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Kimber Super Match II
Anyone own one, or shot one? I hear amazingly good and unsettlingly bad things about Kimber.
I'm looking at it as a .45 carry option to complement my H&K P7 PSP. I love my H&K USP .45, but the thing is a tank fit only for range or camping use, rather than everyday carry.
I'm looking at it as a .45 carry option to complement my H&K P7 PSP. I love my H&K USP .45, but the thing is a tank fit only for range or camping use, rather than everyday carry.
I prefer Ruger P89D 9mm for carrying.
But my cousin up in Huntsville swears by his 1911.
"God created man. Sam Colt made him equal."
Personally, for target, and "showoffishness" tho, you can't beat a Desert Eagle, 50cal pistol.. Its huge, but handles fairly well. But imo, it's a "home defender" A thug waltzin in a window, coming face to face with one, is likely to piss his pants, but it's much too bulky for concealed carry.. I like a smaller bore for the CnC. If you can shoot worth a shit, size don't matter anyway..
But my cousin up in Huntsville swears by his 1911.
"God created man. Sam Colt made him equal."
Personally, for target, and "showoffishness" tho, you can't beat a Desert Eagle, 50cal pistol.. Its huge, but handles fairly well. But imo, it's a "home defender" A thug waltzin in a window, coming face to face with one, is likely to piss his pants, but it's much too bulky for concealed carry.. I like a smaller bore for the CnC. If you can shoot worth a shit, size don't matter anyway..
I'll stick to my short barrel, pistol gripped Mossberg 500 for home defense. Nice thing about 00 buck: it can cut a small framed man literally in half at close range but not take out the family member sleeping two rooms over, much less reach out and touch your neighbors.
The DE, particularly in .50 AE, is a well-built movie prop gun. Any idea what make your cousin's 1911 is?
The DE, particularly in .50 AE, is a well-built movie prop gun. Any idea what make your cousin's 1911 is?
MaTeBa in .44 is nice, if you want to show off.
As for the Eagle, the only use I see is for not purely kinetic ammunition. Weight and bulk are too big otherwise.
And sadly, I cannot comment on the Kimber. Can't you borrow one for a day or two on the range to see how it performs? And if you're looking for a .45 complement, have you considered the SigSauer P245? It's DA, and a friend of mine who had one for a while was pretty satisfied with it.
As for the Eagle, the only use I see is for not purely kinetic ammunition. Weight and bulk are too big otherwise.
And sadly, I cannot comment on the Kimber. Can't you borrow one for a day or two on the range to see how it performs? And if you're looking for a .45 complement, have you considered the SigSauer P245? It's DA, and a friend of mine who had one for a while was pretty satisfied with it.
I've yet to see one as a rental at any range, and because of how Kimber makes its customs, there seems to be a bit of hit or miss involved.
I've never liked Sig or Glock; there's something about the grips and the angle that doesn't fit my hands correctly. H&K, especially the P7, always presents with perfect sight alignment for me, though. In any event, I'm specifically looking for a 1911 design for my .45 carry--I like the flatness and the lack of plastic, and it's also a design that fits my hands well.
The plastic is something I only like when carrying outdoors and around water. I can get the stainless slide USP as muddy and dirty as I want, won't hurt it a bit.
I've never liked Sig or Glock; there's something about the grips and the angle that doesn't fit my hands correctly. H&K, especially the P7, always presents with perfect sight alignment for me, though. In any event, I'm specifically looking for a 1911 design for my .45 carry--I like the flatness and the lack of plastic, and it's also a design that fits my hands well.
The plastic is something I only like when carrying outdoors and around water. I can get the stainless slide USP as muddy and dirty as I want, won't hurt it a bit.
I've heard good things about the rock island 1911 clones, they may not look like much, but they are very true to the govt model (larger ejection port though), and a couple reviews say they work great. That being said, the kimber has been reported to have numerious problems, shit breaking off, fairlure to feed, ejection failures, etc. As for concealment, a buddy of mine has a Taurus millennium 140 that conceals really well.
Hrm, that doesn't sound good. I was really hoping that a Kimber would be a viable option, because Wilson Combat's 1911s are in the $3k-$4k range :P I'll look into the Rock Island models.
The rock island's can be had in my area for something around 370 plus tax. I'm kinda considering getting one but might spend the loot on more boxer primed 7.62x39 brass.
Kimber is a damn fine gun, but they're pricey. I know many of my co-workers own Kimber firearms, and they love all of them because of how well they work, but again, you pay for it. I've fired Kimber and Colt 1911s and they are a helluva nice weapon, although for the price, there's little difference in feel to me.
If you're stuck on the 1911, I recommend a Colt model. One of my Lts and many of my officers/dispatchers have or carry Colt 1911's and swear by their capabilities. Remember though that Colt really fell out of the 1911 game back in the early 2000s to go more for a Military/LEO market, consequently, most Colt 1911's are going to be 2nd or 3rd hand weapons, so inspect carefully.
The only problem with the 1911 though is it has to be cocked like a pistol, which takes additional training in Muscle Memory to really be tactical in a defensive situation. Some police departments or ranges offer special 1911 defense courses that may be open to the public.
However, if you're looking for concealed carry, I personally carry a Glock 22 (.40) in a shoulder holster, but if you have your heart set on a .45, then you could look at the Glock 38 (more for holster carry), or the G-39 which makes an excellent ankle gun (2 of my officer's carry 39's in ankle holsters as backup weapons).
