[EnderW]

I am new to 1911's, and I am soon going to pick up a Kimber Rimfire and Eclipse. I have seen a lot of posting here about people getting Series I pistols from Kimber, and they seem to be happy about this fact.

My question is: Are there known issues with the newer Kimbers, are the older ones better, etc?

 

[Guest]

Popcorn.............check
Drink..................check

Hang on a minute while I go get my smokes.

















Do a search.

Hang around a bit, you'll hear all the banter about series I vs. series II that you can handle.

 

[AZ Husker]

I've yet to hear a reason why S-II's are superior.

 

[plunker]

Series 11 pistols have a internal hammer drop safety in case the pistol is dropped on the hammer the pistol will not fire. The series 1 pistols do not have the safety.

There were or are problems with the series two guns safety causing problems. I believe Kimber has them corrected now. Kimber does not make the series 1 pistol anymore. They may become a collector items 100 years from now.

I do not have a series 11 pistol so I have no experience with the new pistol.

plunker

 

[norman74]

yeah, do a search.

 

[AFMan]

I have a few original series Kimbers and three Series IIs.

None have given me any unexpected problems, and after removing the firing-pin-safety from my IIs, they are just like the originals.

The FPS caused me no prolems, but I don't care for them, so I remove them as a matter of course, just like on Colt Series 80s.

 

[Jess]

The answers that you will get are more from a cult or religious perspective vs a practical failure or problem standpoint.

Jess

 

[dubb-1]

The answers that you will get are more from a cult or religious perspective vs a practical failure or problem standpoint.

Jess

Jess, although one may have to sift through a few, less than factual posts, there have actually been some well documented failures in the past. In order to perform an efficient search, I would recommend specifying the words Kimber and failure.

Be well!

 

[Jess]

Thanks Dubb, I will try that. I am just not sure that there have been any real problems with the series II in my past reading here and I went back about a year. Granted, I am a newbie here, but just don't see any justification to some of the "facts".

 

[dubb-1]

You are most welcome!

I experienced a failure. I believe dsk did as well. There were more, but I cannot recall their names/handles.

You may also wish to use FTRB or FTRTB as search criteria.

Be well!

Damian

 

[ddpelp]

mowerman

double message.. delete.. tnx

 

[ddpelp]

mowerman

u owe me a keyboard!!!!.. That statement cracked me up...
I have a seies II Kimber that works great (actually two of them both are fine)..
this discussion always reminds me of which came first the chicken or the egg <g>

 

[Guest]

Send me your address...........

 

[mr50bmg]

Kimber introduced the Series II so that in the future, when they introduce the "Series I Classic" from the Custom Shop, they can double the price

Seriously, although the Schwartz safety offends my sense of aesthetics, along with the lawyer-engineering behind it, there are potentially many things that can go wrong with a pistol and the series II safety is just another item to add to the percentages.

Ultimately, whether you buy a I or a II, what will matter is whether you've gained confidence in the reliability of the weapon or not.

-Dave

 

[jfeenin]

EnderW I’ve learned the hard way that this is one of those topics best avoided. In my time on various firearms forums I’ve discovered that depending on the main theme there always seems to be at least one topic that’s best avoided. Here it’s the Series I vs. Series II debate. On other forums (I like leverguns too) I’ve found the following other topics are hot nests of debate and often high emotions… Some of them are (not necessarily pistol related)…

Kimber Series I vs. II
45/70 vs. 450 Marlin big bores.
30/30 vs. 35 Remington
22WMR vs. 17HMR.
AR-15 vs. Mini-14
AR-15 vs. AK47/AK74
M-14 vs. M-16

There are many more depending on what site you’re on and the prevailing theme there. Like mowerman said get out the popcorn…

 

[GoldStarKimber]

EnderW I’ve learned the hard way that this is one of those topics best avoided. In my time on various firearms forums I’ve discovered that depending on the main theme there always seems to be at least one topic that’s best avoided. Here it’s the Series I vs. Series II debate. On other forums (I like leverguns too) I’ve found the following other topics are hot nests of debate and often high emotions… Some of them are (not necessarily pistol related)…

Kimber Series I vs. II
45/70 vs. 450 Marlin big bores.
30/30 vs. 35 Remington
22WMR vs. 17HMR.
AR-15 vs. Mini-14
AR-15 vs. AK47/AK74
M-14 vs. M-16

There are many more depending on what site you’re on and the prevailing theme there. Like mowerman said get out the popcorn…

Don't forget the usual caliber debates: 9mm vs. .40 vs. .45!

Seriously...I think that it would be really hard to prove that certain malfunctions are caused by very specific reasons...such as the FPB. It is a very simple funtion that it provides...and is the same sort of system used on other manufacturer's guns...even Glock uses a similar setup.

I had some FTE's with my new Kimber (just a couple) near the 300 round mark. I started looking for things to blame to failures on, magazine, extractor, etc...but what I think ultimately happened is my weak side thumb was dragging on the slide a bit. I shoot high thumbs, and after 300 rounds in one session, my hands were getting tired. I compensated by using a stronger grip, which left me putting a little extra pressure on the slide with my weak thumb as it rode up higher than I thought it was.

Is that what caused the failures FOR SURE. I don't know. That is my best guess. I was able to replicate the occurrance somewhat on purpose. It COULD have been one of the other choices...but there is really no way to positively tell.

I will watch this thread with curiousity to see if there is any hard proof to series II malfunctions.

 

[jfeenin]

Oh yeah how could I miss 9mm vs. 45... that's big one...

 

[AFMan]

The problems reported early in the series II release had to do with the free floating "push rod" in the frame being over-long and (IIRC) on the compact guns, it would/could be induced (firing the gun inverted) to jump up under recoil and impede the slides forward travel, leading to a failure to return to battery.

Its not a failure to be taken lightly but I believe it has been adequately addressed by Kimber as the series IIs moved forward, and is an issue than can be completely resolved by removal of the series II components.

Alternatively, one can simply swap the firing pin for a series 70 pin, and remove the push rod from the frame.

I prefer complete removal and have done so on the three series IIs I own.

BTW, the Glock firing pin safety is a bit different in design, and couldn't prevent a return to battery without a serious parts issue, because the trigger bar drops down at firing and the ramped portion that presses the firing pin safety plunger up shouldn't be in contact with the underside of the slide.

The Colt Series 80 system uses a lever that rises at the front, so the slide wouldn't be held up by it either.

I'm not impressed with the Kimber system, and wonder, among other things, why the mass of the plunger is so great in relation to the "push rod" that deactivates it.

 

[DanDean316]

I have a few original series Kimbers and three Series IIs.

None have given me any unexpected problems, and after removing the firing-pin-safety from my IIs, they are just like the originals.

The FPS caused me no prolems, but I don't care for them, so I remove them as a matter of course, just like on Colt Series 80s.

Is the removal of the FPS hard to do? Otherwise will a 'smith do it - you know, liability issues and all?

I wanted to get a new Kimber, but am not sure about this series II stuff. Now if I can remove the FPS....

 

[jfeenin]

At the top of the kimber topic there are photo instructions for detail stripping a Kimber, you can use those and replace the pin with a Colt one yourself. Or have a smith do it. Some may not because of liability reasons though. I liked the photo instructs so well that I put them into a MS powerpoint slide show, I can send it to you if you wish.