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Sorry in advance for the long post, I'm very excited about finding the gun I really love and one that fits all of my criteria!
So I've been looking into getting my first gun, specifically a semi-auto pistol for personal (carry) and home protection.
I had several criteria for my first handgun:
1. Compact and lightweight for easy conceal and carry. I don't want a gun that I will never carry.
2. Manual safety mechanism. Many people disagree with me on this one, but it is important to me.
3. The larger calibers preferred for stopping power (.40 or .45 preferred).
4. I have to be able to shoot it accurately. The smaller the gun and the higher the caliber, the more it jumps around. To me it was important that I control the gun right out of the gate. My wife will be learning to shoot this as well (5'0" & 100lbs), so if it takes me practice/extra effort to control, she's going to have a hard time with it.
5. It has to have a smaller grip since our hands are fairly small.
After a few days of looking with friends and getting their advice, I went to the store/range today by myself. I picked out the Kimber Ultra Carry II. It is a 1911 (.45acp).
Here are a few things I like about it: (EDIT: Here are the specs of the gun: http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols...ght_sights_lg/)
1. It meets all of the criteria above.
2. It is just 25 ounces and has a 3" barrel, yet I can shoot it very accurately at 25-30 feet with no experience/practice shooting.
3. .45 caliber has ultimate stopping power. I'll probably get some 165 grain jacketed hollow point defensive rounds.
4. The grip is extremely comfortable.
5. It has a grip safety and a manual thumb safety.
6. It comes with a laser grip!
7. It has tritium sights (front and rear).
8. Finish and style are very slick to me.
Here are some pictures of the gun and the other goodies I got with it.
Safe:
Cleaning kit:
Gun with holster, case, extra mags, etc. I will get an inside the pants holster when I get my CCW:
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
before i got used to pistols, I thought I wanted a manual safety as well. Now I feel that is just something that could get me killed if I ever had to use my EDC on something other than paper. my finger is the safety, otherwise my pistol is always holstered
before i got used to pistols, I thought I wanted a manual safety as well. Now I feel that is just something that could get me killed if I ever had to use my EDC on something other than paper. my finger is the safety, otherwise my pistol is always holstered
I do understand that nothing replaces safe use, storage, and handling of the gun. I always treat a gun as if it will fire (loaded, condition 1, no safety). The reason for the manual safety is mostly while training my wife to use it (no knowledge of gun safety), I will feel a bit safer. I also will carry this and don't want to even worry about it going off if one of my kids grabs it or whatever.
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
btw sweet pistol. I tried a few pistols out to help my gf get started, i ended up buying a p22
Thanks. I shot a Walther P22 and a Sig. I like them a lot. That is a great gun for her to have. I am thinking of getting a conversion kit to have the .22 option for her to practice and for cheaper shooting.
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
budsgunshop.com has a Sig 220 in .22lr and they include a coupon to buy from Sig the .45 slide and barrell for 399..So in essence you get a .45 and .22 for the price of one
You can never go wrong with a 1911 of any size. I've been carrying a Kimber Eclipse Ultra for 5 years, perfect size, without losing proper grip, and the ability to fire .45
The only negative of a manual safety is forgetting to disable. However proper grip on a 1911, has the thumb sitting on top of the safety, proper draw will always automatically disable safety.
Not a fan of lasers, but they have a purpose, just be careful not to get dependent. I would suggest never using the laser, it'll become a handicap.
165 grain and your losing the advantage of a .45. The small increase of velocity from the lighter grain, is not enough to over turn using 200grain, or 230 grain, as the decrease in velocity from the heavier grain is still enough to meet the expansion requirements on the higher end hollow points. Even then the .45 is working on pure mass, reducing it's mass to 165 defeats the ideals of a .45, and it still never reaches the speed where the lighter grain can counter weight, as no pistol can. Stick the 200grain as the minimum, or else you were better off with a .40
Also having a aluminum framed gun of that size, you'll might find the heavier grains to have a smoother pushing effect on recoil, opposed to a snapping effect.
