Kimber SIS fatigue

[Ron J]

A month or so ago there was a magazine here that had the SIS as a cover story, if its a cover story here then I know it has to be bad back in the US. I it weren't for the SIS grooves I'd love the overall look of the pistol but those grooves scream mall ninja.

Amen. 

[m25operator]

But Japan does have really slick gun magazines, they do tend to go for the flashy, but they also do articles on guns all over the world more than we see in the US. They are also the soft air capital of the world. I still would not want to live there, but they are trying to keep the hobby up in their own way. My guns are not hobbies, but if I could'nt have one, I'd still try to keep up.

[Neon Knight Anubis]

Unfortunately I can't find anything here locally in terms of Airsoft ranges but after a four year dry spell in college spending a year in Japan isn't all that bad, its really a lot of fun. If I was going to stay for a few years then yeah I'd go out of my way to find one but I'm busy with school at this point. The gun magazines are really slick but they're about $10 an issue so I only buy them when there is something I really want. Unfortunately my kanji is still not so great, if they broke it down into the more basic script it wouldn't be so bad.

[Dougdubya]

It's another 1911.  And 1911's make good cover photos.  The same went for the Kimber Warrior, the Nighthawk pistols, etc. etc.

[pioneer]

I'm getting sick of hearing of yet another 1911 variant. At some level they are all the same. I still like my 1911s but I have moved on. I don't read the 1911 drivel. We have heard it all.

100% in agreement!  I own a 1911, I learned to shoot handguns on a 1911, I have instructed on 1911s, and agree they are great guns.  They are not, however, the only .45 acp on the planet and there are other great platforms.  Check the advertising pages on those mags and see if Kimber is running ads.  The publishers tend to stroke their advertisers and give them good test reports and coverage. 

Right up there with 1911 fatigue, it AR-15/M-4 overload.  Yawn. 

[Sponsor]

[ericire12]

Right up there with 1911 fatigue, it AR-15/M-4 overload.

That's the truth!

[Dougdubya]

Another +1.

I like 1911's.  I even guiltily admit to buying those "Books of the 1911" put out every year.  And the GLOCK!(TM&R) annuals.

But 1911's aren't the ONLY guns out there.

Sidenote: Only plastic and 1911's from Smith and Wesson from now on?

Bogus.

[P. Plainsman]

I gotta agree with the drift of this thread, thanks for posting it.  I like 1911s!  But if you wanted a perfect instance of gun mag hype that embodies the gripes of the "Another 1911?" school, this was it. 

The petite Springfield EMP, now that was a 1911 release I wanted to read about.  If anything could qualify as a "New 1911," that was it.  (I've handled and shot one, and it was an exquisitely ergonomic little gun with great trigger and great sights.  Very accurate.  But the one I shot was unreliable with hard-primered S&B 9mm ammo that my CZs gobble without a hitch.  I've heard of other reliability problems with the EMP; even the gun mags have taken note of it.  If Springfield can get 'em running, they will have something special.  Point is, it's a new and interesting concept in the 1911-pattern pistol.)

But this SIS silliness? 

Had a chance to try out a SIS on a misty, foggy day.  The little bit of moisture collecting on the slide made the swirly SIS grasping "grooves" (grasping letters?) very slippery.  I can't imagine anyone choosing those over standard serrations, or even the fish scales if you have to have something different.

Exactly my reaction.  Note that Mas Ayoob dinged the SIS for those ill thought-out, gimmicky "SIS" shaped serrations.  He said they were just barely adequate for manipulating the slide under some adverse conditions. 

those grooves scream mall ninja

Word.

Kimber's a main offender in the monthly "Pimp My 1911" sweepstakes.  Dilutes their good guns.

Gun mag editors: More CZ pistols, please!

[leatherman92]

very fatigued!

[P. Plainsman]

Another good observation upthread: 

Sidenote: Only plastic and 1911's from Smith and Wesson from now on?

Bogus.

I know.  I recently picked up a 1990s era S&W 3913 (3d gen series, compact DA/SA single-stack 9mm, 8+1) -- the one they now only make in "Ladysmith" format. 

Smart little carry gun!  Impressively slim slide and grip dimensions, bobbed hammer, clean 3-dot Novak sights as standard equipment.  Small, but not too small to use well.  Eats up +P ammo, whatever ammo, no problem.  It's not my most accurate 9mm, but it'd do the job. 

It's the Ruger SP101 of autoloaders.  S&W's 3rd gen pistol design was kinda clunky and blocky in full-sized service pistol format (like the Ruger GP100 service revolver), but when you shrunk that design down to compact carry size (3913 :: SP101), you get a very tough, shootable yet handy little gun with a lot of personality and some real advantages. 

With all the demand now for single stack 9mms for carry (like the EMP), it's kind of a shame the basic 3913 got lost in the shuffle with all the polymer hype.

OK, end of digression.