I got to handle my first Kimber last night and I must say I was very impressed. The fit and feel was incredible. Price scared me away this time but now I know how much I need to save. Actually, I was thinking about getting a M1A but now I might have to re-think my strategy and direct my funds in a different direction.
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My Kimber is junk!!
- Thread starter RH822-A
- Start date
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I handled two Kimbers, both being 5" models, not sure which model though. One shot like a dream and handled very well. The other had FTF problems as long as I could take it. So I really Can't say hate or love as my own experience is 50/50. With that being said, I carry a Springfield EMP40 for EDC, have a 4" Colt 80 series, a 5" RIA and a 4" Star 45. I would carry any one on any given day. Can't say I won't have a Kimber one day, but another TRP would come first. JMO. Sure seem to have a strong following. If nothing else, they sure are good looking 1911's to browse through.
A couple of decades ago I bought a brand new Colt Gold Cup National Match in .45ACP and headed to the indoor range. Well my first shot went full auto and emptied the magazine so fast that I didn't have time to get scared. Needless to say, I took it back and they fixed it, but WOW!
NHT3
Grandmaster
I've owned at least a half dozen Kimbers and now stick to the Gen I guns simply because I don't like the idea of the added safety.. The last Gen II I owned had as good a trigger as any of the Gen I one pistols I've had, I just don't like the idea of extra engineering that is NOT necessary or needed. Every Gen I that I've owned would feed empty cases and for me that is the acid test of a 1911.. Just MHO but I think Kimbers are the best production 1911s on the market but I don't have much experience with some of the other makers mentioned. I'm sure that any maker produces a lemon once in a while but generally I believe that Kimbers are nearly impossible to beat for less than $1000.
I'm certainly not a
house expert, just giving my opinion and experiences for what it's worth.
I'm certainly not a
house expert, just giving my opinion and experiences for what it's worth.
An "olympic archer" Told my cousin that his Matthews bow was garbage and said lets shoot so i can show you how good my bow is. My cousins group was about 2-3 inches @ 40 yards, Half of what that guy and his competition bow could muster. Just goes to show you that some people think that just because they don't use it its junk. Hell I have an XD and don't think Glocks Are Junk! 
I am in the same boat with my Kimber's I have had several over the past few years and have only had major problems with one.
Cutsom Carry SS zero probs thousands of rounds
CCLE Zero Probs. and a Custom shop "marked" gun. few thousand rounds.
Ultra Elite Zero probs. few hundred rounds
Pro Tactical Early Feed issue break in a and a bit of ramp polish she ran fine. few hundred rounds maybe 1500 or so
Pro Elite Zero issues but only a couple of hundred rounds through it.
Pro Tactical Zero issues. few hundred rounds
Gold Combat amazing gun, shoulda kept that one, 7-800 rounds
Pro Carry zero issues. few hundred
Ultra Raptor ejection, feeding and reliability issues Back for Warranty returned in two weeks ran fine but lost its luster so traded it off. 2-300 hundred tops
Kimber Warrior, Another gun that rocks my boat. As good as my Gold combat was. few thousand and counting.
Now My wife has had a couple that had some ejection issues, that for some odd reason I did not experience when I shot them, but it was most obviously Kimbers fault so I quickly replaced them with better Kimbers.
I have been around these guns for a lot of years as well. Im not a fancy match shooter, instructor, magazine writer or Gunsmith, just a guy who like guns and likes to actually run them now and then.
I thanked Saint JMB for the day Kimber hit the Market. I was tired of buying Colts and having to tweak or have them tweaked. I couldn't afford the High end customs and Kimber filled the void neatly for a very large number of folks and continues to do that today.
Cutsom Carry SS zero probs thousands of rounds
CCLE Zero Probs. and a Custom shop "marked" gun. few thousand rounds.
Ultra Elite Zero probs. few hundred rounds
Pro Tactical Early Feed issue break in a and a bit of ramp polish she ran fine. few hundred rounds maybe 1500 or so
Pro Elite Zero issues but only a couple of hundred rounds through it.
Pro Tactical Zero issues. few hundred rounds
Gold Combat amazing gun, shoulda kept that one, 7-800 rounds
Pro Carry zero issues. few hundred
Ultra Raptor ejection, feeding and reliability issues Back for Warranty returned in two weeks ran fine but lost its luster so traded it off. 2-300 hundred tops
Kimber Warrior, Another gun that rocks my boat. As good as my Gold combat was. few thousand and counting.
Now My wife has had a couple that had some ejection issues, that for some odd reason I did not experience when I shot them, but it was most obviously Kimbers fault so I quickly replaced them with better Kimbers.
I have been around these guns for a lot of years as well. Im not a fancy match shooter, instructor, magazine writer or Gunsmith, just a guy who like guns and likes to actually run them now and then.
I thanked Saint JMB for the day Kimber hit the Market. I was tired of buying Colts and having to tweak or have them tweaked. I couldn't afford the High end customs and Kimber filled the void neatly for a very large number of folks and continues to do that today.
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Alot of 1911 fans aren't fond of the swartz safety system kimber started using in the Series II, but it's more of a trigger pull issue, not a safety issue. They have gotten better with the trigger pulls over the years, if you are unhappy, there are numerous forums that have guides on how you remove and/or tune the swartz system. They started using MIM parts on the Series II but the majority of the companies use them too. If it worries you that much, for $100 you can replace them all with aftermarket steel parts from a plethora of vendors. In a nutshell, shoot it, you will either love it or hate it, but it will have nothing to do with what a guy at a gunshow said, it will have to do with your personal preferences.
