jfh
Member.
Here's a link to the Kimber specs: http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/custom/stainlesstarget.php
I own and shoot other 10mms--but I did not have a 'standard' 1911 chambered in 10mm. Consequently, when the shop had this Kimber come in, after a cursory examination I bought it. It set up just the way I wanted it--save for my own preference for a duotone (SS frame, blue slide) configuration. This Kimber version is equipped with the typical 'upgrades'--beavertail, extended safety, match trigger, 'slightly extended' mag release, etc. etc. and has plain black target-type sights--a dovetail in front, and a Bomar-type adjustable in back. The slide and frame are brushed SS, and it has a flat finely-checkered mainspring housing and an uncheckered grip front. When set up in 10mm, the frame is cut and the barrel is ramped, and Kimber calls the barrel a 'match' grade. A full length recoil spring guide rod is included, and the spring is an 'heavy-duty' one.
My purchase was rushed, but I did take time to look for obvious (cosmetic) defects and to note the trigger pull. There were no defects I could find, and the trigger was obviously 'new' with a bit of creep but guesstimated to meet Kimber's pull spec of 4-5 pounds.
Closer examination at home showed NO cosmetic issues at all. The slide fit was tight but smooth; the extended safety worked smoothly but firmly, as did the standard slide release. A minor complaint is that I found the outside edge of the slide release to be a bit too rounded, but I could still operate it satisfactorily with only a minor grip change to gain more leverage.
For various reasons I couldn't get to the range to test it until today--five days later.
In the meantime, I broke out the 10mm reloading dies and loaded up 100 rounds of TMJs to do initial firing with to burnish the barrel and check for function. The load built up was 5.0 grains of 231 under the Hornady 200 TMJ. Brass was Starline / new, and WLPs were used. The LOA was 1.260. The rounds were loaded on a Lee 3-station turret with standard Lee 10mm dies, and they were then run through a Lee 10mm taper crimp die to assure .423 max outside. All rounds dropped smoothly into a max cartridge gauge, and a few test barrel drops and chamberings showed no fit issues. The (Hodgdon / Win) data sheet for this round with this charge shows a guesstimate FPS of about 900+.
The first magazine shot was the factory Kimber. The results, "the first target" at 15+ yards, are here:
http://www.pbase.com/image/83478297
The two shots to the right are called fliers--so it is reasonable to say it shot a nominal 1" group out of the box at 15 yards. Two more magazines later, it was sighted in with this load. The one factory magazine functioned perfectly, as did three of the CMC magazines I had bought years before to use with my SA Omega 10mm.
I fired about 60 rounds of the 200gr TMJ / 231 loads. The brass consistently landed about 6' to 8' away at the 4:30 positon, with some scattering.
I then tried three magazines of reloads I had built for the Omega back in 1992: 4.9 gr of WSF under a 175 SWC. That load was a real light one that I could shoot fast with the 6" Omega; today's Hodgdon/Win data starts at 5.5 grains. This brass pile landed about at the 3:30 position, from 4' to 6+' away, and was somewhat scattered. (In the Omega, it is a nice little pile about 4' away at the 5 o'clock position.)
At the end of this first range session (about 100 rounds), there had been one malfunction--premature lockback on the second (first CMC) magazine; all other functioning was flawless. The premature lockback was in fact my fault--I had squeezed a 9th round into the mag. I had been curious to see how the heavy-duty recoil spring would work with these lighter reloads--and there were no issues with feeding, chambering, or going into battery.
I've ordered a Hogue rubber wraparound grip with finger nubs; it's the way I normally set up my 1911s. I also ordered a calibration spring set from Wolff, so I can tweak the cycling with the reload recipe(s) that ends up being the sweet spot for this pistol. I still marvel at the fact I can buy a 'factory' 1911 done up this way, and with operating characteristics I could once get only by aftermarket 'smith services.
List price is 1113.00; the selling price at J&S Custom Guns in Lakeville, MN, was $950.00. Given what I spent 20 years ago for a SA 1911 blued mil-spec ($380.00) and the money I spent building it up over the years, I have no complaints about the price.
I am entirely satisfied. The only negative I can speak to so far is Kimber's marketing practice of including only one magazine with a pistol. And, I am concerned about the third / Schwartz-design safety--had I not read the Kimber sticky at 1911.org, I would not have known about the slide removal technique of NOT depressing the grip safety. Kimber needs to get that information incorporated into its manuals. I will admit to a bit of anxiety since I've read the Kimber 'problem' threads here and elsewhere--but this one was done right the first time.
Jim H.
