I have the springfield champion operator with a 4" barrel and love it, I think I paid about $900 for it new ambi safety night sights and a rail.
I have the springfield champion operator with a 4" barrel and love it, I think I paid about $900 for it new ambi safety night sights and a rail.
I have a springfield loaded trp and looooove it. Super accurate.
I was in the market for the 1911 a few months ago, and this is what info I came up with.
1- Don't buy a Kimber...I too had fallen in love with the raptor, and did some homework.. lots of mim parts (metal injection molded) which seem to fail more often. Kimber got too big for it's britches and the cust. svc. is terrible. And after reading many articles, about 50% of owners have issues, and 50% would recommend to a friend.
2- colt, spring., and smith are all very good, and still offer good service.
3-if you decide on a springfield, find one with the serial # beginning with NM..they are ASSEMBLED in usa... the M# assembled elsewhere... the usa built fetch higher resale.
4- sig has a very nice 1911 with no mim parts, and reasonable price, with many options...I did not go with it due to it having a smaller grip, and I have larger hands. But looked at it several times.
I decided upon the springer due to it's looks and feel. I would have bought a colt, or smith&wesson if I found one I liked...was looking for a certain look.
The cool part is that there is a HUGE aftermarket parts supply, and you can go all out customizing your 1911.. and they shoot AWSOME.
What about Para?
Originally Posted by jackg
Originally Posted by Eagle77
I know a shop that carries the inventory that you would be interested in but it's in Madison Heights at 14 Mile & Dequindre. It's called Double Action and you can take a peek at their web site to get the feel.
Colt.
I shot a Kimber raptor today at a range in Royal Oak. I really liked that gun. The guys there were all about the Kimbers as opposed to the Colts and the Smiths. This place did not carry any of the mid-sized 1911's by Colt or Smith and Wesson. I'm headed up to Fenton on Friday to check out some Colts and Smiths along with the Kimbers. It's so hard to tell who's right about the quality of these guns. So many seem to say Colt, yet I also hear how much they've gone down hill, and they don't even care about their public sales anymore, that it's just the government contracts they care about. Then I hear people say Kimbers suck, and the have mim's or something..by the way, what the heck are mim's? But still, others say Kimbers are the best and it's just that they produce and sell more than the other brands, so that's why they seem to have more negative responses. I just don't know. But for now, I like the Kimber Raptor, and I'm going to check out the Colt XSE in a few different models, and do some reading on them too. Any ideas on the XSE Colts would be great!
Thanks,
Eagle77
Yeah, they're known for their low prices and friendly atmosphere. :toss:Originally Posted by jackg
Originally Posted by Eagle77
I see you going to Guns Glore...let us know if you find a good deal..
NRA Life member, NRARSO, Howell Gun Club member, MDFI Alum 2019 & 2020, 2023 GOA Life Member. MGO life member.
If you're going to Guns Galore check out the Dan Wesson 1911's as well. They're right around $1k price point and are built VERY tight. DW is owned by CZ but its still the same shop making them here in the US.Originally Posted by Eagle77
I have owned 2 Kimbers, a Classic Custom (Kimber's first series) which is all around great, and a Raptor II. The Raptor looked great and was accurate, but had a really crappy trigger for a 1911. It would also get a little finicky from time to time. I still have the Classic Custom...not the Raptor.
Handle and dry fire one of the Ed Brown 1911's while you're trying them all out. They're well above you're price point, but it might give you a better idea of the feel of a nicely done 1911 action vs a gun that just has a neato finish/look.