railroader
New member
Actually here is a light weight series I 5" kimber that are new without the firing pin block. There are several variations of these for sale. https://www.smga.com/kimber/custom-lw-45acp-blackout-6956
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Colt or Kimber
- Thread starter Juancts
- Start date
Aguila Blanca
Staff
But that's a Series 1 pistol, not the Master Carry Pro that was asked about.railroader said:Actually here is a light weight series I 5" kimber that are new without the firing pin block. There are several variations of these for sale. https://www.smga.com/kimber/custom-l...-blackout-6956
.38SuperMan
New member
I have 4 Kimbers, two Springfields and 1 Colt. Kimber is my choice, better fitted, better finished,more accurate and more for the money. Of the 1911 I have, the Colt is a LW Commander 38 super XSE and one of my Kimbers is a Pro TLE 45. The finish and fit of the Kimber is far better than the Colt. Edges are sharp on the Colt and will chew up a nice leather holster. The Colt slide rocks back and forth and the bushing is loose. The Kimber has a bull barrel, night sights, tight slide, blended smooth lines and edges and checkered front strap. The accuracy of the Kimber is e exceptional. The Colt accuracy is good but not excellent. The trigger out of the box is better on the Kimber too.
In full size I have a Kimber Eclipse Target 5” with Bomar type sights. It too is in .38 super. Not only is it beautiful but it’s very precisely made. Fit and finish are very close to my custom .45 5” pistol I had built some years ago. It has a ramped barrel unlike my colt commander 38 and the bushing and barrel fit is the best I’ve seen and comparable to my custom pistol. The Kimber has an all steel construction and checkered front strap with excellent trigger out of the box.
I selected the Kimber because of construction and it’s ability to take IPSC major loads. I’ve put several thousand rounds through it including about a thousand major loads without a single failure of any sort.
Two more of my Kimbers are Ultras. One is an Aegis Ultra 9mm and the other is a custom carry two tone 45. Love both but the Aegis is very nice with fiber optic sights and checkered front strap. Both are excellent and very accurate, amazing accuracy actually. Again never a failure with either no matter what I feed them. When I bought my Aegis I decided I wanted a Colt Defender but came home with the Kimber. All I had to do was hold them side by side and the winner was obvious.
None of my 1911’s have had any issues with any loads both factory and hand loads no matter the bullet type. I believe the secret to a proper functioning 1911 is to keep it clean and heavily lubed. I run all of my auto loaders wet and cleanthem after every session and have never had function issues.
Look at Buds Gun Shop and Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo. I live near both and have bought most of my guns in the past year or two from SMGA. Both are deep discounters and will ship. They both keep a huge inventory of 1911’s and are only a block apart which is good or bad for me depending on how you look at it.
In full size I have a Kimber Eclipse Target 5” with Bomar type sights. It too is in .38 super. Not only is it beautiful but it’s very precisely made. Fit and finish are very close to my custom .45 5” pistol I had built some years ago. It has a ramped barrel unlike my colt commander 38 and the bushing and barrel fit is the best I’ve seen and comparable to my custom pistol. The Kimber has an all steel construction and checkered front strap with excellent trigger out of the box.
I selected the Kimber because of construction and it’s ability to take IPSC major loads. I’ve put several thousand rounds through it including about a thousand major loads without a single failure of any sort.
Two more of my Kimbers are Ultras. One is an Aegis Ultra 9mm and the other is a custom carry two tone 45. Love both but the Aegis is very nice with fiber optic sights and checkered front strap. Both are excellent and very accurate, amazing accuracy actually. Again never a failure with either no matter what I feed them. When I bought my Aegis I decided I wanted a Colt Defender but came home with the Kimber. All I had to do was hold them side by side and the winner was obvious.
None of my 1911’s have had any issues with any loads both factory and hand loads no matter the bullet type. I believe the secret to a proper functioning 1911 is to keep it clean and heavily lubed. I run all of my auto loaders wet and cleanthem after every session and have never had function issues.
Look at Buds Gun Shop and Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo. I live near both and have bought most of my guns in the past year or two from SMGA. Both are deep discounters and will ship. They both keep a huge inventory of 1911’s and are only a block apart which is good or bad for me depending on how you look at it.
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The loose frame to slide fit on the Colts is not a quality issue, it's how the gun was designed, even the Gold Cups rattle.
