Cabela's has a nice sale on the Kimber 1911 LW 9mm/45ACP and I'm thinking about picking up a 9mm to use for plinking/fun at the range. Any thoughts on this one??
Kimber 1911 LW 9mm/45ACP at Cabela's

I don't think you can go wrong at that price.

I have been fighting the urge to pick one up all week as I don't need one and I already have a few 1911s, but I've got a few points on the Cabela's card which would put this Kimber in the Rock Island price range.

Only thing holding me back is the 2 hour drive to my nearest Cabela's store.

There are other places selling these Light Weights also, but as hard as it is to believe, Cabela's seems to have the best price. Did I just say that really??

Crap,

I have had an alloy Government model on my mind for some time.
Imagine a Super barrel in that.

...you're now down into the price range of a Rock Island with a lot nicer finish and being stainless. And since this isn't marked "II" I am guessing that this series also doesn't have the firing pin safety...

Looks like a lot of gun for the money...

Bob

Yep!

Get yourself a 9MM. It is the cartridge for fashionallity. The 9MM rules the ahooting world. No other cartridge before, now or in the future will have done, is doing or will ever do what it has done, is doing or will do on this planet or anywhere else.
From plinking to small game to self defense to ahooting Grizzly bear. It is the one cartridge that has done it all and with the hair splitting accuracy of this Kimber you mention one will be set for shooting gnats too.

I have a Kimber 1911 9mm. Like you intend to do, I use mine exclusively as a range toy--and it excels in that role. The recoil is soft, like cupcake soft. The long sight radius increases accuracy. It's just plain fun--especially if you like 1911's. I put a Cylinder and Slide hammer and sear kit in mine. I think my trigger weight is about 2 lbs. My gun ran 100% right out of the box with no "break in" period. Mine is a steel frame, but I also have an alloy frame 1911 by Kimber in .45 ACP. It works just fine--just keep track of your round count and change the recoil spring in accordance with Kimber's requirements. (Kimber is notorious for not standing behind their guns and blaming everything on the consumer. I don't think their 1911's function any worse than anybody else's, but where Ruger will pay to ship your gun both ways and handle problems at no cost to you, Kimber will blame you and then charge you for anything that goes wrong).

As for the 9mm, I say do it. Kimbers are undeniably good looking guns and hold their value well if you ever decide to part with it. Joe Public loves the Kimber name. Here's a pic of mine:


I know it's cool to hate on Kimbers, especially their magazines, but I have to say that I have used a lot of Kimber mags in both .45 ACP and 9mm and can honestly say they have been flawless for me. Maybe they had trouble a long time ago, but the ones I have accumulated over the past 10+ years have run 100%. If they didn't, I'd get rid of them. The cost difference in mags isn't significant and we can all afford to buy what works. The other brand I like is Tripp Research. They have 10 round mags (as opposed to 9 rounds) and also run perfectly. I own two MecGar 1911 9mm mags, and one didn't hold the slide back after firing the last round. I contacted MecGar, and they happily replaced it at no charge. The replacement mag runs perfectly.

Be sure to post a pic of your gun and a range report!

That's a very good price for Cabelas. That can be a very nice carry pistol - it is only 3oz heavier than the alloy Pro Carry.
If you reload, the 45acp is the way to go. If not, get the 9mm.

You are such a doofus.

A lot of gun for $600.

MM

An update; Midway USA now has the Kimber LW for the same $599.99 and they have them in more color/finish options and free shipping.

I ordered the "Artic" version in 45ACP .

I've had a couple of Kimber 1911s, and a Kimber bolt action rifle, and I'm long over them. I no longer trust them to make a reliable product. All three had reliability issues.

How is that relevant?

For every butt-hurt kimber hater there are 999 Kimber lovers.

I’ve never owned a Kimber that wasn’t reliable. And I’ve owned a bunch of them.

I’ve got 3 rifles. Thinking I need to add one of these 1911s to go with them.

Kimber Stainless LW 9mm for $540 shipped.

https://www.kygunco.com/Product/View?ItemNo=145285