How does somebody evaluate if a 1911 is worth keeping? I have a Kimber 9mm from the era when they were known for poor quality. FTE frequently. Still learning how to tune an extractor and haven’t spent much time learning to lube it until recently. I also don’t know how many rounds it has fired. It was given to me used from a family member who doesn’t shoot much. It might still be in the break in phase that Kimber manuals mention.
One thought is to replace the extractor, buy some CherryBalmz and see how it goes. With that plan I’d be expecting to replace MIM parts as necessary. Or would it be better to replace those immediately? Which parts?
The other thought is sell it and get a different brand 1911. But it sounds like I’d still be planning to replace parts.
So what’s the eval for a “good” 1911 look like? Bushing fitment?
If you want to really learn the 1911, and all the ins and outs of how they work - keep it, and just plan on working on it a lot, with a lot of online research and trial-and-error. Depending on who you ask, one shouldn't be considered reliable for carry until it can go between 500-1000 round without a single malfunction.
All that said, if you're not 100% up for using that Kimber as a learning tool, and you can't get it humming reliably with good lube, good mags, and good ammo, then don't look back - just buy quality, and save yourself a lot of time, money, and above all, frustration by getting a known, reliable gun. Before doing that though, be sure to get some good mags, number them, and log any malfunctions to specific mags over time, to see if patterns emerge.
As to how to evaluate one at a gun counter...not a good idea. Go by reputation, do the research, and order exactly what you want. I've seen $3000 custom 1911s that were just not reliable, and original Colts go for thousands of rounds without malfunction. Form's initial posts on the Tisas here was eye-opening as well. So, go by reputation for reliability first, and that usually takes some research.
