Which Kimber 1911 and why?

[pendentive]

Interested in Kimber's 1911s...but there are so many to choose from...

Custom II Family
Gold Match II Family
Compact II & Pro Carry II Family
Ultra Carry II Family
Crimson Carry Family
Tactical II Family
Eclipse II Family
SIS Family
Covert II Family
Aegis II Family
CDP II Family



Which family do you recommend?


And why?




Thanks!

Dan

 

[Frog48]

I REALLY want an Ultra Carry... for, obviously, concealed carry.

They're awesome guns, every time I'm at Cabelas, I cant help but fondle the Ultra Carry.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

For what? Bedstand? CCW? Match/competition use?

If it wasn't for the stupid "SIS" cocking serrations, I'd be a lot more interested in the SIS line.

As it is, the Warrior is the only Kimber that has even caught my attention, and even then, I'd rather have a Springfield Armory MC Operator.

 

[Code3GT]

personally, if I could afford a Kimber, i'd pick out a stainless TLE for the 3 reasons of A) stainless B) night sights C) 5". There are other options in other makers that fit the criteria, at an affordable price range though. Kimber to me is like buying a Harley. Its mostly a status symbol. Would I like to have one, sure! Do I need one? Nope. Just my opinion though.

hehe, Grant48 said fondle

i'm with militiaman as well, the SIS seems like a nice piece, sans the retarded SIS serrations

 

[jlh26oo]

Custom Defense Package II

Carry bevel treatment, the new ones have internal extractors, and all with N.S., S.S., and lighter alloy frame. The C.D.P. is also the least expensive Kimber made entirely in their custom shop. Then if you get the 5" version, it would be the "Custom C.D.P." or "Custom Custom Defense Package" (which is alot of custom L.O.L.).


I agree with M.T.M.M. re: silliness of S.I.S. serrations if you can get past that.

 

[ugaarguy]

SIS or Warrior are the only two current productions I'd personally buy. These are the only current production Kimbers without the firing pin block (the FP block is denoted by the II model number suffix). Additionally, these two lines' details were spec'd by actual gunfighters as fighting 1911s and not as range toys. The SIS line gives the most flexibility with 3", 4", and 5" standard models, plus a 5" railed model.

 

[Wildfire]

Ultra Carry.

Hey there;
I have an Ultra carry and love it. I carry this gun every day. 99% of the time it is in what looks like a cammera bag. No one has ever asked (Whats in the bag).
The Black finish has very little wear after most of 10 years of every day carry,
It is in the bag in a Galco holster that I had shortened to fit.
My 5" is Colt "70" series. I rarely carry it. But some day I will add a 5" Kimber . No matter which one you choose you can't go wrong.

 

[Rinspeed]

Series I Custom Classic.

 

[glockman19]

I would choose the one you don't have listed.

"Custom Shop Family"

I like the Raptor's

 

[M2 Carbine]

I have five Kimbers. Four are Ultras.
Tactical Ultra II
Ultra Carry.
Ultra Eclipse II
Ultra Covert. II
The fifth is the Compact Custom. (4 inch)


The fact is all the guns, no matter the price, are totally reliable and extremely accurate.
On any day my old $590 Ultra Carry will keep up with the $1,200+ guns.


Personally I am a fan of the 3 inch guns, although they do give up about 100 FPS muzzle velocity compared to a 5 inch 1911.

 

[sammy]

M2 Carbine, great shooting.

I would get a base Stainless Target II. This was my first 1911 and is my favorite target gun. If the gun is for HD then a TLE with night sights will work. Good luck! Sammy

 

[M2 Carbine]

The first Kimbers I ever saw were a Gold Match and a Ultra CDP.
A friend brought them, NIB, to my place. He said keep them a while, shoot them and see what you think.

I shot them for a couple weeks. Something that surprised me was the CDP was as accurate as the Gold Match (at least in my hands).

After a couple days I told my Wife, "These are fine guns. I've never paid that much for a pistol before but I have to get a Kimber".

 

[kamagong]

Hey Dan, good to see you here.

I think the best Kimbers are in the Custom II family. That includes both the basic Custom II and the TLE II.

Kimbers, even the more expensive models, use the same parts. Same stainless barrel, same MIM internals. Even the expensive Supermatch II has MIM parts, even though they get some handfitting. I'd skip the higher end Kimbers personally.

I myself had a Custom II with walnut grips (it's still in the family as I gave it to my brother). It's a fine firearm and very accurate. It's also a whole lot of gun for the money. A range buddy has the Supermatch II. Although his is slightly nicer and better looking (debateable) it isn't any more accurate than mine, even though his Kimber was twice as expensive.

