Kimber 1911 in 9mm

I put a Kimber LW 9mm on layaway during the holidays. The price was good and I have never owned a Kimber firearm. I normally buy 1911's that come from the Phillipines. My RIA in particular in .45 acp has been excellent.

This time I decided to opt for what I term a higher end 1911 and the price was only slightly higher than my RIA and ATI 1911's.

I received it today and took it to the range. It shot excellent. I put 150 rounds through it and only had one FTE, but I chalked it up to break-in. I can see now why folks like Kimber 1911s and they are a step up from ATI and RIA. The sights, while I need to adjust slightly are much nicer. It felt good in the hand, cycles and felt good, and was accurate.

I'm glad I made the purchase, and, based on my experience with Kimber, will be looking for a 45 acp Kimber in the future.

Below are a couple of pics showing the firearm and my shooting range results.




The center target was shot from 12 yards. I have to adjust it a bit as I had to aim off center and to the left of the target center to hit near the center.




CH

potmetal said:

I bought this same gun earlier today. It's my first Kimber too. It is a tightly fitted gun. I was surprised that you only get one mag with it.
I'm glad to hear how well it shot for you. I hope mine does as well.

Click to expand...

It is pretty nice. Yeah one mag, and a 9 round magazine at that. The good thing is that I had numerous other 10 round 1911 magazines. All except one of my MecGar magazines functioned well. the MecGar was the one I was using when I had my FTE. So I'll be trying it again at a different date. Also, after I was done at the range, I did notice that the screws from the hand guards became a little loose. I tightened them back up and my add Blue loctite if they should get loose again.

The only niggle I have, is that the Safety is only for right handed shooters. There is no ambi safety on this model. That's still ok, but I do wish the safety release were changeable. That's with all 1911's though, so it's not a ding on Kimber by any means.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. After the range, it did make me start looking at a Kimber in 45acp for a future purchase. Oddly enough, the big four I looked at (Grabagun, Buds, Gunbuyer, and KyGunCo) did not have Kimber's in stock. I guess the holidays depleted them of Kimber firearms.

Have fun

CH

kcofohio said:

I believe I have 1 Kimber, 1 Wilson, and 1 MecGar for my Aegis. All have worked fine.

Crazy Horse, I'm glad you are happy with your Kimber.

Click to expand...

THX.

I've always considered myself a "Low Roller" as the 1911 market seems so flooded. Which is why I jumped on the RIA when I saw it on sale. Not one regret on that purchase. I started looking at the ATI route as the price was inexpensive. I have only been disappointed with my 1911 45acp commander. It fires every round without issue, but the rounds extract backwards. Sometimes one will hit me in the forehead. I sent it to ATI who didn't find any issue with it (hmmm). So then I purchased an extractor bending tool. Have tried several times to work on it, but I haven't been successful. I still have it, but I don't fire it often. My compact ATI and my 9mm ATI 1911's are all good, reliable and accurate, it's just the 45 ATI that is problematic.

The other thing is that all the 1911's I have don't look nearly as nice as the Kimber. All those base color 1911's look like males all in black and white at a club, and the Kimber looks like the hot girl in a knockout dress. Truly a sight worth looking at. LoL.

CH

halfmoonclip said:

1911 extractors aren't that hard to tune; glad you like yer pistole. Had a 1911 Colt in 9mm; sold it to a buddy. It was a sweet and mellow shooter.
A word on 1911 9mm magazines; generally they fit standard .45 grip frames, so the 9mm mags need internal spacers. Problem is, the spacers aren't always in the same place in the magazine, so get new mags that match yours; guessing they are in the rear, like a Colt.
Only current Kimber is a 9mm Evo; after a trip to the mothership (quick turnaround), it runs great and shoots straight.
I've owned some relatively inexpensive 1911s; a Springer GI and currently a Turk. Both fun to shoot, but the GI sights are a challenge.
Moon

Click to expand...

DT Guy said:

I just picked up the all steel two-tone in .45, and it seems to shoot well (as well as my old eyes can see, at least.)

Here's the first outing, at 10 yards:
View attachment 970727

That's some pretty good pricing on these lately, glad I caught one.

I'm starting to see that with the GI sights, that's why I'm inquiring with FusionFirearms about getting Novak cuts on my 9mm ATI. My RIA in 45 has Novak sights and it's a sweet an accurate shooter.

I ordered a 38 super barrel for my 9mm ATI. Projects to keep me entertained. Love the 1911 platform. Don't recall why I had gotten away from it. I guess shooting IDPA with Semi's lured me away for a bit. With all the shortages, COVID, and other issues in 2020. Now I'm back on it and enjoying tinkering with them. Too bad I don't have a range in my backyard to make it easier to shoot, evaluate, and make adjustments on the extractor.

CH

Larry

Click to expand...

That's some pretty good shooting at 10 yards.

That's nice. Since then, they've switched the front sight to a fiber optic front sight.

Never realized Kimber's were not not made in bulk like other 1911's. They seem to be out of stock for the 45acp at most online dealers.

Not necessarily a bag thing as it allows me to save up until I do find one.

CH

Quick update.

Adjusted the rear sight and went back to the range. This time I ran 50 round seller&bellot 9mm rounds in addition to my reloads (about 100 in total). No issues.

It felt and fired great. I ran through an advanced drill with targets ranging from 5-75 feet. It cycled with no issues and I was able to quickly change magazines during the drill.

I have a number of firearms, but only a few that I can pick up and easily and confidently put rounds down range quickly and more importantly accurately without having to concentrate too hard. It's turning out to be among my top 3 favorites. As Hickok45 would say, this is one I wouldn't get rid of.

Below is my initial shots after adjusting the rear sight. The left side is at 5 yards, the right side is 7 yards. The center is from 12 yards.





The silhouette below is running the advanced pistol program.





If you come across a Kimber, I highly recommend it.

CH

drband said:

I don't think you need an extractor bending tool... you need to tune the extractor hook. See this link--it's a nice tutorial-- https://www.1911forum.com/threads/steve-in-allentown-extractor-fitting.829865/

Click to expand...

drband,

Interesting post. I read the post and it kind of confused me. It did have examples of what the hook should look like. I'll have to look at the one on my ATI.

It mentions the extractor needing less serious attention. Also, when I tested to see if the extractor holds the case (shake test), it passed and held the case. I'm thinking that I have to bevel the bottom of the extractor hook. I will have to look at it to make sure it's beveled.

I'll have to do a deep dive on the process and see what adjustments need to be made.

THX

CH

drband said:

I don't think you need an extractor bending tool... you need to tune the extractor hook. See this link--it's a nice tutorial-- https://www.1911forum.com/threads/steve-in-allentown-extractor-fitting.829865/

Click to expand...

drband,

I worked on the extractor after reading the link you provided. It seemed to work. The spent cases no longer eject straight back. Now they go back at around the 4:30 to 5:00 position. I don't want to file more off the bottom space of the extractor as the article indicated there are issues if you take off too much. I'm thinking that maybe if I put a couple of hundred rounds through it, the extractor may smooth out a bit more. I'd like it to extract the cases to the 4:00 position.

I had forgotten how accurate it is. It is on par with the Kimber in 9mm and the RIA 45acp. Even if it is a Commander size, the fact that it is all steel really takes the recoil out.

It's nice to shoot it and not be apprehensive on whether a case will hit my on the face. This of course effects accuracy as I get more focused on not being hit by a spent case rather than concentrating on the target.

Thanks for sharing the link.

CH