FTF and Stovepipes on TWO Kimbers?

Welcome to the site!

Now, to your questions... NO 1/150 should not be tolerated. Good news though,,, some (all?) could be just some normal break-in woe and may cure or improve with 500 or so.

Some trends have been noted on these pages over time and these two I'll mention are worth considering:

extractor - find out where it is, how to check/adjust tension. It's one of the most important things to know about YOUR 1911. It applies to ALL 1911's but that one is Your's alone.

second - if ya get any T&P work done, consider having that "Match" (read tight) chamber reamed to standard spec and some leade cut into the rifling of the bore.

Kimber uses that tight "match" chamber as a marketing "feature". Some gunsmiths advocating reliablity work recommend reaming that puppy out. Your call.

Extractors are a touchy-feely thing that can't be done by a machine alone, it takes time and practice,,, then can only be proven by the function of the pistol in real extended firing.

For max reliability, focus on these areas:
Pick a good ammo and stick with it.
Pick good magazines, take care of them. You won't know for sure until they prove in the gun over time.
Clean,,, especially don't let crud build up on breech face, extractor tip, feed ramp, or chamber.

that's more words than i've spoke since i been here... good luck good shootin'... and Don't put up with anything less than 1/1000. Much better reliability is possible, and your Kimber is surely up to it if you make it work out.

------------------
Rust never sleeps

Welcome to the site. Hope we can help get your Kimbers working properly.

Havoc has given you good advice. I'd like to add one other cleanliness point. Don't let crude build up behind the extractor. This is the hole in the slide in which the extractor fits into. Oh, and make sure you lubricate the moving parts like slide/frame rails, barrel/bushing area.

If after putting about 500 rounds through your guns to break them in, and if you don't feel confident about getting it to work yourself, just send it back to Kimber and let them get it working for you. You should not have to "live" with 1/150 failure rate.

Good luck!

Hah! Change doctors! It's YOUR money...Why take any crap from ANYONE? Find one that
shoots and never look back...There are all kinds of agencies that will give you the complete rundown on ANY doctor. I'll bet through the other shooters you know, you already know one that shoots. If not, I'll bet one of your shootin' pals does!



------------------
>>>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<

I Like The Shade Too!

Now shooting gloves is something I hadn't even considered. I will definitely concur that shooting 50+ rounds of 9mm and then 100 or so of .45 is tiring for this lady, even tho I'm burlier than most. However, since most of the training that I'm doing is of the "home combat" variety, I'm pretty sure my instructor would get bent if I used gloves. He's a big hardwiring fan, and I can hear him saying, "If you're hardwiring getting used to wearing gloves, then when the time comes to shoot your gun without gloves..." He's a bit of a stickler.

I'm almost certain at this point the stovepiping is a combination of two things: one, wrist break. I had one stovepipe yesterday at the range and I FELT my wrist break. Also, something the husband discovered is that when the ramp on the magazine has extended out beyond the edge of the mag...how do I explain this. The two little tongues of metal that you set the first round on - those two flat pieces - on the Kimber mags, they can actually be pushed back toward the back of the magazine sometimes as far as 1/4". When he has made sure to push those pieces back before adding his first round, he's had no smokestacks or FFLs since.

I just learned this the other day, because I didn't understand him either. So I'll try that technique the next time I go to the range, and if it works well for the next 500 or 600 rounds, I can blame it on the mags. I've seen elsewhere that the Kimbers are particular about their mags, and if I keep having problems, I may switch over to Wilson 47Ds.

Thanks for all of the advice.

Regarding brass bouncing off your head - this may be a bit personal for you fellows, but I've stopped wearing a bra to the range because about 1 out of every 75 rounds or so, I'd wind up with *smoking* *hot* *brass* getting stuck in my bra. And I've also caught brass between my shooting glasses and my eyeglasses, as well as getting *thumped* on the head. That hurts!

The symptoms your describing make me think the extractor tension is too light. The fact that the magazine follower needing to be pushed back and you getting showered with hot brass are good clues. Is your gun a full size or compact model?

I once had a commander length gun that would pelt me with brass. So much so that one time I got smacked in the forhead and it left a nice half-moon cut. Great conversation starter.

As for letting brass fall through, have you tried wearing a T-shirt, or some other shirt with a higher neck line? I've been pretty lucky and have never had a piece of hot brass get stuck in a shirt collar or glasses. Now that I said that my next time out I'll probably get to experience it first hand!

Anyway, good luck with your shooting!

break the gun in with 500 rounds, and if the problem continues consult a gunsmith.

i would also say use shooting gloves when the pain starts or just before. even if your instructor advises against it, he is half right that you should train how you fight. so when you shoot "cold" and not warmed up go bare handed, cuz in a defensive situation you will be "cold" and bare handed. once you get warmed up put on the gloves, and maybe in your final few rounds or mags of the day take off the gloves and shoot "warmed up" and bare handed.

if the doc asks why it hurts? say its from typing on the comp, or you dont know why "it just does" or some other lie, no reason for him to know.

as far as shooting someone in kalif, home defense is still legal and approved, dont sweat it too much.
and you wont even have to drag the body back into the house

------------------
Caspian frame + Colt parts = Col-spian? or Cas-olt?