Ive been doing a little research on a Kimber 1911 pistol that i bought used about a year and a half ago.....When i bought it,i was told by the store selling it that it had been worked on by one of the most respected 1911 pistolsmiths around,John Jardine. I looked up Mr Jardine,his website listed a phone number,so i decided to call it. John Jardine answered,i mentioned the gun and asked if he might have worked on it.Mind you,i havent given him any reason to believe that im going to be spending any money with him,yet he was willing to spend about 10 minutes talking to me,he had me disassemble the pistol and describe several parts to him,after my somewhat less than technical descriptions,we were under the impression that he had either not worked on the gun,or at least not much. He then mentioned that he shoots at the store/gun range where the pistol was purchased,and mentioned that if he were there he would be more than happy to look at the pistol,and he would be able to tell me if he had worked on it,or who else might have done some work.In this day and age,very few people are willing to give you the time of day if they dont see money coming there way,and i was rather impressed by the fact that he was this helpful and courteous.....His reputation as a premier 1911 pistolsmith is excellent,and he seems to be as good with people as he is with pistols. In a world known too often for shoddy,rude,or non existent customer service,before, during,and after the sale, I would heartily Recommend this gentleman......

 

So does it have custom work done to it, or what kinda work is this fella famous for?

 

Its been refinished,the original stainless was kinda glossy,its now a matte black slide over a matte silver/gray frame,different sights,ambi safety,controls all feel smoother than stock,a few other items were replaced as well.......Jardine is famous for his ultra-reliable,full custom 1911's,you will see his work on $5000 pistols.......I will see if can chat with him at the shooting range one of these days,he told me would be happy to look my pistol over,and he could then tell me what may have been done......

 

Sounds like a really nice gun! Sounds like a standup guy too. I hear ya loud and clear when you say that you dont find guys like that anymore.

 

Thats one nice shootin iron.

 

Bob, does this guy know how to get a WWII vintage 1911 .45, to be able to fire anything except 230gr hard ball ammo?

 

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but nice Merc Ship Boy!

 

Im sorry bout the hi jack,
but In regards to the Kimber 1911 How Do you like it Iggybob? I was lookin at them the other day and I must say that i was pretty impressed with the quality and feel of it. I didn't have the chance to shoot it but i hope to do so soon!

 

No worries,mercman,we arent on an airliner,so a hijack isnt a problem! I like the Kimber,ive only taken it to the range once,an outdoor range,and on a rather windy day,so im certain i didnt shoot it anywhere near its potential.....Ive got 2 other 1911's, a Springfield Armory full size( a package they call "Loaded",which includes upgrades over the "GI" or "mil-spec" models),and another Kimber, a sub-compact. THe little Kimber is the only one that ive shot at an indoor range with a serious attempt at achieving accuracy,and i was rather impressed!

 

Yeah,Dave,im sure he could do it,but do you really want to take a gun of possible collectible status and modify it?
See if you can find some Cor-Bon Powr-ball ammo for it,its a hollow point tipped with a polymer ball in the cavity,so it feeds like an FMJ round,and im fairly certain that they make it in 230 grain.....Bob