I went to a hands-on gunshow on Saturday. Unlike most guns shows, which involve nothing more than looking at the firearms, this gun show allowed guests to fire any firearm on display for $1-2 depending on the type of round being fired.

I'm looking into purchasing a .45 later this year, so I fired off various models. I tried the Sig P220, Kimber, S&W, Springfield, Wilson, and Para 1911s, as well as an HK USP (Mk 23), and several other non-remarkable .45s.

I fired off many other firearms, most notably an LAR .50 BMG rifle and a SIG 556.. The .50 had a hell of a kick, and I fired a round through a 3/4" steel armor plate from 130 yds. The 556 was pretty sweet too, but completely impractical for anything a civilian would need. The mini-30 and mini-14 were pretty nice. So were the couple of M1 variants I tried.

Anyway, the Wilson, Kimber, Para, and Sig ended up feeling the best, and seemed to be remarkably more accurate and easier to maintain than the rest. However, the only model I would even consider purchasing is the Sig, with a price tag near $1000, while the Wilson, Para, and Kimbers carry an MSRP of near $3000.

The only thing I didn't like about the P220 was it only came in a 4" barrel.

So here is my question: do any of you own .45s? What models would you recommend looking into? Do you have any suggestions about any of the firearms listed above, or others not included?

Are you dead set on a .45? Try any Glocks?

WTF model of Kimber is selling for $3k? Thats an ungodly amount, as most of them can be had for less than $1K, at least here.


http://www.impactguns.com/store/S-220-45-SSS.html

Sig p220 SR: Suggested Retail: $1,009.00

http://www.impactguns.com/store/3300071.html

Kimber Pro Carry II:Suggested Retail: $985.00

I don't know where you are shopping, but you must be buying some sick *** custom mod for a Kimber to be 3k.

Sigs, Kimbers, and Glocks are probably the only pistols that I have reasonable experience with that I would carry with my life on the line. All in .45, and MAYBE .40. It's debatable, but it's possible .40 is a better CCW round. It retains a good amount of knockdown power, without overpenetration. And it's cheaper. Of course, NATO decided I have to carry a 9mm. **** them.

IMO, if you are a competent shooter who trains often and not a recoil baby, a 4" barrel on a .45 should allow you just tear apart man sized targets (or mans, hahaha) at 20 yards even with snap shooting, and with a bit of time to set a shot, further.

I personally would rather carry a 1911 , if only because I've dicked around with those more, and I think that any weapons system is more reliable if you know it well. BUT, if you get yourself a Kimber (SA) or Single Action Only Sig, be sure you know how to use it properly.

Anyway I would buy the Kimber.

I'm pretty much set on a .45. I already own a 9mm, .32 and a .38.

Spook, I may have read the tag incorrectly (or it may have been labeled incorrectly), but I am fairly sure the Kimber 1911 model that I fired had a price of $2800, which was way the hell too much. I didn't notice any unusual customization on the gun.

I too prefer a 1911. I am going to look into Kimber a little bit closer.

yeah, 1911s!

If I ever get to own a firearm, it'd be a Springfield 1911.

The Kimber Custom II family are literally the best pistols I've ever fired (FN 5.7 is pretty fun too...).

only 2 .45s i REALLY want... USMC marked 1911 and basically any WW2 manufacture 1911A1

though the Kimber RCP is on my "don't let anyone know i want something modern and non-military" list

Someday I plan to get a Kimber when I walk across the world as a vagabond.
But for fun, I would so love to have this.

Yeah, if that was the price on the kimber it must have had some sick *** internal stuff, or the dealer was going to rip somebody off.

I like Kimber 1911s better than Springfield, or the old colts, especially the GI pistols. The 1911 has a reputation for inaccuracy in some circles, simply because the government was using WWII vintage parts up through the late 70s, and things start to go sour after so long, regardless of the design. The only other manufacturer of 1911s I really like (or really shot, actually) is S&W.

That police officer who was at Trolley Square in Salt Lake earlier this year had a Kimber, just as a point of interest.

The big thing with 1911s though, is buying good magazines. With other pistols, the best magazines are basically the ones that come with the pistol. With 1911s, that isn't always the case and bum mags are probably the #1 cause of stoppages on almost every 1911 frame I have ever fired. Otherwise, if you keep it clean it's going to shoot all the time. The only weapon I've ever seen perform a 1911 in reliability is a glock, and that's because it's practically the same weapon, but modernized.

Maybe I should close this thread or I will keep talking about my babies...

EDIT:Haha, one more thing. Taurus is putting out a new pistol, a 1911. I know theres kind of a bias against Taurus, but the thing has been getting some pretty sharp reviews, even from Taurus haters. Also, it's less than $500 most places. I'm looking into it for sure.

