Why all the Kimber hate????

[Gary W. Strange]

I own 7 1911s right now. Colt series 70 Government model in 38 Super and 45ACP, a Colt Stainless Combat Commander, a Colt WW1 1911 remake, a Springfield Trophy match, a Dan Wesson Razorback and a Kimber Pro Raptor. I bought it because one of my shooting buddies had one and it was a great shooter. I loved the way it shot. It was accurate, well made and RELIABLE. So I had my ffl dealer order me one. When I got it, I did not care for the plastic mainspring housing, so I put a Ed Brown maxi well on it and changed the grips. I have 600 rounds through it now. Ammo of all types, from ball to flat nose, hollow points and even some lead bullet reloads. It has never failed. Not a single jam or stoppage. It is still just as tight as it was, when it was new. The trigger is great.The one complaint I have is the plastic mainspring housing. I can’t understand what Kimber would build a nice pistol, put a plastic part on it. I owned a Kimber 1911, when they first come out. I sold it to buy something else. As best I can remember, it was a good pistol. Why does everyone hate them so? What am I missing. Quality wise, in my view, they are a step above Springfield and maybe a step lower than Dan Wesson, as far as fit and finish. I carry this pistol, a lot during the summer. I trust it, with my life. I would like to hear the good and the bad, people have to say about Kimber 1911’s. Don’t want to start a bashing or downing anything. Just honest experience with Kimber 1911s. I know Kimber was responsible for getting Colt, Springfield and others to up their game, making 1911s. Used to, A 1911 would rattle, new on the shelf. Kimber changed all that. Please chime in. I may comment more, or just read and listen. Please no bashing or putting down anyone’s guns or opinions.

 

[Charlie98]

There are a fair amount of Kimber love/hate threads here at THR... just use your search function.

I have 3 Kimbers... they have all been, more or less, 100% and I would trust my life to them. It's true... in the mid-2000's, when Kimber was growing, they had some QC problems, I believe much of the distrust of Kimbers stemmed from that. I think they have fixed that, largely, by now... but everyone kicks out a lemon or two now and then. Kimber's use of MIM parts is another negative in some books, and... heaven forbid... the plastic mainspring housing, as you mention. There is a LOT of competition out there now... so Kimber had to step up it's game. When compared to other pistols in their respective price bracket, Kimbers can look like a good deal... or not. It depends on the end user.

 

[Charlie98]

Whoops... sorry. I forgot to add... it didn't happen without pictures!

 

[JFrank]

It may be just that the marketing suggested one model above another when in fact they are basically the same inside.

 

[Coyote3855]

I have an basic Kimber LW Stainless. It's the only 1911 of several I've owned that feeds everything from ball to my 200 grain SWCs without a single malfunction.

 

[FL-NC]

I own 2 (an older one from Oregon from back when they made only 2 or 3 models) and a newer one that is officer model size (I don't know what it is called). They have both been great pistols. I have also owned and traded off a couple others in the past that were fine. I obtained one in about '07 that was really bad- a real jam-a-matic, with an external extractor, and the pistol could not be disassembled while the grip safety was activated. I ridded myself of that one pretty quick. That is my personal ownership history.

When I worked at a friend's gun shop after I left the mil (2010-2011) the shop was a Kimber "mater dealer". We even had a banner hanging on the wall that said so. What I noticed during this period was that it was difficult for us to get the pistols, and many of our Ft Bragg area customers desired specific models. Many of these guys would order their pistols prior to deployment in the hopes they would be waiting for them when they returned. I also observed a noticeable amount of them being returned due to various issues with the pistols that were purchased new, after the customer often had to wait a long time to get them. Since we (the shop) didn't build these pistols, it was obvious that the problems needed to be corrected by Kimber. Customer service from them was less than ideal, and return times on these expensive guns that didn't work was less than satisfactory. Needless to say, this was very frustrating to both our customers as well as the shop employees who were caught in the middle of this mess. We also took down the "master dealer" banner.