I own and shoot other 10mms--but I did not have a 'standard' 1911 chambered in 10mm. Consequently, when the shop had this Kimber come in, after a cursory examination I bought it. It set up just the way I wanted it--save for my own preference for a duotone (SS frame, blue slide) configuration. This Kimber version is equipped with the typical 'upgrades'--beavertail, extended safety, match trigger, 'slightly extended' mag release, etc. etc. and has plain black target-type sights--a dovetail in front, and a Bomar-type adjustable in back. The slide and frame are brushed SS, and it has a flat finely-checkered mainspring housing and an uncheckered grip front. When set up in 10mm, the frame is cut and the barrel is ramped, and Kimber calls the barrel a 'match' grade. A full length recoil spring guide rod is included, and the spring is an 'heavy-duty' one.
My purchase was rushed, but I did take time to look for obvious (cosmetic) defects and to note the trigger pull. There were no defects I could find, and the trigger was obviously 'new' with a bit of creep but guesstimated to meet Kimber's pull spec of 4-5 pounds.
Closer examination at home showed NO cosmetic issues at all. The slide fit was tight but smooth; the extended safety worked smoothly but firmly, as did the standard slide release. A minor complaint is that I found the outside edge of the slide release to be a bit too rounded, but I could still operate it satisfactorily with only a minor grip change to gain more leverage.
For various reasons I couldn't get to the range to test it until today--five days later.
In the meantime, I broke out the 10mm reloading dies and loaded up 100 rounds of TMJs to do initial firing with to burnish the barrel and check for function. The load built up was 5.0 grains of 231 under the Hornady 200 TMJ. Brass was Starline / new, and WLPs were used. The LOA was 1.260. The rounds were loaded on a Lee 3-station turret with standard Lee 10mm dies, and they were then run through a Lee 10mm taper crimp die to assure .423 max outside. All rounds dropped smoothly into a max cartridge gauge, and a few test barrel drops and chamberings showed no fit issues. The (Hodgdon / Win) data sheet for this round with this charge shows a guesstimate FPS of about 900+.
The first magazine shot was the factory Kimber. The results, "the first target" at 15+ yards, are here:
http://www.pbase.com/image/83478297
The two shots to the right are called fliers--so it is reasonable to say it shot a nominal 1" group out of the box at 15 yards. Two more magazines later, it was sighted in with this load. The one factory magazine functioned perfectly, as did three of the CMC magazines I had bought years before to use with my SA Omega 10mm.
I fired about 60 rounds of the 200gr TMJ / 231 loads. The brass consistently landed about 6' to 8' away at the 4:30 positon, with some scattering.
I then tried three magazines of reloads I had built for the Omega back in 1992: 4.9 gr of WSF under a 175 SWC. That load was a real light one that I could shoot fast with the 6" Omega; today's Hodgdon/Win data starts at 5.5 grains. This brass pile landed about at the 3:30 position, from 4' to 6+' away, and was somewhat scattered. (In the Omega, it is a nice little pile about 4' away at the 5 o'clock position.)
At the end of this first range session (about 100 rounds), there had been one malfunction--premature lockback on the second (first CMC) magazine; all other functioning was flawless. The premature lockback was in fact my fault--I had squeezed a 9th round into the mag. I had been curious to see how the heavy-duty recoil spring would work with these lighter reloads--and there were no issues with feeding, chambering, or going into battery.
I've ordered a Hogue rubber wraparound grip with finger nubs; it's the way I normally set up my 1911s. I also ordered a calibration spring set from Wolff, so I can tweak the cycling with the reload recipe(s) that ends up being the sweet spot for this pistol. I still marvel at the fact I can buy a 'factory' 1911 done up this way, and with operating characteristics I could once get only by aftermarket 'smith services.
List price is 1113.00; the selling price at J&S Custom Guns in Lakeville, MN, was $950.00. Given what I spent 20 years ago for a SA 1911 blued mil-spec ($380.00) and the money I spent building it up over the years, I have no complaints about the price.
I am entirely satisfied. The only negative I can speak to so far is Kimber's marketing practice of including only one magazine with a pistol. And, I am concerned about the third / Schwartz-design safety--had I not read the Kimber sticky at 1911.org, I would not have known about the slide removal technique of NOT depressing the grip safety. Kimber needs to get that information incorporated into its manuals. I will admit to a bit of anxiety since I've read the Kimber 'problem' threads here and elsewhere--but this one was done right the first time.
Jim H.
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But my next 10mm is going to be the Dan Wesson Razorback, or Pointman Seven if the RZ proves to be too difficult to get.