1. Obviously you don't have a handle on what you're talking about. Kimber's swartz safety is grip safety activated, not trigger activated. You're thinking the series 80 system in Colts. Kimber's system is known for coming out of time and rendering the pistol inoperable far more than Colt's Series 80 System.
2. Yes, everyone uses MIM to some extent anymore (in the <$1000 range), but Kimber's QC lets far crappier MIM out the door than other manufacturers. The only other company I can think of with problems with MIM is Springfield because they insist on using it for their extractors and they just don't hold proper tension like bar stock.
3. If you think you can replace all the MIM on a Kimber for $100, you're sadly mistaken. With tool steel replacements and labor for installing them, you'd be closer to $1000 to de-mim your typical Kimber since pretty much EVERYTHING is MIM except for the frame, barrel, and slide.
Cheers
musclecarr
Shooter
There are people that put down everything from guns to vehicles, and swear that what they have is best. All guns are pretty much decent in the eyes of the beholder, except for a Jennings! and all vehicles are pretty much safe and dependable, except for a TOYOTA !!!
, ok now, I'm ready for repercussion Toyota owners. But that's a different thread!
, ok now, I'm ready for repercussion Toyota owners. But that's a different thread!
After carefully reading all these posts, I am convinced that my Glock 26 and my Taurus 709 slim will do as good a job of keeping me on this side of the Great Divide as anything else out there.
The perfect weapon has yet to be built. No perfect manufacturer exists. If the did, I would not have the fun of trying out different models and different ammo in my chosen pieces. 
Flame on, my friends! It is very educational and I enjoy watching the fireworks!
The perfect weapon has yet to be built. No perfect manufacturer exists. If the did, I would not have the fun of trying out different models and different ammo in my chosen pieces. Flame on, my friends! It is very educational and I enjoy watching the fireworks!
MilitaryArms
Master
- Apr 19, 2008
- 2,751
- 48
The perfect weapon does exist, it's known as the 1911. The perfect manufacturer exists as well, actually several of them do.
1) Ed Brown
2) Wilson Combat
3) Nighthawk Custom
4) Springfield (TRP or above including their custom line)
Sure, there are lots of other options out there, but when push comes to shove, the 1911 is the most ergonomic, reliable, accurate, easy to use and comfortable to carry pistol ever devised. John Browning was a genius. There's a reason the design is still one of the top sellers 99 years after its introduction...
The perfect weapon does exist, it's known as the 1911. The perfect manufacturer exists as well, actually several of them do.
1) Ed Brown
2) Wilson Combat
3) Nighthawk Custom
4) Springfield (TRP or above including their custom line)
Sure, there are lots of other options out there, but when push comes to shove, the 1911 is the most ergonomic, reliable, accurate, easy to use and comfortable to carry pistol ever devised. John Browning was a genius. There's a reason the design is still one of the top sellers 99 years after its introduction...
kinda funny that colt isnt up there. or sad. i find it pretty ridiculous that i would have to spend $2000-$3500 to get a completely reliable weapon. i mean, were the WWI-II era guns bad? obviously there was not an Ed Brown making each and every piece back then. i wonder if JMB realized his design would have to be built by hand each time in order to be dependable.
(warning: sarcasm)
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Actuall Sig's 1911s are no longer MIM free. And from what I've read, they aren't exactly using the best MIM there is, either. Kimber's are fine guns. Anything made by man can be "bad" new out of the box, guns are no exception.
And as far as posts by Full Auto go, I'll just mention his well known campaign against things Kimber on multiple boards. The normal process is to post lots of pics of broken, rusted, etc Kimbers sitting on dealers shelves (he even posted a pic of a broken Kimber in the "Post pics of your favorite Kimber" section of another forum. Kind of tasteless IMO), followed by links to the 10-8 forum so you can see how the "experts" feel about them, followed by glowing testimonials about Wilson, Brown, and of course TRP's. Ask him sometime how many boards he has been banned from for "hating" on Kimber.
And as far as posts by Full Auto go, I'll just mention his well known campaign against things Kimber on multiple boards. The normal process is to post lots of pics of broken, rusted, etc Kimbers sitting on dealers shelves (he even posted a pic of a broken Kimber in the "Post pics of your favorite Kimber" section of another forum. Kind of tasteless IMO), followed by links to the 10-8 forum so you can see how the "experts" feel about them, followed by glowing testimonials about Wilson, Brown, and of course TRP's. Ask him sometime how many boards he has been banned from for "hating" on Kimber.
MilitaryArms
Master
- Apr 19, 2008
- 2,751
- 48
Wow, check that out! I have my own cyber stalker.
To sum things up, I've been banned from exactly zero boards for posting anything about Kimber. So much for your "facts".
Just when we thought things were going well, junior comes in with his nonsense...
Why don't you go troll one of these "other" boards?
Wow, check that out! I have my own cyber stalker.
To sum things up, I've been banned from exactly zero boards for posting anything about Kimber. So much for your "facts".
Just when we thought things were going well, junior comes in with his nonsense...
Why don't you go troll one of these "other" boards?
maybe he'll ask you to have this conversation in person. be careful, he knows the heimlich maneuver but wont use it to help you.