The feeding ramp is polished to a mirror sheen... The slide's been reinforced, and the interlock with the frame is tightened for added precision. The sight system is original, too. The thumb safety is extended to make it easier on the finger... A long-type trigger with non-slip grooves... A ring hammer... The base of the trigger guard's been filed down for a higher grip. And not only that, nearly every part of this gun has been expertly crafted and customized...

i've fired a late WW1 manufacture 1911 that with all it's original parts from 1918 still shot accurate enough to kill a midget at 25 yards sure it won't be winning any pistol matches against modern 1911s but they weren't meant to... vintage parts do still have life left in them...just too many people expect military pistols to be sniper accurate when they were intended to be cheap and quick to produce and hit a man sized target at a certain range

Exactly, with proper care, guns will fire forever.

The problem is when you have PFC Dietdede (My company actually has a Lt. Dietdede, pretty funny) who is a tank loader, who cleans his pistol with industrial kitchen cleaning solvents, on the rare occasion he cleans it, and likes to be careless with the parts.

Thats the reason most government 1911s were starting to show their age. Impressive considering that my Desert Storm M249 can barely fire, and it's not even half as old.

This has to be the longest barrel I've seen on a pistol.

i've seen longer

http://imperialarms.home.att.net/Images/Lugers/1920LongBarrel.jpg

there's also the 12" and 16" colt buntline specials

Wildey looks cooler

Can't really go wrong with a Sig, IMHO...but I'm biased. We're in the process of getting a Sig 556 to replace our 551..



Fixed. Loose tolerances aren't always a bad thing.

I have a cheap 1911 (AutoOrdinance 1911A1), and it works fine. Definitely not a match/target handgun, though.

You ejected the first bullet by hand, didn't you? I see what you were trying to do, but testing a technique you only heard about in the middle of battle wasn't very smart. You were asking to have your gun jam on you. Besides, I don't think you're cut out for an automatic; you tend to twist your elbow to absorb the recoil. That's more of a revolver technique.



I'm also a fan of Sig. I wish I would have had the chance to fire a Sig GSR 1911, but they didn't have any. I can't seem to get any reliable reviews, either.

You should get a Desert Eagle since it's the best pistol in CS.

I don't play CS. [/COLOR]

http://sigforum.com/

May want to check out [url]www.ar15.com[/url] 's forums as well, if you haven't yet.

The Schmidt Automatic Pistol is better and yes you don't play CS.

Can someone explain what is being described here? I don't understand.

It's from Metal Gear Solid 3. Snake is explaining to Ocelot about his crappy revolver techniques.

Repeating things you saw in a video game with real firearms is super smart.

Kimbers are freakin awesome.

First, that was in response to Livid's remark (also from MGS3) about 1911s. Secondly, I've fired thousands (maybe even tens of thousands) of rounds, so don't go lecturing me on what's "smart" when it comes to firearms and safety.

Also, one of the things I forgot to mention is that I'm left handed. While I have grown accustomed to working the controls with my off hand, I would prefer a lefty or ambidextrous safety and magazine release (I don't care about left side ejection).

have you looked at the taurus PT?... i have a lefty friend who just bought one and he loves it

Forgive me for not getting that particular joke. I understand now.

I've got a Kimber 1911 stainless target. I love it. I paid about a grand here in WA. Unfortunately, it's a bit too big to carry on a daily, I'm going to replace it with their compact carry version sooner or later. My brother has the small, light one and it rocks, too. In theory, it's not quite as accurate (shorter barrel), but we've never had any problem hitting what we were aiming at at a reasonable distance.

Lefties shoot with their left hand? I always shot with my right. :/

Haha, you play CS. And you're proud of it. Loser.

This is the one I have: http://www.impactguns.com/store/669278320083.html

How do you like it? Have you had any major problems? Any recurring issues with the ejector?

Freakin ambi safety (and mag release?) on a $500 dollar gun? Not bad. Probably want to replace some parts, but I'm looking into that thing.

Wow, A Taurus? I never really considered Taurus to be any good (they're like the "Walmart" brand of firearms), but after reading a few reviews I might look into it.

I love it. I don't shoot much anymore, I probably put a few thousand rounds through it. I used to live only a few minutes away from a safe place to shoot, but now I live in a city and there's less opportunity. Regardless, it's comfortable to hold, hefty enough that you know you're holding a real gun, smooth action, nice adjustable sights, etc. I feel sorry for the fool who breaks into my house and tries to hurt my family!

Anyway, I've never had any problems with it at all.

I always wondered about that.

It's stupid. I shoot a handgun left handed, a rifle right handed, I swing a bat left handed, eat right handed, and write left handed.

I can shoot with either hand, bat with either hand, throw with right, eat with left, fapp with right, and write with left.