Master Blaster
Member
Machined as part of the frame from a forged Billet.
What's happening to Kimber quality?
- Thread starter Preacherman
- Start date
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BluesBear
member
Preacherman
Member
Boy, that looks like very rough machining! I'd send that back to Kimber in a heartbeat, asking for them to fix it.
Stevie-Ray
Member
YEAH! I've had those very things happen with my Mark IV. With the ejector problem, I had a Wilson ejector installed. IT STILL DOES IT SOMETIMES! The front sight still has the mark where somebody stepped on it after it flew off.
PCRCCW
Member
Admittedly, I havent read every word of this thread...I dont think I will.
I scanned it for a while.....Tamara and others have good points. If you have a 700$ + gun you want it to look good as well as function good.
If not....get a Mil Spec and hush up! Here come the mil spec guys!
As far as 60% of the guns going back.......uh huh! Would you like a single or two lane road with that bridge?
The day of 1911's needing to be rattle traps to be reliable is GONE GUYS!
Sorry...my Norinco Custom was the loosest gun Ive ever had and it ran like a top..not a hiccup. My Kimbers and STI's were both TIGHT..not a wiggle even just the slide/frame fit without the barrel and again NOT A HICCUP!
Todays materials/fitting methods/machining capabilities make this argument a very moot point. Unless you have inferior metallurgy and want the gun to run while the metal moves under stress. This would make the need for additional clearance a must.
Ive sampled new production guns from DW, SA, Kimber, Colt.....even an Armscorp new production that was a SS gun. ALL of them had hit and miss qualities I didnt like going from gun to gun. The Kimbers were the tightest consistantly in the frame/barrel/slide fit...along with the DW's. The SA's are nice but the fit/finish on the Loaded guns are not as consistant. Colts are getting nicer but still have way too much play in the fit for me.................
Ive spoken with Dennis at Kimbers Custom shop and he seemed very willing to help with anything I needed....
Anytime I send a gun back, which I havent done with a Kimber, I call and make them aware of the problem and ask them to watch for it. Whether this actually helps them do a better job is really unknown....but Ive yet to send a gun back anywhere more than once.........
Shoot well............................
I scanned it for a while.....Tamara and others have good points. If you have a 700$ + gun you want it to look good as well as function good.
If not....get a Mil Spec and hush up! Here come the mil spec guys!
As far as 60% of the guns going back.......uh huh! Would you like a single or two lane road with that bridge?
The day of 1911's needing to be rattle traps to be reliable is GONE GUYS!
Sorry...my Norinco Custom was the loosest gun Ive ever had and it ran like a top..not a hiccup. My Kimbers and STI's were both TIGHT..not a wiggle even just the slide/frame fit without the barrel and again NOT A HICCUP!
Todays materials/fitting methods/machining capabilities make this argument a very moot point. Unless you have inferior metallurgy and want the gun to run while the metal moves under stress. This would make the need for additional clearance a must.
Ive sampled new production guns from DW, SA, Kimber, Colt.....even an Armscorp new production that was a SS gun. ALL of them had hit and miss qualities I didnt like going from gun to gun. The Kimbers were the tightest consistantly in the frame/barrel/slide fit...along with the DW's. The SA's are nice but the fit/finish on the Loaded guns are not as consistant. Colts are getting nicer but still have way too much play in the fit for me.................
Ive spoken with Dennis at Kimbers Custom shop and he seemed very willing to help with anything I needed....
Anytime I send a gun back, which I havent done with a Kimber, I call and make them aware of the problem and ask them to watch for it. Whether this actually helps them do a better job is really unknown....but Ive yet to send a gun back anywhere more than once.........
Shoot well............................
Captain Bligh
Member
My Kimber is about four years old now, and I abosolutely love the gun. If catastrophic finances forced me to sell a gun (which I haven't done in over 30 years), the Kimber would be the last to go.
That being said, at the last gun show I was looking over all the .45s again. My impression was that the fit and finish on those Kimbers weren't up to snuff with the one I am proud to own.
The other thing that I noticed was that Colt in particular, seemed to be a lot better than when I bought mine a few years ago. I thought Springfield was better too, but the difference was not as obvious as with Colt. I would have bought a Colt at that time if the fit, finish, and reputation had been what it once was. Standing there at the gun show, I found myself wondering if the quality of the Kimber had really slid that much or if it just looked like that because the other manufacturers had to step-up their quality if they wanted to compete with Kimber.
