Kimber Quality

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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.
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Which reminds me that my UltraCDP also had an ambi safety that shattered like fine crystal while being shot - that was eerie.

But, like the man said, both it and the FPB plunger were within 1K rounds - actually, I think both mine were within 500. If it makes it to 1K it'll probably be fine. Then the Clint Smith clock starts ticking but it ticks for every gun - not just Kimbers.
 
I have this one that I have not fired a lot, but keep thinking it's goin break because I read these threads that tell me it will, but hasn't done anything but go bang yet.

This is a custom shop production. Does that have any positive effect? I don't know. Just asking.
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Just bought my first handgun, a Kimber Stainless II, .45. Researched this purchase for a while, and tried to shoot a number of guns, not just 1911's. But the balance, finish and accurary sold me on the Kimber. Already plan on getting the conversion kit........it's a real money pit, isn't it ?????
 
I have a Kimber Ultra Carry II. It took a good 250 rounds to break in, but after that no problems. In the first 100 I had a bunch of FTF's. It runs smooth now. My friend is a 1911 guy and he looks down his nose at anything that doesn't have a Colt(I tease him that it's My Pretty Pony) on the side. When I compared his 70 series to my Kimber the Kimber was made to much tighter tolerances(his does have more use). The only thing I don't like is their use of MIM. It works, but I bet the MIM parts will be the first thing to wear out or break. I wear it OC when attending upscale(for me) events. She is pretty.
 
Back in the mid 90's I bought my first 1911. A springer A-1. It shot anything and everything I put into it with NO issues. I made some modifications because I WANTED to, ie trigger job, grip safety etc, to make it better for me.

About a year later I bought a springer ultra compact. It shot everything I put into it as well. No issues.

This spring I bought a Kimber to use as a game gun. I made some modifications because I HAD to in order to get it to fire reliably. I averaged a stoppage every 30 rounds or so right out of the box due to the GUN and NOT the mags / ammo / whatever. After tweaking and reshaping the extractor and a new mag release, it is reliable and now feeds anything and everything.

Last week I bought a STI Spartan to replace my Kimber as my game gun. It has worked straight out of the box, and like my springers, I will make modifications because I WANT to and not because I HAVE to.

You MAY get lucky with your Kimber purchase. Many people do. I did NOT, and will NEVER buy another of their products. For $1K spent, you should NOT have to modify the thing to get it to work reliably. The Kimber is the ONLY gun I have that has made me "fix" it before it would shoot.

Kimber QC?

/spit
 
I don't have a problem with a manufacturer demanding that I run 500 rounds through a firearm before they'll take me seriously.

...if they include a 200.00 check with the gun.

In case nobody's noticed, ammo prices have gone up and it now costs a fair amount of money to complete somebody else's sloppy QC on my dime.

I found that for far less I can buy Dawson's "Enhancement Package" which may or may not include a "break-in". What I know it includes is freight both ways if it glitches up with NO WHINING about "check different factory rounds" or "are you sure you're not limp wristing it?". If it doesn't run, it's defective and will be fixed. Gratis. No freight for the customer's account - none.

I like that.

I'd cheerfully pay 150.00 extra for that sort of peace of mind with Kimber. But I won't hold my breath for that day to come.

Meantime I'll just buy STI - they're not as pretty as my Eclipse but they run first time, every time and that's worth a little polymer pain.
 
Kimber Quality: Goes Without Peer

A .45 ACP Kimber never misfires, never stovepipes, never fails. That's a fairly good recommendation in my opinion. It's also pretty to look-at and to fondle. Many cost more, but none more dependable. PLUS I can hit what I aim at with a KIMBER 5" barrel. What's not to like? The Price? Once passed that quandry, it's all golden. cliffy
 
there are the things you hear and then the things you know, i have shot/used/ trained with at least 6 different models of kimber 1911's and i haven't had a negative thing to say about any of them, from thier lower line to thier most expensive stuff.
 
Ultra CDP II owner here, and not a single problem from day one.

Nada, zilch, its perfect!
 
Kimber Ultra Eclipse II owner here, she's a beautiful pistol. That's just the icing though. She has fed every piece of crap ammo I have ever fed her. Some of the stuff I made when I first beginning to learn how to reload my own ammo!:uhoh: This gun has been dropped on the street (by accident of course), shot to hell, carried, and fondled by many envious admirers. She still shoots perfect. The only changes I made were: new aluminum mainspring housing, new Crimson Trace grips, new Truglo TFO sights, and a minor smoothing of the sear and hammer. Then again, I am pretty anal about all of my guns. But this gun works great. Would highly recommend one to anybody looking to enter the 1911 platform.:D
 
Pro Carry 2

i own a Kimber Pro Carry 2 that i baught new online from the armory. when i first started firing the gun it would occasionally ftf on the first round from my clips. i was using one factory mag and two KimPro Tacmags. it would fail with both types. i did some reading and asking on THR and found that it was most likely an extractor tension issue (it was too tight). so i disassembled the slide and tuned the extractor(slight bending, no machining). after the extractor was tuned i have not had one FTF since. that was about 500 rounds ago and counting. i now concealed carry my kimber and trust my life to it. it eats all types ive fed it (FMJ/JHP). it is SUPER accurate, feels great in my hand, is a bit lighter then most 1911's and has some great extra features that you would not get on alot of stock 1911's.

on a side note my roommate conceal carries a Kimber Ultra Carry 2 and loves it. it has been flawless since round #1. its a 3" barrel but is still accurate. both are beautys.

