Trouble with Kimber

[jimmerson]

I purchased a Kimber Pro Raptor II two months ago and am having trouble with it. For the first few firing sessions it would jam on almost every magazine. Spent shell casings were not being properly extracted, sometimes remaining in the barrel after firing. My dealer took it back from me to try and repair it. They replaced the extractor, but it did not fix the problem.

I then sent the gun to the custom shop at Kimber for their evaluation. They replaced the barrel and sent 120 rounds through it before sending it back to me, according to the invoice. It is still not cycling the rounds properly. The main problem is no longer that the spent rounds are sticking in the barrel, but that the next round is not properly feeding from the magazine. I get a jam about once every two magazines now. Sometimes it is due to feed malfunction, other times it is a spent shell casing getting stuck in the chamber (extraction malfunction).

I have used all sorts of ammunition with the same results. I have also mixed up the magazines. I'm primarily using the stock magazine and a wilson combat. I also eliminated the possibility of myself being the malfunction by asking several of my friends at the gun club to fire it. They all found the same results.

Has anyone come accross this problem with their Kimber? I'm at a point now where I will have to send it back to KMI for a second time, but I'm concerned about what I will get back.

-Jimmerson

 

[glocker1911]

I always end up getting flamed for this, but what the heck, I'm a slow learner. The best answer for a problem Kimber, is replaceit with A Springfield! Kimber quality has been hit or miss ever since they went to their series II pistols, and only got worse with their switch to external extractors. They love to tell you that (a) the gun needs "broken in" with 500 rounds before it is reliable and (b) any problems after that must be caused by you the shooter because their pistols are great. My Springer TRP Operator, on the other hand, was up and running fine right out of the box. As an added bonus, Kimbers customer service, which you're more likely to need, is poor and normally rude. Springfield on the other hand, is very open and responsive to questions/needs.

 

[Monkeyleg]

I also had feeding problems for awhile with a new Kimber, although it was not a Series II. I bought it in 1998.

The chambers on Kimbers tend to be tight. You might want to put 500 or so rounds through it before sending it back.

As far as Kimber's customer service goes, they've always been great to me, even recently.

I have three Kimbers now. I've had minor problems with two of them, so it's not as though I'm saying that Kimber is perfect.

Never owned a Springfield, but I will in time.

 

[bountyhunter]

Every new 1911 needs a throating (mirror polish the chamber) and also feed ramp polish and possibly round over the top entering the throat. If it's any consolation, my new para jammed on every other round. I ended up recutting the feed ramp to lower the angle as well as massive amounts of polishing. It feeds 100% now.....

 

[Lennyjoe]

Go to your local gunshop and buy a Wilson Combat 47D magazine and give it a try.

My Kimber mag wouldnt feed for crap.

 

[.40-.45]

I have a Kimber and right after I got it first 2-3 trips to the range I would get a feeding jam, (the slide would not move fully forward) not sure what that is called, once every other mag at the most

called my brother in-law, big shooter he said keep it clean, keep it lubed, and Keep shooting

between 400-500 rounds i think it happened once

500- i have not had a problem

wilson combat mags only!

I shoot 50% white box
and 50% cci blazer

Don't give up
now you just have a reason to goto the range a bit more

 

[Ivy Mike]

sheesh, stop buying 1911's.

CZ's are much better weapons.

 

[EghtySx]

My brother bought an STI and had some problems with it cycling. The shop said it was fine. I shot it and it was fine for me. I think most of the people that have problems like this are limp-wristing the gun. Try a firm grip and see if it doesn't clear up.

 

[boldkharma]

I guess I'm lucky. All my 1911's are reliable. Never had to do anyting. My SW has an external extractor, no probs. My three colts..Delta Elite, Pre-70 and 1991A1 compact, are all flawless. One has a polished throat and ramp, the others don't. I guess that just makes the 1911 such a starnge beast?

