Kimber sear tip

[russcoh]

Reading the manual for Kimber Pro Carry II, I noticed the following...
" Do not “ease” the hammer down by holding or blocking it. Doing so may mar the sear tip which will result in a substandard trigger pull." Anybody have opinions on this? I usually just dryfire with a snap cap, so it's not really an issue.. just curious about all the Kimbers I see with the hammers being let down manually. Is this actually an issue, or just Kimber covering themselves?

 

[The Bushmaster]

Yup...Just looked it up for my Kimber UCC II. That's what it says. Just pull the trigger with the gun pointed in a safe direction. And never let the slide slam to battery on an empty chamber...

 

[EHL]

I'm not sure that there's any truth to it. Just like all pistols always say in the instructions to "only shoot factory fresh ammo" no reloads. Buncha bologna. I think it's just Kimber being anal about it. If that were true, you would think that either Kimber's sears are significantly flawed or that other 1911's from other companys that use MIM parts would also experience the same "substandard trigger pull". If the sear is the problem, I'd change it out with a quality part. (Ed Brown, Wilson, etc...)

 

[ugaarguy]

I'm not sure that there's any truth to it.

Hilton Yam disagrees

http://www.10-8consulting.com/article_page.php?articleID=13
Weapon handling protocol
Always ease the slide down on an empty chamber, never slam it shut from slide lock. A G.I. rack grade 1911 may do fine when you slam the slide on the empty chamber, but a gun with a tuned trigger and fitted barrel will do better without it. The jarring of the slide slamming down on an empty chamber can cause the hammer to follow and the sear nose to crash into the hammer hooks. Your trigger job will last longer if you ease the slide down. Further, the lower lugs on a match fit barrel take a lot of impact when they contact the slide stop, and without the buffering effect of the round feeding into the chamber, you increase wear on your barrel by slamming the slide on an empty chamber. It's not the end of the world if the slide drops on an empty chamber, but it's not a good habit to develop either. It is the sign of an amateur 1911 handler.

Thumb cocking the hammer can sometimes result in the hammer slipping out from under the thumb and falling to half cock. Some hammers are designed with a half cock notch that protects the sear nose, but many do not. Excessive crashing of the sear nose into the half cock notch will degrade your trigger job. If you are fumble fingered, try cycling the slide to cock the hammer for dry firing. This may seem picky, but I see this occur constantly.