Local Shop Owner: Sorry, I don't carry Kimber products anymore.

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My Kimber Tactical Entry II is taking this news very hard!! I'll be adding 0.5gr of a mixture of Prozac, Zoloft and Wellbutrin to each reload from now on. That should help. I'll keep an eye out for any side effects such as a dry muzzle, feeding problems (loss of appetite), stovepipes (constipation) etc.

That has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen on THR. Thanks for that.
 
Eventually the shoddy QA/QC and poor treatment of customers by Kimbers version of customer service, will come home to roost.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch! :)
 
Can't say I disagree too much; I'm kinda getting tired of Kimbers being held up as top-quality firearms simply because they're expensive; never have been impressed by them, I don't believe that their owners actually give a damn about guns per se, and their CS is legendarily (is that a word?) atrocious.

I have a cheap Rock Island Armory 1911 - and boy, does those guys stand behind their stuff! Kimber should shut up and take lessons from them in how to handle a business.
 
Zerodefect said:
$1709 sounds about right to me. The SS is down to $1500ish now.

Well, it's academic now ... Dan Wesson Valor ordered and paid for this morning at the price quoted. It'll be here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Now to see what all the fuss is about.
 
It's because the report only contains firearms manufactured in the United States. All the stuff that's imported isn't included on that report.


That's what I was waiting for...
And what about imported frames like Imbel's and Unmex's or CZ's where the FIREARM (frame in this case) is imported then built out.
 
Like glock? Or are they finally making frames in Smyrna?
 
Well, it's academic now ... Dan Wesson Valor ordered and paid for this morning at the price quoted. It'll be here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Now to see what all the fuss is about.
Congrats
 
Well, it's academic now ... Dan Wesson Valor ordered and paid for this morning at the price quoted. It'll be here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Now to see what all the fuss is about.

Very good choice. You will not be disappointed.
 
Springfield's number is so low because most of their 1911s and all the XDs are made in foreign countries. Only their higher end 1911s are designated made in the US. When you include the Brazilian made models, I believe Springfield's total 1911 sales is about equal to Kimber.
 
I have a deposit down on a Solo and I'm looking forward to getting it. But it sounds like it may not be until next year. As far as the quality of Kimbers goes, the Solo I handled in the shop was rock solid and reeked of quality. Obviously I have not shot one yet.
 
Strikefire83,

So I was in a local shop today and I asked the owner if he had any Kimber Solos in yet. He said, "sorry, I don't carry Kimber products anymore."

What shop is this and where is it located?

tipoc
 
My experience with Kimber has been quite pleasant. I shoot about 4-5k rounds out of it alone each year. I shoot 230, 200, and 185 lead, FMJ, JHP and I've never had an issue with it at all. I had to call their CS once concerning some springs and the guy I talked to was the nicest guy in the world and I was squared away in a couple of minutes. I wouldn't trade mine for anything, but I doubt that I'd buy another either.

On the other hand, a friend of mine bought one partially based on the reliability of mine and his brother's, and had to send his back within a few weeks of purchasing it. I have seen it go both ways. I'd have to say that there seem to be some inconsistencies in quality and CS.

My LGS is the exact opposite, he carries more Kimbers than any other 2 brands of 1911 (probably 3, and probably for the aforementioned reasons). I'd be more likely to buy a Colt over another Kimber. I'll either have to go elsewhere to get one or order one. It would not hurt my feelings at all if my LGS dropped Kimber, put more Colts out, and picked up a few other quality brands in their place.

I think Ruger's new 1911 All American might be a kick in the a** for Kimber.

I agree.

Kimber owners don't give a damn about guns?

I think what he was trying to say was that the owners of Kimber do not care about the guns that they produce.
 
I Can Understand The Situation With Beretta and Taurus!

BullfrogKen said in part..

The 2009 report numbers show data like:

  • Beretta only produced 123 automatics in a caliber greater than 9mm;
  • Taurus made no automatics in 9mm, 40 S&W, or .45 ACP...[/B]

It's because the report only contains firearms manufactured in the United States. All the stuff that's imported isn't included on that report.

I can understand why Beretta only produced 123 automatics. The probability is that all of them most likely went to some form of Law Enforcement or the Federal Government.

As far as Taurus making no automatics.. it's most likely because of the very stringent gun laws here in the U.S. and who can own them.

