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birddog1
January 29, 2005, 06:29 PM
I'm thinking of buying one of the above guns. I've never owned either brand or a 1911 for that matter. Right now I carry a Glock 27, but I want to try something a little different. I've heard horror stories about the 3" 1911's but then I've also heard from people that love them. The Springfield has a silver Armory Kote finish, the Kimber is stainless and has night sights and costs $100 more. All opinions are appreciated.

Scott

TBT
January 29, 2005, 06:56 PM
Between the two firearms that you mentioned I don’t think you could go wrong. Both are quality weapons that pretty much set the standard for production line firearms. I however can only speak on behalf of the one that I own.

I own the series two Kimber Ultra Carry II Stainless, have so for about one year. I’ve experienced absolutely no problems with the weapon through the first 1200 rounds. It fed everything I gave it, fired every time that I asked it too. And that is about all you can ask from a weapon that you are willing to stake your life on.

At about 2300 rounds I experienced three failures. I noticed that all three were from the same stock Kimber Magazine. Upon taking the magazine apart for inspection, the spring broke in two places. Problem found, problem solved. My recommendation would be to get yourself some Wilson Mags for piece right away and just skip my learning curve.

I’ve heard some complain about the MIM process as well as the series two safety. While I will stop short of arguing against their points, I will say that I have not experienced any difficulties at all with either issue. The gun is utterly and completely reliable, and a looker to boot!

I’ve also heard of failure problems with the 3” slide and I am of the opine that this might have been an issue “back in the day” but not anymore. There are too many clearly favorable reviews out there for these pieces for me to think that these are anymore prone to failure than your Glock or Ruger. Again, I have had no issues with this gun through 2500 rounds. I cannot speak for it as to what it will do at 5000, or even 10,000.

Accuracy. I own a Springer 1911 cambered in the 9mm and I am more accurate with the UCII. I’m not going to claim that the UCII is more accurate than a loaded five inch Springer, but I will say in my hand it is. It’s by far and away the most accurate compact pistol I have ever shot and would put it against the best in the business and feel confident in doing so. It’s a tack driver.

My only gripe with the UCII is the sites. Plain-Jane for a gun that I paid $780 for doesn’t sit well with me, I think Kimber could have done better. You mentioned that the Kimber has the night sites, maybe they have heard the complaints and fixed that issue since bought into the product line. Other than that I couldn’t be happier.

If you have any specific questions let me know. I would be happy to answer them as best I can.

---TBT

BigGun97B
January 30, 2005, 03:08 AM
I have a Springfield Armory GI .45 3" Micro Compact. The only problem I have with it is it likes to chew on my hand on almost every shot. So I had a new Wilson Combat Commander style hammer and oversize beavertail grip safety installed. I haven't been able to get out and shoot it yet, but I got to say that is one bad ass looking little .45 now. I'm planning on putting some rounds through it Monday afternoon.

yy4u
January 30, 2005, 07:38 AM
I’ve got a 3” Kimber Tactical Ultra II. It really is a fine firearm. When I first got it, I had some failure to feed problems and slide cycle problems (described below) up to the 1000 round point. I’m not real happy with the angle of the feed ramp in the 3” 1911 frame. It’s extremely steep. In any case, I sent the gun back to Kimber, and they put it on their CNC machine and ‘polished’ the feed ramp and the parabola in the frame just below the feed ramp. (Note the feed ramp in the 3” is machined into the bull barrel.) Upon getting the gun back, the FTF problems went away. If I had it to buy again, I’d go with a 4”, but you won’t catch me selling my Ultra II at this point…it’s now a very reliable gun.

Slide Cycle Problem Description:
When firing (or chambering a round) the gun, one could feel the nose of the bullet SLAM into the frame / feed ramp which is almost vertical, before the bullet nose pitches up, and is fed into the chamber while the slide closes. When shooting this firearm (particularly with JHP ammunition) it actually feels like the slide is ‘bouncing’ or closing twice after each shot.

Troponin
March 1, 2005, 09:17 PM
I have a Springfield Armory GI .45 3" Micro Compact. The only problem I have with it is it likes to chew on my hand on almost every shot. So I had a new Wilson Combat Commander style hammer and oversize beavertail grip safety installed. I haven't been able to get out and shoot it yet, but I got to say that is one bad ass looking little .45 now. I'm planning on putting some rounds through it Monday afternoon.

Bumping this to see what the outcome of your replacement was. I have a rather large hand and the price of this gun sparked my interest. If it is still a problem, I may need to rethink my purchase.

BigGun97B
March 1, 2005, 11:24 PM
It solved the problem, no more bites or blood blisters for me.