The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - For those who have a lot of 1911 experience...

BigJimP · March 18, 2013, 12:29 PM

I own some Kimbers, one Baer, one Brown, a couple of Wilson's ...all 5" guns and three in 9mm and three in .45acp...

There is a subtle different feel to each gun...the lines per inch on the front strap, the agressiveness on the cross hatching on the grip panels, the style of the beaver tail grip safety, the size of the thumb safety, or the size of the ambi safety...all pretty little things...

..but how they come up and out of the holster on line...is really about the same - at least on the steel 5" guns. Now I do have one Kimber that is an alloy frame ( Tactical Pro II model, 4" in 9mm) that has a really different feel to it than any of the 5" steel guns...but its the only alloy frame 1911 I have and its the only 4" 1911 I have.../ so its a combination of the weight and the length of the sight plane. But it also comes up and out of the holster and on target about the same...( it just feels different because its lighter I think ..)...

My favorites - hands down are my Wilsons ( one in 9mm / one in .45acp ) and I practice with the 9mm a lot ( 4 boxes on Sunday aftn ) and 1 box thru the .45 acp version ...and I'm a little quicker on follow up shots with the 9mm...over the .45acp ...but in terms of accuracy and control, I shoot them both about the same (both 5", steel )...the .45acp is my primary carry gun/the 9mm is my primary practice range gun. ( my other 1911's stay home a lot !! )..../ and while the triggers on my 1911's are not all identical ...I find transitioning from one 5" gun ..to the other, is really quick ( on all of them the triggers vary from 3.5 lbs to about 4.2 lbs..)../ but as my eyes get worse ( and older ) the sights are a pretty big factor.

I'm going to send both Wilsons back ...to have the rear Battle Sight put on them ...and the Fibre Optic front sight put on them vs their standard night sights one of these days...

March 18, 2013, 12:29 PM	#8
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I own some Kimbers, one Baer, one Brown, a couple of Wilson's ...all 5" guns and three in 9mm and three in .45acp... There is a subtle different feel to each gun...the lines per inch on the front strap, the agressiveness on the cross hatching on the grip panels, the style of the beaver tail grip safety, the size of the thumb safety, or the size of the ambi safety...all pretty little things... ..but how they come up and out of the holster on line...is really about the same - at least on the steel 5" guns. Now I do have one Kimber that is an alloy frame ( Tactical Pro II model, 4" in 9mm) that has a really different feel to it than any of the 5" steel guns...but its the only alloy frame 1911 I have and its the only 4" 1911 I have.../ so its a combination of the weight and the length of the sight plane. But it also comes up and out of the holster and on target about the same...( it just feels different because its lighter I think ..)... My favorites - hands down are my Wilsons ( one in 9mm / one in .45acp ) and I practice with the 9mm a lot ( 4 boxes on Sunday aftn ) and 1 box thru the .45 acp version ...and I'm a little quicker on follow up shots with the 9mm...over the .45acp ...but in terms of accuracy and control, I shoot them both about the same (both 5", steel )...the .45acp is my primary carry gun/the 9mm is my primary practice range gun. ( my other 1911's stay home a lot !! )..../ and while the triggers on my 1911's are not all identical ...I find transitioning from one 5" gun ..to the other, is really quick ( on all of them the triggers vary from 3.5 lbs to about 4.2 lbs..)../ but as my eyes get worse ( and older ) the sights are a pretty big factor. I'm going to send both Wilsons back ...to have the rear Battle Sight put on them ...and the Fibre Optic front sight put on them vs their standard night sights one of these days... Last edited by BigJimP; March 18, 2013 at 12:46 PM.