S&W 1911 what are your opinions?

[DGrig]

Well I set out for a Kimber and I am now thinking about a S&W 1911 model 108299.  This is blued with target sights.  I can get it new for $850.  Reliability?  Accuracy? What are your experiences with these?  It is a very nice looking and handling gun.  Any thoughts from the Graybeard panel of experts?

[Questor]

No personal experiences, but a good friend of mine who really knows guns and is very picky has been looking at 1911s and has narrowed it down to a Kimber or a S&W.  I seem to recall that the S&W has a different grip angle than a true 1911 so the ergonomics are going to be different if I'm correct.  You may want to try a S&W with a Kimber side-by-side and see which one feels better.

[DGrig]

Thanks Questor. will compare them.  Didn't notice any difference in the shop, and I did handle both.  Any other opinions out there?

[Lloyd Smale]

the couple i shot were great guns. I never noticed anything different about the grip angle. The 945 and 952s are a tad different and that my be what your thinking.

[Prebanpaul]

To the best of my knowledge i believe that Kimber makes the guns for Smith and Wesson.  I have both.  I have a plain Jane Kimber and the smith scandium.  They both shoot and both function very very well. 


Paul

[DGrig]

I got the S&W.  It is the 108284 which is stainless with target sights and checkered front strap.  It was on sale and came with an additional 8 round mag (for a total of three mags) for $779 NIB.  The weather has been bad here in Ohio so I won't get out to shot it till tomorrow evening.  All the reviews that I read were positive.  I had been set on a Kimber but this seems comparable.  This is my first 1911 so I am excited to get it to the range and put a few hundred rounds through it. 

[lrs]

I saw a couple at a gunshow, they looked pretty good.  I did not notice anything different about the grip angle, myself.  Does S&W 1911 have a different grip angle?
Has anyone else tried one?

[Mikey]

I've been looking at the Kimber Pro Carry and the S&W 1911PD.  Both are 4.5" lightweights like the old Colt Commander I want to upgrade.  Both have good sights and the Kimber has an excellent trigger; I'm certain the S&W trigger is just as good.  The Kimber has a bushing-less barrel system while the S&W retains a bushing and accepts aftermarket parts. 

I'm looking for out of box accuracy with ball ammo.  The comparison is with the Springfield Champion, not favored well by some, which is advertised a 2-3" groups at 50 yds with ball ammo.

If Kimber actually produces for S&W then my choice is pretty much narrowed but is this a fact???  Mikey.

[Savage]

Mikey,

Never seen a champion that would group anywhere near 3" even at 25yds. My experience with them is admittedly limited to 4 examples. The worst of the lot shot almost two feet low at 25yds ! I have a Pro Carry that just might do that 4" at 50yds---------from a mechanical rest, or with someone else holding it!
Savage

[lrs]

I'd like to hear from someone who was actually owned one and ran a lot of rounds through it.  Does it feed and eject reliably?  How is the accuracy? And, how's the trigger?

[reelhook]

S & W makes the frames for Kimber. If you want a CCW gun you need to do yourself a favor and look at and go shoot a Para,LDA. It is the best for CCW in the smaller guns. They have a supported barrel and chamber and the barrels are cut rifled

[wsmitty01]

I just watched Bob Mundon shoot 2 playing cards in half lengthwise with one shot each and a quarter out of the air also,,,granted we aren't Bub Mundon,,,but still if he shoots one I wouldn't worry about the quality of the S&W (it was a brand new gun out of the box with factory ammo)

[jakes10mm]

S & W makes the frames for Kimber.

Reelhook:
Thanks for correcting that misconception.   

DGrig:
You made a good choice with the S&W.  I purchased a SW1911 when they first came out.  The pistol was "broken in" at a USPSA match a couple days later (didn't have time to practice before the match).  I used it in competition for 2 years before letting it go and replacing it with a Colt 1991 Govt.  The SW1911 never missed a beat and proved to be accurate. A nice 1911; I'd take it over a Kimber any day.

[rigger1]

S & W makes the frames for Kimber. If you want a CCW gun you need to do yourself a favor and look at and go shoot a Para,LDA. It is the best for CCW in the smaller guns. They have a supported barrel and chamber and the barrels are cut rifled

I remembered reading something about this when I was shopping around 2 or 3 months ago.
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From the Kimber site:

Does Smith & Wesson make any parts on the Kimber?

No.

Kimber pistols and rifles are 100% manufactured, assembled and tested by Kimber.

** At one time, Smith & Wesson provided raw metal forgings to Kimber. These blocks of steel were then machined by Kimber into slides and frames. This is no longer true and Kimber does every aspect of the pistol & rifle production.
 **********************************************************************

If S&W had been involved I'd not have purchased a Kimber.

Sorry to interrupt.