In a previous installment I discussed some aspects of two 1911 pistols, the Kimber Custom II and the Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special.
Having spent more time with the Les Baer, and having shot them side-by-side at the range, I feel like I'm in a better position to give an in-depth comparison, in case anyone is considering: a) whether to buy an entry-level 1911 and build it up; or b) whether to just save the money to purchase a true "custom" pistol.
First, a note on the word, "custom." Anyone with a brain would take issue with Kimber's use of the word "custom" in the name of this product. The Custom II is in no way a custom pistol. Kimber calling it the "Custom II" would be like Honda naming their new Civic model the "Aston Martin V12." Still, if that's how they want to brand their product, then so be it. The Les Baer, on the other hand is often referred to as a "semi-custom" pistol. I have to kind of take issue with that. Anyone can place an order with Les Baer for basically any configuration they want. The turn around time for such an order is currently around 18 weeks, from what I've heard. If someone placed an order for an unsual configuration, built specifically to their requriements, I don't think any of us would take issue with calling that pistol a "custom." However, if I don't want an unusual configuration, and a dealer has a Les Baer in stock that has everything I desire, how is that different than ordering something bespoke? I mean, the only difference is the wait time. The pistols are made by the same smiths, using the same equipment, and using the same techniques. I'd say they're both custom, and therefore Les Baer is a true custom pistol. Feel free to disagree if you wish.
First, let's compare cost. A new Les Baer TRS runs about $1850. A new Kimber Custom II runs about $700. In my opinion, to make the Kimber really usable a few things need to be upgraded. I have upgraded mine with the following, prices included:
Trijicon night sights: $115
EGW FPS: $15
Wilson Combat extractor: $30
Ed Brown MSH with magwell: $78
STI sear, disconnector, hammer: $75
VZ double diamond G10 grips: $65
Ed Brown slide stop: $38
Ed Brown thumb safety: $34
3 Wilson Combat 47D magazines: $100
If you install all of that stuff yourself, you can save some dough. If not, I think you could expect to pay around $200 for a gunsmith to install it for you. This brings the grand total to somewhere in the range of $1,250 to $1,450. For that you get a pretty good pistol. It's not a great pistol - the barrel fitting and slide to frame fit will both be as good or as bad as they were when they left the factory, but it's pretty good. Actually, that's a lot to spend for something that's only "pretty good." Man, now that I add it all up, I'm depressed. I could have had a Springfield TRP Operator for that much. Instead I have a Kimber with a cast frame and a somewhat sloppy fit that I can't sell. It's a fine shooter, but it's not worth what a TRP would be worth.
Anyway, I think it ends up being something of a false economy to build one of these things up. Sure, you can save a few bucks here and there, and at least you don't take the financial hit all at once, but in the end you don't have the warranty and service that you get from a true custom builder. You don't have a craftsman who took pride in your pistol. The main benefit of building it ups yourself is that you will learn a lot, and if that's your true goal then maybe it's worth it.
So, onto a side-by-side range report of these two. I'm going to separate this into three parts: Reliability, Accuracy, and Shootability.
First, the reliability report: I shot 250 rounds through the TRS this trip, and 50 rounds through the Kimber. The purpose of this trip was to complete the "breaking in" phase for my TRS (which is not meant to make the pistol reliable, but just to smooth the internal contact surfaces), and to get a sense of how this thing shoots vs the Kimber using a variety of ammo. The TRS ran like a sewing machine through 5 different brands of ammo: Winchester White Box, Federal, Seillor & Bellot, Remington UMC, and MFS (some Eastern Euro ammo I found at Cabelas). The Kimber, on the other hand, had one FTF issue with the Federal, the Seillor & Bellot, and the MFS. In the Kimber's defense, I think I have the extractor tensioned a little too high, which results in the FTF issues. The reason for the high tension is that previously the Kimber just sort of "farted" out the shell casings, and I was trying to improve ejection. Ejection is better now, but I may have gone a hair too far in the other direction. The Les Baer ejects very positively, even with very light extractor tension.
This is the Les Baer's ejector.
And the Kimber's.
I realize there is a fair amount of alchemy to shaping an ejector, but ultimately the Kimber's ejector doesn't work very well. You can see that it's more of a nub, and the ejector on the Baer is more extended. The implication is that if I don't have the extractor tensioned pretty tight, the ejector doesn't fling the cases out reliably, and if the extractor is too tight, the rounds don't feed reliably. It's more of a balancing act than I think is appropriate, and I wish the folks at Kimber had paid better attention to this part.
