The cost of one's personal weapons is practically insignificant, when you think about how long the gun should provide good service and, if you should ever need it, how invaluable it may be to you. You're probably only going to buy one, or maybe two. Why bother at all about the bucks, as long as it is not prohibitive.

These two guns are not the easiest things to do a good job of shooting well. I would buy the one that feels best in my hands. The Kimber grip safety is very annoying to me, though I like their pistols otherwise.

Finesse_r, that S&W is not going to have a steel frame at 24-oz. Apparently some more homework is needed, if you are talking about the gun I am thinking of, which is the only subcompact 1911 .45 S&W makes. (SKU 178020? S&W lists it at 26.5 oz. in the 2009 catalog.) I believe it has a Scandium-alloyed frame, which is meant to be a selling point over a plain aluminum frame. Draw your own conclusions on that matter.