new 1911 break in routine?

[ryan3326]

So I just picked up a new 1911 (Kimber TLE/RL II) and have heard other members talking about breaking in their guns initially to get reliable performance. Being that it is a Kimber - will I still need to break it in?

 

[Fenway]

Ya.... shoot it

 

[Drail]

It does not matter what brand it is. It should function 100% out of the box. If it doesn't shooting 500 rounds through it is not going to "fix" it. Make the manufacturer honor their warranty. Kimber started all of this "break in period" nonsense and everybody seems to be buying into it. It's not a car engine, it's a gun.

 

[bglaze]

Any good 1911 should be 100% from day one. If they are made with quality care and materials, they're as reliable as the sun.

I've only owned Springfields, though, so I can't speak for Kimber first hand.

 

[LPMan59]

It does not matter what brand it is. It should function 100% out of the box. If it doesn't shooting 500 rounds through it is not going to "fix" it. Make the manufacturer honor their warranty. Kimber started all of this "break in period" nonsense and everybody seems to be buying into it. It's not a car engine, it's a gun.

exactly. Kimber started it due to poor performance.

 

[85t5mcss]

It's not a car engine, it's a gun.

Exactly, neither ones broken in, but fire away, or drive away if it's a car. These are both old stories. Gun quality and tolerances have been made better just like engine components and materials r better (this only applies to new style vehicles since the 90s)

 

[Cowboy1629]

Wow, someone should tell Ed Brown, Bill Wilson, and Les Bare they don't know what they are talking about. No need to break in their guns just go shoot them!

You can do as you please but I follow the recommendations of some of the top pistol smiths in the world. But then again it might just apply to their guns and not Kimber.

Congratulations on your new gun I saw the picture in the other post, nice looking.

 

[OD*]

Wow, someone should tell Ed Brown, Bill Wilson, and Les Bare they don't know what they are talking about. No need to break in their guns just go shoot them!

You can do as you please but I follow the recommendations of some of the top pistol smiths in the world. But then again it might just apply to their guns and not Kimber.

Congratulations on your new gun I saw the picture in the other post, nice looking.

On what page of the Les Baer manual does it detail his "break-in" period?

 

[kludge]

Being that it is a Kimber - will I still need to break it in?

Being that it's a Kimber, they won't talk to you until you put 500 or more rounds through it. If that is their position, then Kimber needs to invest in some lapping compound and a machine to cycle their guns a couple thousand times before they send them to customers.

Congratulations on you Kimber, the following is not directed at you.

Every $470 XD or $250 Kel-Tec is expected to run 100% out of the box, if if there is any issue at all with any conceivable ammo including reloads, the the gun snobs will say it's an unreliable piece of crap tupperware gun. But the same people with a $1500 1911 that stovepipes and FTF's on every mag with hardball say it needs breaking in, and factory says you need to spend another $250 on ammo breaking it in. It's why I'll never own one.

My dad's very old, very pristine, very valuable GI 1911 did the same thing though. My brother snagged it before I could, but he took it to a smith to give it a once over. It shoots much better now, but neither one of us has shot it enough to know if it is "100%". I'd put my faith in an out of the box XD long before I would a 1911.

That and the one Kimber (an SIS model) that I have shot, the trigger is too touchy for my taste for carry use. It's within a pound of my S&W 19 with the target trigger in single action.

/rant. My apolgies to those of you with flawless 1911's. I'm not a hater, just not a fan.

 

[MeatyBacchus]

I would read the manual and follow manufacturer's policy for the break in period.

 

[OD*]

My dad's very old, very pristine, very valuable GI 1911 did the same thing though.

You do know that was very uncommon, right? If the 2 million plus M1911s and M1911A1s did not work from the get go, the US Government would have dumped truck loads of them back at the doors of Colt, Remington-UMC, Remington-Rand, Ithaca, US&S etc., they would never have spent the money to run millions of rounds through them, nor tweaked them, to "break-in" over two million pistols.

 

[adventures47129]

It is true that all weapons should be ready to go out of the box... but, are you willing to risk your life on that? During a break-in period, if there is going to be a problem let it happen. Better to find a problem putting a few hundred rounds down range. Besides, it gives you a time to get used to the feel of the weapon. It may be you that is being broken in and not the weapon. But... shoot it and shoot it some more. Enjoy your new weapon!!!

 

[OD*]

It is true that all weapons should be ready to go out of the box... but, are you willing to risk your life on that? During a break-in period, if there is going to be a problem let it happen. Better to find a problem putting a few hundred rounds down range. Besides, it gives you a time to get used to the feel of the weapon. It may be you that is being broken in and not the weapon. But... shoot it and shoot it some more. Enjoy your new weapon!!!

Agreed, but IMHO, "function testing" and "breaking-in" are two completely different things. I would never carry a weapon without being certain it was 100% reliable, but I would not own a pistol by a company that expects me to burn though a case of ammunition in one of their guns before I send it back for warranty work .

 

[bman1962]

I've got a Kimber and a Springfield and both have been 100% out of the box and no we did not follow the break in period on either one. For the record Kimber said 500 rds of 230 grn and when I called Springfield they said 200 rds. of 230 grn for break in period. I called Springfield because it was not in the manual but it was in Kimber's.

 

[kludge]

You do know that was very uncommon, right? If the 2 million plus M1911s and M1911A1s did not work from the get go, the US Government would have dumped truck loads of them back at the doors of Colt, Remington-UMC, Remington-Rand, Ithaca, US&S etc., they would never have spent the money to run millions of rounds through them, nor tweaked them, to "break-in" over two million pistols.

I'm sure that is the case. This particular gun it "tight". Not Kimber tight, but much tighter than my XD. Also I had just turned 21 when my dad died, and prior to that I had only seen that 1911 a couple of times. It was too long ago and I was too young to know what the smith did to it. I myself have only put a couple magazines through it.

 

[Kick]

My Kahr had some issues right out of the box. I read the manual and it recommended a 250 round break in period and that the slide stop always be used to bring the slide forward.

I have never believed in working off the slide stop or the break in period. I though that they were both just plain silly. But, I humored Kahr's owner's manual and followed the instructions. I'll be damned. The pistol works great off the slide stop and I haven't had a single issue after the "break in period".

I guess my point to all that is, just follow the instructions in the owner's manual. The people that manufactured your firearm most likely know just a little more about it than all of the "experts" here...

 

[OD*]

I'm sure that is the case. This particular gun it "tight". Not Kimber tight, but much tighter than my XD. Also I had just turned 21 when my dad died, and prior to that I had only seen that 1911 a couple of times. It was too long ago and I was too young to know what the smith did to it. I myself have only put a couple magazines through it.

I see, thanks amigo.

 

[joshuametivier]

I think the first response has said the most with the least: "ya.. shoot it".

 

[jd42k]

The gun should be 100% reliable from day one. No break in required.