+1 Kimber
 
As far as Kimbers go, it seems I hear more issues with the Ultra line, then the Pro then the fullsize. The pro really benefits from the Wolff springs, but the 3" barrel on the ultras may be part of the problem. While not ALL of the ultras are bad (as noted, several on here have good ones), they would tend to be the pickier of the sizes to take ammo.

My Pro Carry II has been just fine, but I'll be swapping in the Wolff springs for the 4" barrel when that time comes. Hoping it will tighten it up just a bit.
 
It just kills me that they cost an insane amount of money (IMHO), and many of them need to be tweaked to be even close to reliable. I can't bring myself to spend $1000+ for a gun I'm actually going to shoot (Not buying it for an investment), let alone one that isn't as reliable as any of my CZ clones that cost about a third what a Kimber costs. I won't even go into the limp wristing stuff now..
 
I trust my life to a Kimber also. Ultra CDP II in .45 ACP, and I have and love Colts. But Colt didn't make a 3" 1911 like the UCDP. In the years I've owned it, it has not disappointed me, as it's my most accurate handgun out of the box. I'd still like to have a Commander-sized Colt.
 
I would love to be stateside right now and get together with even just one of the people on here that own an Ultra, and do some comparisons. Like I said earlier, of the two Kimbers I have, the Ultra has been a nightmare. I am currently deployed, and cannot, off the top of my head, remember what exactly it was that Kimber did to it when i sent it in for repair, but it did not improve the problem at all... Not that doing comparisons between my unreliable Ultra and a reliable Ultra would revieve the cause of the problem, but it would be a nice endevor anyway.
 
Hi Folks,

Sorry to bust in on your thread, but i reckon this is the best spot to get the advise i need. I had my first experience with a Kimber last year while traveling around your country.Since then i've wanted one, the SIS Custom/RL to be exact. And if i am to go through the Mountain of redtape to import one, it would seriously put my mind at ease to know what you guys think. I am of the mindset "Buy once and buy right" and this is particularly important to me when purchasing new additions for my gun safe. How well does kimber compare to Les Bear, Wilson, Sti or Para Ordnance?

Hezz
Ireland
 
If you are so inclined, you can do a search of my previous Kimber posts and experiences. I likely have owned as many or more Kimbers as anyone at THR, well north of 2-dozen. Yeaup. Most of my Kimbers were excellent! Five were defective. Three of those were repaired properly and timely. One was never fixed properly, even after three returns to the "custom" shop. One was returned defective, and literally untouched...this after a promise to repair it. These five pistols were "Custom Shop" pistols.

I submit that the problem is not Kimber (or any company's) base quality. The potential problem is how good is the service when you have to call on them for warranty repair. You will eventually have to make a warranty repair of any company's firearms. It's a matter of simple probability. For that matter, one of my Colt 1911s left the factory without the receiver "receiving" its final belt-sander finishing...it had an ocean of waves all across the top. :) Odd, isn't it? Well, it too was repaired fast and properly.

This is what I suggest: buy the 1911 that strikes your fanacy, whatever the make and model and caliber. Before you buy it, insist, and I mean insist that you be allowed to (or have the FFL) break the pistol down so you can examine it inside out. If it passes your inspection, buy it and shoot the hades out of it. :D Enjoy it for what it is...a 1911.

Doc2005
 
Kimber Tactical Ultra II has run 100% out of the box (going on 3 yrs now) not 1 single problem is a great weapon
 
sure is nice to read the comments about the kimbers. here is a $1000 plus handgun that 30% stated they didn't work right out of the box. Hell maybe my jennings J22 justneeds 500 more break in rounds through it!!!!!
 
sure is nice to read the comments about the kimbers. here is a $1000 plus handgun that 30% stated they didn't work right out of the box. Hell maybe my jennings J22 justneeds 500 more break in rounds through it!!!!!
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i wouldnt make your own statistics based off of the number of gun posts. people are more likely to post about their gun when it is NOT working so they can figure out how to fix it. also everyone keeps saying "$1000+" for kimbers... this is not correct. i payed $720 after shipping and ffl for my NEW IN BOX pro carry 2 which i carry and love. it was not an amazing deal and it is still available for this price off of the armory. when comparing manufacturers/makes just be fair.
cheers
 
Quality ?

Hey There:
When it comes to quality there are other things to consider. The guns are made right.. Kimber has no control over someone limp wristing the thing , Not understanding it, or feeding it the wrong ammo. The Ultra line is made of Aluminum . Frame and slide. Alum. does not like to slide on Alum. They work very well with good lube. If too dry that type of frame and slide may give ya fits. Mine works very well..
I have an older Colt (70) and have fired over 100k rounds through it in competition. It has been worked on so many times I can not remember them all.
Any gun and I don't care who made it if fired a lot will come up with some kind of issues. Even revolvers wear out. Things like extractor problems are no different then putting a new spark plug in your lawn mower.
Parts go bad even new ones. If parts fell off the gun I would say you would have a quality issue. If No one can shoot it and hit anything with it I would say you have a quality issue. Or bad ammo. My old Colt has had a steady diet of SWC for that 100K rounds . Never jam ? Bull... And always at the wrong time... But it is the most reliable gun I own. The Kimber is next.
The kimber is a carry weapon and not a target gun.. (Ultra Carry 2) 3" barrel and very accurate.. 50 yards ? Not !!!! not suposed to be. But it goes bang every time and that is why I own it. And carry it every day....
Any good dry lube will keep it running smooth. Limp wristing those little farts can be an issue... They are small and sassy ...
Choose what you will.... But they all need attention... A good 1911 shooter can make any brand work ..... Have fun with what ever you get.
 
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