Kimber series 1 or 2 ?

[f4t9r]

Have a Kimber 1911 gold match series two and after posting a reply got to thinking about some of the comments about Kimber. What is the big deal about series two ? I did send mine back because of what was called not breaking the gun in or letting off grip safety, They said keep shooting it for a couple hundred rounds and hold gun tight in hand. I figured let them deal with it. (sounds crazy to me why a break in time ???) by the way this was not my first 1911 but my first Kimber.
Anyway Kimber was great to deal with and when I got gun back, have not had a problem and is more accurate and tighter then most 1911's I or my buddies have shot and we have shot alot of them in about every make.

 

[Preacherman]

I don't like the safety system on the Kimber Series II - and gunsmiths whom I know tell me they have a lot of business fixing and/or disabling it from competition shooters. It seems that if it works, it's fine, but if it doesn't, it goes on giving problems even unto the umpteenth generation...

I'm moving this to the Autopistols forum for more focused comment.

 

[HSMITH]

The firing pin block in the series 2 guns is rinky dink. I won't own one because of it. Makes the Colt series 80 look positively simple and rugged.

 

[Black Majik]

Furthermore, the Series I guns were better fit and finished than the newer Kimbers. Many Series II have experienced problems from the get-go. In my opinion, but I dont believe in the whole break in period of a gun. SIGs dont need break in periods, Glocks dont need break in periods. Yeah its a 1911 and this and that... but its a production gun. Even my tight fit Les Baer doesn't need a break in period. Its just an excuse from Kimber for its ill made firearms.

I was actually looking thru the 1911 forums today, and found a lot of problems with the new Kimbers.

Posts such as:

"New Kimber: MAJOR Problems"

"Desert Warrior Disappointment"

"My disappointing Kimber Ultra Raptor II"

These were on the first page also....

I just seems that Kimbers are being outweighed with more negative posts than positives. Now of course I understand that someone haves a good experience, tells a handful of people, someone with a bad experience tells the whole world. But theres an aweful lot of problem posts in the Kimber forums.

Theres even reports or rumors of Kimber going back to the internal extractors.

The fit and finish I've seen on the newer Kimbers aren't as good as I've seen on the older Kimbers. Especially the feel and tightness. Some of the finishes, especially the custom and TLE Kimpro finish seems to be sorta thin and wear easily.

But its that damn Schwartz safety, that damn Series II bajooey.... nope... sorry.... no new Kimber for me. For the price Kimber commands, there are other 1911s I rather have and not have a coin toss of whether my gun runs well or not.

But those Series I Kimbers, you find one.... jump on it!!

 

[dsk]

Kimber gave me the same BS line about not holding the grip correctly. Given how I have fired well over a hundred thousand rounds through various 1911's I didn't appreciate it, and now won't buy any Kimber made after the Series II came out.

 

[f4t9r]

I agree with you dsk
They sent a list of things they did to the gun and sent it back dirty like they put 500 rounds in it. That was no big deal , I just wanted it to work

What is it about the safety system on the Kimber Series II people dont like ?
and do I need to change something to make it better ?
Just wondering if that is something I need to watch for (some type of failure)
is that the only major diff between I and II

 

[glocker1911]

The main problem I have with series II Kimbers is... Kimber. As you already noticed, if you contact the with any type of problem, some how it is YOUR fault. Either you didn't "break it in" with 500 rounds because it is "sooo tightly fit" (what a large crock of BS), or you're not "holding" it right (even though most Kimber owners have been 1911 owners before and know how to hold every other 1911 we've owned.) But it is never the guns fault. And, if after making it clear you are the problem and know nothing about guns or shooting, they do decide to let you return it so they can look at it, guess what? More often than not it comes back with exactly the same problems as when you sent it in. This isn't rumour. I've had these experiences on two series II Kimbers. Read the forums. You'll find many similar complaints (oh, and there's another one. It has nothing to do with "Kimber sells so many more guns than anyone else, of course there will be more complaints." You'll find many people that will defend Kimber to the end with all of the same, dull, untrue lines. You'll find many more that have had probems. A good Kimber will run right, right out of the box. That's a keeper. A bad one at the beginning will almost certainly never be 100% right. Do you feel like a "gamble" when you pay top dollar for a 1911? I don't.

 

[Standing Wolf]

If you don't know how to handle firearms safely, you should stick to squirt guns. No series II Kimbers for me, thanks all the same!

 

[Dave T]

My wife and I both have "E" tickets from the old Gunsight (Orange) so we have some experience handling and shooting 1911s. We both have first series Kimbers as carry guns. We don't own Series II Kimbers.

Dave

 

[DHart]

I would have said the same as already said by Preacherman, HSmith, Black Majic, dsk, Glocker.... no, no, and a BIG NO on Kimbers since they went to Series II. There are much better options in 1911's.

 

[RavenVT100]

In my opinion, but I dont believe in the whole break in period of a gun. SIGs dont need break in periods, Glocks dont need break in periods.

How many SIGs have you owned? I've owned two sigs which had several FTEs within the first 500 rounds which according to SIG was part of the "break in period." After that, they were perfectly fine.

There are much better options in 1911's.

In your opinion, what are they?

 

[rick_reno]

I wouldn't buy one with the Schwartz safety, too many problems on the 1911 forum have been reported.

 

[Lennyjoe]

So far my series II has worked flawlessly. I'm happy with it.

 

[45auto]

IHMO, the biggest problem with the Kimber/S&W type safety is that it adds additional parts that need to be timed properly, correct grip, etc and all that safety does is prevents AD's if you drop the gun. That's it!

Other manufacturers prevented that type of AD using lighter FPs and heavier springs of various sorts...much easier and "cleaner".

More importantly, it doesn't prevent an AD due to a problem with the trigger parts, i.e. hammer following the slide down causing an AD. I have seen this happen and read about on the forums probably about 10 times in the last several years...that's an estimate. I have yet to read about a 1911 having an AD when dropped on the forums and haven't seen it. I've heard stories about it and don't doubt that it can happen though.

The series 80 style FP safety which Colt, Para and Sig use for example, prevents both types of AD's.

So, IMHO again , it's simply a poor design that accomplishes very little.

Edit: The series 80 are not trouble free either, so pick your poison.

 

[halvey]

I bought a Kimber Polymer series I and it didn't need a break in nor did I get any FTF with cheap ammo. Mostly used the blazer stuff.

My Gold Match series I, I bought used, and it has also never failed. Must have been a good gun as the previous owner shot the heck out of another Stainless Gold Match.

Theoretically, and I want to underscore theoretically, the GM's may need a little more break in, because theoretically, they are fit a bit tighter than the other Kimbers. Mine seems to shoot a bit better than standard Kimbers, but only by 1/4-1/2".

 

[DHart]

Let's face it, 1911's can be trouble-prone to begin with, even in their simplest form. By adding the Schwartz system, there is even more to go wrong. I would buy a Colt, Springfield, Baer, Brown, SIG GSR before buying a Kimber Series II.

 

[Berg01]

Sounds like you don't have a problem at this point; don't fix what ain't broke; just shoot it & enjoy it!

 

[deputy tom]

I own a pre-series II Pro Carry and did own (past tense) a series II Ultra-Carry.I won't purchase anymore series II's for serious work but for target shooting only they wouldn't be bad.Their warranty shop is really swell in that they send replacement parts for free to fix the MIM stuff that breaks so frequently.At least they did for me.YMMV.tom.