I use 200grain +P Speer GD, but mine is a very heavy steel frame and counters the recoil well. For your gun, I would look into just 200grain, and honestly the +P rounds are rather worthless, I'm going back to 230grain soon.
And be practical with the gun, if you getting great groupings out to 30' your shooting far too slow to be practical or using the laser, with I promise makes you even slower at the distance.
A gun this size is for your typical encounters of a 5'-10' were if can effectively hit were you want at great speed. Practicing defensively any further then 20' is rather pointless for any size pistol, but especial with an ultra size 1911, your just wasting ammo, and not training on speed.
Dont forget the recoil springs, on the ultra size guns that are very important to replace every 500 rds or so.
I have one I use only for practice, and one I switch back for carry purposes. Your slide is moving very quick, and the .45 is a tough round to chamber in a such a small 1911. You need a recoil spring in perfect condition.
Too dump the crappy factory magazine, and get Wilson Combat Officer sized 7 rd magazines. And no more then 7rds, the Ultra can not overcome the pressure of 8rds, and will hang up on the first shot.
You can never go wrong with a 1911 of any size. I've been carrying a Kimber Eclipse Ultra for 5 years, perfect size, without losing proper grip, and the ability to fire .45
The only negative of a manual safety is forgetting to disable. However proper grip on a 1911, has the thumb sitting on top of the safety, proper draw will always automatically disable safety.
Not a fan of lasers, but they have a purpose, just be careful not to get dependent. I would suggest never using the laser, it'll become a handicap.
165 grain and your losing the advantage of a .45. The small increase of velocity from the lighter grain, is not enough to over turn using 200grain, or 230 grain, as the decrease in velocity from the heavier grain is still enough to meet the expansion requirements on the higher end hollow points.
Also having a aluminum framed gun of that size, you'll might find the heavier grains to have a smoother pushing effect on recoil, opposed to a snapping effect similar to a .40.
I use 200grain +P Speer GD, but mine is a very heavy steel frame and counters the recoil well. For your gun, I would look into just 200grain, and honestly the +P rounds are rather worthless, I'm going back to 230grain soon.
And be practical with the gun, if you getting great groupings out to 30' your shooting far too slow to be practical or using the laser, with I promise makes you even slower at the distance.
A gun this size is for your typical encounters of a 5'-10' were if can effectively hit were you want at great speed. Practicing defensively any further then 20' is rather pointless for any size pistol, but especial with an ultra size 1911, your just wasting ammo, and not training on speed.
Thanks for the tips. I will keep them in mind. I won't practice with the laser. At 30' I was shooting pretty slowly, but I was just shooting several guns to see how well I handle the gun. Usually a 3" barrel should be a lot less accurate, but it was so easy to shoot that I did better with it than with a 4" H&K USP 9mm. I haven't even shot this gun yet. I will take it to the range this week. I need to lubricate and clean it first.
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
Congrats and good choice, Kimber is top notch and worth every cent.
I hope so! It wasn't cheap, but my friends that are "in the know" and carry all the time said it is worth the price. I got a decent discount by buying a year's family membership to the range where I bought it. I got $88 off the gun, so it was about $921. The membership gives me, my wife, and 2 others free range time all year. You just pay for the ammo. I also get 25% off ammo, but I'm sure ammo will still be expensive for some time to come, even with the discount. They also comped all of the range time and gun rental I had that day to test the guns. All-in-all, I'm happy with the purchase. I can't wait to go shoot it!
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
Great gun, but for a first firearm, a 1911 design is less than ideal. The manual of arms required to place a 1911 in action is a bit involved for a beginner. And a sub-compact .45 will require a lot of practice to be able to shoot well. If you really needed a manual safety, I would have looked at one of the DA/SA HK variants... or even one of the new SA XD's with the thumb safety.
