[Aguila Blanca]

I did both.

I have a Ciener .22LR conversion kit mounted on a junk 1911 receiver. I could just as easily have run it as a conversion, but I'm happier to leave it set up as a dedicated plinker. (The Ciener is virtually the same as Kimber's conversion.) There are two major problems with using the .22 conversion for serious practice. First: The slide is aluminum and does NOT lock open after the last shot. The same applies to Kimber, and most other .22 conversions. So the manual of arms is slightly different when shooting .22. Second, on a steel frame, there is no recoil. It's not "negligible" -- there isn't any. It is much TOO easy to squeeze off an entire magazine with NO muzzle flip and NO time lost getting back on target. The shooting experience is fun -- it's a hoot! -- but it in no way reflects practice for shooting .45 Auto. The Kimber Rimfire pistol, with aluminum slide AND aluminum receiver, doesn't even feel like shooting a real gun. I have airsofts that feel more like shooting a 1911 than the Kimber Rimfire.

So for affordable range time with "real" ammo, I ventured into reloading. I don't shoot enough that I need the output of a progressive press, nor do I need the aggravation of keeping one running (and, make no mistake about it, even the vaunted Dillons occasionally give the user heartburn and headaches). On the other hand, I immediately found that the nuisance factor of repeatedly having to set up each die in a single stage press was more than I wanted to tolerate. (This would also apply to the suggestion for a Lee hand press. You can buy a Lee single stage, bench-mounted press for the same money.) I settled on a Lee 4-hole Turret Press. You can buy it in a starter kit from Natchez Shooting Sport for $100 or less, with a powder measure and a simple but usable scale, add a set of dies, and you're off and running.

There probably won't be a "failure rate" for the Kimber kit. Any problems I've had with my Ciener conversion have been dud rounds, and that's endemic to .22LR ammo.

If your goal is realistic practice with your new 1911, IMHO you should be shooting "real" ammo. Considering that you can get set up in reloading for considerably LESS than the Kimber conversion will cost, I respectfully suggest that's the way I think you'll get the most bang for your buck. Start saving your brass now. I started collecting my brass a few months before I finally took the plunge and ordered my press. And I still scrounge brass. I like Winchester brass, so anytime I see someone at the range shooting Winchester USA, I ask if they save their brass. Virtually nobody at my range reloads, so it's rare when I don't come home with more brass than I arrived with.