Advice? Kimber Classic (Pre-Series II) Gold Match 1911 - Worth $850?

C

cranda58

Inactive
Found someone selling a Kimber Classic Gold Match - Stainless with a few scratches. Under 1000 rounds through it. Is this worth $850, or should I steer towards something new like a Springfield Stainless Loaded 1911 for a similar number?
 
Welcome to The Firing Line Cranda58.

Usually a 1911 question gets a ton of responses...wait just a bit and I'm pretty sure others will chime in.

I'm an unabashed Springfield Armory fan, I like the SA Range Officer best because it suits my needs. If you like the stainless Loaded more power to you!

If you read a lot of Kimber 1911 threads it seems there's generally more people thinking SA has better support and your chances of getting a lemon are greater if you go with a Kimber...which means nothing in your case. If the Kimber you're looking at is a proven shooter then that's what it is.

(I'd get the SA anyway, because that's just me.)
 
If you can scare up another few hundred, you could be in Dan Wesson country... I guess I'd have to see it but my experience with kimber was negative.
 
For a Kimber fan, those (pre Series II) guns are considered minor grails, of a sort. And back then, Kimber made a very nice pistol, IMHO.

I'm guessing that's a decent price, though I'm no Kimber expert.


The 1911 Forum's Kimber sub-forum will likely get you very specific answers.



Larry
 
With a bit of shopping, you should be able to get a new Springfield Range Officer for less than $800, and I think that's a better deal, all around, than $850 for a used Kimber.
There are two pages of Gold Matches on gunbroker, and none of them has a bid even as high as $700.
 
The pre-Series II Kimbers were very good 1911s. They were the guns upon which Kimber built a very good reputation. Unfortunately, they managed to tarnish that reputation somewhat in later years by building and selling way too many 1911s with marginal QC...but that is another chapter of the story.

All that said, I have owned 8 Kimbers altogether, and never had any trouble with any of them (still have two). Two of them were pre-Series II models, and a friend owns the 5" Stainless one. I sold it to him for what I paid for it ($750) and I would buy it back at that price tomorrow if he were selling. (I regret selling the other one too.)

I have a DW and I think they are seriously over-rated. I'd trade it straight across for either of the pre-Series II Kimbers I owned. I've owned three Springfield 1911s and honestly, it is highly unlikely that I will own another. Great CS, yes, and boy, did I use it. :D

Do some research. The pre-Series II Kimbers are not easy to find, they hold their value well and are in demand.
 
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