[Bushmasterguy]

I would never trust a Kimber in a gun fight and here is why:

I purchased a fullsize Tactical Custom II from Kimber in September. Since that time I have had consistend Failure to Eject (FTE) and Failure to Feed FTF) problems about 15% of the time for the first 300 rounds put through it. Finally I sent it back to Kimber in October and they replaced the extractor, replaced the barrell and polished the feed ramp. It cost me $63 overnight shipping and they would not pay for my shipping and sent me 2 7 round steel mags as compensation. Wow, really nice of them :scratch: .

To continue the saga I have put 202 rounds through my Kimber since getting it back. 100 rounds in one shooting session last week and 102 rounds today.

On my first shooting session I had a FTF on the last round (100th round) using 230gr American Eagle FMJ rounds.

Today I had 2 Failure to Ejects on the 74th and 75th rounds out of 102 rounds fired. I was using 230gr CCI Brass FMJ ammo.

I should also note I used CLP to lubricate/clean my gun and Hoppe #9 bore cleaner on the barrell through the first 400 rounds fired.

However, I switched to Tetra Gun Oil to lubricate the gun and Tetra Gun Grease for the Slide Rails thinking that might solve the problem (still used Hoppes #9 to clean the barrel). That was when I had the 2 FTE's today so I guess my lubricant selection was not the issue. Guess I will switch back to CLP and Hoppes #9.

I calculate I have a 1.5% probability of a malfunction. Too high for me. I will stick with my Glock 23 40SW for dependability. Never had a problem with any malfunctions with my Glock. Of course I guess I should not try to compare the reliability of a Glock with a Kimber. Glock has Kimber beat in that department by a mile.

I am not a Kimber basher and Glock Lover (ok I am very found of Glocks) and I still love the feel and accuracy of the Kimber. Boy is it ever accurate but in the reliability department I am not impressed.

If anyone else has similar problems let me know and what you did to fix it.

 

[eljay45]

Kimber does not recommend using grease. And their warranty does not cover return shipping, just like most companies in the world.

 

[Internal]

Like most things in life the best way isn't usually the easiest.

Kimbers are no different.

I agree with you though, I've been dealing with various issues with my Kimber for almost a year now and I'm STILL getting them hashed out still to this day.

I would never trust my life to my kimber but I still have hope it might get that reliable some day.

On the other hand I bought a used Gen2 Glock 19 I've been having alot of extraction issues with that gun also!! So it can happen to all pistols.

As it sits right now the only pistols I'd trust my life with are revolvers(have an AWESOME sp101 I carry at all times), HK's USP and pretty much any Sig.

Like I said I hope my Kimber someday is reliable cause the Kimber is better in every other respect.

 

[Bushmasterguy]

You should Call Glock on that Gen 2 G19. Bet it has not have the upgraded work done on it and it will be done for free. Regardless if you are the orginal owner or not. They will ask for your serial number and can tell you if the warranty work has been done on your G19. I have never had an issue with either my G26 or G23.

 

[Chuck S]

The only conclusion you can justify with a sample of one is you don't trust this pistol in a gunfight. Based on the very large sample of Kimbers with EXternal extractor failures, though, one could justify not trusting any external extractor Kimber in a gunfight.

What ya got? Help us out a bit. I've not memorized the minutae of Kimber pistols.

First step in problem solving is to identify the problem...

On my first shooting session I had a FTF on the last round (100th round) using 230gr American Eagle FMJ rounds.

Failure to Feed or Failure to Fire?

Today I had 2 Failure to Ejects on the 74th and 75th rounds out of 102 rounds fired. I was using 230gr CCI Brass FMJ ammo.

Really? The case was pulled all the way out of the chamber and just sat there? Or was this a failure to Extract -- where the fired case is left partially in the chamber. Failure to EXtract should be expected if this pistol has the EXternal extractor.

These are all quite different stoppages and require different solutions.

Improperly adjusted internal extractor can result in a Failure to Feed -- and -- it can also result in a failure to extract or eject if the case slips off the extractor before striking the ejector. This is easy to check. Do a Google seach for M1911 extractor adjustment and you'll find detailled instructions.

Failure to fire. Firing pin struck the primer?