I suspect a little of both is true. Glad I bought when I did.
RJ
That being said, at the last gun show I was looking over all the .45s again. My impression was that the fit and finish on those Kimbers weren't up to snuff with the one I am proud to own.
The other thing that I noticed was that Colt in particular, seemed to be a lot better than when I bought mine a few years ago. I thought Springfield was better too, but the difference was not as obvious as with Colt. I would have bought a Colt at that time if the fit, finish, and reputation had been what it once was. Standing there at the gun show, I found myself wondering if the quality of the Kimber had really slid that much or if it just looked like that because the other manufacturers had to step-up their quality if they wanted to compete with Kimber.
I suspect a little of both is true. Glad I bought when I did.
RJ
Mike Irwin
Member
"If not....get a Mil Spec and hush up! Here come the mil spec guys!"
I've got a Mil Spec.
No way was I going to pass up a Springfield MS for only $265, used by never shot by the previous owner...
I like it. Shoots well.
I feel about it, though, how I feel about all of my semi-autos (with the possible exception of my High Power and my P7), they're just guns, blobs of steel that I hope work.
Now, my Smith & Wesson revolvers, on the other hand?
I've got a Mil Spec.
No way was I going to pass up a Springfield MS for only $265, used by never shot by the previous owner...
I like it. Shoots well.
I feel about it, though, how I feel about all of my semi-autos (with the possible exception of my High Power and my P7), they're just guns, blobs of steel that I hope work.
Now, my Smith & Wesson revolvers, on the other hand?
StudentoftheGun
Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2003
- Messages
- 29
My Kimber is on the third trip to Yonkers. Each time Kimber assures me that the problem is not the gun, but rather the shooter. Never-the-less they have replaced the extractor twice, and the barrel once. I have been treated pretty rudely on the phone from them as well. I hope that they can fix it this time. I really wish they would give me a new gun. Well...maybe third time is the charm.
I have been shooting 1911's for fifteen years. I shoot in IDPA and do ok. I am no Todd Jarret, but I know how to shoot so that I am not causing the gun to malfunction. I suppose they will send me the gun back in a few days...probably with the same old problems...or maybe different problems. I know my confidence in their products and customer service is gone.
At no time have they even offered an apology...no "sorry your having trouble" or anything to that effect. I get the feeling that I am not a customer, but an annoyance, no matter how nice I am.
BTW the gun is a Tactical Pro II.
Student
I have been shooting 1911's for fifteen years. I shoot in IDPA and do ok. I am no Todd Jarret, but I know how to shoot so that I am not causing the gun to malfunction. I suppose they will send me the gun back in a few days...probably with the same old problems...or maybe different problems. I know my confidence in their products and customer service is gone.
At no time have they even offered an apology...no "sorry your having trouble" or anything to that effect. I get the feeling that I am not a customer, but an annoyance, no matter how nice I am.
BTW the gun is a Tactical Pro II.
Student
BluesBear
member
Am I correct in deducing that those people who spoke up and said they saw nothing wrong with the quality of the guns in Tamara photos are now remaining quiet because they did notice the ever so slight imperfections in the gun in the photo posted by tlhelmer?
I would like to see a better picture to be honest. After the shock of seeing that picture I went to the Kimber website and it looks like some of those odd lines might be there by design. The pictures aren't very detailed on the kimber site but you can barely see that strange groove where the rail meets frame. I did a few more searches on soem of the auction sites and most of them looked somewhat similar to thelmers gun. Don't know why it was designed that way but it may not be a QC issue. Either way I don't like it. Maybe thelmer can verify or another TLE RL owner?
tlhelmer
Member
Sorry guys, I didnt realize you were talking about my gun.
The lines are there by design and the lighting made it look like rough markings. It is a combination of lighting, different widths and shape. That part of the gun looks fine in person.
My problem was that the finish looks worn on the muzzle of a new never holstered gun.
The lines are there by design and the lighting made it look like rough markings. It is a combination of lighting, different widths and shape. That part of the gun looks fine in person.
My problem was that the finish looks worn on the muzzle of a new never holstered gun.
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