Kimber Quality

[rojocorsa]

This perhaps has been discussed before, but I have just recently joined THR.

Some claim that Kimber quality is spotty and that they are over priced.
Others say that Kimber is the best, etc.

Keep in mind that I am a beginner, I have more "book" knowledge than actual range experience. The only 1911s that I have shot were a Kimber Custom II and a Colt Series 80. I only have positive things to say about the Kimber. The weapon felt good in my hand and it balanced well. The trigger was crisp and it resets promptly. I personally liked it better than the Series 80, it just felt more overall "smooth'', like a Cadillac. At seven yards I got very decent groups with the Kimber.

(I have nothing against the Series 80 BTW)

But what is the truth? Is Kimber a reliable brand, or would buying a Kimber be a bad investment?

Also what are other good brands for 1911s?

 

[kmbrman]

Iv'e owned a Kimber Custom 2 for many years and fired every shape and style of FMJ and JHP through it. It has always been utterly reliable and as accurate as I can hold it. Have used it to take CC test in my state, and the gun outshot everyones pistols I shot with on the qualification target. The only change Iv'e made is that I installed Novak sights that I can see easier.

 

[rojocorsa]

And do Kimbers present those feeding ramp problems found on certain 1911s?

 

[sammy]

I have a Stainless Target II that is out to Cylinder and Slide for a action job and magwell. The pistol has allways been flawless and was my favorite before it left. Had a few FTF's the first 200 rounds but ran everything I fed it after that (3000 rounds). That was 7 months ago and I am told it is shipping this week. Cannot wait!!!

 

[Wildfire]

Trust my life to one.

Hey There;
I have colts TOO..
I carry a Kimber Ultra Carry and trust my life to it.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I traded a Colt Gov for a Kimber Eclips. Took it home and striped to clean and found frame covered in rust under grips. Not best way to start relationship with a new pistol. It wouldn't work with Kimber mag 2 or 3 jams per mag.Switched to my Colt mags worked fine. Sorry I traded for another Colt and took a beating . Never another Kimber in my Collection.
Dan Wesson beats it hands down

 

[Ron James]

I believe it a case of some people like Vanilla and some people like Chocolate. I have a couple of Colts, one a Gold Cup, good guns. I own a couple of Kimbers, good guns. Which is best, My Kimbers are more accurate, all the guns are reliable, no problems with any of them. When ever someone asks which is best I'm reminded of that old question, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, who knows? My Kimbers are good guns, If I owned a Wilson, a Wesson, or S&W or any of the others 1911s, I might say they are the best. I've know a guy that swears that his 2000 { closer to 3000 than 2000 }Wilson built gun is a piece of crap, Go figure. Just 2 cents of nothing, the above information is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[rojocorsa]

I like Kimbers so far, but when I read stuff like this I get mixed feelings

I traded a Colt Gov for a Kimber Eclips. Took it home and striped to clean and found frame covered in rust under grips. Not best way to start relationship with a new pistol. It wouldn't work with Kimber mag 2 or 3 jams per mag.Switched to my Colt mags worked fine. Sorry I traded for another Colt and took a beating . Never another Kimber in my Collection.
Dan Wesson beats it hands down

Are those isolated incidents?

I know that when something is mass-produced sometimes there are bound to be factory defects, but isn't that why there is supposed to be some kind of factory quality control system, so the faulty product never reaches the customer?

Also, as most of you may be aware about the new Kimber SIS...
To say that the LAPD and LAPD SWAT endorce it, is that just plain old publicity?

 

[DeathByCactus]

So far, I have had nothing but problems with my Kimber Pro CDP II. FTFs left and right, and I see many other issues regarding this on 1911forum and other 1911 specific places.

That aside, the Kimber is in the shop right now getting a recoil spring replaced, feed ramp polished, mainspring changed out (might as well since it has to be there anyway).

I was 700 or 800 rounds through before I sent it out. Once I get it back I will test it and see how it is. I have my super awesome incredible Colt Custom .38 Super that has never failed me though. So I will have a carry piece should the Kimber not work out.

It sucks because this is the second time this has happened to me. My Para Ord P14-45 had the same problems (except 20x worse). Never could get it to function. Sooner or later I will either sell it or send it back out to Para. It is like every other 1911 I get to try to replace the .38 super is cursed. I can't win.

 

[Rexster]

All three of my Kimbers gave me drama; three strikes, Kimber is out.
I am tired of typing the longer version; please use the search feature.

 

[jhco]

kimber feeds fine if you use ball ammo which is what the factory recomends anyway .
heres the low down the guys that put kimber down either have never owned one or owned one of the older ones, kimbers at one time were top of the line then they decided to put external extractors on them which was a huge mistake, the kimbers that they are makeing now are once again tops

i will say that their factory mags do suck i have switched to edbrown mags and they work flawless

 

[xrockdawgx]

Take it or leave it..... I have two Kimbers. One I love. One I hate. I have a Raptor II. LOVE IT!!!! And, I have an Ultra Raptor II. HATE IT!!!!

 

[Ske1etor]

Custom II here... no problems after about 300-400 rounds or so (A couple of failures to feed within the first couple of weekends...)

 

[WmCC]

Five Kimbers here. All run perfectly and are extremely accurate.

