Problems With My New Kimber Ultra Carry II

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DaBruins

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Sorry guys, but I need to vent-
Three weeks ago I bought a new Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II in 9mm. I brought it home, stripped it down for a good cleaning and a fresh application of oil, then headed off to the range. I tried shooting 115gr Remington and Speer Lawman fmj’s, but encountered jamming, stove piping, and failure to eject with 45 out of 50 rounds. I called Kimber tech support and was told the gun will only function with 124gr or heavier bullets, so I followed their advice and bought some 124gr Remington and 130gr Fiocchi ball ammo, but the results were very similar- every round jammed. Another call to tech support and my new gun is now on its way to the Kimber factory for an assessment. Their backlog is 6-8 weeks out- great!!! Spending a fairly large amount of money on a firearm that fails to function right out of the box is very disheartening, and having to wait 2 months for a possible resolution only adds insult to injury…..
 
Certainly it's frustrating.

I do a lot of standing up for Kimber in here, but everyone will make mistakes.

What comes to mind is, the more you mess with the original design, the more likely it is to have problems. Here you are dealing with a re-chambering to 9mm and changes to the size of the gun. This is a lot of thereason I carry a full-size 1911 in .45. I don't want to mess with what works. If it were ME, and I wanted to get a carry 1911 in 9mm, I would look at the Springfield EMP. It was purpose-designed around the smaller cartridge, not the other way around.

My first advice is always to try better magazines,, but I really don't know what magazine options are out there for that gun.
 
The EMP was on my short list, but I went with the Kimber due to it's availability at my lgs (I snagged the last one), and given the current situation I wasn't sure when an EMP would be in stock, either online or locally. And to be honest, the Kimber purchase was an "impulse" buy, and my homework on the Kimber was somewhat lacking in thoroughness. Given the limits of the ammunition requirements, swapping out the recoil spring every 500-800 rounds, and dealing with a funky little tool in order to perform a field strip, it may have been a wiser move to wait for an EMP.

Hopefully, once the gun is returned from the factory, the performance will help me to overlook it's shortcomings.
 
The EMP requires a different "funky little tool", and it is tiny and easy to lose. You can make a new one for your Kimber from a paper clip in about 15 seconds. Any small 1911 (and really, pretty much any short barrel/short slide semi auto) works its recoil spring hard, so that is not a Kimber issue.

My EMP never made it to 500 rounds, and the first one went back to Springfield twice. They replaced it, and the replacement went back once more.

I imagine the new ones are worlds better. Couldn't be any worse. :what:
 
My kimber pro raptor ii was very similar. Every round experienced a failure out of the box. The gun went back to kimber 3 times and each time it came back a little worse. The shop stood by me and provided a full store credit while they dealt with kimber. needless to say I find kimber to be a "junk dealer". That sounds harsh but it's based directly on my personal experience. Good luck.
 
That sucks.

Kimber makes about 80,000 guns a year and most of them work fine out of the box. Unfortunately every company produces a lemon now and then and sounds like you got one. Hope they make it right for you!
 
I've been reading a lot of posts on functionality problems with the Kimber's.

They don't have a particularly good rep.
Lots of people have had malfunctions of many different types.

Nice looking gun but I don't want the hassles associated with the brand.

Just saying.
 
A buddy of mine just bought two Kimber Pro Carry .45s today. I wonder if he's going to have problems with them.
He looked at the Ruger 4.25" SR1911, but liked the Kimber trigger pull better.
 
Look at it this way. If you make more 1911s than everyone else, your products will have more problems than everyone else. This does not equal a higher RATE of problems. Mine and all those of my friends are great. If I had to replace mine tomorrow, I am curious about newer guns like the STI Spartan and the new Ruger, but I would not hesitate to buy another Kimber.

I am going back to....tweaking the design is going to increase the odds that you will have problems. Browning knew what he was doing. It's people who think they are smarter that cause problems.
 
Cant comment on the 9mm but my 45's problem was solved with different Mag's. And as far as breakdown tool can do the paper clip thing or for less then $20 you can get a really cool and easy to use take down tool from NDZ performance. (Just google them).
 
I've had a Ultra Carry II in .45 for almost 2 years now and have had 0 problems. I think your 9mm 3" 1911 is going to be very picky in ammo. Ive read the full size 9mm 1911's are finicky so im sure a 3" is even more.... just my .02
 
I see three problems.

1. It is a Kimber
2. It is 9mm in 1911 style frame
3. It is a small frame 1911

With those three strikes it is a wonder it shoots at all.
 
and having to wait 2 months for a possible resolution only adds insult to injury…..
Click to expand...




Why didn't you try to figure out the problem yourself. :confused:
 
He shouldn't waste his time or money trying to figure it out. Imagine you go to the store and buy a new flat screen. You get it home, turn it on, and there is sound but no picture...do you disassemble the TV and try to 'figure it out' or return it? The kimber is no different except that gun owners get emotionally involved, try to justify the defects, and spend countless hours dealing with the problem before eventually moving on to greener pastures. Ask me how i know. I'm sour on kimber if you can't tell :).
 
The 3 inch 1911's are problems waiting to happen, The emp in 40 or 9 is a more reliable gun, but a 45 in commander or ful sized is the way to go
 
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