1911s TO AVOID.

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dieseltech09

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My Kimber CDP II went through a 1000rds in 2 day TDSA class with no issues. There were at least two other Kimbers that had nothing but issues. One was a 3" gun shooting semi wad cutters that was lucky to make it through a mag with no issues. The other was a 5" gun that Im pretty sure the guy shooting went through an entire can of RemOil trying to keep it running. If I would have had the problems they did I would have traded it off as soon as I got home.
 

stindell

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I have shot many 1911s but most of them have been high quality. I am just curious which 1911 people try to avoid.

I have had Taurus, Ruger, Para, Colt and Citadel. I never had any problems with any of those guns. From Citadel on up to Colt. Depends on the gun itself.. They are like cars, some are just lemons.
 

Nighthawk

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The video that GMThunder shared was a good one, it actually sounded like it was cooking off a few times.

At one time the only pistol I would carry was a Colt 1911, I kept it clean and oiled, it shot every time, I must have shot 2000 rounds through it, never a problem.

Then I was exposed to Kimber, the one I carry regularly is a Ultra CDP II, I have shot over 1000 rounds through it never a problem.

Its too bad that others have had such bad luck with Kimber and other 1911's. I would say sent it to the factory to be fixed, or to Dr. Berry Grayson.
 

Glocktogo

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The video that GMThunder shared was a good one, it actually sounded like it was cooking off a few times.

At one time the only pistol I would carry was a Colt 1911, I kept it clean and oiled, it shot every time, I must have shot 2000 rounds through it, never a problem.

Then I was exposed to Kimber, the one I carry regularly is a Ultra CDP II, I have shot over 1000 rounds through it never a problem.

Its too bad that others have had such bad luck with Kimber and other 1911's. I would say sent it to the factory to be fixed, or to Dr. Berry Grayson.

At this point the Kimber thing has passed from documentable phenomenon to internet lore. It would be impossible to quantify an actual reject rate or percentage of guns shipped with QC issues. It would also be impossible to quantify how many of them were just sold or traded, rather than sent back to the factory. I felt pretty confident that the ones I passed on were corrected to the point they shouldn't have caused subsequent owners any issues.

I think the point is that at Kimber's price point, the flaw rate is excessive. Considering the price and what other options are available in that ballpark, do you roll the dice and take a chance that you're getting one of the good ones? We do that with every man made object we buy of course, but it's a big ask of Kimber to trust them based on known issues with no known corrective action.

As I've said, if you have one of the good ones don't part with it. it's up to the individual as to whether the juice is worth the squeeze on buying a new one though.
 

MoBoost

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Far from my first choice but it's really not that surprising that one can do it......one just has to look outside of internet lore.

In the matches you don't shoot till run out aka slide lock - you reload with one already in the chamber, slide closed; and that's when I see and have experienced a lot of failures.

I just typed in "single stack nationals", this is top level equipment and competitors

2:42 failure to seat - the shooter is spectacular in recovering ... I am guessing not his first time.
4:46 failure to seat - another amazing recovery
There is probably more - I was just skipping through.

 
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JD8

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Noted.... in the fantasy world of competition where guns have significant modifications for speed that cause the platform to sit on the edge of reliability... those 1911s might not be as reliable. In the same sense... neither are Glocks by my experience in competition. Seeing the forest for the trees though, I realize it doesn't compromise the inherent reliability of the platform.

One does wonder why those two particular platforms are so prevalent in competition given all the anecdotes here.
 

Glocktogo

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Noted.... in the fantasy world of competition where guns have significant modifications for speed that cause the platform to sit on the edge of reliability... those 1911s might not be as reliable. In the same sense... neither are Glocks by my experience in competition. Seeing the forest for the trees though, I realize it doesn't compromise the inherent reliability of the platform.

One does wonder why those two particular platforms are so prevalent in competition given all the anecdotes here.

Because of how they handle. The Glock is incredibly easy to drive fast on a budget. The 1911 can be set up with a superb trigger and accuracy potential is limited only by MRBF (mean rounds between failure) requirements. You can compromise reliability on either gun by tweaking and twiddling things that should be left alone.

While there are plenty of examples out there of unreliable 1911's, my perspective as a longtime competitor and range safety officer has led me to the conclusion that most failures in competition stem from one of three issues (in no particular order:

Out of spec ammunition (usually reloads).

Out of spec "performance mods".

Operator error.

Honorable mention would go to lack of maintenance, which usually means insufficient or improper lubrication.

When I coach competitive shooters, one of the very first things I go over is reliability. You can't expect to win if you gear malfunctions in any way, under any conceivable circumstance. Yet I always have someone ignore that advice by using something or doing something they percieve will give them an edge over their competitors. When that "edge" I told them was a disaster waiting to happen causes them to crash and burn spectacularly, I'm especially unforgiving. They hate that, but the offending item usually dissapears in short order.

I've said this about eleventy billion times now, but I wouldn't hesitiate to use a 1911 for competiton or defense. I regularly do as a matter of fact. That said, it isn't for everyone. Some of those who think it is are the worst offenders though.
 

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