I Need your opinions
 

Ok guy's here's the deal!
My wife wants to get a compact 1911,in 45 cal. For her ccw. She wants it to be stainless,or two tone,with a 3" bbl and a skeletonized (hope I spelled that right):o hammer & trigger & a BT GS. She has been carrying a SP101 357 mag, she is very comforable with hand guns,as well as rifles. And she shoots my 1911's!
Of course she has small hands, so a full sized 1911 is a little tough for her. We have been looking at guns in the 900.00 - 1300.00 price range! And I hate to say it Clyde, she really likes the looks of the little kimbers:eek:
So I told I would ask you guys what you would recomend!

Ps: she said she would take donations:D:rolleyes:

I have a Colt Defender and very pleased with it

I agree with wxl on the Colt Defender you can't go wrong............

As for the Kimber if that is what you wife likes and can handle make her Happy....... Because she lets you buy your 1911's.............:D:D:D

Clyde

Take a look at the STI product line. They make several 3 inch models in 45. The Shadow is on my short list!

Mike

I'd frankly try to talk her out of a 3" by both explaining the impulse physics of the design where shorter slide/barrels have much more critical timing requirements and therefore are much more susceptible to malfunction, and the fact that it's the frame grip size that is more important than slide length for concealability. I'd want the most reliable package for her and a 3" isn't it.

I see the Colt Defender/New Agent, Dan Wesson CCO, and Brown Kobra Carry LW as options.

http://rap.midco.net/bald1/CCO%20x2.jpg

Dan Wesson has an offering for you. CCO or Guardian.

I have to agree!

Not sure about cost vs. manufacturer mentioned above. The cap price of $1,300 does limit the options unless you buy something used.

It will be very interesting to see what she wants. Personally, I dont let my wife shoot or even look at 1911's. If she did then she'd figure out what they cost and my fun would quickly come to an end!:eek:

I say a 3 inch gun would not be what bought for my wife. I would stick to the commander length. Find a Guardian and let her shoot it. My wife loves mine. A CCO would be another fine choice.

From the Ladies point of view..... I really like the Guardian for carry in gun purse (my favorite Gun totin' Mamas Raven bag) or IWB. Easy to manipulate and shoot accruately. I chose it over the CCO only because I wanted to add a 9mm to my stash. I would advise getting one that is big enough to absorb some of the recoil, yet able to conceal very well. The bobtail does this very well. Those short barrels hurt my wrist. I want a gun that I enjoy shooting, and the Guardian fits the bill.

I have a Colt Defender my wife loves to carry and shoot. It's light, compact and very dependable - but not two toned if she wants that. Now your getting into Mimber country.

Bob

My better half carries a Mimber UCII (don't tell Clyde) with CT laser. Most often in her purse, once in a while IWB. She's good with it and is comfortable with function and recoil.
My .02

Jim

We def. appreciate a ladies point of vew on this! As well as all the men that have replied ! But as far as the guardian....she doe's not want a 9mm. she wants a 45acp and thats it. LOL! You know how it is once a lady makes up her mind;) And by gosh it is my job to make her happy:D Like Clyde said, she lets me buy my 1911's:) I think she is leaning toward the Colt Defender, it seems to have good reviews from everybody, and has about all the features that she's looking for:rock: We still welcome all replies, she hasn't made up her mind yet:rolleyes:

I'll bet she would love a CCO, especially with a set of CT grips.

They are making the Guardian in 45 ACP now, as well as the CCO. There seems to be some Guardian 45s still available out there right now, but I am having to wait on production for my 9mm :(

Bill

I vote vote for the EMP if she really wants a 3 inch gun. It was designed that way from the ground up. Only available on 9mm or .40 though.

Don't take this personally but, trying to get a female to grasp the meaning of what you said is going to be difficult at best. She probably will be more interested in having about 15 sets of grips so she can accessorize it to match her outfit for the day.:)

This is my Kimber Ultra CDP with Crimson Trace laser grips and it hasn't had one failure since I took it out of the box. Just clean, lube and feed it ammo, it'll treat you good.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_c...a%20CDP008.jpg

Veitvet, I gotta side with Bold and Titan on this one, nothing smaller than a CCO. That way she gets the officers' type grip and a less problematic 4" Bbl.
Unless she has the wrists of a female weightlifter, I'd stay away from the 3" guns. JMO.
Dave

Have full size 1911s, Colt Commander, Colt CCO and Defender. If I really concentrate, I might feel a difference in recoil

Sorry duplicated - TDS's fault!

My wife is 5'6 and weight 135 lbs. She has no trouble shooting the defender in fact she loves to shoot it. If your wife wants a .45 she will have no trouble with it either. I took the rubber grips off first thing though - very ugly in my opinion.

Let her shoot one and make her own mind up!

Bob

Well I know she really likes the looks of the defender! And as far as I'm conserned,we all want a pistol that appeals to our taste! And from what I've read in the post's,from defender owners. They must be pretty reliable,which of course is very important to me! Now don't take me wrong, I have no doubt that the CCO, Guardian, Cdp and any other pistol that has been mentioned here, are reliable as well. But I guess the bottom line is, what she likes, and the price. And the defender seems to be pretty reasonable there as well. But the jury is still out, so please any recomendations you guy's have, we still want to hear them. And thanks to everyone who has posted!:rock:

you need my opinion? well you asked, i don't know why you would, but here you go. Remember you asked.



Old people and women with cell phones should not be allowed to drive.

my New Agent (a Defender sans sights) is on my hip everyday .
appx 700 rnds and I've had two or three stoppages with last rnd in one particular Wilson mag with one particular HP rnd.

that mag is no longer in the carry rotation

If she likes the Defender , I think it would be great choice .

The Kimber Ultra CDP is one of, if not THE nicest looking factory pistols made.
But they're like Dodge trucks to me...damnfine looking and not a "bad" truck, just not as good as a Ford (Colt) :D


I'll also echo what a few said about sub-compact 1911s.
In "general" they have more MALF probs than Commander and FS slides .
More things have to be "more right" for compacts to run reliably .
Mags, ammo, hold, etc are all part of the equation that need a good shake out to prove they're reliable for carry.

Change anything , like a different mag or ammo, and it needs to run plenty before carry



..L.T.A.

IMO, taking a new gun out of the box, taking it apart, putting it back together and working with it at the range to break it in is half the reason that I buy a gun. I see guns as a puzzle:confused: that provide some entertainment in the beginning while I work out all the rough edges after which they serve another purpose---self defense.:rock:
This is the process I go through to have a reliable carry gun. Just my opinion.:D
Just think how boring it would be if every gun worked 100% right out of the box, and there would be many aftermarket people out of work.

I'm with you, '68

I detail strip every pistol, inspect, militec treatment , tune/adjust trigger and extractor and then shoot 200 flawless rounds before I deem it "carry worthy"

where we might differ is, i find no joy in any MALFs out of the box.

The "break in" period that 1911 manufactures expect us to settle for is a pet peeve of mine.:mad:
i think it's an excuse to send pistols out the door that SHOULD of been tuned to run right...right out of the box

I think it's bullony to have to shoot a couple hundred bucks in ammo to make an $800-$1000+ gun to run right.

Why do we 1911 guys (most anyway) accept that as "normal"???
I don't

and I personally won't trust a pistol that doesn't run right from day one
(unless it just a simple ext'r tweak or bad mag)



..L.T.A.