I just traded for another off brand. I know nothing about them but it was with my family. Any comments on the brand. At least it is made in USA. A Kimber TLE11e in 45ACP. I traded two S&Ws for it.

Trading two of the correct brand for one offbrand is questionable but it's a done deal. I'm not a Kimber guy but I have a few 1911s and just about anytime I go to a range someone has one. 1911s are always fun to shoot and .45 ACP is one of my favorite cartridges to reload. I notice your Kimber has one unusual feature. I've only handled one Kimber 1911with an external extractor so my guess is they only used them for a short time before reverting back to an internal extractor. I think the external ones are superior but they're not traditional. I bet you enjoy it and it shoots great.

Gil

Your "off brand" gun looks pretty sharp.

Cant go wrong with a Kimber, in my opinion. I own seven of them, three rifles, and four 1911's. Very accurate and well made. I love the polish and finish on my series 70 Colt Gold Cup, but my Kimber 1911's are better fit, and more accurate, as well as more reliable with a wider range of bullet styles.

My Kimber Ultra Carry (One of those unreliable three inch 1911's) has just hit 1K rounds without a single issue, and groups as tight as my Gold Cup.

Larry

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When it comes to 1911s, Kimber is not an off brand. Spoken with all due respect to Smith.

I have Kimbers on both ends of the scale. The high end is a little overpriced, but they are work reliably and are accurate.

The 2k gun is more fun to shoot than the 700$ one.

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Incoming fire has right of way

I guess it's OK, we will let you stay

Kimbers sell like hotcakes around here. My local dealer can't keep them in stock. They make lots of models. I was drooling over one of the melted, bobbed versions. Too much $$ for me.(thank goodness)

They must be doing something right!

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Still Running Against the Wind

The Kimber's are a fine pistol. However like anything else made by man they can have problems. My Pro-Carry sheared the full cock notch off of the hammer in less than fifty rounds. Had my smith install a new Ed Brown hammer and tune the trigger to my likeing while he was doing the work. Funny thing was my smith was complaining about the Kimber's stealing work from him because they came from the factory with the bell's and whistel's he used to charge a arm and a leg for!

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Stay safe people!

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trade two S&W guns for one Kimber maybe if it was a series one Kimber and that would depend on how nice the S&W guns are. I definitely wouldn't trade them for an external extractor Kimber, they managed to give all 1911s with external extractors a bad name in a very short amount of time.

Since you already have it, it would be a good idea to give it a good test run to see if you got one of the EE Kimbers that actually work. If it isn't reliable you should contact Kimber to see if they are still replacing the slides on these under warranty.

After reading LuddhaBubbha's post I think I should add that I only handled the one Kimber that I saw with an external extractor. I didn't see it in action. I still think most 1911 external extractors are better than the old fashioned GI type.

Gil

I have two Kimbers with external extractors, that I purchased used with unknown round counts.

I have fired each one about 1,500 rounds, with zero malfunctions.

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Incoming fire has right of way

Prior to Kimber Colt was pretty much the only game in town. Once you found a suitable Colt it was certainly well worn if it was a service gun. A trip to a smith was costly depending on how far you wanted to go. I'm sure everyone knows that. Kimber came in with a $550 gun when new series 80 Colts were about $100 more. I used to collect, more like accumulate, 1911 style Colts. I had a few Kimbers. One was a really pretty, expensive, series 1 bright stainless. Colt came out with lower cost models like the 1991. But their old manufacturing, and assembly process could not keep up with Kimber which was basically a Chip McCormick parts gun. Kimber all but ruined smith's that specialized in accurising Colts. There's one around here like that. I have never liked the front cocking serrations. If you don't mount a scope whats the point.

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SOS USA

I like Kimber pistols a lot. They have a staggering number of variations and I find them all to be outstanding.

Kimber SIS Custom RL | Tactical Response Magazine

Is that one of those cheap foreign imports? I don't know of anything that I would trade two S&W's for.

These two S&Ws were shooter grade police trade-ins and it was with a family member. I had duplicates of both of them and it was a way for the new owner to not have to come up with cash.

Shooter grade L.E. trades have been going for around $300 each on-line, so add your transfer fees to that amount. Around $400 cash FTF. Kimbers here in South Florida generally start at around $750 for pre-owned. They have what seems like hundreds of models, and used ones here go right up to the thousand dollar mark.