It has been my experience over the years that most 1911 issues involve one or more of the following items which can be easily corrected at the range in less than three minutes:

Extractor, extractor tension

Magazine(s)

Poor or non spec reloads.


I can name two shooters at our local range who were ready to sell their handguns within the past six months; one owned a Springer and the other had a Colt. One simply had crappy extractor tension and the other was using a POS mag and poorly spec'd reloads. Each fix took about two minutes.

 

[Ala Dan]

Like my friemd Wildfire I trust my life to a 3" SS Kimber Ultra Carry II,
pictuered here~! I by-pass the 5" 1911's (Les Baer TRS, Smith & Wesson
#108282, and Springfield WW-II G.I. replica) along with my old duty piece
(West German SIG-SAUER P220A .45 ACP); in favor of the little Kimber. It
has been flawless from round #1~!

 

[Kindrox]

The last time I went to the range, the guy next to me was shooting a 3" Kimber. Every few shots the action either failed to go into battery, or had some kind of jam. I don't know the story behind it, but my Colt Defender has not had any problems.

 

[Pat-inCO]

This perhaps has been discussed before, but I have just recently joined THR.

Some claim that Kimber quality is spotty and that they are over priced. Others say that Kimber is the best, etc.

This comes up at least once per month. SEARCH is your friend.

Most complaints are from people that do not own Kimbers or have called Kimber customer service and then proceed to tell Kimber how to do their job. :banghead:

 

[BigO01]

If they had done their job right the first time the customer would never be calling the service department now would they ?

 

[Ske1etor]

If they had done their job right the first time the customer would never be calling the service department now would they ?

So Kimber is the only manufacturer to ever ship out a less than stellar product? Please tell me that last post was a joke...

 

[Walkalong]

I agree with Ala Dan. I have a Kimber CDP II Ultra that I bet my life on at times. It has been flawless from round one with a wide variety of ammo.

I had a Kimber CDP Pro that was finicky about extracting, but called Kimber and they sent me a new extractor. Worked like a champ after that.

 

[gunnie]

i have seen bad product from kimber and colt. IT IS A MASS PRODUCTION PROBLEM. i am not partial, i own both flavors, and like them. mine haven't had much in the way of repairs, except for a staked front sight on a series 70 that went south 20k+ rounds downstream. nothing lasts forever.

another option is that we could be paying 2K for hand fitted 1911's from both. i think that would raise a weeping and gnashing of the teeth that would make current quality whines pale in comparison.

gunnie

 

[Hawk]

Everybody ships a lemon now and again. An Eclipse proved to be quite nice; an Ultra CDP was a steaming heap that couldn't be made to run without removal of a faulty FPB.

But sometimes I wonder how long a story like mine stays relevant. I've heard of few similar cases in the recent past and those have generally been resolved to the owner's satisfaction.

Digging through the archives I find a post of mine from 2002 (TFL) while love was still in the air. The FPB signed off in late 2003.

So I wonder, how long will the busted FPB dog Kimber? Every time I post about it there's a chance it'll be picked up by a search engine. At some point, someone researching the matter will wonder if he found 100 FPB failures or 1 failure reported 100 times.

This epiphany came up side my head when I noticed some of the S&W lock failure stories were of a similar age. So I'm going to quit posting about my personal Kimber debacle. At least until I see another 5 year old S&W lock failure story trotted out like it happened yesterday.

There should probably be a statute of limitations on these sorts of reports.

 

[Crow1108]

I have a Stainless II. I love it. It's dead-on accurate, and eats FMJ and JHP alike. Only problem I had with it was attributed to magazines (Wilson 47Ds). Sold em to a buddy of mine, bought a few Kimpro Tac mags, and the problems went away.

 

[WoofersInc]

I currently have 7 of them. I have had very little issue with them. Not one of mine has had to go to a gunsmith or back to Kimber for any work. I have had some grip panels come loose during firing on the guns when they were new but that was easily fixed with a little Lock-Tite. A few failures to return to battery when new also, but that has also gone away with more shooting (break in). I would happily buy more if current finances would allow. And I use them as my carry guns, so I also trust my life to them.
I also have 1911's from Springfield, Taurus, Charles Daly, and Rock Island. So I am not blindly brand loyal.

 

[mljdeckard]

If you search and read Kimber threads, you find it is a question of which group gets control of it first, the lovers or the haters.

Keep in mind, it was Kimber that started the semi-custom craze in the mid-90s. They sold a LOT of guns. If you see a lot of complaints about them, one must also weigh that against how many are out there. I think of it as Ford Taurus syndrome. SO MANY Tauruses were made and sold, it's impossible to not know someone who has had problems with one, just because of the law of large numbers.

After carrying and using a dozen or so handguns extensively, including a few different 1911mfrs, I have decided that I will probably keep my Custom II until I die, and use it for just about everything. Between .45s and a .22 conversion kit, I can't remember the last time I had a stoppage.

One thing I have managed to discern, if you DO get a bad one, with a bad extractor or failure related to MIM parts, (Which I have NEVER observed personally) it will be early on, like within the first 5000 rounds. If you make it past that range, and you haven't had any problems, you probably won't for a long time. Just remember what Clint Smith preaches. EVERY gun breaks eventually.