New Kimber 1911 not fully chambering

Status
Not open for further replies.
OhioShooter75

OhioShooter75

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
38
Location
Cincinnati
5B61742F-DE38-42D6-943D-CD3AB85369D5.jpeg
Hi all,

The gun is a custom stainless II, I have about 300 rounds through it and have been having this issue from the start.
The rounds hang up when attempting to go to the horizontal position and into the chamber. The slide usually stops around 1/2” to 1/4” from closed.
I keep the gun clean and well oiled. I’m using Kim-pro tac mags. Happens with factory ammo and reloads. I polished the feed ramp with a felt bob and some metal polish.
The picture attached is typically what the malfunction looks like. I recreated that by slowly cycling the gun to induce the error.
While doing that if I pushed back on the barrel or forward on the slide the round would chamber.
I’ve read a bunch of posts on feeding problems but I’m not sure how to narrow down what to look at. I’m thinking possible causes are the extractor is too tight not letting the case slide against the breach face, or the barrel link is too long, or the slide is hanging up somewhat when contacting the disconnector and loosing momentum.

thoughts? Suggestions?

thanks,
Aaron
 
Welcome to THR! I can't answer your question, but I've hung around to know that some standard questions will be asked:
1. Is the pistol stock, or have you modified or swapped parts out?
2. If modified, what modifications did you make? Or what parts did you swap out?
3. Have you contacted Kimber? What was their response?
 
The only thing I’ve done is buy the Kim-Pro mags and polish the feed ramp a little.

I have not contacted Kimber yet but I’m getting close.
Thanks
 
It's tough to know exactly what the issue is without the gun in front of us, but common things...

- As Spats McGee suggested, contact Kimber

Make sure it is the gun and not something else, like you, the ammo, lubrication, etc.
- Use factory 230gr full metal jacket (ball) ammo - this feeds the best
- Does the problem happen with every round in the mag, or just the first (or some other)? If it is just the first round, don't use an 8 round mag, or download a round to see if it still happens.

I keep the gun clean and well oiled.
Click to expand...
- Clean is one thing, but at only 300 rounds that's probably not the issue. However, in this "Glock era" and the "6 drops of oil" stuff, most folks new to 1911's (or Browning Hi-Power, or SIG P226, or Beretta 92, or etc.) significantly under-lube their gun.

Here are a few lube videos you can watch to see if you are lubing similarly








- The problem does sound like an extractor issue, but if you don't know what you're doing (I wouldn't have polished the feed ramp), you may be better off having it done by somebody else, like Kimber.
 
Thanks I’ll check the extractor for burs or sharp edges when I get a chance. I did check the tension as shown in the first video and it seemed very tight.
 
The gun is definitely thoroughly lubed.
The malfunction can happen at any time there is no consistency to when it happens. Some mags feed 100% and some only 50% but it usually happens at least 2 of 7 rounds I would say. I only load 7 rounds in the mag. The failure rate is very high it’s not a 1 in a 100 thing.
 
Jim Watson said:
Look at a jammed cartridge.
Is there a crescent shaped cut about 0.1" behind the case mouth on what was the down side.
Click to expand...

yes, and this makes no sense to me. After polishing the feed ramp the marks were a little less severe but still there sometimes. There are definitely no sharp edges anywhere that I can feel.
 
Ah, but is the corner between the barrel ramp and the chamber wall nice and (nearly) square?
There needs to be a SMALL radius "turnover" there.
I wouldn't undertake to cut it myself, but then I have a 1911 specialist gunsmith 20 minutes drive.
 
The transition from ramp to chamber is definitely not a sharp edge but I did not radius it really just polished it lightly. Definitely erred on the cautious side.
 
Barrel link. If you have another
1911 style pistol, change out and
see what happens with different barrel
link.
 
None of my three Kimbers worked with Kimber magazines. Stopping when slightly out of battery was a typical malfunction. That part was cured by using better magazines.

My Kimber Stainless Gold Match had a totally defective extractor, what appeared to be a bad heat treat. It warped, as soon as it got warm, though not it a way that inhibited feeding, as it warped away from the direction of the hook, so it was worthless at trhe job of extracting. The cure was a replacement extractor, which I did, myself, with a non-Kimber extractor.
 
Last edited:
Checking with known good mags is a great idea! I would not trust the kimber mags. Wilson combat, McCormick, Tripp, Checkmate, Metalform , etc. are good candidates.
You mentioned extractor tension seemed tight— if mags don’t clear it up then the extractor is still the most likely issue. Call Kimber or get to a good gunsmith.
 
