Found it!

[k55f]

American made, Commander sized, hmmmm.
How about a COLT COMBAT COMMANDER?
Or is that too obvious? I own a SN 70 series that has seen 10s of thousands of rounds without a malfunction that couldn't be traced back to poor cartridges.
Bought in 1976, it has been my go-to gun for 36 years.

[giantsfan]

What's painfully absent from this discussion are knock's on SA customer service...anyone ever have a bad experience with Springfield?

Going to the range to wear out my LC9 and put a box of .40 cal PT140 downrange....I know, I know...the price was right and if it doesn't work well I'm going to send it back and sell it..

[wamphyri13]

The only bad experience I've read about SA customer service was recently.
Backlogged, (due to a high volume of business) and I think they were one of the companies that shut down briefly, for FLOODING! Not 100% positive it was them, could have been another gun company, but it my opinion, those are easily understood and very acceptable reasons to not get taken care of ASAP. Other than that, they're top notch.
Ryan

[d4v0s]

Save you some time, here's the link.

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=174946&highlight=motorcycle

Ryan

I thought it was a cool story until I realized how completely dumb that guy is. NO they didnt refinish the gun, they are a gun manufacturer, they destroy the old frame and serialize a new one... There was no way they could have fixed the old frame.

Any since when is carrying an unloaded pistol legal in a unlocked back pack??

[wamphyri13]

Point is, SA was under no obligation to do anything for the guy because of his momentary stupidity. This was definitely NOT a warranty issue. But they took care of the guy at no cost. That's like going to Costco and buying a new Sony TV, throwing it on top of your minivan and driving home without securing it. TV destroyed. You're out a new TV. Sony isn't going to do squat for you.
I like Springfield Armory.
Ryan

EDIT- just reread most of thread. Some small costs involved, but still. Better than buying a whole new gun for being dumb.

[gant]

My sig 1911 shows made in new Hampshire

[giantsfan]

I thought it was a cool story until I realized how completely dumb that guy is. NO they didnt refinish the gun, they are a gun manufacturer, they destroy the old frame and serialize a new one... There was no way they could have fixed the old frame.

Any since when is carrying an unloaded pistol legal in a unlocked back pack??

Kinda dumb thing to do however not a dumb guy as he realized, albeit a little late, that it was a dumb thing to do.

Point is, SA was under no obligation to do anything for the guy because of his momentary stupidity. This was definitely NOT a warranty issue. But they took care of the guy at no cost. That's like going to Costco and buying a new Sony TV, throwing it on top of your minivan and driving home without securing it. TV destroyed. You're out a new TV. Sony isn't going to do squat for you.
I like Springfield Armory.
Ryan

EDIT- just reread most of thread. Some small costs involved, but still. Better than buying a whole new gun for being dumb.

I went down to Sacramento Black Rifle and looked at the LW Loaded Champion...I don't like the black and OD but aside from that it was a sweet gun and very attractively price.

While at the range today, a guy had the same Raptor that you've got. That grip looks so huge. The guy was drilling a 3" hole in his targets, one handed at 25 yards. Kind of impressive.

I on the other hand am out of practice...need some remedial training..

[Lead Waster]

Point is, SA was under no obligation to do anything for the guy because of his momentary stupidity. This was definitely NOT a warranty issue. But they took care of the guy at no cost. That's like going to Costco and buying a new Sony TV, throwing it on top of your minivan and driving home without securing it. TV destroyed. You're out a new TV. Sony isn't going to do squat for you.
I like Springfield Armory.
Ryan

EDIT- just reread most of thread. Some small costs involved, but still. Better than buying a whole new gun for being dumb.

Hey Phil, er, Ryan, That's an amazing story, thanks for the link.

I'm guessing rather than go through the trouble of fixing the guys gun, they just sent a new one with the old serial number.

On the other hand, it's somewhat reassuring to know that if someone drops a gun on the highway, most likely it will be rendered inoperable for whatever possible thug might pick it up.

I wonder (as I'm sure many would) how a glock would hold up to this abuse? I'm guessing the frame would have been smashed to smithereens, but the slide would be OK.


OP, I think your choice is a good one! Not many companies consistently make lemons and can still survive in the 1911 game. There are so many Kimbers sold that most likely the complainers got bad ones. People don't start threads like "I've got my Kimber and the stupid thing won't break on me!"

Good luck finding your dream gun. Try Gun Genie if you haven't already.

[wamphyri13]

While at the range today, a guy had the same Raptor that you've got. That grip looks so huge.

With the exception of some of the older, blocky framed Springfields, and the new RIA Tactical 2011, most all other 1911 frames are within microns of each other. What you perceived as huge may have just been the guys choice of grips. I've held some grips my dad bought from ebay that made a single stack feel as wide as a double stack. And I don't mean a 9mm, I mean a Para Ordnance .45. There's lots of grip choices out there too. Just ask Phil, er I mean Lead Waster.
Ryan

[giantsfan]

Hey Phil, er, Ryan, That's an amazing story, thanks for the link.

I'm guessing rather than go through the trouble of fixing the guys gun, they just sent a new one with the old serial number.

On the other hand, it's somewhat reassuring to know that if someone drops a gun on the highway, most likely it will be rendered inoperable for whatever possible thug might pick it up.

I wonder (as I'm sure many would) how a glock would hold up to this abuse? I'm guessing the frame would have been smashed to smithereens, but the slide would be OK.


OP, I think your choice is a good one! Not many companies consistently make lemons and can still survive in the 1911 game. There are so many Kimbers sold that most likely the complainers got bad ones. People don't start threads like "I've got my Kimber and the stupid thing won't break on me!"

Good luck finding your dream gun. Try Gun Genie if you haven't already.

Gun Genie?? Do tell...

Kimber is a good gun for the most part but that said, I think the 1 year warranty is a little telling. If you have confidence in your product why not do what SA does with their warranty?

On Ryan's story...if they were going to give him a new gun with the same serial number on it, why not replace the hammer as well? That was still dinged.

[wamphyri13]

My thought is this. Maybe, just maybe, whoever makes the decision in the shop left it there as a reminder. The frame could have been pulled from the line to be mated to the existing slide, and all other parts replaced. If the guy felt, "It's good enough. I'm not giving him an entirely new gun." that could be an answer. I know how I'd feel if I had to do something like that for someone who pulled a bone-headed move and wasn't getting paid anything extra!
Ryan

[Zula]

American made, Commander sized, hmmmm.
How about a COLT COMBAT COMMANDER?
Or is that too obvious? I own a SN 70 series that has seen 10s of thousands of rounds without a malfunction that couldn't be traced back to poor cartridges.
Bought in 1976, it has been my go-to gun for 36 years.

+1 Bigtime.

[Lead Waster]

Gun Genie - Put in what you want and you zip code, and it gives you a list of local (to your zip code) partners that will sell you the gun and the prices. So they sell you the gun via the local seller or something like that;

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx

Unfortunately, I don't see Kimber on their drop downs

But try it for other guns. I got my RIA this way actually, got the best price I could find locally.

[Z.1]

Save you some time, here's the link.

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=174946&highlight=motorcycle

Ryan

Holy jeez! After reading that, how could you not choose the Springfield over the Kimber?

[Greg90731]

If you want the best of everything, high quality and American made, and you can afford it and find it, look into an excellent used Dan Wesson. I will never sell my Cbob.

+1 on the DAN WESSON CBOB!