Internal extractor adjustment is the reason many of the M1911 pistol makers have designed different extractors. They wanted an extractor that didn't need user tweaking. Para Ordnance PXT (giant claw), and the S&W external extractor are two examples which work. Kimber external extractor doesn't.

Anyway, clarify your stoppages and we can offer solutions.

-- Chuck

 

[Bushmasterguy]

Chuck,

I have the external extractor model. Just bought it in September. It was a failure to feed on session shooting 1 and prior shooting and It was a failure to extract on session shooting 2 with the round partially pulled out but already fired.

 

[Internal]

You should Call Glock on that Gen 2 G19. Bet it has not have the upgraded work done on it and it will be done for free. Regardless if you are the orginal owner or not. They will ask for your serial number and can tell you if the warranty work has been done on your G19. I have never had an issue with either my G26 or G23.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Escotch]

I think its pretty unfair to paint an entire lineup based on your experience with one gun. I've had my ss TLE (with external extractor) since sept with about 1500 rds and not one fte or ftf. I only use Remoil and it goes bang every time. You may have one of the earlier external extractors which fail pretty often and is covered here often. I have even heard of people sending them in a second time with Kimber returning them a new slide assembly with the internal extractor and the problem is solved.

ps what kind of ammo are you using?

 

[Shootalot]

Different mags or different slide

I met a friend of mine at the range a couple of weeks ago so we could punch a few holes in some targets. He brought along his new Springfield XD in .40 S&W and I had my two Kimbers, a Grand Raptor II with the external extractor and a Pro CDP II with an inny.


My Kimbers functioned without flaw for all 400 rounds. Not a FTE or FTF in the bunch. I love my Kimbers and would trust my life to either one any day. :rock:

I have about 1500 rounds now through my Pro CDP II and it has never even burped once. My Grand Raptor II had a few FTF at the beginning but that problem seems to have been worked out during the break-in period. Even with the external extractor in the GR it has never failed to extract.

Now,on the other hand, my friends Springfield XD had three failures to fire in about 100 rounds of shooting. Yes, this was the first time he'd fired it but I don't think a break-in would help that issue. :grumble:

I do keep my 1911's lubed up with FP-10, much much more than I do with my Glock 23. I have had no problem with failures to feed using Wilson Combat magazines but the issues with my GR always seemed to be with the Kimber mags. Have you tried different magazines? :scratch:

The failure to extract has to be an extractor problem; still. Maybe you can get Kimber to swap your slide out for one with the internal extractor. It seems they have been doing that for some customers who continue to have extractor problems. I bought my Pro CDP II because it had the internal extractor, if it had the external I would have passed on the purchase.

My Pro CDP II will be my carry gun in a week or two as my Alessi holster is supposed to be ready by then. This Kimber will be replacing my Glock and, while I like my G23, I don't enjoy shooting it nearly as much as my Kimbers.

 

[PghJim]

You can have a problematic gun of any make. I am currently carrying a Kimber Compact Stainless, and have had no issues with it. Mine does have an internal extractor, which I am not saying is better, but I do feel more comfortable with it. When I have a FTE, I know how to fix it.

 

[mwb]

Kimber problems

I read all these threads about problems with Kimbers and I guess I am very lucky. I have 6 various Kimbers (only 1 ext extractor) but have never had any problem whatsoever with any of them, with the exception of my night sights going dim. My father has 4 Kimbers with the same results as me. About 80% of what I shoot is handloads with semiwadcutters too. YMMV

 

[Chuck S]

Failure to extract is a killer on a M1911 pistol as it jams the pistol solid and takes "forever" to clear.

The EXternal extractor (by Kimber) is notorious for this and there is no aftermarket or tuning you can do by yourself. The entire reason behind the EXternal extractor is that the user can't alter it.

The pistol needs to go back to Kimber yet again for fitting of, hopefully, an EXternal extractor which works. Kimber should send you a "call tag" this time since it's been there and back and still doesn't work. Contact Dennis at the Custom Shop for this. Be pleasant, this guy has been beaten up daily with this extractor issue and he's not the designer!

Some folks have received their pistols back with completely new slides on them. Slides containing INternal extractors.

Patience and perseverance. Keep holding out for a replacement slide. I don't trust the EXternal extractor at all on this pistol.

