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  #1  
Old 09-18-2020, 07:28 PM
ColbyBruce ColbyBruce is offline
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Default Kimber .22 Rimfire?

I was offered an older Kimber 1911 .22 pistol. The original finish is much like that on a S&W 317, a spray paint of some sort. It is coming off. Too late today to call Kimber about a refinish job. I could live with ugly for a while, but is it worth $300.00? Has anyone had a Kimber with this issue?
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Old 09-18-2020, 09:37 PM
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I've got a Kimber Rimfire Target .22. It has what appears to be an "aluminum" finish, I can't tell if it is painted, polished, etc. A chip or finish issue wouldn't surprise me, however mine is in great condition with minimal wear. I bought it used from a LGS that had used it as a range gun supposedly. I bought it for $300 out the door but it was essentially nearly new with box and everything. That was about 2-3 years ago. Mine has failures to feed sometime, however that is typically either the ammo (likes some standard velocity but prefers the faster stuff) or my thumb resting on the safety sometimes rubs the slide just a little but it is enough to offset the timing of the feed. It's a great 1911 .22 overall, not a Target or match quality but fun and plenty accurate.

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Old 09-18-2020, 11:57 PM
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I bought this Rimfire Target new, shortly after they were introduced. I only made some slight changes; Ed Brown ambidextrous Safety to replace the stock single sided version, and CMC Hammer and Sear that I honed and polished to a crisp 2 1/2 pound break. It's a great shooter, but its light weight makes it somewhat challenging to shoot to its actual potential.

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Old 09-19-2020, 08:38 AM
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I have a Kimber Platinum 22 LR conversion on a SA frame. On any given day, my S&W M41 and the Kimber / Springfield Armory can shoot equally at 25 or 50 yards.

When I put the dot sight barrel on the M41, it will beat the Kimber/SA. I paid $250 (?) for the Kimber conversion 12 years ago.
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Old 09-19-2020, 12:04 PM
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I have a super rimfire version that i bought used, paid more than $300! I shoot it more than any other gun I own and have put several thousand rounds through it. It had a slight burr on the slide rails when I first owned it and there were some failures to feed. Also after many rounds the feed ramp developed a very slight wear point where the bullet nose rides up the ramp and the slide would not fully close. A little fine emery cloth or cratex point to polish the feed ramp solved that problem; keep in mind this only occurs after many thousand rounds. With that many rounds another thing that can occur is powder residue buildup in the plastic magazines and this can cause the magazine spring follower to bind and fail to push the rounds up reliably. I simply clean the inside of the magazines and spray some graphite to keep things working properly. I shoot mostly bulk ammo and it tends to be dirty and this is certainly a factor. Buy it and never look back. With covid and other things going on I am hording all my other centerfire ammo but continue to shoot this one since I have 15k + rounds of 22LR left and it remains my most FUN gun to shoot.
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Old 09-19-2020, 01:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anoblefox View Post
I have a super rimfire version that i bought used, paid more than $300! I shoot it more than any other gun I own and have put several thousand rounds through it. It had a slight burr on the slide rails when I first owned it and there were some failures to feed. Also after many rounds the feed ramp developed a very slight wear point where the bullet nose rides up the ramp and the slide would not fully close. A little fine emery cloth or cratex point to polish the feed ramp solved that problem; keep in mind this only occurs after many thousand rounds. With that many rounds another thing that can occur is powder residue buildup in the plastic magazines and this can cause the magazine spring follower to bind and fail to push the rounds up reliably. I simply clean the inside of the magazines and spray some graphite to keep things working properly. I shoot mostly bulk ammo and it tends to be dirty and this is certainly a factor. Buy it and never look back. With covid and other things going on I am hording all my other centerfire ammo but continue to shoot this one since I have 15k + rounds of 22LR left and it remains my most FUN gun to shoot.
I'm right with you. I've made the decision to shoot .22 mostly and conserve my centerfire ammo. My Kimber .22 serves well with that role of practice and fun.

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Old 09-19-2020, 01:30 PM
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Anyone know what the mainspring weight is on the factory Kimber .22? I have a slide kit, but it's flat out not reliable with a 23# "standard" .45ACP mainspring, even with hot .22LR. I have an 18# lying around but even that might not be low enough.
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Old 09-19-2020, 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted by hkcavalier View Post
Anyone know what the mainspring weight is on the factory Kimber .22? I have a slide kit, but it's flat out not reliable with a 23# "standard" .45ACP mainspring, even with hot .22LR. I have an 18# lying around but even that might not be low enough.
It should have a recoil spring specific to the slide kit, and not the same as a centerfire version, like the one shown on mine. Not sure of the weight.

OP - I believe the Kimber .22 1911's used the same frame as their centerfire models, the only difference being the slide assembly. $300 seems to me to be an excellent price, as the complete guns sold for a lot more when new. Conversion kits alone are about $300 last time I checked. The finish on my conversion kit has held up well, but I am not sure what, exactly, it is. Yours might be a good candidate for one of the new spray on and bake finishes.

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  #9  
Old 09-19-2020, 06:45 PM
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Not the recoil spring...that's quite different (and much weaker) in the rimfire slide. I'm talking about the hammer spring inside the back of the grip. The Kimber .22s sold as complete pistols have a weaker mainspring and I'm wondering what it is.

I did a little digging online and found they use a 21# from the factory, so I'll probably try that before going all the way down to the 19#.
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Old 09-20-2020, 12:34 PM
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^^^^^ Ah, OK, misunderstood what spring you meant. Never gave the mainspring any thought as my conversion kit works well on both my Kimber and SA frames. A lighter spring would make sense if you are having reliability issues as long as ignition remains reliable.

Larry

Last edited by Fishinfool; 09-20-2020 at 12:37 PM.
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