If you shoot a 1911 without a rigid wrist the gun can and usually will jam, either stove pipe or not feed completely, no matter what new gun you buy check to make sure you lock the wrist on the firing hand.

There are many 1911's out there and everyone has an opinion on them. A friend of mine owns a Charles Daily, they seem to be the only "cheap" 1911 that holds up over time, he has shot with me using that gun twice a week since he bought it in 1997, never a problem. There are over 5000 rounds through it. As for Kimbers, I have never seen a problem with them and neither did the US olympic team this year. A Kimber is as close as you can get to a hand assembled custom gun for an affordiable price. The fit and finish are excellent, the accuracy and reliability have been proven. Many government agencies and target shooters have flocked to the Kimber .If Kimbers are keeping a smith in business he must be performing enhancements, I personally have never seen one fail and have judged, observed, and participated in many matches using Kimbers as well as watching other shooters use Kimbers. The only real problem with Kimbers is that they are made so much tighter then other 1911's that you need to keep them clean and have a firm grip when firing. Pickup a Springfield and cycle the action, then do the same with the Kimber, you will feel the diff. Anyway there are many high quality 1911's out there and all mentioned so far in this posting are of good quality.