Failure to extract:

-- Chuck

 

[MrChicken]

(humor) Well, as long you dont need a 75th shot in that gunfight, you'll be ok. (humor)

I feel for you, I've got one that acts that way. It's been back to Kimber and if you hold it just right and the moon is aligned, and its low tide, you can get 100 rounds of ball through it in a session. This one has an external extractor.

My other two Kimbers are as reliable as you could ask for in a 1911. They are both internal extractor models.

 

[bigun]

Both my Kimber custom target and XD 40 tactical have been flawless from day 1, My Para however has had problems with the X-tractor. It will happen get it fixed by Kimber and carry on. By the way Para wont cover shipping either.

 

[atom]

BMG,

I had the same thing happen with my Eclipse Pro II (it had an external extractor). Sounds like you need to send it to Kimber...again. This time Kimber should pick up the shipping costs, they did for me. Here is a link to my Kimber story.

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127767&highlight=kimber+story

Once you get your problem resolved, you will trust your Kimber in a gun fight. They are great guns.

Adam

 

[Smokers]

I have a Series II Kimber Eclipse Target (internal extractor). It's been tuned for 185 gr. LSW target reloads and works flawlessly with them. The only FTF was related to the ammo, (wasn't resized properly) not the gun. But I would prefer not to use this particular gun for personal defense for two reasons.

1. This particular gun isn't set-up for combat loads.
2. I don't trust the firing pin block

I've only seen one broken firing pin block, (in a Para, not a Kimber) but that was enough to sour me on them. The guy next to me was shooting it when it stopped working. He asked me to look at it, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I stripped the slide from the frame.

This type of failure is particularly insidious because you can't really tell what's wrong with your gun. No jam, no FTF or FTE. You could "tap and rack" your gun until it's empty and it still won't work.

With an FTF or FTE, at least you can SEE your gun is jammed and get the hell out of there. A broken firing pin block can put you in a gunfight without a gun.

Randy

 

[Tony Mig]

Now,on the other hand, my friends Springfield XD had three failures to fire in about 100 rounds of shooting. Yes, this was the first time he'd fired it but I don't think a break-in would help that issue.

I have the Springfield XD-9, and had several failure to extract issues durring the first 1,000 rounds, and most of these were with Remington-UMC ammo. The last 2 times I fired this gun, I had "no" failures of any kind, and attribute the failures to break-in...(and I'm still using the Rem-UMC ammo) Every time I take this gun to the range, I shoot at least 250 rounds.

I'm new to Kimber, and only have one, the Target Match with the internal extractor, yesturday I shot it for the first time...(244 rounds)...and had only one failure to feed, this was with the Kim-pro mag that came with the pistol, I had no such issues with the 3 Wilson Combat 47D mags I have.
I cleaned it with Hoppe's #9, lubricated it with BreakFree-CLP, and hopefully today I'll get back out to shoot another 250 rounds. If I have any issues with feeding or extracting, I'll surely post the results here for the sake of this discussion.....

 

[Bushmasterguy]

Adam, thanks for the advice and the great link to your thread! I will do that and request they pick up the shipping.

BMG,

I had the same thing happen with my Eclipse Pro II (it had an external extractor). Sounds like you need to send it to Kimber...again. This time Kimber should pick up the shipping costs, they did for me. Here is a link to my Kimber story.

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127767&highlight=kimber+story

Once you get your problem resolved, you will trust your Kimber in a gun fight. They are great guns.

Adam

 

[ValleyBoy]

I have had my share of kimber problems, but they fix them and when they come back, they are awesome. If you can't trust Kimber don't buy them. But if you are a serious gun enthusiast and buy a lot of guns from different companies, you will end up with lemons of all kinds. It happens. You can't deny a company just because of one bad experience. If I did this I would never buy from S&W, Ruger, Kel-Tec, Colt Kimber, NAA, Taurus, Sig, or Remmington, as I have had to return guns with all of these.

 

[Bushmasterguy]

I called Kimber today and talked to Jaime at the Kimber custom shop which does all the repairs for Kimber. Told him my problems and he issued me a UPS call tag so they are going to pay my return shipping this time. Hopefully I will get it fixed this time. Atleast Kimber's customer service is good.