I’m using Kim-Pro tac mags they are made by Checkmate not Kimber.
My brother has the same gun but not the stainless version. I can see about trying his barrel or just the link. Are the links easy to swap or is driving the pin out difficult? I wouldn’t need a new pin would I?
Thanks
 
most common cause is excessive extractor tension.

Second is poor extractor geometry. I have seen this on many new extractors with much better reputations with Kimber, but its a simple fix.

third is magazine not lining up. GI mags are the only magazine I have seen really eliminate this and a few other types of jam.

fourth is ammunition.

Fifth is defective milling on the receiver.

Look up "1911Tuner" posts all over the internet.
Or get the jerry kuhnhausen manuals on 1911's.
 
With the barrel out of the gun, does a round of factory ball ammo drop freely into the chamber? Does it seem tight, or does it have a slight clearance? Does it drop back out freely?
 
I had a similar issue with my Stainless LW. It would happen most often with the first round in an 8 round mag, but could happen further down the mag as well. I have the original mag, and three Kim-Pro mags that I purchased new. I tried a Wilson Combat mag from a friend (well used) and had the same issue. I tried reloading with different seating depths and crimps but it happened with factory ammo as well. When mine would fail to go into battery, the rim of the cartridge had not yet reached the extractor, so despite that being an issue for many internet warriors it didn't seem to be my issue. I did not attempt any feed ramp work, although I did swap extractors with another one before realizing the cases weren't getting that high. In the end I called Kimber who sent me an overnight shipping label 20 minutes after I got off the phone with them. I shipped them the gun the next day and had it back within a week with a re-fitted barrel, polished feed ramp, reamed chamber, new disconnector, trigger and sear. Not sure why all of that, or what specifically cured it but the gun works flawlessly now. I have heard Kimbers have tight chambers, and I wonder if that was the main culprit. It was about three months old when I sent it in, and had about a thousand rounds through it.
 
Ritchie said:
With the barrel out of the gun, does a round of factory ball ammo drop freely into the chamber? Does it seem tight, or does it have a slight clearance? Does it drop back out freely?
Click to expand...

yes rounds drop in and out smoothly seems totally normal not tight
 
Sefuller5741 said:
I had a similar issue with my Stainless LW. It would happen most often with the first round in an 8 round mag, but could happen further down the mag as well. I have the original mag, and three Kim-Pro mags that I purchased new. I tried a Wilson Combat mag from a friend (well used) and had the same issue. I tried reloading with different seating depths and crimps but it happened with factory ammo as well. When mine would fail to go into battery, the rim of the cartridge had not yet reached the extractor, so despite that being an issue for many internet warriors it didn't seem to be my issue. I did not attempt any feed ramp work, although I did swap extractors with another one before realizing the cases weren't getting that high. In the end I called Kimber who sent me an overnight shipping label 20 minutes after I got off the phone with them. I shipped them the gun the next day and had it back within a week with a re-fitted barrel, polished feed ramp, reamed chamber, new disconnector, trigger and sear. Not sure why all of that, or what specifically cured it but the gun works flawlessly now. I have heard Kimbers have tight chambers, and I wonder if that was the main culprit. It was about three months old when I sent it in, and had about a thousand rounds through it.
Click to expand...

sounds like they threw pretty much everything at the problem. If I can’t get mine sorted out soon I’ll give them a call.
 
My Custom TLEII was tight chambered from the start I had Doug Philips throat the barrel and now she is running everything. I also changed the recoil spring out to a Wolf variable 18 1/2 lb, as some of my hand loads were a bit rough on the slide to frame and return to battery. Definitely started off with Wilson 47D magazines.
 
drband said:
Checking with known good mags is a great idea! I would not trust the kimber mags. Wilson combat, McCormick, Tripp, Checkmate, Metalform , etc. are good candidates.
You mentioned extractor tension seemed tight— if mags don’t clear it up then the extractor is still the most likely issue. Call Kimber or get to a good gunsmith.
Click to expand...

Two of the three Kimbers I bought came with completely useless mags, the Warrior's mag wouldn't even load fully as the follower was so far out of spec it'd jam up after two rounds.

Feed them Wilson, CMC or Tripp mags and they ran perfect.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Should I polish my chamber?
2
Replies
44
Views
3K
Odd Job
Odd Job
D
  • Locked
Problem I hope you guys can solve...
Replies
11
Views
772
1911Tuner
1
W
  • Locked
Beretta 70s problem
Replies
1
Views
456
gau5
G
S
  • Locked
Paraord 1911 FTF problem.
Replies
4
Views
506
SWDoc
S
T
  • Locked
Feed/chambering problems
Replies
9
Views
2K
Lonestar49
L
Back
Top