 

[boldkharma]

= Strange

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

It seems that if you stray far from JMB's original design (adding firing pin safeties, super-water-tight tolerances, external extractors, lower-strength parts, super-short barrels/slides etc.) you begin to get into a dicey area.

The Kimbers have the uber-tightness, external extractors, lower-strength parts (arguably, many would say, and rightly so. But MIM is still not barstock), and your Raptor has the shorter barrel/slide working against it.

I've heard several posts like yours regarding extraction issues with Kimber external extractors. It evades me how Kimber could say 120 rounds went through the pistol flawlessly, yet a shooter can't get through a magazine or two without issues. I dunno what to tell you about that. Have you spoken directly to Dennis at Kimber?

(For what it's worth: My Springer GI model and Colt Government have been flawless. My Kimber Pro Carry II [int. extractor] has been kinda dicey)

 

[boldkharma]

The more I read, the more I realize that some 1911's just run, short barrels, long barrels, external extractors, internal exctractors. Doesn't seem to matter. Its like you get a good one that runs out of the box.....or not. Am I way of base for you 1911 owners?

 

[ezypikns]

I had two Kimbers

One was an Ultra Carry II 3" barrel. After about 750 rounds it smoothed out and was absolutely reliable. The other was a beautiful Custom TLE II full size 1911. It simply never worked. I had exactly the same problems you describe. Sent back to factory, tried different ammo, tried Wilson Combat Mags. I thought I might somehow be limp wristing it. Had several others shoot it with the same results. You may find that the best solution is to trade it to some gun dealer at a show. Then get a Glock.

 

[boldkharma]

Get a glock seems to be a standard answer. Has anyone here seena glock fail? I am not a huge glock fan but I have owned a couple of 23's and a couple of 19's. I never had one malfunction. Do they happen?

 

[JohnBT]

You mean other than all the guns they recalled so they could replace the frames?

JT

 

[Bwana John]

Kimbers customer service, which you're more likely to need, is poor and normally rude. Springfield on the other hand, is very open and responsive to questions/needs.

My experance has been the exact opposite.

It seems that if you stray far from JMB's original design (adding firing pin safeties, super-water-tight tolerances, external extractors, lower-strength parts, super-short barrels/slides etc.)

Seems like JMB fixed the 1 piece extractor thing on his next pistol design, the Browning Hi-Power.

Has anyone here seen a glock fail? Do they happen?

Havent the Glock .40's with unsuported chambers failed catistropicly?

 

[Jim Watson]

Seems like JMB fixed the 1 piece extractor thing on his next pistol design, the Browning Hi-Power.

Wrong.
Mr Browning and D. Saive used a long one piece internal extractor in the BHP and FN made them that way for many years. Mr Browning was long dead and Saive retired by the time the bean counters substituted an external extractor and roll pins.

 

[1911 guy]

Form and Function

The 1911 was designed to be a fighting handgun and we have recently perverted it to be something it is not. See the earlier post mentioning tight tolerances, etc. What you have got there is a 1,00 dollar piece of art. It looks pretty but has been "refined" to the point of being useless. Hang it on a wall. Now go out and buy yourself a piece that rattles a little when you shake it, has an internal extractor and costs half as much. :banghead:

 

[Master Blaster]

A new top of the line glock 34 fail right out of the box jamming on every magazine ????, Impossible you say??? here is a picture of mine in mid jam jammed solid.

The best was that it jammed four times on very 10 round magazine, original glock magazines that came with the gun NIB. I called glock and they said send them the mags. They then sent me 2 10 rounders with the correct follower and the jamming stopped. It was a known problem known to Glock for 2 or three years at least, the gun had been made 6 months prior to me buying it. $650 gun and you ship it with a known problem that will guarrantee a jam. Were they hoping I would not fire the gun and notice????????


So yes Glocks can jam,and can be shipped with non functional magazines.

Try some 7 round metalform magazines in your gun, it may just fix the problem.

