Used Guns

[Too_Pure]

I've spent the last couple months obsessively evaluating everything I can learn about 1911 pistols because I want one and will buy one once I've made up my mind. In the process I've noticed that some models have a lot of used ones available, and others have basically none. So while it initially seemed like a good thing that I could pick up a lightly used Kimber Eclipse for $800, it started to seem like an omen; there must be a reason why so many are selling, right? Any my most recent subject of research and lust, the Dan Wesson Commander Bobtail, evidently has nearly doubled in price over the past year, and there are no used ones that I can find anywhere, which tells me that this is not a gun you'll ever want to get rid of, and which also makes the relative abundance of used Kimbers seem a little less appealing.

But this isn't limited to 1911's. Have you also noticed this phenomenon and interpreted it the same way?

 

[Patriotme]

This is a bit off topic, ok...entirely off topic, but as no one else has weighed in yet I thought I'd write a bit about a recent observation.
I started shooting a local IDPA type match once a week about 10 years ago. I shot it pretty regularly for about a year and noticed that there were a lot of handguns jamming. Most of the people were pretty good about clearing a jam but it was still kind of odd to see a host of Glocks, Berettas and M1911's jam every week or so on match night. I suspect some were limp wristing their Glocks but I've seen almost every major manufacturer represented in malfunctioning handguns.
Fast foward about 5 years. I stopped shooting the local match due to shift work and other reasons but decided to get NRA certified to teach firearms classes. I took a really good class and part of it included several hours of range time. Looking back on it I can remember a lot of M1911's jamming but that was about it. Everything else seemed to run pretty good. I shot a Kimber and it ran flawlessly btw.
This year I started shooting steel plate matches and have only made two so far. I've noticed that everything seems to be running perfectly so far. Most of the shooters used M1911s of some flavor or another but there were XDs, XDMs, Glocks and M&Ps out there as well.
I have to wonder. Are the guns getting better, the ammo improving or are the shooters that mutch better? All three perhaps?
I'm sure some have had bad experiences with Kimbers but mine has been a great gun. I've put thousands of rnds through it and it's still going strong. I might have had 2 malfunctions since I've had it. Most of what I shoot now is WWB but I had a few years in which almost everyting I shot was Silver Bear or reloads. I do make it a point to use nothing but factory mags but aside from that I'm not overly picky about special requirements. I'm sure that there's a lot of great guns out there and a lot of really good manufacturers in addition to Kimber. Buy what makes you happy but remember....the big sellers are going to have more of their product on the resale market.

 

[Roadkill]

There are three basic parts to a 1911 that will cause it to run well or not. First is ammo, second is magazines, third is springs. Great gun + bad ammo= jam.
Great gun, great ammo + bad magazine = jam. Great gun, great ammo, great magazines + bad springs = jam. 90% of 1911 problems are either one of the three or a combination. Occasionally a bad gun comes down the line reliability factors tend to be caused by either ammo, magazines, or springs. I shoot a Remington 1911A1, a 80 series Colt, and a Springfield Government model. They are great guns.