Gun Nuts and 1911s

As you know, I’ve pivoted a lot of our coverage lately to high round count tests of 1911 pistols. So far on the new Gun Nuts 1911 Review system we’ve done a Taurus PT1911 Review, a Wilson Combat CQB Review, a Springfield Range Officer review, and most recently wrapped up a review of the Rock Island Armory Ultra FS. I’m also currently testing a Dan Wesson Valkyrie Commander, and have two more 1911s on their way to me.

But those aren’t the only 1911s we’ve had experience with by far, as there was a time period when I was pretty deep in the weeds with 1911s. In the past I’ve had Colts, Sigs, and my job in the firearms media has afforded me the opportunity to shoot a lot of other 1911s. One of my more recent experiences led to this video of me shooting two different five inch 1911s made by Kimber in order to compare recoil.

While it’s not an exhaustive test, that particular range day led me to establishing a solid professional relationship with Kimber, which is why their stainless Pro Carry II in 9mm is going to be the next gun I test as part of the 1911 reviews.

I do count myself fortunate that the 1911s I’ve had the most experience with have had Colt on their slide. I’ve had three Colts, all .45s and all of them were excellent. The one I shot the most was a Colt CCG that I used for competition all of 2013, including at Bianchi Cup and Steel Challenge, events where a .45 is often not the best choice. However, the CCG fired over 10,000 rounds with only five stoppages of any type during that shooting season, and when it was finally time for me to part with it, I made sure it went to a good home. Here’s the CCG in action teaching the Bill Drill:

But the CCG wasn’t even my first Colt. That honor went to a Colt XSE Rail Gun, which to this day I wish I’d never sold (aside: I’ve done that a lot – bought cool guns and shot them, got bored and sold them, then regretted it. I should really stop doing that). The Rail Gun was with me when I first got into Single Stack, and although I eventually replaced it as my main competition gun with a Sig, it still shot quite a few matches with me. My favorite memory of that gun is in this video, because it represents the only time I’ve ever had a sponsor email me and ask me to clean up my language in branded videos.

Last but certainly not least, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about my Sig 1911 TacOps, which was quite simply awesome. It’s actually why the Sig Nightmare in .357 Sig is so high on my list, and I’m giddy with anticipation about it showing up…eventually. I ran the Sig 1911 a lot, including at Todd Green’s class, at some IDPA matches, and in a USPSA L-10 classifier match, which is where I picked up A-class.

I’ve also shot a ton of 1911s at media events, and had various loaners come through the office for articles and that sort of stuff. But if I had to compile a highlights of my 1911s, it would be the ones on this list. That’s a big part of why I’m shifting so much of my personal content to 1911s. I love them. I’ve taken classes shooing them, and I’ve learned how to rip them apart and put them back together again from some of the best, and let’s be honest – I’m a lot more likely to get to the range and actually train if I’m shooting a gun I enjoy.

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2 Comments

  1. I have a Kimber Team Match II that I’ve owned from quite a few years. At the time I purchased it was considered one their upper level models. The gun made two trips back to Kimber before it would run as one would expect. The first trip included a complete slide replacement. Since I’ve been told by some of the more knowledgable shooters. I’ve met Kimber is kinda hit or miss. I’m interested to see how your experience with Kimbers turns out. BTW all the repairs to the gun was covered by Kimber, I was only out shipping cost to them.

    1. You shouldn’t have been out the cost of anything if in fact the gun had problems. S&W pays shipping both ways, so does Sig if you remind them the reason for the return is a result of a flaw in their product.

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