 

[glocker1911]

Wrong. "tightness" doesn't have to mean trouble, just as "loosness" doesn't ensure relilability. As I stated above, I have a TRP Operator that is very well fit, zero movement in barrel or frame to slide fit, yet it has run 100% right out of the box with both ball and Hydra Shoks and Gold Dots. I remember years back buying Colts that were so loose they rattled when you shook them that still wouldn't feed all of the time.

 

[kbheiner7]

I've not had any real problems with my Kimber. It's extremely tight and bobbled a few times in the first few hundred rounds. It's been awesome since. When I buy more Kimbers, they'll be 5" steel guns with the internal extractor.

Some of what has been said is correct. The 1911 can be a finicky creature because we've changed the nature of the beast. The reason it's still so popular is that once the 1911 is dialed in, it's really, really hard to beat.

The CZ is a better weapon? Please. My sides hurt. Please don't say that again.

Glocks are good guns, but they do fail - sometimes spectacularly.

 

[HKGuns]

I find it hard to believe an external extractor is the root of all evil. My USP has an external extractor and its never had a FTF or FTE.

 

[Ken Rainey]

1911's weren't originally designed to have external extractors and since they've started putting them on some 1911s have given trouble...some haven't. They were also designed to be 5 inch guns....when they're built smaller sometimes they work great, sometimes they don't.

1911Tuner has said that most 1911s (4 to 5 inchers) will work if you have good magazines (7rd with the dimple and a good spring) , a good (properly tuned) extractor and good ammo (brassed cased with proper specs)....this is usually true 90% or more of the time....sometimes there will need to be some "final fitting" done that eluded the assembly line and got out the door. Dennis Madonia at Kimber has been most helpful and kind in helping me maintain my older full size Kimbers - that have always worked great by the way.....I'd email him if you are using all the "right" stuff and it still gives you trouble.

Kimber did send out some magazines that weren't really good IMHO - some had the 8 rd shooting star followers, etc. I have used the 7rd Wilson Combat mags with no problems (but they could possibly make my extractor have to ride over the rim of the last rd causing it to loose tension), but the more I learned about 1911 magazines, the more I preferred the original design - JMB was a really smart fellow - but again, everything was originally designed for the full size pistol, change something and it'll have an effect on something else. I have read excellent reports on the smaller Kimbers - but mostly the pre series II ones. I hope you get your issues resolved quickly and it works well.


Ken

 

[M2 Carbine]

I guess my friends and I are just lucky.
Between us we have a dozen Kimbers and the only problem we have had is two Eclipse Ultras required a couple hundred round break in.
Of all things my Eclipse didn't want to reliably feed RNFMJ bullets. The darn thing would feed everything else 100%, including lead SWC.

My Tactical Ultra II has the external extractor and I like the heck out of it.

Also I've never had any trouble with Kimber magazines but I can understand a bad lot of them being made.

Oh, I just remembered, I did have a broken extractor on one of my Kimbers a year or two ago. A phone call got me a new one.


As a little side note. I was shooting my friends $2,000 Wilson last week. It jammed feeding. I asked him about it. He said it's been doing that since new (2 years old), but it's getting better.

I asked him what he thought about the gun since he's had it a while. He said, for what it cost he would rather have 2 more kimbers.

 

[Zach S]

The only problem one of my Kimbers had was slide-locking with rounds still in the magazine. Its a BUL framed pistol, not a common problem, but not un-common either from what I've read and heard. I replaced the slide stop (with another MIM part from CMC) and havent had a problem out of it in several thousand rounds.

My other two run great. No problems. All three are series none.

Has anyone here seena glock fail?

Yes, several times. I once launched a slide off of a G19 downrange, the spring for the takedown lever broke. Its happened twice on that pistol that I know of. It wasn't in the case last weekend because the spare he keeps went into a costumers glock, when I broke it, he didnt have a spare because it was put in a customers gun...

I think its a timing thing though. He uses his spare to fix someone elses gun, and then he needs it. Kinda like having a flat tire, using your spare, and getting another flat on the way to get a new tire. Some people just have that kinda luck...