I've had excellent reliability with both the Springfield Armory Loaded models, and the Kimber Custom models. I've never had any FTF, FTE, or anything with my stainless SA until the slide broke in two
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and excepting the round that broke the camel's back, it always shot accurately. I also love my Kimber Custom in black (couldn't find a stainless for a good price at the time). It has had zero failures and shoots very tight groups.
Here's my limited experience with the SA and teh Kimber that I own: The Kimber gets the nod as far as the trigger goes -- all the SA's had more of a gritty trigger that got better after 4-500 rounds but still were heavier than most of the Kimber's I've handled. The Kimber's have too long of a magazine release button for my tastes and the slide stop release lever is positively miniscule -- hard to get a firm finger on it with the shooting hand. The barrel bushing got quite loose in the SA after 500 rounds but a Wilson bushing dropped right it. The Kimber I have has a lot of side clearance between the barrel hood and the side of the slide and the extractor sticks out a little too far.
Here's my limited experience with the SA and teh Kimber that I own: The Kimber gets the nod as far as the trigger goes -- all the SA's had more of a gritty trigger that got better after 4-500 rounds but still were heavier than most of the Kimber's I've handled. The Kimber's have too long of a magazine release button for my tastes and the slide stop release lever is positively miniscule -- hard to get a firm finger on it with the shooting hand. The barrel bushing got quite loose in the SA after 500 rounds but a Wilson bushing dropped right it. The Kimber I have has a lot of side clearance between the barrel hood and the side of the slide and the extractor sticks out a little too far.
