kimber tle vs sa loaded?

[SPR18]

for my 1 st 1911, or should i just get a ria tactical? do they all have the same accuarcy

[CrippledPidgeon]

My vote goes to the Kimber TLE. Kimber's front strap checkering is far better than Springfield's, and I don't even know if there are any loadeds that have checkering to begin with. That being said though, at least Springfield still makes their 1911s along the vein of the Series 70.s, rather than Kimber and the Series 80's. Not that there's anything wrong with the series 80 design, I just don't like the idea of having extra parts that aren't totally necessary..

As for RIAs, I'd kinda stay away from them. The ones that I've seen aren't even comparable to the Kimbers or Springfields.

[railroader]

I have a kimber custom and a ria tactical. The kimber is more refined but the the ria is a good pistol. The ria has a very decent trigger and is accurate. The slide to frame fit on the ria is tight and it has been very reliable. Two things I didn't like with it were the grip safety and the sight picture. On the grip safety it had to be depressed completely for the gun to fire. This limited how the gun had to be held to function. I changed out the grip safety with a kimber take off one. This one only needs to be depressed about half way which works much better for me. On the sight picture the ria front sight is too fat, it isn't serrated and is cut at a 45 degree. The sight has a glare to it and though it works it is hard to pick up quickly. I changed at the front sight with a fiber optic front sight now the sight picture is fiine.
Now if money wasn't an option I would pick the kimber over the ria because its nicer. Still if you get the ria you won't be disappointed. Mark

[SPR18]

I have a kimber custom and a ria tactical. The kimber is more refined but the the ria is a good pistol. The ria has a very decent trigger and is accurate. The slide to frame fit on the ria is tight and it has been very reliable. Two things I didn't like with it were the grip safety and the sight picture. On the grip safety it had to be depressed completely for the gun to fire. This limited how the gun had to be held to function. I changed out the grip safety with a kimber take off one. This one only needs to be depressed about half way which works much better for me. On the sight picture the ria front sight is too fat, it isn't serrated and is cut at a 45 degree. The sight has a glare to it and though it works it is hard to pick up quickly. I changed at the front sight with a fiber optic front sight now the sight picture is fiine.
Now if money wasn't an option I would pick the kimber over the ria because its nicer. Still if you get the ria you won't be disappointed. Mark

does it require any fitting when you switch the grip safety?

thanks

[Cyc Wid It]

SA. It has much better customer service, and the ILS can be easily swapped out if you don't like it.

[gorenut]

I'd go with Springfield. I've heard equal amounts of praise and anger stories for both, however I've heard of much more happy endings with the Springfield due to second-to-none customer service.

[zipman5150]

I Have a Kimber LAPD SWAT, also known as the TLE. I love that pistol. I also have an SA Loaded(OD Green) also a great gun. I have done work to both guns, but I like shooting the Kimber a lot more than the SA. Both are great pistols, and i wouldn't get rid of either, but when i open the vault and reach for a 1911 to take to the range, out of those 2, i pick the Kimber most of the time... you won't go wrong with the Kimber.

[Prowler]

I have both a Kimber Tactical Custom ll and at SA Loaded. SA feels like there's sand in the slide. It's not anywhere near the quality of the Kimber. I'd take a Kimber over a SA everytime.

[rorschach]

I have 3 Kimbers, a TLE II, Warrior II, and an LAPD SWAT. I have 3 Springfields, a Milspec, Loaded (1911 fullsize) and Ultra Compact loaded (officers size). All are excellent shooters, with good accuracy as can be expected out of the box. I will say that the Kimbers (TLE and SWAT) have excellent 30 lpi checkering, and a better overall finish. The Springers are a bit rough around the edges. Springfield mags are crap, all I use is Wilson magazines anyway. The Springers ran great out of the box, the Kimbers required some break in, about 400 rounds, before they would run well. The Springfields were a bit cheaper than the Kimbers, I think they are worth every penny.

[jak77]

I had the same question. I picked the Loaded and never regretted it. Its been flawless and SA customer service cant be beat. They have a lifetime warranty and are top notch in sticking to it. I think Kimber has a one or two year warranty. Any company thats willing to stand by their products is good enough for me.

[DaveFJ80]

I had a brand new RIA 1911 Tactical. Sold it a few weeks later unused, picked up a Kimber TLE/RL II, and I don't regret it one bit.

[railroader]

does it require any fitting when you switch the grip safety?

thanks

The kimber grip safety dropped right in but I also tried a cmc grip safety and it wouldn't. Another part that wouldn't just drop in on the ria is a mainspring/magwell. It seems that the pinhole in the ria frame for the mainspring housing is slightly farther down. I tried installing a kimber and a s&a magwell and both had a pretty good gap between the bottom of the ria frame and the magwell. Mark

[ocspeedracer]

I had the TLE II and it was a tack driver...when it worked. I'd go Springfield all the way if I were to choose from either.

[bigkahuna04]

I have 3 Kimbers, a TLE II, Warrior II, and an LAPD SWAT. I have 3 Springfields, a Milspec, Loaded (1911 fullsize) and Ultra Compact loaded (officers size). All are excellent shooters, with good accuracy as can be expected out of the box. I will say that the Kimbers (TLE and SWAT) have excellent 30 lpi checkering, and a better overall finish. The Springers are a bit rough around the edges. Springfield mags are crap, all I use is Wilson magazines anyway. The Springers ran great out of the box, the Kimbers required some break in, about 400 rounds, before they would run well. The Springfields were a bit cheaper than the Kimbers, I think they are worth every penny.

How do the Kimber TLE and the LAPD-SWAT models compare to each other...I know that they are suppose to be identical in their build...but I'm making the assumption that the LAPD-SWAT versions probably got a little extra attention by Kimber gunsmiths before they were delivered. Just curious since you have both versions.

[Swoop]

Kimber Unless you can bump up to a springfield mc operator or trp which the mc should not be much more than the tle.