Finally, a close friend who served as an armorer in the USMC SOF community (who now holds a similar position as a civilian) told me that during a period when Kimber was producing 1911 pistols for that command, that they were constantly having QC and reliability issues with them. One detachment prior to a deployment was forced to rid themselves of their Kimber 1911's and swap to M9 pistols just prior to deploying, as those M9's were the only replacement pistols available at that time. He said that this played into the later selection of the Colt M45 as the 1911 for that community.

 

[bc1023]

Because they’re style over substance. Get rid of the cast and MIM parts before charging money for fancy slide cuts and styling.

the base Kimbers aren’t a bad option. The expensive models are a waste of money, as far as I’m concerned and I have hundreds of thousands invested in 1911 pistols.

Buy quality stuff instead of wasting money on fluff.

 

[.38 Special]

I'm not sure it's possible to come up with any brand that won't have haters. I have seen people complain about the quality of Freedom Arms revolvers. Hell, I remember a post from a guy claiming that Les Baer didn't really understand 1911s. That's just life online, I suppose.

 

[Gary W. Strange]

Because they’re style over substance. Get rid of the cast and MIM parts before charging money for fancy slide cuts and styling.

the base Kimbers aren’t a bad option. The expensive models are a waste of money, as far as I’m concerned and I have hundreds of thousands invested in 1911 pistols.

Buy quality stuff instead of wasting money on fluff.

I have heard that said, a lot. My Kimber Pro Raptor had a 4 pound trigger, out of the box. It has smooth out to around 3 1/2 pound now. The base Kimbers didn’t have a trigger, even close to that. Is it a known fact a base Kimber is the same as a high end model? Just asking, because my pistol sure looks better, inside and out, than the base models I have seen. No punt intended, at all. Just asking what that statement is based off of?

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Don't worry about who likes or dislikes a product. If you are happy. That is what matters the most.

 

[Gary W. Strange]

Don't worry about who likes or dislikes a product. If you are happy. That is what matters the most.

That was not my reason for asking. I do not base my options off, what I read on the internet. I actually put my hands on a firearm, and see what it does. I have had two Kimbers, in my life, one in the mid 90s, that was a good pistol. I sold it, but not because it had problems. It shot fine, as best I can remember, and the one I have now, that has not had a stoppage yet. I have heard it said a base Kimber and a high end Kimber are the same. Is that a fact or internet talk?

 

[bdickens]

in the mid-2000's, when Kimber was growing, they had some QC problems, I believe much of the distrust of Kimbers stemmed from that. I think they have fixed that, largely, by now... but everyone kicks out a lemon or two now and then.

And gun owners can be some of the most unforgiving Pharasees in the world: holding grudges for 20, 30 years or longer....

 

[DTL]

I have two friends who I shoot with on a regular basis who own 9mm Kimber 1911's. One had had his back to Kimber more than once trying to solve an FTE problem using a multitude of different loads. The other has been reliable since he ran over 300-400 rounds. My Springfields...2 1911's and 2 XD series are flawless from day one. I trust Springfield, happy for Kimber owners who get the same results I do.

 

[trackskippy]

And gun owners can be some of the most unforgiving Pharasees in the world: holding grudges for 20, 30 years or longer....

Kimber and Springfield fit that bill for me, and going on 30 years now.

This is one of the two Kimbers I had back in the early 2000's. Its an Ultra Carry. It rarely made it through a mag without a couple of stoppages. It had a ridiculously short RSA life, and they were salty to replace. The steel factory followers in the factory mag tore up the feed ramp in the aluminum frame too. Didnt keep it, or the other one long either.

 

[bc1023]

I have heard that said, a lot. My Kimber Pro Raptor had a 4 pound trigger, out of the box. It has smooth out to around 3 1/2 pound now. The base Kimbers didn’t have a trigger, even close to that. Is it a known fact a base Kimber is the same as a high end model? Just asking, because my pistol sure looks better, inside and out, than the base models I have seen. No punt intended, at all. Just asking what that statement is based off of?

The only Kimber that I feel has a bit more work into it is the Super Match and possibly the Gold Combats. I had Super Match and a Custom II and I did see some differences in fitting, but the parts were still the same.

I’ve honestly never noticed a difference in the Custom II trigger and any other Kimbers I’ve handled or owned. The Super Match may have been a half pound lighter.

I made the mistake of spending good money on a Kimber when I was young and dumb and I try to help others avoid that.

