[rezman]

Greetings all,

Found this forum on a search hit. Have been shooting all my life, and have the .45 ACP bug. I was checking out the local gunshops and found a Kimber Classic Custom with "Kimber Clackamas Or." on it. Ser is in the x3xxx range. Condition is excellent. Seems like a very nice, well made pistol.

My question is, what is a fair price? Kind of had sticker shock and don't want to pay too much.

Thanks.

 

[darrell]

Hello rezman,
I can't tell you what a "fair" price would be. But I just paid $600.00 for one. I wouldn't take $800.00 for it now. This pistol looks new. Very good shape. If you look up the value in the gun traders guide, the price is much lower. But I live in Missouri and you don't run across these everyday. When I seen this one the sky parted, a beam of light shone down from the heavens and....... Well you get the picture. I fell in love with her.
Seriously, Clackamas Or. pistols in my opinion are only going to increase in value. Now this is just my opinion. Do a search on this site under Clacamas Kimbers and this might give you good Idea on a fair price. Good luck.
Darrell

 

[AZ Husker]

There is no such thing as a fair price. I've seen them going for as low as $400 to over $1000. There weren't that many of them made, and many of those are well-used. It's one of the finest factory guns ever made.

 

[dsk]

rezman,

The early Calackamas-marked guns are revered by many because some folks feel Kimber was at its best when they first got started. The first guns were for the most part very well-made, most likely because production volume was still low and the company was trying hard to impress the buying public with their new creation. But in the opinion of many, once production geared up (which by then they were being marked "Yonkers, NY" on the frame) and demand reached a crescendo Kimber began getting lazy, and allowing the guns to leave the factory without as much attention to detail in order to meet demand.

This of course doesn't mean the first ones were like gold, however. Guns from the first batch (like the one I had) shot very low until the front sight was replaced or filed down, and a few with machining boo-boos are also occasionally encountered. But the mystique of the Calackamas-marked Kimbers is growing, so if the pistol in question is like-new and unaltered it's probably worth more than an equivalent new Series II Kimber. I'd say maybe $700-$750 tops. More than that and you may as well buy a new one and not worry.

 

[45auto]

But the mystique of the Calackamas-marked Kimbers is growing, so if the pistol in question is like-new and unaltered it's probably worth more than an equivalent new Series II Kimber.

If the pistol in question is like-new and unaltered, it is DEFINETLY worth more than an "equivalent" new Series II Kimber. The Series II Custom will NEVER be "equivalent" to an early Clackamas Classic Custom!

More than that and you may as well buy a new one and not worry.

Buy a new one and "not worry"? One of the reasons the early Clackamas models are sought after is for the very fact that you don't have to worry about Series II issues.

rezman,
A reasonable price range would be from $500 to $700. If you like it, buy it.

 

[rezman]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

Dealer had a $700 price on it.

Mumbled something about "rare and collectible".

All of my guns are shooters, can't afford to be a collector.

Anybody know how many of these were made?

 

[Dave T]

YES!

 

[AZ Husker]

rezman...I'd grab it. If you want a great shooter, it will be. If you want to put it away, the Clackamas Custom Classic IS one pistol that will appreciate in value. There's been an ongoing survey here to try and determine the serial number break between Clackamas and Yonkers rollmarks. According to Dennis at Kimber, they don't even know how many were made...

 

[45auto]

.... According to Dennis at Kimber, they don't even know how many were made...

Why does that not surprise me.:biglaugh:

 

[45auto]

I know for for a fact that they made 8 of them.

 

[Sniper]

There's been an ongoing survey here to try and determine the serial number break between Clackamas and Yonkers rollmarks. According to Dennis at Kimber, they don't even know how many were made...

At or around SN.s 65xx-7000, Kimber changed from marking the receivers, Clackamas to Yonkers. That was around March or April of '97.

~ Ken Kraft
Former Kimber gunsmith

 

[45_THUD]

funny....when a dealer sells a an older, collectible, or customized gun it's always "Rare, and highly collectible".

When an owner goes to sell it, it magically changes into "Just some old gun" again.

To be fair....gun dealers are not the only ones that do this. It is the law or buying, selling, and trading.

:barf: