Kimber Stainless II 9mm -vs- Springfield Stainless Loaded 9mm?

[NYH1]

My wife is in the process of getting her pistol permit.  She isn't going to get a carry permit, just a permit that will let her possess a pistol at and to and from the range and more importantly in the house.  All my pistols will go on her permit and vise-versa.

I took her shooting Monday.  I brought my two Glock's a G22 and G27 both in 40 S&W along with my Smith & Wesson SW1911 45 ACP (fullsize stainless).  She shot the Glocks and thought the grips were a tad to thick.  Plus they were a little to snappy for her.  Then she shot the SW1911 and loved it.  She shot some pretty nice groups with it as well.  I was really proud at how well she shot with very limited experiance shooting pistols.  The recoil was tolerable, but I think she would do better with a 9mm.

I was kind of hoping that she would like the Glock's and would like to get a G19 9mm.  I really like how reliable and easy to use the Glock's are.  But if it isn't going to fit her there is no sense getting one.  I want her to look at Sig Sauer's as well.

My SW1911 has been rock solid so far.  I have 500 to 600 rounds through it and haven't had one single hiccup with it.  Unfortunately Smith & Wesson doesn't make a SW1911 in 9mm.  So I've looked (online) at Kimber's Stainless II 9mm and Springfield's Stainless Loaded 9mm.  Both are fullsize pistols.  I don't have an experience with either brand.  Our main concern is reliability, it needs to go bang when it's supposed to.  What are the pros and cons with each brand?  Is one better then the other? 

Thanks!       

[Savage]

Don't own a 1911 in 9mm. My gunsmith tells me the round is problematic in a 1911 due to the short OAL. This seems to be the case with the few 9mm 1911 Springfields I have seen at matches. Haven't seen a Kimber 9mm so don't know if they have the same problem as the Springfields or not. I have a friend that has a Para P-18 that works ok, other than some magazine issues. It too has the wide double stack grip, so guess that would be out of the question too. I'd like to have a single stack 1911 in 9mm, but have put it hold for a while. Hope you find one that works for you.
Savage

[SharonAnne]

since she shoots the 45 ok why not get her her own 45. It is NOT too much for a woman. I should know; I have about 140,000 rds through mine! And yes the 9mmP in a 1911 does have feeding problems. Just get her a nice 45/1911 of her own. She will be very happy with it.

[NYH1]

I didn't know 1911's in 9mm had feeding problems.   Reliability is the most important thing. 

[Mikey]

New York Hunter:  The last time I fiddled around with a 1911 in 9mm I found we had to load the rounds up a bit to get proper cycling, or use some of the older Canadian Mil-Spec ammo, which was known, at the time, to be 'hot' and we really couldn't tell the difference twixt the 9 and the 45 in recoil. 

I also worked with a lightweight Commander in 9mm and found the recoil to be 'snappier' than with the same pistol in 45.

The 45 just might be the one for your wife.

This is one of the smartest things anyone has ever said in regards to finding the 'right' handgun for his wife:  "But if it isn't going to fit her there is no sense getting one".... How true. 

You didn't say what ammo you were shooting and that will have some effect on recoil so there might be a load that will leave you comfortable with your wife's ability to use the gun and leave you wife comfortable with her ability to tolerate the recoil.

As to Kimber or Springfield - both really nice set-ups but I would toss this one back to SharonAnne to see which one she sees most often at the ranges and which ones have the most problems.  HTH.  Mikey.

[rbwillnj]

I have a Colt Combat Commander in 9mm and though I haven't shot it a whole lot, I have never had a feeding problem.   I also know a couple of guys who shoot 9mm (Luger not 9x23) 1911's for IDPA, and I have never seen them have a function problem with them.  
That's just my experience for what its worth.

[NYH1]

Mikey, I brought 100 rounds of 45 ACP hardball ammo with us to the range.  I didn't even get to fire a single shot....she shot them all!