That's not been my experience. I've had a couple of Gold Cups over the years (still have the last one I bought) and none exhibited a trace of wiggle. There is one possible caveat: the last one I bought was purchased in the early seventies. Maybe the quality of workmanship has diminished in the intervening years but I don't believe it's a design factor. Imo, if a Gold Cup rattles it's been shot an awful lot (mine has several thousand rounds poured through it and it's still tight as a drum) or it wasn't built up to target pistol's standards in the first place; a quality issue.
The loose frame to slide fit on the Colts is not a quality issue, it's how the gun was designed, even the Gold Cups rattle.
My Colt Government XSE (manufactured in 2012) has a very tight slide to frame fit. It has also been perfectly reliable so far.
I own 3 Colts including a Gold Cup. The GC rattles just as much as the Combat Elite, Latest one , a Lightweight Commander , is the tightest but it also rattles. Even the Citadel is tighter than the Colts. It don't matter a whole lot. Bbl lockup to slide is a lot more important.
Bottom Gun
New member
I've owned a number of each and I'll choose Kimber over Colt for accuracy and reliability.
Also, my experience with Colt "customer service" was terrible. I sent my Ace to Colt three times for repair. Colt was never able to resolve the problem, which was the slide stop deforming the hold open notch in the slide. I finally gave up and ended up selling my Ace for parts.
Based upon my experience with Colt, I would never buy another.
Also, my experience with Colt "customer service" was terrible. I sent my Ace to Colt three times for repair. Colt was never able to resolve the problem, which was the slide stop deforming the hold open notch in the slide. I finally gave up and ended up selling my Ace for parts.
Based upon my experience with Colt, I would never buy another.
I've had a more than a few Colts over the past 50 years...never had a "send it back" problem with any of them, but all, including a Gold Cup, needed some work from a good gunsmith to tighten up groups at 25 yds. That said, the current crop of Colts are an unknown to me. I have no idea of their service policies nor their turn around time if work is needed.
Kimber on the other hand has a history of customer service complaints. The four Kimbers that have passed through our range here on the farm were far from keepers...all had malfunction problems and not only with JHP ammunition. Calls to the factory were answered with, "shoot it some more...like 200-300 rounds"; "'cause we build 'em so tight" then contact us and we'll take a look...total BS for a gun that's sold as a defensive handgun. YMMv, but my friends traded all four off at considerable loss. Kimber = pretty advertising, lots of hype, but that budget would have been better spent in QC on the production line. It appears that a good one is great, but it's a gamble that I'd not be willing to accept.
Best Regards, Rod
Kimber on the other hand has a history of customer service complaints. The four Kimbers that have passed through our range here on the farm were far from keepers...all had malfunction problems and not only with JHP ammunition. Calls to the factory were answered with, "shoot it some more...like 200-300 rounds"; "'cause we build 'em so tight" then contact us and we'll take a look...total BS for a gun that's sold as a defensive handgun. YMMv, but my friends traded all four off at considerable loss. Kimber = pretty advertising, lots of hype, but that budget would have been better spent in QC on the production line. It appears that a good one is great, but it's a gamble that I'd not be willing to accept.
Best Regards, Rod
In my opinion both are over pricedColt or Kimber
Longhorn1986
New member
Comparing them based on my experience with their customer service , it really is no contest. Kimber was very helpful and took care of my issue without hesitation. Colt, on the other hand, seems to be at a loss as to the whole concept of customer service.
Colt used to be junk - that is why Kimber dominated the market. When I bought my first Kimber in 1998, it was miles ahead of Colt. When I bought a Kimber SS Pro Carry in 2001, it was still miles ahead of the Colt lightweight Commander.
Since there are a bunch of Colt-lovers posting here, I assume Colt has got it's act together.
BTW, the pistols listed are very apples to oranges.
Since there are a bunch of Colt-lovers posting here, I assume Colt has got it's act together.
BTW, the pistols listed are very apples to oranges.
AgedWarrior
New member
If the choice is Colt or Kimber I would lean toward Colt. I owned a Colt Lightweight Commander some years back that was a great pistol. I foolishly let a friend convince me to sell it to him. The Kimbers I have dealt with are limited, but I have seen one come from the factory with corrosion inside the frame, and know of another with similar issues. Folks at Kimber seemed to disrespect complaint of the first (close friend) which was quite frustrating for him. In the end, Kimber did finally make good on it though.
Having said that, I have to say that for my money I would go with Springfield Armory. I own a couple of their 1911’s and they both are excellent fit and finish and superb performance. The Range Officer Compact would be the choice I would point to.
Having said that, I have to say that for my money I would go with Springfield Armory. I own a couple of their 1911’s and they both are excellent fit and finish and superb performance. The Range Officer Compact would be the choice I would point to.