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04 G35 Coupe 6MT - no mods worth mentioning
Great gun, but for a first firearm, a 1911 design is less than ideal. The manual of arms required to place a 1911 in action is a bit involved for a beginner. And a sub-compact .45 will require a lot of practice to be able to shoot well. If you really needed a manual safety, I would have looked at one of the DA/SA HK variants... or even one of the new SA XD's with the thumb safety.
You mean the process to clean, oil, and break-in is involved? I have learned that, since I haven't quite gotten it apart yet. I tried for a bit to follow the guide. I'm just going to have a friend show me the ropes and help me do it the first time. As I mentioned, I actually shot this gun more accurately and more easily than the SA XD .40, Sig P226, H&K USP 9mm, and several others. I don't know exactly why, but both times that I used the Kimber (50 rounds each time), I did better and liked it better.
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
A 1911 does require more upkeep, but to me not enough to discourage a new gun buyer, if they are willing to learn the ropes, and possible issues a 1911 can have.
As for maintaining recoil, a proper grip will counter recoil very effectively, while also insure the grip safety is tightly pressed, and thumb safety automatically depressed.
Plus after some proper training, and time, honestly recoil is rarely noticed.
Most 1911 issues can be removed, with changing the recoil spring regularly, using good magazines (Wilson and Kimber KimPro Tacs is all I use), and keeping it well lubricated.
As for lube, more and more people are going into motor oil. I've been using a thin layer of Mobil 1 10W-30 on my guns, for about 3 years with great results. The biggest advantage it does wear off as fast, or seemingly evaporate after a few weeks of storage.
Just get practice, knocking out the bulleye at 30' is cool and all. But it's not practical practice if you bought this gun for defense. Master 5-10', achieve decent center mass grouping, at high speeds first.
If going to a gun school is unlikely, at least pick up: Erik Lawrence's "Tactical Pistol Shooting", a book you can get at Midwayusa.com.
It'll cover most issues of failure, proper grip, and proper practice.
Read that, and you'll be better then 75% of gun owners, and wont waste ammo on pointless "practice".
Didn't someone else here do the same? Pick up a compact 1911 and end up getting something else cause the gf/wife couldn't shoot it?
I don't know. Since I've never owned a firearm, the firearm section of the forum has rarely piqued my interest. I am not as concerned about her learning to handle it. If needed, we can pick up a .22. for right now, I don't trust her with any firearm, since she doesn't know how to handle them and how to use them properly. I will work on that first, then worry about which firearm is best for her.
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Greddy TT, Built Longblock, Built 5AT, Pro-EFI, Etc, Etc, Etc 525WHP @ 14 PSI, high boost tune coming soon.
very nice 1911. Man, next time I'm out in that neck of the woods we should grab a drink or go shooting. I am making it my business to buy a new gun every time I go to AZ now, since it only take 5 minutes as compared to the 10 day waiting period here.
__________________ 2004 Honda CBR 600RR current 2009 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom current 2009 Subaru WRX - current 2011 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 current 1975 Datsun Fairlady Z RHD Project 2004.5 Nissan 350Z (gone, but not forgotten) 2008.5 Nissan Titan(Goodbye my monster truck)
very nice 1911. Man, next time I'm out in that neck of the woods we should grab a drink or go shooting. I am making it my business to buy a new gun every time I go to AZ now, since it only take 5 minutes as compared to the 10 day waiting period here.
How can you buy a gun in AZ if you are a resident in CA? Just curious.
Didn't someone else here do the same? Pick up a compact 1911 and end up getting something else cause the gf/wife couldn't shoot it?
LoL that would be me. She went to a FNP 9, decided she didn't like it after awhile, and ended up on a Para WartHawg 9. Same size as the kimber, shoots the 9mm, and holds 13 rounds. And she point shoots that gun with amazing accuracy at 3-8 meters.
My first firearm - Kimber 1911 Ultra Carry II
