I have owned 2 Warriors and both had to go back to Kimber once, and they were still not reliable, so I sent one to Springfield, and traded the other.
I do not own an MC but would not hesitate to buy one, mainly because of there customer service. I had to send the Warriors to Kimber on my dime, and if there is a problem with SA, they will pay shipping.
SA all the way. Kimbers are accurate, but as has been said, most need some form of work before they will run properly, if at all. They also have a startling affinity to rust. Most Kimbers in the store I work at seem to rust from nothing more than just being up on the handgun wall. Even the Warrior my co-worker just bought has rust on the barrel, and he hasnt even taken it out of it’s 10-day jail yet.
Btw, that Operator in the picture has been carried IWB for two years, and the only spots of rust are on the grip screws, and a tiny bit on the safety where my holster has worn away the Armory Kote.
SA also has a FAR superior backing. To get anything done thru Kimber CS you have to pull teeth or threaten death. They will pretty much tell you to pound sand if you’re out of your warranty period. +1 for SA.
I own both a Warrior II and a TRP Operator. Not really an apples to apples comparison, but I wish that I’d gone with the MC Operator over the Warrior. The Warrior hasn’t been super bad at anything, but it did require a new slide stop (Wilson bulletproof) to keep it from prematurely locking back. Call me old fashioned, but you spend more than a G on a hand gun, it should at the very minimum function reliably. I’ve had a few other feeding related malfunctions with it as well. The SA, though some will say it’s full of gimmicky parts (FLGR, Adj. sights), has been dead nuts reliable and accurate. Thing has been banged against granite rocks, gone swimming, and shot 'til it’s dry, but it keeps on ticking.
On a quality note, in the Warrior, I’m not super stoked with the waves that form inside the bore corresponding to the locking luges on the top of the barrel. When I first saw that, I almost messed myself. I searched it on 1911forum only to find out that it is a standard Kimber thing and not to worry…:mad:
The Springfield is an easy recommendation. Better quality components, fit and finish and way ahead in customer service. Kimber wants you to prove to them that it’s not your fault before they will do anything. Why that company is still in business is beyond me. Little anecdote from last friday, I was coming back from the range and stopped in my favorite gun shop. One of the clerks was telling someone that they had just gotten 26 Kimbers of various kinds in. The guy he was talking to said the last 3 Kimbers he had bought all had to go back for issues and that he was finally done with them. if I had a nickel for every Kimber story like that I have heard over the years I would be a rich man. The MC Ops can be hard to find these days but worth the effort. My only close experience to the Warrior is from shooting with a friend who had just bought one. Less than 50 rounds in the rear sight came flying off. About 100 rounds after that the plunger tube came unstaked on one side. He had it fixed and sold it. The only positive ting i can say about the pistol is that it does not have the usual Kimber Series II safety.
easy day, Springfield Armory.
SA all the way, screw the swartz system. unnecessary lawyer engineering.
Warriors don’t have the schwartz safety
MC Operators have been so hard to find lately at my local shops.
Warriors were rare to begin with.
I would get the MC Operator over the Kimber
I had a warrior and had to bring the gun back to the factory 6 times in the first twelve months I owned the gun. Loose plunger tube - which bent the thumb safety, failure to feed due to a really tight chamber and after 100 rounds and no holster (at the time) the kimpro finish started to wear off. They kept miss matching the finish (slide versus frame) when they sent it out to be re kimpro’d until one guy with brains sent the entire gun out and then the finish matched. They reamed and polished the chamber but the gun continued to fail to feed and even after upgrading the barrel to a stainless steel barrel which was reemed and polished, the gun still wouldn’t feed - with wilson, mccormack or kimber mags, ball or hollow point ammo. I know another guy who had a different model kimber and he had problems. A lot of well known instructors will also steer you away from them because they see problems with them in their classes. That being said, I know guys who swear by them and love them. I sold mine and wont buy another kimber any time soon.
I’ve owned a MC Operator, but not the warrior. I can say that the fit, finish and accuracy on the SA were excellent. One of my best friends is a 1911 smith and in all the years I’ve known him and been hanging out at his shop, Kimber is the one high end 1911 brand I’ve seen come in with problems on a consistent basis. One even had to be sent back to Kimber due to the fact that the slide was out of spec and causing serious reliability issues. I can say that i’ve not seen a Kimber from their custom shop come in, just regular production guns.
Get the SA.
I owned an MC Operator and it is the only 1911 I wish I hadnt sold.
It should be pointed out though that all the “loaded” SA guns including the MC that use the ambi-safty cause me to inadvertantly put the gun on safe during shooting. The slight downward hook at the end of the right side safty touches and is held up by my right hand trigger finger knuckle. That is the knuckled at the base of the finger. This was the reason I sold the gun. If I only knew then how easy it was to replace a 1911 thumb safty:(
My Desert Warrior will only feed reliably with factory mags and Wilson Combat mags. Arguably the best mag available is a Chip McCormack and mine fails to feed with them, even after polishing the feed ramp.
I would not use the DW for anything other than a fun shooter.
MC Operator for sure if you can find one. The fact that they are hard to get is a clue. I had one of the first Warriors. in the first 100 rounds the rear sight and one side of the plunger tube came off. The finish is not durable. Parts quality is iffy. Kimber’s CS will do everything possible to make everything your fault and do as little as possible to resolve any issues. This is a really easy choice. MC Operator.