Single Action Six
 
Looks like a small shop, how many guns do they actually have in stock.

I never said they were a big shop, but they have a good local rep and do a pretty decent volume.

Anyhow, I was just relating my own experiences FWIW. May be worth nothing to you, but nonetheless, the info is out there.
 
No, I said:

Beretta only produced 123 automatics in a caliber greater than 9mm

and

Taurus made no automatics in 9mm, 40 S&W, or .45 ACP, and no revolvers at all.


According to the ATF report, Taurus makes no revolvers. We all know they do. But the reporting requirements are on domestic production. Taurus makes the revolvers overseas, and imports them. The report doesn't contain import data.


Firearms imported into the US must meet certain ATF "sporting purpose" requirements. Caliber is among one of the criteria considered. One way producers get around selling guns in the United States that don't qualify for import is to produce the guns domestically. What they can't import, they produce here. Beretta did it with their .25 and .32 Autos. So did Taurus.

Taurus automatics in calibers 9mm and greater can meet enough of the import criteria. So can the revolvers. They make them overseas and import them. The smaller caliber semi-automatic guns can't be imported, so they produced them here. That's why it appears that Taurus doesn't make a revolver, or an automatic in 9mm, 40 S&W, or .45 ACP.


You can view the scoring criteria here:

http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-5330-5.pdf
 
So basically, for anyone to make sweeping statements about which manufacturer has the largest share of a particular market in the US, they'd better present sales figures for that particular market or else it's just noise.

Frankly, I don't care who makes or sells more of a particular product. All I care about is that I can buy the product that I want. Right now, it's hard to find Kimber 1911s. Most of the usual sources have dried up with only a few models available. I've been looking for a Stainless Pro Raptor II for months but no one seems to have them.
 
I just this week received store credit on a Kimber Pro Raptor II that I received for my Birthday in February. I took the gun out and it failed to return to battery consistently with all types of ball ammo and high quality mags. The first trip back to Kimber and they replaced the recoil spring and reamed and polished the chamber. The gun came back just as defective as when I sent it to them. First mag - failure to return to battery. It made me wonder if they even test fired the gun. Second trip to Kimber and the gun 1. Failed to Return to Battery consistently and 2. Intermittently (within a box of 50 rounds) had the slide lock back in the middle of a mag 3. 1 time slide failed to lock open on the last round fired. So Kimber's "CUSTOM SHOP" had the gun two times and not only failed to correct the original problem i.e. Failure to Return to Battery but also created some new problems. Neither time did the gun come back with an extra mag or anything 'extra'...not that I wanted anything but the gun to be fixed. The last time the gun came back it was covered in a coating of a very disgusting smelling cleaner - no attempt to even wipe it down before returning to the customer. The shop I bought it from is awesome. The manager was involved every step of the way. He had all dealings with Kimber and took care of shipping. Rather than send it back a third time he gave me store credit. This just all came to a head this week so this thread was very timely.

I believe this was ultimately resolved only because my dealer is a very big Kimber customer. They did right by him, not by me.

And before anyone says I don't know how to hold the gun or that it was a mag issue - all failures were experienced by multiple shooters including store employees using wilson, springfield, chip m, and Kimber mags.

The title of this thread should be "Kimber is circling the drain".
 
I hear of lots of problems with kimbers on the internet.

And I know nobody face to face that has owned a kimber (excluding the early external extractor models) that had anything but good things to say about them.

My personal experience was that even their lower end TLE II stuff will feed anything I can get to fit in a Wilson 47D or Shooting Star. Maybe people should complain about bad magazines and not about the guns they keep putting bad magazines into.
 
Maybe people should complain about bad magazines and not about the guns they keep putting bad magazines into.

If this were really the case why would Kimber spend the time and money attempting to fix issues - why wouldn't they just throw a new mag in the case and call it a day..and say problem solved? No instead they spend their man power polishing and reaming chambers and refitting barrels. The answer is that it's not always a mag issue it's a Kimber quality control issue.
 
The title of this thread should be "Kimber is circling the drain".

You'd think, right? But people still keep giving them money. I guess there are enough people who get good ones, like the Super Kombat Desert Elite Warrior HRT Tactical II that they see in the ad and just GOTTA HAVEIT.
 
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