Kimber / STI - Which One ???

[NORMAN]

I am very familiar with Kimber and have owned several. I've heard alot of good things about STI
So I am looking to put another in the rotation so would you go STI over Kimber and why ??
Would love a Wilson but budget right now won't allow !

Thanks

[gigag04]

STI's service blows Kimber out of the water. That, and Kimber' have a tenancy to need unnecessarily long break ins, and they blame every malfunction on either lube or break in.

[aaangel]

one is made in new york. nuff said!

[Carry-a-Kimber]

one is made in new york. nuff said!

The other might be made in the Philippines...
If you already have a carry piece and aren't in a crunch to get a new one, I would just save for the Wilson.

[Medic218]

-Keep your money in Texas.
-I have never heard one bad thing about STI.
-I hear they are a pleasure to deal.
-I hear that their customer service is second to none.
-Lots of models to choose from, even hi-cap models.

[Scott in Houston]

I don't own either (yet), but my next purchase is an STI. I'm not sure which model yet, but I know it's STI.
For every positive report on a Kimber, there's a negative. For every positive for STI, I find almost no negatives. I believe that is because of service AND quality.

Yes, anyone... even Glock can make a bad gun, but it's about (1) how frequent and (2) how do they handle it. Based on my research STI blows Kimber away in both categories.

[Texas Dan Mosby]

STI.

1. Made in Texas by Texans.
-Minus the Spartan, which is contracted to Armscor in the Phillipines
2. Excellent guns.
-One of THE "go to" guns in competition.
-Even the Spartan is a rock solid 1911, I own one, and know a bunch of folks that do.
3. STI is a major supporter of the shooting sports and our community.
4. Better over all quality control.
-Anecdotal evidence, I'll admit, but that has been my experience.
-Forged parts produced by STI and used in their guns are among the best on the market.
5. NOT made in New York.
-The tax money Kimber pays from their profits goes to support a state that heavily restricts the rights of their citizens to keep and bear arms for sporting and defensive purposes.

[OldCannon]

STI.

1. Made in Texas by Texans.
-Minus the Spartan, which is contracted to Armscor in the Phillipines

Kind of, but STI controls the specs and quality control on it. I have to say, the Spartan is by far at the high point of the quality/cost matrix, IMHO. Very accurate, very nice work, and very inexpensive. Really an amazing pistol. It's still an STI in every way.

[atxtj]

I just bought an STI Shadow on Sunday and I am thoroughly impressed. Put about a hundred rounds though it so for and it's been flawless. Being that it is made in Texas and customer support is 15 minutes up the road I see no reason what so ever to buy a kimber! Shop local!!

[APynckel]

I just bought an STI Shadow on Sunday and I am thoroughly impressed. Put about a hundred rounds though it so for and it's been flawless. Being that it is made in Texas and customer support is 15 minutes up the road I see no reason what so ever to buy a kimber! Shop local!!

My shadow has not carried the same reliability, and it bums me out. I'm to the point to where I'd rather replace it with a factory new handgun, but STI is on a 13 week backorder for production.

For some reason, the main spring is not providing enough force to put the weapon in full battery, causing failure to feeds. It ejects perfectly fine, just not feed. Local gunsmith (whom I purchased it from) is handling the repair. We got the replacement part, but it's still having the same issue.

I love the gun, I want to carry it, but I cannot carry a weapon that will fail to feed every other round.

Granted this is a used gun, and I'm giving it more patience than I probably should, but my plastic is in the mail.

[OldCannon]

I just bought an STI Shadow on Sunday and I am thoroughly impressed. Put about a hundred rounds though it so for and it's been flawless. Being that it is made in Texas and customer support is 15 minutes up the road I see no reason what so ever to buy a kimber! Shop local!!

My shadow has not carried the same reliability, and it bums me out. I'm to the point to where I'd rather replace it with a factory new handgun, but STI is on a 13 week backorder for production.

I'm confused. Have you contacted STI directly? They WILL fix it. They hate it when they have dissatisfied customers.

[APynckel]

I am going to contact them directly this morning. I only got the news that the part wasn't going to resolve my issues and STI was on a 13 week backorder last night.

[RECIT]

I am going to contact them directly this morning. I only got the news that the part wasn't going to resolve my issues and STI was on a 13 week backorder last night.

Maybe a 13 week back order for new orders or custom shop guns. I would think they would handle a failure/repair differently than a new order. I have heard they WILL fix just about anything. I have also heard they don't discriminate if you are not the original owner. I hope the gunsmith you have working on it did not void any warranty they offered from the factory. Good luck and keep us in the loop.

[fulano]

one is made in new york. nuff said!

The other might be made in the Philippines...
If you already have a carry piece and aren't in a crunch to get a new one, I would just save for the Wilson.

I bought a Citadel in December. It is made in the Philippines by Armscor just like the RIA and parts of the STI.

I bought it because I wanted to own a 1911 that was reliable and safe but not more than$500. I wanted to have a 1911 that I wasn't afraid to take apart and 'get to know it'. These guns have lots of moving parts and starting with an entry gun first would be a good strategy. I've run several thousand rounds thru in now and feel very comfortable with performance and reliability. Also, I have assembled and disassembled it, upgraded components and feel comfortable in being able to maintain it.

My next gun will be an STI. If I had a chunk of cash I'd get the Wilson next but....

[NORMAN]

Does anybody know who is stocking any STI ????
Prob. a single stack 5" 9mm or 45 1911