Kimber 45s
When I first read this thread a couple weeks back I was tempted to comment then but changed my mind as it is going to be a little negative but I decided I "do" have a few things to say about my Kimber experience. So here goes: I remember reading one of the earliest if not the earliest gun mag articles which I believe was in Shooting Times and I believe the article was by Metcalf in which he stated this was the most accurate standard production 1911 he had ever encountered. He also happened to mention something to the effect that it was shooting high or low(don`t remember which) but a "quick call to Kimber" and they would replace the front sight to achieve poa/poi. So based on this glowing recommendation I happened to purchase one of the first Kimber Customs. Well,mine was similar in a way to the test gun as it was shooting low by 6-8 inches at 25 yards...so I called Kimber service to inquire about a new front sight and this was the first they had heard of the supposed different front sights. I wound up filing the sight down myself to raise point of aim. Secondly,this pistol couldn`t have been akin to the most accurate standard production 1911 as it had a hard time feeding even hardball. Down the road that pistol went.
Some time later I acquired a NIB Kimber Heritage Edition. This pistol was after Kimber had switched to Series II but held to the original Series 70 model.It was named Heritage Edition as Kimber donated $200 for each of these(1100 units?) to the Heritage Foundation. It had 30 line checkering,ambi safety,beautiful grips. Shot and functioned great. Decided I wanted night sights and sent it back to Kimber for them and also had the slide KimPro`ed and an Ed Brown grip safety installed. To the person who earlier mentioned his dislike of KimPro I agree wholeheartedly. It didn`t look good from the get go and while it hasn`t flaked off it seems to wear off faster than the regular finish. An overall good shooting, never fail pistol...I`ll come back to this one later.
Somewhere in the in-between years of the above pistols I purchased a Kimber Compact(steel) that happened to have an external extractor. It did everything you would want a pistol to do. I liked it quite a bit and had night sights installed and sent it to Gemini Custom for 25 line checkering.I had earlier had an Ed Brown grip safety installed by Kimber. Shot and functioned perfectly except...it developed a bad habit with age of ejecting spent brass in my forehead. It didn`t do this in the beginning,it actually would pile up brass in the 2:00-3:00 o`clock area. But,with a little use and age it it started the forehead/eyes thing(thank goodness I always wear shooting glasses). I read on the web somewhere that Kimber essentially had a campaign on the external extractor and would replace with a conventional slide but it turned into a complete new gun as they would only do the work to return the frame to original(no Ed Brown). They made it as I had it with checkering and the night sights but no Ed Brown and if I recall I paid $275= new pistol. It runs and shoots great and the only thing I have done over the years is put a Wilson flat wire recoil spring system in as conventional springs are recommended to be replaced every 7-800 rounds.
Now,back to the Heritage Edition. I have been shooting striker fired pistols quite a bit over the last 10-15 years and probably have developed a little bit of trigger staging for follow up shots. I typically carry a M&P Compact or a Shield and whenever I go shooting I always shoot at least one or both of these pistols. Earlier this year I happened to bring along the Kimber as I had not shot it in quite a while. I had basically what you would call a 'double', a second shot that went off in the recoil arc. SCARY! So I made it a point to bring only it and the Kimber compact next time out and concentrate on trigger control. Well,it happened again. Had some part become so glazed/worn over or was it me ? I contacted Kimber, told them my "problem" and sent it in. They receive my pistol and if a `smith ever looked at it I could not tell you as they immediately went into sales pitch replacing it with a new Series II pistol (Series 80) at no cost. I asked them to look into it and they refused and I said send it back! They did and sent a service memo stating "do not load or use"and telling me I am responsible for all future use. They are definitely getting off the bus as far as liability goes. This is on a pistol that they birthed and sold and did all work on up to the point where they refused to look at it. Upon receiving it back I bent the trigger spring and created more tension and have had no problems since. Probably should have done that in the beginning and saved freight and insurance.
So to recap my Kimber experience I have owned 4 Kimbers. Still have 2 and consider them excellent pistols. The original Classic not so good. The first Compact was no doubt for them a trial to be better and probably cheaper in manufacturing that didn`t work out. I`m satisfied with the trade made from the service department for the 2nd Compact. Indeed I`m pleased with the service department until the last time when it appears a lawyer now manages it. The most notable statements from the reps for the Compact replacement and the Heritage non service is that the frame had been altered via the Ed Brown replacement parts...grip safetys which their service department did. It appears they want to disavow their previous work and possibly their initial first series 70 pistols. I wonder if Mr. Brown knows the disdain that his parts are held in by Kimber ? As for my Heritage, I consider it a wonderful pistol even with a slightly heavier trigger. But I`m done with Kimber. John
