Kimber---good or bad

[BIGGBAY90]

Hummm----is kimber pistol good or bad for they price---please only answer if you used one before---pros----cons

 

[IamTheSurvivalist]

They make very fine (handguns and rifles). They are a little expensive but so is a caddilac as apossed to a cobalt. the disadvantage would be capacity as apposed to a paraordinace p14 and the springfield 13rd version of the 1911...Other than that they make pretty sweet pistols. Real smooth and reliable. Parts interchangeable with 1911 parts

 

[esheato]

This has been beaten to death...

IME, and I've owned a couple, they're good for the 700-1100 dollar range.

As soon as you start reaching towards $1500, there are a ton of truly custom outfits out there that will do ya better.

Ed

Edit: I have a Pro CDP (alloy frame) that I used to shoot for IDPA. I put 30k through it in two years and I can't even remember one time that it choked that wasn't ammo related.

 

[Chopdoktor]

I had a used Kimber Custom II and it ran like a champ. Some people like to bash them because they aren't bargain-basement guns, and they think the owners are pretentious snobs. I put about a thousand rounds down the barrel with zero malfunctions, and to my knowledge, it only had about 300 through it before that. All in all, I'd say it was a great gun for the used price. Superbly accurate, and 100% reliable. I ended up selling it for $700 bucks, and now my buddy who bought it loves it, too. I wish I could've kept it, but I had no need for two fullsize .45's, and my HK USP Tactical .45 does everything the Kimber did and more. Get one used and give it a go. If you don't like it, you'll have NO problem selling.

 

[shiftyer1]

the answer is yes

 

[Russ Jackson]

I have had a Kimber Custom II for about a year. After over 2500 rds of all types of ammo I love the gun. I paid $679 at vanceoutdoors which I thought was a good price for a good looking American Made 1911. ...Russ

 

[Bubba613]

Look better, feel better shoot better out of the box than any other gun.
Durability stinks. Quality of the parts abysmal.

 

[BIGGBAY90]

I guess the stainless would last

 

[Ala Dan]

I own a Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II in .45 ACP. I find it to be attractive
as a daily carry piece; as its run like a champ with all kind's of ammo; even
with my very own handloads. I would recommend Kimber products to those
folk's looking for a nice [but somewhat expensive] factory 1911; without
spending a ton of $$$ on semi-custom/custom pistols~!

 

[EddieNFL]

Eclipse Custom - Excellent...a keeper

Tactical Custom - POS...got it running and sold it.

Pro Raptor - Couple of small problems...worked them out; good shooter

Customer Service - won't be calling back.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I've got five.
The reason I don't have six is I haven't seen one lately that I just can't do without.

 

[Zerodefect]

Very good if you buy the under $1000 models. I prefer K over SF,RRA, RIA etc. But the more expensive have no increased performance over the base models.

Most of the extra features on the high end K's are bling. Stick to the Custom II, TLE II, CDPII. I have limited experience with the Ultra small K's and won't comment on those. If your wanting a finer 1911 than the base model Kimbers which are quite nice, then pony up to LB, EB, W, or DW.

Most of Kimbers problems can be fixed for the fun of it as your 1911 building skils advance. I like changing sights and replacing the internal parts with Wilson or Ed Brown parts.




Rather than B about all of K's shortcomings, here's what I'm doing to fix them:

I'm rebuilding my K Custom CDP II 5" with:
-Hienie Slant rear sight
-Dawson .090" FO front sight (Kimbers front sight is too thick and slow)

-Wilson Sear
-Wilson Hammer
-Wilson disconnector ( some fitting required for these three, but not hard to do, need a $30 jig and a stone, get the MIM out!)

-Removed series II FP safety from slide and frame
-Wolff 18 lb recoil spring
-polished ramps, throat, guide rod
-stoned trigger hole in frame
-polished trigger bar
-Ed Brown 25lpi main spring housing (required a few swipes off of the frame corners to blend nicely)
-Tripp mags
-Kimber bump grip safety
-Ed Brown large paddle thumb safety


Allmost done, then I'll get her refinished. Starting to feel like a really custom 1911. I also have a 2010 DW V I'm tuning up, all 1911's need to be fitted to thier owners as much as the sear needs fitted to the hammer. melonite should fix most of K's rusting barrel problems, K deosn't use stainless barrels.


Kimber +++:
-Very good appearance
-most parts are very nice
-most MIM parts drop right in, no fitting required should you break them.
-accurate
-decent trigger for a 1911

Kimber ------:
-barrel in white, aka: rust. No stainless barrels
-MIM parts don't respond well to a trigger job, need replacement for pciky shooters like me, but it's not terrible hard or expensive.
-Not a high ride beavertail cut. More muzzel flip than an EB or DW.
-plastic MSH
-poor sights, fat front sight, no ledge on rear sight for racking one handed via holster or belt.

Overall: Great $700-1000 guns. Poor $1500-2000 guns

 

[CDR_Glock]

I have 2 Kimbers, Pro Raptor II and an Ultra Raptor II.

I changed out the springs and had issues early on. The Pro shoots well now that I have replaced the springs.

