[BKC45ACP]

Took my new Stainless II to the range today. It functioned flawlessly with the stock magazine. I use Winchester USA (White Box) The gun fires tight groups. I was very impressed. I wonder what those custom shop models are like... Just had post a positive Kimber post, especially after reading the Kimber Customer Service posts, and all the problems people had. I did however change the recoil spring to 18.5, and put in a shok buff. Does the shok buff really do what it is supposed to? The little bushing looks like it couldn't really do anything.

------------------
Isn't this the land of the free?

 

[Yo]

Count yourself lucky BKC:

Here's my Kimber experience with a new blue Gold Match:

Let's see, where do I begin.
Gun arrived with big scratch in the slide. When I disassembled it to clean and lube before shooting, there were metal shavings in the gun and rough, jagged metal flash at the forward end of the left rail. The trigger wobbled from side to side, had a "three-stage" pull with lots of creep.
Range test: The gun jammed on fmj, every 12 rounds or so. The rear site came loose after 40 rounds. Shooting from rest, the gun shot 2.5" high at 25', with adjustable sight maxed out to compensate. Recoil spring has sharp ends that score guide rod, causing groves in metal that drag. Creep in trigger gets worse. Back to factory.

Smith explains metal shavings are function of "fitting" process. Gun is put in fixture, then mechanical ram drives back and forth until the slide will cycle. Apparently they never even cleaned and lubed the gun before shipping!

Range test 2: Gun still jams, tried many different kinds of mags. Gun still shoots high, then Rear sight comes loose again. On advice of factory, I put 500 rounds of ball through it over three sessions. Jamming now more frequent, with last round in mag jamming most of the time (FTF). Creep in trigger now on and off, but it changes trigger pull significantly from shot to shot. When it breaks cleanly, it is a nice 4 lbs or so. When the "three-stage" effect occurs, perceived trigger pull is much higher. Accuracy about 2" at 25' off rest(I can do 3/4" group with my HK45 at 25'). Spring scores guide rod so badly it has to be replaced. Now intermittent stovepiping begins. Back to factory.

Range test 3: Gun still shoots high. Jams continue even with premium aftermarket mags. Grip screws come loose. Rear sight comes loose. Right side MIM ambi-safety deforms and bends inward, scratching frame. Back to factory.

Kimber sends new replacement Gold Match. I dry-fire it in shop. Gritty trigger with lots of creep. I put it up for sale, unfired.

Lesson learned: Kimber ain't what it used to be. Cost of lesson $150 lost value plus $100 in shipping costs, plus $50 in FFL fees.

No more Ks for me thank you. YMMV.

Considering this was a $1000+ gun, I was shocked by how bad it was, compared to HKs, Sigs, SWs and others I've owned. By comparison, I recently got a p7m8, new for $800. Sights perfectly regulated. 2500 rounds without a FTF or FTE, beautiful machining, one ragged hole accuracy at 25'. The Kimber seems like it was made in a third world country by comparison--rough machining, funky trigger, crappy parts.

Yo


[This message has been edited by Yo (edited 10-20-2001).]

 

[BKC45ACP]

I guess we hear about the bad news all the time because when a gun does what it is supposed to do, and is in the condition it should be, it isn't a big deal. That is how it's supposed to be. When something goes wrong, however, then we let everyone know about it and complain incessantly. I totally understand what you feel. I would be anti Kimber and not buy any of their stuff with such an experience as yours and many others that I have read about. I doubt that Kimber turns out more "unfinished" guns than guns that are in perfect operating condition. Yours, and many other members experiences were very discouraging to me as a new owner, but I am over it.

 

[Arrowman]

I almost get the feeling there should be 2 Kimber forums... 1 for those who get the lemons and 1 for the rest of us who are actually quite pleased with our purchase.

 

[Gargoyle]

Oh. I am pleased with my Kimber, always have been with its performance. I also perfer its look over most 1911s. Only thing that I have a gripe about Kimber is the service.
I once thought I was one of those lucky guys who got a gun and had it shoot like a dream. Until one day I noticed a chip missing in the rifling. Didn't effect accuracy, but I was more concerned with the rusting, or more chipping in the future.

Sent it in and it comes back with a crapy machined barrel that slid against the slide. Sent it in again and now I have a Pro CDP that shoots just as good as it did when I first bought it. Accurate damn thing when I am!

One question: I keep hearing people say Kimber gave them a "new" part or other piece. Does this mean that the shop replaces parts with used parts?

 

[ipschoser1]

Originally posted by BKC45ACP:
Took my new Stainless II to the range today. It functioned flawlessly with the stock magazine. I use Winchester USA (White Box) The gun fires tight groups. I was very impressed. I wonder what those custom shop models are like... Just had post a positive Kimber post, especially after reading the Kimber Customer Service posts, and all the problems people had. I did however change the recoil spring to 18.5, and put in a shok buff. Does the shok buff really do what it is supposed to? The little bushing looks like it couldn't really do anything.

Love my Kimbers too!!!

 

[RikWriter]

Congrats on your new Kimber. They are excellent guns and I have had nothing but good experiences with them as well.

------------------
A man with a watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches isn't so sure

 

[hankhan]

My experience with my new blue Gold Match have been nothing short of amazing - once I got my crimp problems sorted out. The gun is the most accurate handgun I own, it will produce groups where the holes touch at 25 yds. It does not fail to fire everytime. It's a very nice handgun.

 

[chappy256]

I love my Kimber Classic Custom Royal. I know three other guys that have them. None of us have had any problems with them.

------------------
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. NRA LIFE MEMBER

 

[Guest]

Congratulations! I have three and haven't had a hiccup. No one I know personally has a problem with their Kimbers.

