tanker2000 said:
You can take a $400 pistol, dress it up and say it's as good as a kimber, but the frame/slide/barrel will still have a $400 fit. No basic part swap is going to fix that. I'll take my Kimber, swap a couple MIM parts out and have a superior gun.
Slide:barrel fit is similar; superior if you fit a barrel bushing to the RIA. Slide fit is looser in an RIA, but very easily tightened and lapped.
Look: If I'm going to get a Kimber, I'm going to swap all that MIM crap. If I get a RIA, I'm going to swap all that MIM crap.
I'll be left with the frame, slide, and barrel.
If barrel lug fit is OK top and bottom, I'm probably keeping the barrel. From what I've seen and talked about with others, the barrel fit is similar. Both brands select the best matching barrel out of a container of barrels. Very little actual fitting goes on. It's called "select fitting" or "select matching" parts.
Same with the sears etc.
Early on in my 1911 modding/building hobby, I ordered some Kimber parts. I was very disappointed. They were pretty soft.
The only real "advantage," if you can call it that, is that the Kimber has a forged frame, while the RIA has a cast frame. Caspian used to use cast frames, so I dunno that the forged frame is an advantage.
This is not Kimber bashing; they're good for what they are. However, I'm also not going to pretend they're something they're not.
If you want to put a little work in, you can buy an Armscor 1911 and replace the internals. You'll have a gun that's superior in quality to the Kimber for about the same price.
There's a reason Wilson, Brown, Baer, Dan Wesson, STI, and the others are so much more expensive than a Kimber.
Regards,
Josh