Kimber Problems fr Gunsmith View

I didn't even realize that the mainspring housing on my Eclipse II was plastic until just recently, when I removed it to adjust the trigger leg of the spring. It looks and works like the steel one, but saves an ounce compared to steel. Not a problem in my book.
 
...and I have THREE RIA 1911's that have functioned 100% since day one!
it aint about what you spent, it's about how much the company wants to be seen as premier.
 
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307-Niner said:
Sometimes I wonder if Kimber pays bonus to their employees for positive posts on the gun forums....
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Now that is funny!:D

I have a Tactical Custom ll that has a great trigger, shoots accurately, and I haven't had any troubles. I also have the Kimber Rimfire Target and it does not work with sub sonic ammo, jams constantly. I shoot it with high velocity ammo and it works fine then.

Ed
 
307-Niner said:
Sometimes I wonder if Kimber pays bonus to their employees for positive posts on the gun forums....
Click to expand...

The positive post out weigh the negative ones by a considerable margin.Repeated polls taken over at the 1911 forums over the last ten years have shown that.
 
My Eclipse Ultra 3 inch has been 100% out of the box. :):)
I picked the Eclipse line because it is all stainless steel, slide and frame.
Yes, it's heavy at 30 ounces, but in an OWB holster it makes no difference
 
REM 3200 said:
My Eclipse Ultra 3 inch has been 100% out of the box. :):)
I picked the Eclipse line because it is all stainless steel, slide and frame.
Yes, it's heavy at 30 ounces, but in an OWB holster it makes no difference
Click to expand...

That's my next gun! Not sure when. Soon I hope! Tell me more....

Stay safe, John
 
I have purchased 2 Kimbers solos. The 1st ate all types of ammo and never had any issues. But like most guns I buy, I traded it off for something different.
About 3 months ago I found a SS one just like the one I used to own but it had a holster and 4 mags and was priced very nicely at $600OTD. So I picked it up. When I took it to the range it was a Jammo- matic. Now I know why it was traded...I could not get through 1 mag with out a FTF.
I had heard such bad things about their CS I figured I had just eaten $600. I called them anyway and they have me an RMA #.
3 weeks later it was returned with a new barrel, new slide and some new spring I can't remember off the top of my head. The gun shoots anything now just like the 1st one I bought. NO charge, no asking if I had original sales receipt..they just fixed it. So I do not believe in bashing Kimber's CS. I got it back in May of this year so it is a recent transaction. I shoot it often. I am not a big Kimber fan but the Solo fits a niche of a pocket 9 SW does not make.
 
I picked up my Kimber TLE II yesterday and shot it for the first time this morning. Off bags at 13 yards. The first 7 rounds stayed within 1". And with my eyes, that's really saying something. It shot exactly to POA. After a slight adjustment to the lasergrip's windage, I managed to keep 6 rounds within 1/2". I couldn't believe it!
And the fit 'n finish on this gun are flawless. It is a very tight gun. The only hiccup was an issue with the magazine not releasing the rounds. This was apparent even before I inserted the mag into the well. So I switched to a different mag.
Maybe I just got lucky, but I have to say that this gun is a keeper for sure.
 
I have an Ultra II, a Eclipse Pro II, a Pro Carry II and a Stainless II and all have been perfect from day one. The Stainless II may be the most accurate handgun I have ever fired. The Pro Carry II did hit me in the head with brass when I first got it at the rate of about one every 20 rounds but that went away with a little extractor adjustment. They are all more accurate than I am by far and I would and do trust any of them for serious business.

I never had to deal with coustomer service so I can't speak to that.
 
I carry this Kimber Gold Combat evry other week or so for at least a week at a time and it is flawless..I would,,DO..trust my life to it.

0805131831.jpg
 
I have a Stainless Pro Carry II that has been perfect since day one. It is my EDC and I trust it completely.
 
A friend told me that my thread was linked to here. I know this is an old thread here but I just wanted to clarify that I am not nor do I consider myself a gunsmith. I know the 1911 fairly well and have done much to and with them in 35 years or so. A PD armorer yes. A gunsmith no.
 