We had one box of Remington UMC 230 gr. they say 835 fps.  And one box of Federal American Eagle 230 gr.  the box said 850 fps. but their web site says 890 fps. so I'm not sure what it really is.  They feel just like my carry ammo which is Federal HST 230 gr. 890 fps.  I can't tell the difference between the two.   

[fatoldfool]

I can not remember having any feeding problem ever with my Springfield 1911 9mm. I believe the previous owner put another spring in it.

[Savage]

I'm sure the 9 can be made to feed properly in the 1911 platform. Loading out to a longer OAL is one of the fixes. I shoot several different pistols in 9/.40/.45 and want the ammo to be interchangeable within each caliber. I'm sure some that come from the factory function ok, but haven't seen one yet. Have to admit my exposure to the single stack 9s has been limited. In the last year or so, I've shot along side 4 that I can remember. All had malfunctions in the (100rd or so) course of fire.
Savage

[SharonAnne]

the 1911 magazine is too long for the 9mmP. I believe Colt magazines have a spacer to deal with that problem. With the newfound interest in 9mm major for USPSA/IPSC some entrepeneurs have started making spacers to reduce the internal magazine length to assist with feeding the short 9mmP round

[rbwillnj]

9mm mags are essentially 38 super mags with a spacer and a different follower and spring.   Wilson has a new "Engineered from the Ground Up" 10 round magazine in their ETM series that is supposed to be very good.   It's not listed on their website, but I saw it in a segment on one of the shooting shows which featured their 9mm 1911.

I just built a 38 super for IDPA, but I plan on fitting a 9mm barrel to it and picking up a few of the Wilson magazines.

[Savage]

Yep, it's a magazine issue with the short 9mm round. I'm told that even with the spacers, in some mags the bullet needs to be seated out to a longer OAL. The Wilson mags might be a good fix. It would for sure be worth a try. I might just build one anyway. I have an Essex lower that I built just waithing for an upper. Wouldn't cost all that much to find out if I can make it work. Hummmmmmmm--------
Savage

[NYH1]

My wife and I went shooting again today.  Brought my G22 and SW1911.  She did great with my SW1911.  I don't think we're going to have to worry about getting a 9mm.  The 45 ACP doesn't bother her one bit.  We'd still like to get a 9mm because the ammo cost less and we like shooting different guns.  She's really doing pretty good though.

She's still not crazy about Glock's.  She doesn't like how thick the grips are.  She also prefers the heavier weight of the SW1911.  We're still going to look at as many different pistols as we can for her.  She might find something she likes better then the 1911.       

 

[Mikey]

New York Hunter - if your wife likes your 1911 so much then you should try to get her to heft a Browning Hi-Power and see if she likes the feel of that - if she does, there is your answer to inexpensive shooting.  Although the Lady does not care for the thick grip of the Glock most anyone I have met who likes the feel of the 1911 also likes the feel of the Browning Hi-Power. 

C'mon now, it doesn't cost anything to heft these pistols,only to buy them - but you do have trading fodder in the form of one of the Glocks, and you can always claim that YOU made the sacrifice (for her, of course) to trade off one of the Glocks (never did care for the 40 S&W or the Glock) for one of those beautiful Brownings that are so classic it is really the only handgun other than the other classic (1911) that a Lady as classy as your wife should have (I find it always helps to throw that sort of stuff in there and I'm sure that Broom Rider and SharonAnne will agree........er, I hope.....).

I mean, you can always tell her....."Darlin', I really didn't want you to have something plastic, flat black and just pain mil-spec when I could get you something almost as classy as your are............".  Just a thought and HTH.  Mikey.

[SharonAnne]

  well said Mikey

[Broom Rider]

I have several 9mm pistols but none of the ones I shoot are 1911's.
From what I've heard the 9mm 1911 will either work or not. A friend of my father's has a SA loaded model in 9mm and he says it's the one of the nicest 1911's he's ever had and totally reliable. if I bought one I'd probably never get it to run right. (I have that kind of luck)

[SharonAnne]

Lynnie, get Les to build you a 9mmP 1911. You KNOW that would work