The Ultra had issues but in the end, I realize that I have been limp wristing with a soft grip. The Ultra needs to be held very firm, if not a chokehold, to keep from jamming. It has gotten better in the past 50 rounds. But I need to continue practicing with it. Is it because it's a Kimber? No. I think because a 3" 1911 was probably never meant to be. Will I give up on her? Not for now. I am patient and I have a lot of ammo. However, if there is a Gunsmith section, I will ask what kind of Jam I was having since I took pictures this time.

 

[DonRon]

Mine was back to Yonkers so many times that they charged me for the NY tolls on the Fedex delivery trucks. I finally traded it off for a Kahr CW 45 and it has failed to act up one time, even during the break in period.

 

[BlayGlock]

IME, and I've owned a couple, they're good for the 700-1100 dollar range.

As soon as you start reaching towards $1500, there are a ton of truly custom outfits out there that will do ya better.

Ill second this. Kimber's slide to frame fit and barrel lock-up are generally pretty good. This contributes to accuracy and logevity of that accuracy. They usually have decent triggers out of the box. The barrels wil rust if you do not take care of them. They do use MIM, which isnt really that big of deal but some do not care for it.

My favorite models are the Stainless TLE and the Eclipse. Kimber's KimPro does not hold up well in my experience.

 

[Sommerled]

I have two Kimbers an early custom shop officers stainless Covert Carry, never had a problem with it. The other is a 10mm stainless Target full size that, when new, wouldn't chamber a round without excessive force because the caliber stamp on the barrel impinged on the chamber making it out of round. The cust. service people were very short with me and blamed my hand loads. I told them it wouldn't chamber factory either. Anyway, I got the gun back in 10 days with apologies and they even sent the gun through their custom shop for a complete work over and it is a SWEET shooter now. Many thousands of rounds without a problem.
Sommerled

 

[Zanad]

so is the consensus on these 1911's is that they are great pistols but one should expect to be on their own if they have any problems with them becasue CS is crappy?

 

[Nanook]

I have a Grand Raptor II that I bought used, and I love it. I also shoot my buddy's Gold Match or whatever it's called.

Both are great shooters, I have nothing bad to say about either of them. Those are the only experiences I have, but I would buy another without a second thought.

 

[Zerodefect]

so is the consensus on these 1911's is that they are great pistols but one should expect to be on their own if they have any problems with them becasue CS is crappy?

99.99% of shooters are really poor at dealing with CS and warranty issues. A short look at the unrealistic expectations of any .net forum quickly shows that.

Even if Kimbers CS is OK, the way they go about it combined with crazy fanatic gun owners is a complete system failure. You have to have over the top good customer service in the firearm industry, even if it means raiseing prices to cover all the freebies. (Glocks don't have to cost $600)

What's worse is when someone exclaims how awesome a companies CS is, then admits it wasn't the manufactures fault, they ran it over with thier truck, shot reloads with it, lead fouled rifleing, etc. etc. Kinda makes us look bad.



I don't think Kimber even has the ability to test firearms sent back. Because they can't fix simple problems that this armchair commando can. Maybe I should forward my resume to Kimber. LOLz

I have a file and a hammer!

 

[mongo4567]

I have a stainless custom and a compact custom. I love them, very accurate and good triggers right out of the box. I would trust either with my life. I've shot several ultra's as well and one will likely be a future purchase. For the lower priced models they are hard to beat.

 

[Valkman]

I have 3 Kimbers with no issues - a Stainless Target II, a Compact Custom and a Compact CDP. The CDP is my main carry gun and all 3 are fantastic shooters.

 

[J.R.W.]

I've got a Tactical Pro II that got its first cleaning recently in about 5k rounds. It was the first detail strip that I've ever done on it(10k if I had to guess). It was a bit finicky with some hollow points, but with the right mags and ammo, its been reliable. Even with all the soot in it from shooting a strict diet of lead reloads, it never coughed, burped, or farted. The only two issues I had were a stripped grip screw bushing when I got it, and the safety plunger tube loosened up. Both were simple fixes. Kimber is a tough pistol to beat for the money.

 

[Old krow]

I have a Custom II. I love it. I bought it used and have put 1k-1.5k rounds through it without a malfunction of any kind.

I have heard that CS is shaky. I called and apparently I got the nice guy. I can't speak for the entire staff, just the one guy that I called one time. He was knowledgeable, informative, and polite. I wouldn't be surprised if I got the shotty CS that others have described, but I didn't when I called.

Overall: Great $700-1000 guns. Poor $1500-2000 guns

As soon as you start reaching towards $1500, there are a ton of truly custom outfits out there that will do ya better.

I agree with these guys. They're a good gun IMHO, but I'd keep my budget for one in the above parameters.

 

[blackhawk5]

I have a Kimber Gold Match which I've had for 10 years. It works every time and is very accurate. Seems to digest anything I put through it, although, I primarily shoot 230 grain ball ammo. I think you can get a good 1911 for less money, but Kimber makes a very good pistol.

 

[Damon555]

When my friends shoot my Eclipse Custom II they say it's the nicest gun they have ever shot. Many of them can shoot it very well too, even as first time shooters.


I love it.....both my brothers have Kimbers and guess what? They love them. I can't speak for anyone else.