At this point the TRS just seems to be inherently more reliable. The Kimber had teething issues at first (they pretty much all do), then ran fine for about 3000 rounds, then developed ejection problems (que new extractor), and now has minor feeding issues. I think the Kimber will run fine if I can just find the right balance for it, but that's a bit of a tightrope walk. The Les Baer, on the other hand, came right out of the box extremely reliable, and ran perfectly through 500 rounds without being cleaned. I did have a problem with one magazine (a Wilson 47D with a weak spring), but that was replaced and the problem didn't resurface. Now, does this mean the TRS will always be perfectly reliable? No, but if I had to choose one to take into a gun fight...
Ok, on to shootability. The key differences are the trigger pull (this was with the stock Kimber parts), the weight, the grips, and the sights.
First, the trigger pull. I wrote before that the Baer breaks right at 4 lbs, and breaks crisply and cleanly with no creep. It's wonderful. The Kimber creeps a bit, and breaks somewhere a little north of 5 lbs, but it isn't always consistent. Major edge to the craftsmanship of the Baer here.
The Kimber is the heavier of the two pistols, given the mag well and full length guide rod. The debate rages on about FLGR vs the GI guide rod, but I will say that the FLGR does aid at least a little bit in dampening muzzle flip. I've even previously shot the Kimber back to back with the stock FLGR, and then replaced with an Ed Brown GI guide rod, and the difference was small but very noticable. It has been said before that there is good weight, and there is bad weight. For a night stand gun, this is good weight. Even better weight would be a bull barrel and a full picatinny rail dust cover with tac light. But if you ever plan to carry the thing, lighter is better. Anyway, the Baer does exhibit slightly more muzzle flip than the Kimber, but not so much that it makes much of a difference. **A note on the Ed Brown mainspring housing with magwell: Don't buy this part. Get a Smith & Alexander one-piece MSH with magwell. Even with loctite, the Ed Brown magwell comes loose during long range sessions, and you either need a set of allen wrenches to tighten it back up, or you have to just let it flop around until it loosens up enough that you can unscrew the thing with your fingers.
The grips make a big difference. The stock thin cocobolo grip on the Baer are very functional in that they're low profile for carry purposes, and they allow you to get a tremendous purchase on the gun when firing single handed. However, when using a modern thumbs-forward, two-handed grip, they don't allow for a whole lot of grip support from the weak hand. The G10 VZ grips on the Kimber really make a big difference. Support hand gripping is awesome, which allows for better recoil management and more accurate shooting at speed.
The front strap checkering on the Baer is really nice - it allows for a great grip without being uncomfortable over long range sessions. On the Kimber I threw a piece of 3M skateboard tape onto the frontstrap. It works, but it's not pretty, it will need to be replaced eventually, and it can be a little scratchy over long range sessions.
Finally, accuracy.
Accuracy is such a subjective thing. Without putting each pistol in a Ransom Rest, it's hard to give a verdict on which one is more accurate. I can attest to which pistol I shot better at different distances, and that's about it. Others might have different results. At 15 yards the Les Baer was easily the more accurate pistol for me. I was taking my time between shots, and the taller sights and better trigger resulted in much more accurate hits.
At 7 yards, I was surprised to find that I shot the Kimber better. With both pistols I was shooting much more rapidly and using a less precise sight picture. The G10 grips on the Kimber meant that my support hand had a much better purchase on the gun, and the FLGR and steel magwell meant that the Kimber exhibited slightly less muzzle flip. In 8 shots, rapid fire at 7 yards, I shot a silver-dollar sized hole through the center of my target (sorry, forgot the camera - you'll have to take my word for it). With the Les Baer, the group was about an inch and a half left of center, and about twice as big. Because the Les Baer has thin, smooth wood grips I have to grip harder with my right hand in order to stabilize the pistol, and when I do this I tend to push my shots a bit to the left. My hits were adequate for combat accuracy with both pistols, but they were better with the Kimber during rapid fire due to the grips.
This result gave me a lot to consider. Should I put better grips on the Les Baer, or keep the thin ones for a lower profile if I choose to carry it? Is the decrease in muzzle flip worth putting a FLGR on the TRS? The big reason not to do it is that one needs a bushing wrench to field strip a pistol with a FLGR, but I already need a bushing wrench with the Les Baer because it's so damn tight. The question is really, do you go one step further to make a combat pistol a little more effective, or do you keep it simple as long as it works? I have no idea. Thoughts, anyone?
The next step is to shoot both back to back in more of a "tactical" scenario on a more dynamic range, and see which pistol scores the best hits in the least time. I have plans to do more of this testing when I get a membership to a more lenient range here in the near future. Stay tuned.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful for anyone who might be interested in one of these pistols. If there is anything you would like me to cover please let me know.
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