 

[DoubleD]

Have had my SST Gold Match about 2 1/2 months. About 3 weeks ago the rear site blade broke off. Sent it back and paid the extra bucks to have the night sights added. So far so good. My point is this is such an awesome gun even if the sights break again and I end up putting a different brand on in my opinion it's worth it and I got no gripes. Love this gun!

 

[Rob Orlando]

I love my Kimber, I ended up with a good one, no problems. It is all a matter of what gun you end up with.

In `91 I bought a Walther P-88, had to have it....Well it and its 2 replacements both sucked. Reliability, trigger,fit and finish stunk. If there were forums to squeal my displeasure on I may have!

Since that gun though, I have had great luck, knock on wood.

A lesson I did learn was, money doesn't alway buy the best.

[This message has been edited by Rob Orlando (edited 10-20-2001).]

 

[Packing Patriot]

I know I'm new here and while waiting for my Kimber to come in I am asking a lot of questions but a guy at my range explained Kimbers like this:

"They are like Ferrari cars...top of the line but need a little tuning every now and then to make them really purr"

 

[dla]

I have two Kimbers (an early Classic and a SS Pro Carry) and a Glock. Guess what everybody in my household likes to shoot? Yep, the old, no-finish-left Classic. Guess which pistol has 15K rounds (and counting) through it? Yep, the old not-so-pretty Classic. They like shooting it because it is easy to shoot accurately and it runs.

Now the Glock runs too. And the Glock is in more movies and TV. And every newbie wants to try the Glock first. But they all become 1911 shooters, because the Glock is hard to learn to shoot accurately.

I've had zero problems with my Glock over 6K rounds. I've had bad slide release on the Classic and a bad mag release on the Pro Carry. In both cases Kimber sent me the replacement parts in a heart-beat.

The 1911s cost more than the Glock (G19). But they've given more satisfaction.

When I think about a new pistol, I think about a 1911 and likely a stainless Kimber. But I confess, I also think about Wilson's and Les Baer's too

------------------
Have a great day!

 

[7th Fleet]

I don't blame you for being mad at Kimber after an experience like you had. However I have a Kimber Custom Combat Carry Model (similar to a lightweight Commander) and it has been a jewel and a joy to own and shoot. Perhaps I got one of the good ones. It sounds like Kimbers quality control must be iffy at best. You must have gotten one that was built on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon.

7th

------------------
Support Your Local Police

 

[Str8_Shot]

Yo

I have to say that your Gold Match story is the worst tale I have read in quite a while. It is much worse than mine, and I have had the same feeding problems you have told about.

Since you have sold your pistol I will bring up the following for the benefit of other readers.

Your pistol not feeding FMJ ammo reliably was an ammuntion and barrel issue. The basic issue is most FMJ ammo is considered bargain practice ammo, and depending on the brand, the crimp may not be very tight. The barrel part of this is the Gold Match generally has a very tight chamber with a sharp corner between the barrel hood and the barrel throat. This combination of tight chamber, sharp corner, and improper crimp means the case mouth can catch on the barrel shoulder during feeding. The fix is either always shoot match FMJ ammo, or have the barrel throated and polished. The latter is the better fix.

The story the smith told you about the shavings is just that, a story. A bad story at that. Your pistol was improperly machined and they did not want to admit it. I am glad you did not let them get away with that. On the Gold Match the slide and the frame are fit together, and this may be done on a machine. But it should be done before the slide and frame are blued. Besides the fitting should have also taken place before the trigger parts were installed. So the pistol should have arrived to you without any shavings inside. The fact it did, and it had a sharp edge inside says that someone really dropped the ball in inspecting your pistol.

Your situation with the adjustable sights has been noted before. Kimber is actually on their third supplier of adjustable sights, and the reports still come it. I do not have a clue why this is happening, unless kimber spec'ed the sight thinking all of their buyers would be shooting low power IPSC loads and not standard loads. As you have mentioned Kimber will replace the sights, but the replacements may not be any better. Some followers of this board are recommending using a Bomar adjustable sight which are reportedly the best sights made. Bomar does make a replacement sight with the Kimber dovetails for about $80 which will not break.

Though I think your sight picture was about right for a target pistol at 25 yds. In target match shooting, it is normal to place the target bullseye on top of the front sight (this is called floating the ball), which means the point of impact is supposed to be about 3 inches high at 25 yds. This is also how most fixed sights are regulated, as being 3 inches high at 25 yds means the sights are right on at 50 yds due to the flight path of the bullet. Floating the ball is a little different than most defensive shooting schools teach, because in a defensive situation the distance is typically under 10 feet and the bullet does not have a chance to move very far up its arc.

Str8_Shot

[This message has been edited by Str8_Shot (edited 11-11-2001).]

 

[REDDAWN]

I have five KIMBERS, I love them all. Can't wait to see what they build next.

 

[JRyan]

Yo

I purchased my first Kimber (Eclipse Ultra Carry) last month and after 500 rounds it was sent back last Wednesday. The fit and workmanship appeared to be excellent. In the first 100 rounds, however, I had over 20 FTF's. This was using Winchester WinClean. (Supposedly an ammo type with a reliability problem, but my Glock and Colt don't have this problem with WinClean.) The situation got better with some shooting and different FMJ ammo, but I was still experiencing FTF's. Like your situation, when they occurred it was on the last round in the magazine. And it did not make any difference whether it was stock mag or a Wilson.

I hope it is problem that is easily fixed. Beautiful gun and very accurate.

 

[dpetteys]

My Kimber is fantastic, but it definitely did not like Winclean ammo. I had my only failures to eject with that ammo and it loaded up my stainless barrel with brass jacketing unbelieveably badly. JRyan, your pistol should be fine as soon as you switch ammo. Besides, your pistol is just starting to get broken in, there really is a bit of break-in necessary with Kimbers their tolerances are really tight.