Inexpensive 1911

[Mud_Dog]

They have an interesting selection on the site, I like the .22 and .357 revolvers,

A nine-shot .22 revo for ~$200??? Gotta be too good to be true.

If it isn't, I want one (or two).

Hell, I had a used NEF/H&R 9-shot .22 come through my shop for $130 in almost new condition last week. I remember buying an older one several years ago for like $110. So it's not to hard to pick one up for under $200 if you buy used.

[Precision]

They have an interesting selection on the site, I like the .22 and .357 revolvers,

A nine-shot .22 revo for ~$200??? Gotta be too good to be true.

If it isn't, I want one (or two).

Hell, I had a used NEF/H&R 9-shot .22 come through my shop for $130 in almost new condition last week. I remember buying an older one several years ago for like $110. So it's not to hard to pick one up for under $200 if you buy used.

I haven't been able to find one although I haven't made a career of haunting the pawn shops either.

I really want a .22 revolver that is DA/SA for teaching new shooters.

[Combat Controller]

My Rock Island .38 super gave both me and my gunsmith fits, it was/is way out of spec, and converting it to 9mm put lipstick on that pig. It runs just fine stock, but don't try and replace any parts in it. I am not a fan of Fili guns, but some folks would like a low end entry into the world of the 1911. For the price, it may not be too bad. Heck, I bet it goes for $400 retail.

I was greatly surprised by the Taurus offering, I even left in the MIM to see how long it would take to break. It took 6000+ rounds for the plunger tube to come unstaked. Granted, I got lucky with my MIM parts, and replace them right away in every other gun, but sometimes you get good service.

All my guns that get yeoman service are tool steel all the way through, and most of them came that way....

[Whirlibird]

Is there a way to look at a part and tell if it's a MIM part? Would like to know when looking at parts at a gun show.

The extractor on the left is MIM with the sprue still showing.
Look for the sprue or injection "ports" on the part.

For a better view of parts look at the parts and marks here:
BUL Transmark

[NVGdude]

I guess I must mention that Denver PD doesn't allow the use of Kimber's, however Colts are perfectly fine. The reason, Speer Gold Dots. The hot Speers that DPD are carrying tend to work a firearm quite a bit and the MIM parts do not stand up to them well. In simplest terms Kimber wouldn't stand behind their firearms and warrant against breakage with the Gold Dots.
So they were removed from the 'approved' list.

I find this very hard to believe, considering that the 230 Grain Gold Dot is a standard pressure round and meets all SAAMI specs for .45 ACP. A Gold Dot will not put any more wear on a firearm than a Winchester Ranger-T will. Tacoma PD is having no reported problems with their Kimbers. If Denver is using the 200 grin +P Gold Dot I can see Kimber's point (maybe) but the 200 grain GD bullet is a substandard performer and needs to be driven pretty fast to work properly.

The biggest problem with MIM parts is that they are a single hardness throughout. For certain parts, like the extractor and ejector, you want a medium soft steel in the middle with a hard surface treatment, this allows the parts to wear well, but still flex a little bit. Since MIM parts are hard all the way through, MIM extractors and ejectors tend to break more than tool steel parts (they usually fail by chipping). Tool steel parts fail as well however.

For parts like the grip safety or mainspring housing there is nothing wrong with MIM parts. Bottom line is, any part can fail for a number of reasons.