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My first 1911, purchased used of course. I was clueless. So, the original owner showed me how to field strip it. :o

This old dog has never missed a beat and even likes Federal 185 gr "Classic" JHP ammo. :eek:

Inv_Ultra_Left_Sml.jpg

My second 1911, purchased used 'cause I am poor, with an external extractor 'cause I was still clueless. :o

Days after I got it, it went back to Kimber for extraction problems. They installed a new slide at NO charge.

It has never missed a beat since Kimber "fixed" it with an internal extractor.

My wife used the little one to qualify for her Arizona CCW.

Don't make her mad. ;)
 
I have a Kimber target in 45. Works every time and I wish I was as accurate as it.

I also have 2 Kimber 84's in 7mm08, bought the 1st for my Wife. It is deadly, she has one wall hanger whitetail with it. I was so impressed I bought me one. Just so you know I'm a lifelong pre 64 Win M-70 guy. I still use the Model 70's for stand hunting and the lighter 84 when still hunting. The 84 is a close clone of a M-70 Win. And a good one.

Count me as a happy user.
 
I bought a finish challenged Kimber Custom Classic made in Clackamas, Oregon from the estate of one of our deceased officers. Looks like hell but shoots like a million bucks with my cheap 230 grain RNL reloads. It also likes 185 grain +P loads from Georgia Arms. No failures of any sort. The only thing I don't like is the full length guide rod for the recoil spring.
 
I have an Ultra Raptor II and I love it. Flawless shooter. Does exactly what it is supposed to do. Reassembly is a nightmare, though.
 
Several years ago (2007-ish), I decided to see what the fuss was with these Kimbers. I decided to go big, and got a new custom shop Gold Combat II, in stainless. Beautiful gun, but it would not feed ammo reliably. After a few outings with this expensive jammomatic, I called Kimber customer service, and was treated to one of their charm school graduates; what a piece of work this guy was... Anyway, he tried to convince me it was me limp-wristing the thing, the mag, or something like that. I had to be clear that this was not my first rodeo, and that it needed to be looked at. I had to pay for its trip back to Kimber via an expensive FedEx overnight trip, this pissed me off after spending $1,450/$1,500 on the darn thing...!

The good news is they got it fixed. They ended up replacing the slide. I truly don't understand how a "custom shop" gun went out the door not being able to feed ammo/needing a new slide. It has been 100% reliable since I got it back, but I really don't shoot the thing, it sits in the safe. I ended up keeping the gun, as it is nice, and I just don't sell many guns. It's an accurate gun, and has a nice trigger, but my Colt Gold Cups shoot more accurately for me, have all been 100% reliable, and all have very nice triggers. I've got a Colt Special Combat Government (custom shop gun) that I much prefer to the Kimber Gold Combat.

So, long story short, the experience soured me on Kimbers. I'm happy to hear that there's a bunch of folks out there that have not had problems with their Kimbers, and I'm not surprised to hear that there's a bunch of people that have had problems. I'm happy to stick with Colt 1911s, and have a bunch of them. They've all been great, reliable guns for me, and I see no reason to go Kimber for a 1911.
 
I had a good buddy who is no longer with us who owned a kimber. We shot the local steel plate matches on the weekends. He's show up saturday morning with about 600 rounds shot all that up and sunday he'd shoot more at the match. We sat down one day and he figured he'd shot well over 50K rounds since he got it. Had a crack in the frame by the slide stop took it into town and had it tig'd welded and shot that kimber until he passed away.best guessestimate we figured he shot close to 100K rounds through that kimber. UPS guy would show up once a week with about 3-4 thousand hard cast 230 grain hard cast bullets. Only thing he replaced was the recoil springs and had a briely muzzle bushing installed. Frank
 
Kframerbluvr said:
I bought a finish challenged Kimber Custom Classic made in Clackamas, Oregon from the estate of one of our deceased officers. Looks like hell but shoots like a million bucks with my cheap 230 grain RNL reloads. It also likes 185 grain +P loads from Georgia Arms. No failures of any sort. The only thing I don't like is the full length guide rod for the recoil spring.
Click to expand...

The Clack guns are sought by some though they were made in NY too. The ffl was still listed in Oregon in the early days of the restructure of Jerhico and Kimber of Oregon.
 
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