First Time Purchase Advice, please

[GaryMC]

Good day to all the members here. I'm hoping you might be able to help me make a decision.

I started shooting when I was young, .22LR rifle, and into my early adult years. I'm now approaching 49, and would like to start shooting pistol as a sporting hobby. Currently, I see no need to carry for defensive purposes, however that may change.

My intent had been to purchase a Ruger MKIII .22LR, figuring it was all I would need. However, when at the gun shop, I was shown the Kimber Rimfire, in a 1911 style. I found this handgun to be very pleasing to me, both in terms of feel and balance, as well as weight. Then, I compared it to the Custom II, which was heavier, and I actually preferred that over the aluminum alloy frame of the Rimfire.

I am in a quandry, because I didn't really want to spend almost $700 for a .22LR pistol. I had planned, actually, on spending not too much more than $400 for a blued Ruger.

I can purchase the Custom II for about $640, and another $275 or so will get me the .22LR conversion kit, basically giving me two guns for under $1,000. While substantially more than what I wanted to pay, it may be a worthwhile investment at that price, but I am not sure.

This will be my first gun that I've owned, and needless to say, I'm very leery of making a mistake, especially when it comes to a gun purchase.

I was fortunate (well, kind of) to be able to rent a Springfield 1911 with the Kimber conversion and shoot it. The down side of that was the range I rented it from apparently didn't take really good care of the weapons they rented, and I had a 25% FTF or FTE rate. When the gun was 'deconverted', I looked at the slide and barrel on the conversion, and it was horrible. No wonder the gun didn't work well.

However, I do think that it grouped well at 7 yards or so with the 50' Rifle targets I was using. At least, for someone who hasn't picked up any kind of gun in 25+ years, and the last was a rifle!

So, the question comes down to this:
For someone who is looking to purchase a first time gun for target shooting, on the weekends, not interested in personal carry (at this time, but maybe in the future), and not currently interested in any kind of competition (who knows about that in the future), would you recommend:
A. A Ruger Mk III
B. The Kimber Rimfire in 1911 style
or
C. A Custom II with the Kimber Conversion.
and finally
D. you tell me!

Thank you in advance for helping me. I sure could use it.

By the way, the 1911 is, out of all the guns that I looked at so far, the nicest, and most natural gun I've looked at.

Gary

[Hunter]

If it were me and the defensive aspect if owning a firearm is not pertinent I would go with the Ruger MK III. Here is why, it is way cheeper to buy and shoot the Ruger than the Kimber especially if you don't handload .45 ACP. I think you would be better off with a less expensive 1911 and a conversion kit if the 1911 was the way you wanted to go. I have several friends with Ruger Mk IIIs and they are very fun to shoot and accuracy is surprisingly good. If you are planning on getting into handguns the Ruger would be the lest expensive way to refamilarize yourself with them. I know you said that the defensive aspect was not important so keep in mind a .22LR would be better than nothing it is a poor defensive round. Have you looked at the Springfields GIs or the Colt 1991A1s? both are quality 1911s that are much cheeper than Kimber. You could have the 1911 and conversion kit for just about what you will pay for the Kimber. Another thought would be to buy an inexpensive 1911 (Springfield GI for example) and the Ruger Mk III and still be way under a grand and have two separate pistols. My personal preference is Colt 1911s but the Springfields are a close second. I think I would go with a less expensive 1911 and the Ruger so you will have a inexpensive range gun to shoot often and a good defensive pistol in case you needed more then the .22LR. Welcome to the forum and good luck with whatever you decide.

[Kruzr]

You need to decide what caliber you want to shoot. If you want to go with .45, then a Kimber Custom is a great choice. A Mil-spec or a base Colt won't feel as good as a Kimber nor shoot as well.

You can add all the features of a Kimber to a base 1911, including a match barrel, beavertail, and decent sights for about $400 - $500 so you won't save any money in the long run.

If you decide to start with .22, a Ruger is a good choice. The 5 1/2" bull barrel is a well balanced and accurate gun. Other than the more expensive Marvel units, the .22 conversions aren't as accurate as a Ruger is.

[bangbang]

I cant speak for the Kimber 22, yet, but the 45s are nice.

The ruger is a good choice too.

Im not sure if you have your heart set on a 1911 style pistol, but if youre open then may i suggest a:

EAA/tangfoglio 45/22LR. They make a CZ style in 45acp with a 22LR conversion kit for about 450.00.

Now if you dont like the CZ, then you could always find a less exepensive 1911 and get any other 22 uppers.

Ciner makes a 22LR upper for 250
Advantage arms make 2, 1 is avaailable now.
there are others too. check the other boards for info on the conversion kits.

[hoosier919]

I would probably go with the Ruger. I have a Kimber Stainless II and i am going to get the conversion kit soon. However, I wanted a 1911 and I wanted a 45 ACP. The conversion is just to lower the cost when I am plinking with my wife. If you are just getting back into shooting, I would go with the cheaper gun just to make sure you are actually going to shoot.

[geof_s]

Here's my .02. I would opt for a Ruger 22/45 stainless with the 5.5" bull barrel. It balances very well and is accurate and extremely reliable. I don't care for the magazine disconnect safety and the loaded chamber indicator on the MKIII's. But I guess this is progress. The 22/45 has the same grip angle and control location as the 1911. I would buy the .22 and shoot several thousand rounds through it. Work on grip and trigger control. This will let you learn a lot and develop muscle memory before having to deal with recoil and muzzle blast. Then buy a nice 1911 and you will be miles ahead in your shooting. Everytime my pistol shooting goes to pot I can attribute it to flinching. A few hundred rounds with my Ruger seems to iron it out.

Have fun and please let us know what you decide.

Geof

[GaryMC]

I want to thank all of your for your replies. I guess you've made it clear to me that going with the Ruger, at least for now, is the best way to proceed.

In such decisions, there are heartstrings that get tugged at, and the 1911 style pistol does tug those strings. I think what I'll end up doing, for now anyway, is to purchase the MkIII 6 7/8" Bull barrel (maybe the Hunter model) and work on learning this art.

Geof, I tried the 22/45, and did not like the feel of it. Between the MkIII and 22/45, the MkIII is my choice.

After a while, if the desire is still strong, or other reasons dictate, I'll pick up a 1911.

Again, I thank all of you for your input, and for helping a newcomer.

My best to all of you.

Gary

[dogdollar]

Get the Kimber Custom and the conversion kit.
You have the best of both worlds - a really nice all around .45 auto for personal defense, range, etc. and a fun-to-shoot .22 to have fun with. Every round of .22 you fire will get you even more familiar with the feel, pointability, weight, and systems (safeties) of the very same pistol you may decide to use to guard your life.
Besides, .45's are a hoot to shoot, you are going to want to break up the monotony of shooting .22's every now and then to keep things interesting.
Good luck and take care.

[geof_s]

Gary,

My first pistol was a MKII that was blued with the 6" taper barrel and fixed sights. I enjoyed that pistol a lot. I traded it for a MKII with the 6 7/8" heavy tapered barrel and bought a set of the Ruger thumbrest grips. I really liked that pistol but it was stolen. I replaced it with the 22/45 with the insurance money. The grip angle on the MK series is nice. One thing I do like about the new Ruger's is that they are drilled and tapped for a scope mount. One of these would be great fun to plink with with a red dot on it.

Have fun,

Geof