I love carrying a lightweight commander.
Mine's a Colt.
I put Ultrathin grips on it.
Sometimes I carry it with lightweight +P ammo that MuShu sold me, 71 grain bullet pushed to 1900 fps.
Even with 230 grain loads, it's not very heavy.

 

No experience with the Ruger, but that Kimber model is a really nice gun. I sold one on the forum recently that was in perfect condition. It might be the same gun. I have found the Kimber Pro series guns need the Wolff XP recoil spring to prevent FTRB. Easy and cheap fix. If it is the same gun, it has also had the hammer hook cleaned up to give a better trigger pull. Search my user name for a lengthy posting with pictures.

 

I vote Ruger............... Just because I am a Ruger guy

 

I have an SR1911 cmd. It has been as reliable as any of my other 1911's. Never skips a beat and has never skipped a beat from the first round down range. I don't buy Kimbers. My vote goes toward the Ruger.

 

I would vote Ruger, just because my experience is with them. I miss mine, but it's in a great place now.

My reasons being: my Ruger 1911 was 100% reliable. I loved it, and accurate as I could ever shoot. The only issue I had is that on the earlier models they put crap front sights on them and I had a few break. Ruger customer service was amazing though as far as repairing and replacing, so kudos for that.

I have always been wary of Kimbers. I haven't shot many, but there seems to be a lot of reports of reliability issues, finicky with ammo issues, and other quirks with them. And for what you generally have to pay for a Kimber it just seems like they would have their crap together better.

 

I own the ruger lw, and I can say it was the first time I've ever been disappointed in a ruger product.the fit own the safety was so bad, it would bind up. sent it back to ruger, got it back and still felt gritty. so I replaced it with an sti ambi this resolved that problem. New leafspring to help resolve trigger pull issue plus a drop in 3.5 trigger kit. Shoots three inches low which is acceptable for for pd but not idpa.so I'm in it for the original price of the pistol,plus 160.00 for add on parts decided not to sink another 100.00 in for new sites so it now happily resides in my safe. I've always had the highest regard for ruger products and still do. Put this under built on Friday. Your experience may be different.

 

Between those two I'd go Ruger...the ruger is a conventional series 70 system. The Ruger has far less parts made out of MIM. The Kimber has a schwartz safety system. I don't like it. I also had a terrible experience with a pricey Kimber that made me so damn mad that I refused to ever buy anything except Colt or Springfield. It broke several components before 2000 rounds. For every guy like me there are 27 guys that swear they have never had a single issue in ten million rounds. I'm just letting you know my opinion is jaded because I had several broken pieces and bits on a $1100 1911, and I'll never give the company a second chance at my limited money when there are options made with less MIM parts and equal (if not superior) quality at a comparable price.

I made an exception to my colt/springfield rule for a ruger, and I wasn't dissappointed. Awesome gun for the money. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one if that is what I wanted.

Here is a series 80 style vs a schwarz safety. Lots more moving parts.

I prefer the series 70 that eliminates the safety plunger and just uses a titanium firing pin. Unless you routinely drop your 1911 4 stories onto the hammer, I wouldn't sweat the loss of the plunger safety. But I detest that schwarz safety, way more parts.

This is just my opinion and worth exactly what you paid for it. Nothing

 

I carry a Kimber Pro Crimson Carry II 1911 every day for several years now. With a good initial cleaning, and break in period, you'd be hard pressed to find a more comfortable and accurate 1911. I've never had a FTE or FTF issue with it since I bought it new.

 

See what I mean?

A company sells enough....one bad apple will slip through. I got the bad apple.

In all fairness, my troubles aside...the kimber pro cdp ii was no more accurate than any ruger, springfield or colt I've owned. The trigger was decent, but I've had better out of the box. Looking back and comparing it to other purchases IF it had not had any issues, I didn't see anything that made it stand out in the field of similarly priced 1911s. To kimber's credit, all items were handled under warranty. When the warranty time period expired, they even sent me parts twice when an extractor and ambi safety lever broke. I never got past 2k rounds, I was just too frustrated with it.

That being said, I had another Kimber that was flawless. Oddly enough, it was one of the cheapest model kimbers. It functioned just fine, but nothing made it stand out for me.

I'm not a rich man. Looking at prices for that feller...used...wow. For the same price I can pick up a new springfield with a lifetime warranty and unquestionable customer service. Just my 2 cents. The ruger also has an excellent warranty and customer service.

 

All guns hiccup eventually if you shoot enough rounds, from my beloved colts and rock islands to my kimbers and Springfield's, maybe not even the guns fault crappy mag, grip interfering with slide travel, reload out of spec. Buy what you like, what points well or just makes you say wow, gotta have it and don't sweat the rest. Just my opinion.

 

Kimbers are pricey for the most part, and I like Rugers too, but can only speak to my own experience after carrying one for several years. I'd spend the $ again in a minute if I knew I'd get the same performance and accuracy.

 

EXactly why I bought the $1100 model after being satisfied with the lesser model...then my bad apple happened. I would have been 100% satisfied if stuff had quit breaking after I had all the problems, but the 2nd or 3rd ambi safety lever got on my nerves. The ejector and the extractor broke, too....those were the irritating ones because they took it out of commission while shooting it.

This in no way disputes you. You got a good 'un and I got a bad 'un. Simple as that.

That's why I went with colt or springfield. Simpler safety mechanisms, less MIM parts and a longer warranty in the same price range. Ruger applies, as well. For my limited budget, I have less risk with those manufacturers. Plus, Loaded Springfields and Operator models are just a cut above everything in their price range IMHO.

 

I owned a Kimber crimson Ultra Carry II for five years. The smaller grip frame was somthing I could never get use to. I also didn't like the take down process. If you need an extra tool to field strip the pistol especially one that is easy to lose, it's just too much extra work, especially when your at the range. On top of that, the springs have to be changed every1400 to 1500 rounds.
I traded it in on a new SR1911 TALO NW with a full size grip and 4.5" barrel. The Novak night sights on the SR1911 were fixed. I was able to get Novak to replace the fixed rear sight With a fully adjustable night sight. Most of that cost was picked up by the difference I got back on the trade.
I would go with the SR1911.

 

I owned a Kimber crimson Ultra Carry II for five years. The smaller grip frame was somthing I could never get use to. I also didn't like the take down process. If you need an extra tool to field strip the pistol especially one that is easy to lose, it's just too much extra work, especially when your at the range. On top of that, the springs have to be changed every1400 to 1500 rounds.
I traded it in on a new SR1911 TALO NW with a full size grip and r.5" barrel. The Novak night sights on the SR1911 were fixed. I was able to get Novak to replace the fixed rear sight With a fully adjustable night sight. Most of that cost was picked up by the difference I got back on the trade.
I would go with the SR1911.

The 4" guns state replacing the springs after less than a case of ammo. I found that annoying. The 4" kimber I had did indeed start choking if you didn't follow that schedule.