Below a grand, I don’t think they’re a bad option, but that’s the price range I feel they belong in. The more expensive Kimbers are in the Dan Wesson price range and they aren’t close to DW in terms of quality.

 

[tarosean]

I do own a few Kimbers, none of which are 1911's.

 

[nofendertom]

I just can't see how the factory steel follower can contact the feed ramp. The bullet is what does the damage to the aluminum feed ramp.

 

[trackskippy]

The follower moves forward with the last round and contacts the ramp. Mine had a pretty good groove worn into it because of it, before I swapped the factory followers for Wilson plastic followers. That stopped that problem, but didnt do anything to help the gun function properly.

 

[jmr40]

The problem stems with some reliability issues from 20+ years ago that have long been resolved. But the stigma remains. Kimber attempted to design a 1911 with an external extractor that they only used on their high-end guns. They retained the traditional extractor on the base model 1911. The base model never had any issues and was/is as good as any other 1911 at the same price point.

But for whatever reason the ones with external extractors just never seemed to run right. I have no idea why. Smith & Wesson 1911's use an external extractor and if anything, those are more reliable than the old school system. I think a lot of it had to do with the distaste for the non-traditional extractor. But Kimber abandoned their external extractor experiment and I'd rate them as good as anything else today.

Colt and most everyone else used MIM and plastic parts to save money too, so it isn't fair to single Kimber out for this.

 

[DeepSouth]

I can’t say about now, and I can’t say what the majority of the products are like. All I can attest to is that In the late 2000’s the ones I shot seemed very hit or miss, many if not most had issues.
The one I had wouldn’t run over 20-30 rounds with out a FTF. Personally I think what gave them the bad rep was their seeming total inability to admit any problems. If you had an issue and called them it either needed to be broken in more, or it was the ammo. It was quiet ridiculous.

The hate has died down a LOT in the the last 8-10 years. This leads me to believe some issues have been fixed and CS is likely better today than it was then… that said they lost me as a customer unless/until they come under new ownership, or possibly if they start building some in AL. I may buy one then just because it’s made my home state, but honestly I’d just buy it with the expectation of a half reliable range toy, if I’m wrong that’s just be a bonus

 

[crestoncowboy]

Early 2000s I saw more kimbers not work than I saw Kimber that did work. Then when you contacted customer service they made you waste 500 rounds for "break in" which is pretty frustrating when the gun jams every other round. Eventually they would take the gun back and every time I have experience with, the gun worked after the trip. Full size 45s had far less issue than the smaller guns or the 10mm guns.

 

[Charlie98]

Because they’re style over substance. Get rid of the cast and MIM parts before charging money for fancy slide cuts and styling.

I'm kind of with you on that... I think Kimber puts out some gaudy cosmetic monstrosities of a pistol... but they also put out some decent kit, too. I'm not big on embellishment, so perhaps my view is tainted. I don't have a gold plated gangsta Desert Eagle, either.

As far as the cast and MIM parts...? I haven't had one part fail in over 20 years of shooting Kimbers...

I just can't see how the factory steel follower can contact the feed ramp.

The follower moves forward with the last round and contacts the ramp.

That's correct. My stainless 4" doesn't have a problem with my CMC mags, but I can see where my alloy 4" does... the front edge of the follower gouges right into the feed ramp.

Colt and most everyone else used MIM and plastic parts to save money too, so it isn't fair to single Kimber out for this.

It's just another reason to hate on Kimber...

 

[bc1023]

Colt and most everyone else used MIM and plastic parts to save money too, so it isn't fair to single Kimber out for this.

Most of those that use MIM don’t charge wgat Kimber tries to charge for their gaudy garbage

 

[bc1023]

It's just another reason to hate on Kimber...

All my 1911’s are high end, so I don’t buy any with MIM. However, most companies that use it extensively like Kimber does don’t fancy up their guns and slap big price tags on them.

Do you see Dan Wesson doing that? No, they put the value into quality components.

Kimbers are for 1911 amateurs, in my opinion

 

[jonb32248]

Remove the word Kimber and insert Taurus and all these post's would be the same responses.Maybe I'll stay away from both.