[Leatherneck1775]

I am making the up grade from my glock 22 to the 1911. about time I know.
So I need the advice of people in the know. what are the pros and cons of aluminum frames against stainless steel. I have been looking at the
Pro Carry HD II Kimber. I'm thinking this because of the stainless frame. I am only getting on shot at the gun I have dreamed of and have a limited budget. Any and all comments will help. Thanks guys.

[danf_fl]

IMO, Aluminum frames should be carried a lot and shot a little, and stainless should be shot a lot and carried a lot.

[IGETEVEN]

Originally Posted by danf_fl

IMO, Aluminum frames should be carried a lot and shot a little, and stainless should be shot a lot and carried a lot.

What he said.

[JonM]

the lighter the gun the more felt recoil. true across all gun makes. weight can be a big factor for daily carry. soon as we get legal ccw in wi ill be using my new agent in 45acp. im not a kimber fan. external extractors are not on real 1911's. kimbers feel cheap to me not sure what metal they make them out of but they dont feel right.

ccw aluminum
full size steel

[Squirrel_Slayer]

Originally Posted by JonM

the lighter the gun the more felt recoil. true across all gun makes. weight can be a big factor for daily carry. soon as we get legal ccw in wi ill be using my new agent in 45acp. im not a kimber fan. external extractors are not on real 1911's. kimbers feel cheap to me not sure what metal they make them out of but they dont feel right.

ccw aluminum
full size steel

Kimbers don't have external extractors. Well, the .22LR models do, but the rest have internal extractors. If they had external extractors, I wouldn't own one. The reason you may think they feel odd is probably because of the finish. Kimpro finish has a different feel to it.

[canebrake]

danf hit the nail on the head.

I have both, carry the Defender and shoot the full-size steel guns.

[Squirrel_Slayer]

Hey Cane. I remember reading in a post some time back about Kimber using some "metal injected" parts I think it was. You'll have to firgive my memory if I'm off on the name. Something to the extent of the safeties being fragile? Can you ellaborate on that a bit?

[JonM]

Originally Posted by Squirrel_Slayer

Kimbers don't have external extractors. Well, the .22LR models do, but the rest have internal extractors. If they had external extractors, I wouldn't own one. The reason you may think they feel odd is probably because of the finish. Kimpro finish has a different feel to it.

thanks must be confusing em with another brand i dont care for. that finish just doesnt feel right its weird to me.

[Squirrel_Slayer]

I think all of the Sigs have external extractors, so do Smith and Wessons.

[canebrake]

Originally Posted by Squirrel_Slayer

Hey Cane. I remember reading in a post some time back about Kimber using some "metal injected" parts I think it was. You'll have to firgive my memory if I'm off on the name. Something to the extent of the safeties being fragile? Can you ellaborate on that a bit?

It's MIM, Metal Injection Molding. The process involves combining fine metal powders with plastic binders which allow the resulting metal powder and plastic mix to be injected as a liquid into a hollow mold using equipment similar to standard plastic injection molding machines.

If you are shooting a current production (last 10 years) 1911 that you paid <$2K for, it more than likely has some MIM parts.

But then if you are driving a car/truck built in the same time frame, it probably has MIM camshaft lobes.

Colts have the least MIM, and Springfield's MIM parts hold up quite well. Kimbers are full of MIM and they seem to have the most complaints with parts breakage.