need some trade advice

[Werewolf]

Hold on. I know very little about 1911s. But why are Kimbers not "really" 1911s? What makes a true 1911, a 1911?

Well - I've only got one Kimber; an Ultra Tac 2 model. It's a compact - one could argue that that in and of itself makes it not a 1911. But the real reason IMO is the way one has to be taken down.

In the army in boot camp we had to be able to take down and reassemble a 1911 in 2 minutes or less. Pretty easy.

A Kimber - at least one with a barrel bushing - doesn't take down like a real 1911 and I for one wouldn't even attempt to do one in 2 minutes or less. I'm no gunsmith but I can say that the guide rod setup is different than the real deal - probably because my Kimber is a compact. There are probably other differences too. I'm sure someone will jump in with more info.

 

[SDarkRage]

Funny - my Kimber Stainless TLE II has the same internals - i.e. barrel, guide rod, bushing - as my Colt 1911 made in 1913. They both tear down the same way, takes me the same amount of time. The main differences are the larger ejection port and shorter trigger of my Kimber 1911A1 style. Saying Kimber is not a 1911 is like saying a 1911A1 isn't a true 1911 either.