And remember, Glock now has several different after-market extras that help slim down the grip of the weapon to make it more comfortable for those with smaller grip.
Personally, I swear by Glock for my concealed carry, but another to consider is the Springfield XD-45 ACP which is a great weapon as well, however the rear-mounted safety on the grip does make rear-straps a problem if you want to carry the weapon with one in the chamber. For that you need a vertical holster either paddle, belt, or pants. The 4" Service model of the XD-45 ACP is in the realm of competition with Glock in terms of accuracy and reliability but has a single-stack mag making it a thinner profile, while the 4" barrel makes it the same length as most 1911s (although an optional 5" barrel does increase accuracy and muzzle velocity)
Here's an article written by a Kimber owner who reviewed the weapon in his collection, and has many of the same uses you would for it:
http://www.michiganmilitia.com/SMVM/weapons/kimber.htm
If you're stuck on the 1911, I recommend a Colt model. One of my Lts and many of my officers/dispatchers have or carry Colt 1911's and swear by their capabilities. Remember though that Colt really fell out of the 1911 game back in the early 2000s to go more for a Military/LEO market, consequently, most Colt 1911's are going to be 2nd or 3rd hand weapons, so inspect carefully.
The only problem with the 1911 though is it has to be cocked like a pistol, which takes additional training in Muscle Memory to really be tactical in a defensive situation. Some police departments or ranges offer special 1911 defense courses that may be open to the public.
However, if you're looking for concealed carry, I personally carry a Glock 22 (.40) in a shoulder holster, but if you have your heart set on a .45, then you could look at the Glock 38 (more for holster carry), or the G-39 which makes an excellent ankle gun (2 of my officer's carry 39's in ankle holsters as backup weapons).
And remember, Glock now has several different after-market extras that help slim down the grip of the weapon to make it more comfortable for those with smaller grip.
Personally, I swear by Glock for my concealed carry, but another to consider is the Springfield XD-45 ACP which is a great weapon as well, however the rear-mounted safety on the grip does make rear-straps a problem if you want to carry the weapon with one in the chamber. For that you need a vertical holster either paddle, belt, or pants. The 4" Service model of the XD-45 ACP is in the realm of competition with Glock in terms of accuracy and reliability but has a single-stack mag making it a thinner profile, while the 4" barrel makes it the same length as most 1911s (although an optional 5" barrel does increase accuracy and muzzle velocity)
Here's an article written by a Kimber owner who reviewed the weapon in his collection, and has many of the same uses you would for it:
http://www.michiganmilitia.com/SMVM/weapons/kimber.htm
Lecter: The P245's slide is steel, the frame aluminium. The grips are plastic, but nothing's stopping you from changing those.
It's a pity it doesn't fit your hands, though, because I kind of like Sig's line of pistols (although they are rather pricey). Have you looked at the CZ-97B? It's all steel (save for the grips, again), chambered in .45ACP and retains the 75B's advantages.
Pyro: I for one like double-action handguns better than single-action ones, which is why I like the P210 and the CZ75 so much. If you expect to have to use it in a pinch, can't you carry it cocked and locked? I'm unsure whether that is legal, though.
It's a pity it doesn't fit your hands, though, because I kind of like Sig's line of pistols (although they are rather pricey). Have you looked at the CZ-97B? It's all steel (save for the grips, again), chambered in .45ACP and retains the 75B's advantages.
Pyro: I for one like double-action handguns better than single-action ones, which is why I like the P210 and the CZ75 so much. If you expect to have to use it in a pinch, can't you carry it cocked and locked? I'm unsure whether that is legal, though.
Like I said above, the angle of the grip relative to the barrel on Glocks is wrong for me: when I draw, they don't present properly, and my grouping with them sucks. I also hate the "trigger safety" and DA only trigger group. Suffice to say that I'd go with an HK USP compact if I wanted a plastic double stack .45 to carry.
I'm specifically looking for a 1911 because of how that design works for me, and because of the thin profile for a .45 concealed carry.
Glad to hear someone talking positively about Kimber's quality, though. Price isn't very much of an issue for me right now, so a used Colt isn't really an approach I need to take.
Tosh: cocked and locked is fine (at least in all the CC states that I'm aware of), though if you somehow managed to have a negligent discharge, it would surely be a fact that was brought up at trial as showing that you were, in fact, negligent. In short, nobody will say "you can't carry it that way"--but you'd better not screw up while carrying it that way. But given the safeties on the 1911, I don't think it's a problem.
I'm specifically looking for a 1911 because of how that design works for me, and because of the thin profile for a .45 concealed carry.
Glad to hear someone talking positively about Kimber's quality, though. Price isn't very much of an issue for me right now, so a used Colt isn't really an approach I need to take.
Tosh: cocked and locked is fine (at least in all the CC states that I'm aware of), though if you somehow managed to have a negligent discharge, it would surely be a fact that was brought up at trial as showing that you were, in fact, negligent. In short, nobody will say "you can't carry it that way"--but you'd better not screw up while carrying it that way. But given the safeties on the 1911, I don't think it's a problem.
Nah, never laid eyes on it. Havent seen him in person, in quite a few years.
do remember you are looking at a MATCH gun, which means more accuracy at the cost of tighter tolerances. This has the effect of it having trouble digesting less than optimal ammunition, and functioning while dirty. No such thing as a free lunch I guess.