Here's a picture of my old Custom II.

 

[Black Majik]

I'll have to agree with Kamagong on this one. My favorite current production Kimber would have to be the TLE. The fronstrap checkering and night sights on a Custom II would really make it close to my ideal handgun. If only the Warrior came with fronstrap checkering, it'd be the clear winner. I need traction on that frontstrap.

There are so many choices, but they're all similar. I'm not a huge fan of aluminum frame 1911s, so the Tactical models are out. The SIS serrations look rediculous.

For the price, the TLE fits my needs the best. I might choose stainless over the black oxide finish. The plain black finish is very, very weak.

 

[Old Dog]

I'm sorta in agreement w/Black Majik re Kimber's black finish ... at least the control parts (slide stop, safety, grip safety and sights) are seeing undue finish wear on a couple pistols that're rarely holstered ... On my TLE II, the finish quickly wore off completely on the safety, leaving it light grey in color (just looks crappy to me).

On the other hand, reliability of every Kimber I own has been superb. I really, really like my TLE II -- it performs as well as a couple 1911s that cost much more than twice as much.

The Pro series (like my Pro Tactical, don't need the magwell, really, think the Pro CDP is a worthy pistol) are as short as I'd go these days (even though I do have two SA Micro-Compacts that have been excellent) as a 4" barrel conceals just as well as a 3" barrel (for me, anyway). I think Kimber's full-size models shine, though I don't much care for front cocking serrations.

Agree that the Custom II series are the way to go. I prefer the non-railed models.

The Covert models are a great concept and the SIS pistols are kinda growin' on me ... yeah, the cocking serration design looks cheesy at first, but the pistols themselves, as a whole, are practical and have some great features.

 

[jhco]

i have a cdpii custom and i love it but the others would be equally good choices good luck

 

[kentucky_smith]

I've got an Ultra CDP that is amazingly accurate and reliable for a 3" gun.

 

[Black Majik]

Yup, mines the same as Old Dog's description on the parts (slidestop, grip safety, thumb safety). I don't have a Kimber with it's regular black oxide finish for this specific reason. My Classic Royal's polished bluing has held up surprisingly well. The controls looked fantastic when new, nice and black against the blued finish.

Now all my controls are almost completely worn off and splotchy lookin'. Just those three parts. Oh well...

 

[FlyinBryan]

i have a pro-carry2 that i wasnt too happy with at first. it had problems returning to full battery. it is a super tight pistol, absolutely no rattle from the frame and slide.

it now has approx. 1000 rnds on it and it has become very reliable.

once i hit about 200-300 rounds it started getting better and better and now i absolutely love it.

superb accuracy for a commander sized pistol, the bore looks like a mirror and the sights are very nice too.

it is very light as well for its size and performance, 28oz.

i would definitly buy another kimber, my next would prolly be an ultra cdp.

 

[Steve H]

I have the Ultra CDP II. IMHO it's a great gun. It shoots better than I can.

 

[Ske1etor]

I have to say that the TLE II is the best bang for the buck. If you can't spare the extra dough though, go with the Custom II. It is the same as the TLE II minus the night sights and front strap checkering...

 

[CAPTAIN MIKE]

It's a Good Thing

I love all of the Kimber firearms. Good quality. Fair price. Reliability over and over and over again. My choice is the Kimber CDP II - which is my favorite carry sidearm.

 

[.45&TKD]

Full Size TLE is the best deal. Steel frame, 30 LPI Front Strap Checkering, Night Sights, all come standard.

 

[larry starling]

None buy a COLT unless your in to cheap mim and cast parts.......

I have owned 3 kimbers in the past. A Custom TLE , A Tactical custom and a Eclipse in 10mm.

I had issues with all 3. I bought into the break in period and still had issues. FTF and FTE. what the heck? I'm sum what biased as I own 50+ Colt's and all functioned 100% out of the box and didn't require a BS break in period. For what Kimber asks for their guns they should function 100%. And Fwiw I'm not currently a fan of cast and mim parts. With that said if it cost's less to make mim and cast why doesn't Kimber pass these savings on to the consumer in lower priced guns?

 

[steelyblue]

I've had three Kimbers and all have been 100%. I have an Eclipse Target II, a SS Pro II(9mm), and I had a series I Compact Custom. All of them are tack drivers and all have great triggers. I like the 9mm the best for cheap ammo and the Eclipse is the most accurate for me.