn't take much to accidently let the hammer fly. Don't get me wrong, I love my 1911, but for carry it is just to bulky and has to many issues to be thinking about when some pcp crazed goon is closing fast.



My personal choice would be a Glock 27. Small, light weight, and 11 rounds of hard hitting . 40 w/ the grip extensions. Kahr Arms also makes some excellent pistols in 9 and 40 as mentioned. Taurus makes some good lighweight DA revolvers from . 357 up to . 45 LC. Again the the K. I. S. S. principle applies... .



My opinion anyway, Ken

 

[Bigsaint]

Steve, not calling you a liar here, but I can't see how Glock slide could come free from the frame unless you disassembled same. You mention that they were early models, guess that could be the case.



I've been carrying a Glock 22 on-duty for about 5 years now and I have nothing but praise for the weapon. As the sole Glock armorer for my dept. , I have the lovely task of doing a complete brake down on each officer's weapon annually. Our's are wearing in quite nicely and I have yet to replace anything other than magazines for failure. While they are not in the same accuracy level of a custom 1911, they perform very well with the lack of lubricity and cleaning that our weapons see.



Our duty weapon before the Glock was the Sig Sauer P226. Great weapon... . we had a small problem with cracked frames and Sig. refused to replace ours on anything other than a 'needed basis'. We couldn't take a risk of a failure and hence swapped them out to the Glocks. The Sig. P228 is an awesome piece, as are all of their firearms. I still kick myself for trading in my P220.



Scott W.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I don't know what the problem was for sure but I know I saw 3 of them come apart when they were first out BigSaint. I haven't seen any since that time and I have heard that they fixed the problem. I was just giving my personal experience where I've never seen a handgun come apart other than those 3 Glock . 40's (my gun smith and local shop had also seen a number of them come apart at that time - at that point it was the highest pressure cartridge put on that frame). In one case a guy was standing right next to me (a cop BTW) and had the slide hit him in the face - I was shocked and so was he. After that I couldn't have faith in the gun because I know that would be in the back of my head all the time. JMHO



-Steve

 

[mimprevento]

SigArms

I carried a SIG 228 as an Auxiliary Deputy and it is an excellent piece except for the round- 220 is best DA . 45 ever and would carry well- for concealment the new smaller SIG . 45 or even a Glock 30 would be good but my 30 was not nearly as accurate as the SA Kimber so it got sold. A matter of preference. Glocks do not feel well to me personally but I do have a 34 which has the Colt style grip angle and points better- a bit long for concealment though and the nine is not my favorite except for gaming. Just my . 02 BTW Seals still swear by the 226 with many thousands of rounds fired and there has been no mention of cracked slides or frames since the Beretta was rejected by them.

 

[KMC]

bvanetten, your going to love these... . So will everyone else for that matter.





http://download.consumptionjunction.com/multimedia/cj_8399.wmv





http://www.currenttechgroup.com/glock/glock1824.mpg



Ken

 

[Deezul1]

Do your self a favor and go look at the Para Ord LDA. It has a unbelievable smooth light trigger for a double action and you would swear its a single action. Very nice gun. I agree that for a carry gun a double action would seem a better choice. I shoot Practical Pistol competition and shoot 500 to 800 rounds a month with a single action gun but would prefer the LDA as a carry gun.

 

[The patriot]

I dont own any Glocks, but I hear that theyre extremely reliable.

Right now, all Glocks being produced are being offered to LEO's first, so if you want one and see what youre looking for, buy it!!

Might not be there tomorrow.

I personally dont like Glocks because of the lack of support in the chamber. I reload, so this is an issue with me.

I have a Steyr M series pistol. This is less than $340. 00 at CDNN!!!

This is an absolute steal!!! Nite sights are only +$30. 00.

Fit, finish,function and accuracy are what you'd expect from an Austrian built pistol. Superb.

If youre open to suggestion, and can tolerate a polymer frame, this is it!! You can buy two of these for what you can get one of the 45's for. They come in 9mm, and 40 S&W.

Unfortunatly they only hold 10 rounds, but being youre looking at single stack 45's, this shouldnt bother you. There is an easy mod you could do on a S&W Sigma mag so that you can have hi-cap if you want. 9mm would be 17+1, and 40 would be 15+1.

I wouldnt suggest it if you may need it for protection.

I dont know about the 9mm as a defensive round if even this is what you intend it for? But the 40 is supposed to be almost as good as a 45, with the added capacity.

I have some super hot 9mm (Federal 9BPLE) 115 gr HP @ 1300 ++ fps. I called GSI and asked if this pistol is rated for +P+ ammo. They said "No problem!"



Eric



http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/review/steyr40.htm

 

[drawson]

I work on alot of these types of guns. the Kimbers seem more reliable right out of the box, the Springfields need some breakin before they are reliable. The Paras are iffy some are great others are POS.



The only down fall of the Kimbers is some of there parts are cast as Eric mentioned. the only failures I have seen have been the safeties. But in both cases if was gorilla hands that broke them. The one guy broke an Ed Brown safety two weeks after the stock one went way.



As far as using a 1911 for a carry gun goes. it takes alot of rounds down range before the issues mentioned aren't a problem.

 

[Chad Sheets]

From a former Marine stand point, Gunsite training center student, and former Dep. Sheriff... 100% Springfield when your life is on the line and quality counts. I am sure the others will pass the tests of time like Springfield has, but when it comes to battle proven reputation in the field... . Its a Springfield. I tote my old Gunsite GSP around. Similar to the Springfield FBI model used by the Special Agents etc. Locked, cocked, ready to rock.



They are not as "unsafe" as people think. We did test and dropped them from 10 feet, muzzle first. Nothing. We did all kids of stuff trying to get one to accidently discharge. Locked, cocked ready to rock is the only way to go. Havent you heard? Its the unloaded guns that kill. Equiped with that knowledge, I keep all mine loaded ready to go, that way theres no mistaking or mis handleing. I know thay are all loaded, and they get treated as such.