I’m a bit late to this thread but I’ll throw in my .10 cents anyway.
I pondered hard on the the Kimber Warrior series and the Springfield MC Operator pistol. I chose the MC Operator out of sheer availability of the weapon. In other words it was sitting in the case at my gun dealer one day and I wasn’t going to walk out without it tucked under my arm.
They are hard to come by now aday’s. Even Gunbroker doesn’t have any at the moment and one can usually find just about any Springfield @ GB if your willing to pay a slightly higher price, sometimes. There are no TRP Operators currently in their auction.
The gun is superb for the price of $1250, which is what I paid for mine, less a small trade.
It has run reliably out of the box and I"m currently just across the 1500 round count mark with no mal-funks of any kind, none, nada, zip. I have fed it everything known to man in the .45 ACP genre of ammunition and nothing has stopped the MC Operator from eating and spitting out it’s dinner. The accuracy of the weapon is far better than I am. It’s the first pistol that I have shot hole for hole with. No, I’m not a super Jedi type shooter. With the MC Operator if I just stick to fundamentals it shoots groups that I have never been capable of shooting with any other pistol.
I recently recieved my MC Operator back from the SA Custom shop. I had the front strap checkered (hand) in 20 LPI and the blended S&A magwell installed. I purchased black VZ Operator II grips and used the hex screws. The SA Custom shop also refinished the frame in the factory Armor coat (OD green)
It is now one beautiful piece, but that 20 LPI checkering is a bugger to shoot all day long. It’s supposed to be. 
I too have been looking for a MC Operator, more than anything as a back up to my 10-8 Operator. These things are nowhere to be found! I was surprised to find out how much of a demand there are for these things. I have been calling in favors all over the country, and nobody can get me one, which is nuts. If anyone has a line of one, I’d truly appreciate the tip.
I’ve had EXCELLENT customer service from SA over the years. They just don’t mess around when it comes to warranty work. We sent them a older loaded model that had been abused for years. We had used it for various reliability testing, sand testing, lube, or lack of lube testing, etc. It had been modified with a Dawson rail and S&A magwell - obviously not stock. The finish was pretty much gone. Somewhere around the 13k round mark, it started having extraction problems, and right after the safety broke. We called them up, told them the problems, and they just said “send it in.” In two weeks, we got it back. They fitted a new extractor, new safety, new ejector, FP stop, new firing pin, changed all the springs, and put on new matching grip screws, plus re-parkerized it! Only thing we paid for was shipping. We were blown away.
While I have a lot of respect for many of the big name 1911 smiths, and own several 1911’s built by them, for anyone thinking about buying a 1911, especially a LEO buying a duty gun, I always recommend Springfield over a custom or semi-custom make. The main reason is because if you have a issue with your 1911, Springfield can have it fixed and back to you in easily a week or two. The custom guys usually can’t do small warranty or repair work in that time frame.
MC Operator. I’ve had mine since 2006 and have 6500 rounds through it, the only malfunctions were magazine related. For the first 2700 rounds the only things I had done were replace the firing pin with a Nowlin, replace the main spring housing (can’t remember the brand now), and replace the recoil spring with an 18.5 pound spring from Wolff (I recommend this as a minimum for any 1911). At 2700 rounds I decided I wanted to carry it as my swat and patrol handgun so I had my local 1911 guy fit a Kart NM barrel, and replaced the following MIM parts: ejector, extractor, hammer, and thumb safety with heated treated steel parts. This stuff probably wasn’t completely necessary, but it gives me peace of mind. There are about a dozen other officers in my agency that carry Operators and they all love them.
This gun runs no matter what I put through it, is a tack driver, and I have absolute confidence it will work everytime…well as much confidence as you can have with any mechanical device. Operator all the way.
"While I have a lot of respect for many of the big name 1911 smiths, and own several 1911’s built by them, for anyone thinking about buying a 1911, especially a LEO buying a duty gun, I always recommend Springfield over a custom or semi-custom make. The main reason is because if you have a issue with your 1911, Springfield can have it fixed and back to you in easily a week or two. "
There is a lot of wisdom in those words…
So I was thinking about getting a Warrior (Desert or Regular) and now I’m completely convinced to get a MC Operator…now to damn find one…anyone have any leads?
What do you guys think about the TRT Operator with a rail? Eh eh?!
I’m glad the thread was revived to help you out hworang 
I prefer the MC Operator, hands down, over the Kimber Warrior. I still haven’t been able to make my purchase due to tight financial restrictions as of late (yay economy).
Hopefully too many people don’t need a change of underwear after they see this:
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/43770
In stock as of 09/02/10 (maybe earlier). … It would be out of stock (assuming they only have one) if I had some money right now! Hehe.
SOMEONE GRAB IT!!! =D
As far as the TRP Operator, the front strap checking (20 LPI I think…?) is way too much for my hands to take without a glove. It really digs into your flesh. Make sure you at least hold one (although firing one at a range is much more useful for information) before considering purchasing.
And just like that, the MC Operator is out of stock at buds! 
Hopefully someone on here was able to snag it!