Kimber pistols

[Larry Stange]

Hey guys,
So, I have heard a lot of negative stuff about the reliability of Kimber pistols, when actually run hard. I can't remember the instructors off the top of my head, but I remember reading about a couple of them who had a somewhat low opinion of Kimber pistols due to failure rate at classes. My question is this: What kind of failures?? My ultimate aim is to understand what is going on. Low quality manufacturing (seems unlikely from what I know about them)? Tolerances too tight for a "fighting pistol"?? Low quality materials?? To be more specific, do we see a lot of FTFs, or broken extractors? What are the common points of failure with Kimber (if there is a consistent element).
Thanks!

 

[nate89]

I can only add what I have seen on the range, as I am not a gunsmith, I don't even play on one the internet. I have seen first-hand many of the kimbers in the range refuse to feed reliably. @Tricks had a Kimber that would make it all the way to about 2 mags before issues started coming up. I can't remember details, perhaps he will chime in. Primarily what I have seen is failures to feed, but also issues with stovepipes (FTE). I have a co-worker who just got a Kimber Raptor, and I got to shoot just a few rounds through it when new, and it worked for the 50 rounds we shot. I have some .45 left over from when I had a 1911, so I may ask him if I can shoot it a bit, and put a few hundred through it just to see what happens.

 

[Tricks]

So Nate89 called me out. I did have a Kimber Custom from their pro shop 5". It was a very nice looking gun and was really accurate. The reason I sold it is because it would not make it through 2 mags (using Chip McCormick or Wilson 74D's magazines) with out having trouble. I contacted Kimber about the problems I was having. They informed me the gun needed 500 round to brake in. At the 1000 round mark it was still having feeding problems. All of the troubles were FTF or it would just stove pip the round. I did not mess with the extractor or ejector and looking back would have helped with the stove piping problems.

I sold the gun to someone that wanted it more then me and thought they could fix it.

I would not get another Kimber. Not trying to say all of there guns will work the same the one I had. I just think you can find better guns for less money. I have or have had a Springfield, Remington, Para, Citadel, and STI all are a better bang for your money.

 

[theWRECKLESSone]

I have a Kimber with somewhere in the neighborhood of 10k rounds down the pipe. It's a Custom TLE/RL II I'm issued as a duty pistol in a rural Sheriff's Office. I'm a regular patrol deputy, with marine patrol responsibility and I'm assigned to the regional SWAT team. I've been shooting this Kimber for awhile and I have had no unusual problems with failure to feed. We are all using KimPro's or Wilson 47D's in the 8 round config. 230 grain Gold Dot's are the duty round we use and we shoot 230 grain TMJ for practice rounds. I have seen some of our customs act up in the first 500 rounds on occasion, especially when improperly lubricated and dirty. We have not found a single 10 round mag that will reliably function. When the Kimber gets dirty and dry, it will act up.

I will say we had to send close to 20 of our TLE's back for a warranty fix on the safety plunger tube. The tube is staked into the frame with two "rivets" for lack of a better term. The rear "rivet" was loosening up and allowing the plunger to come out of the tube and physically wedging the thumb safety into the on position. Not acceptable. After checking every other 1911 frame in the agency we ended up sending nearly 20 back to be fixed. Not sure if this was a common problem in the serial number range or what. The Kimber is not a Glock. The 1911 can be a quirky platform. If you do not like to clean and lubricate guns, the 1911 is not for you. If you don't enjoy taking guns apart, the 1911 is not for you. We have several hard shooting MFers on our team and the Kimber is certainly not causing problems.

If I had a choice, would I still carry the Kimber to work? Probably not. The mag capacity blows. I carry 4 mags on my belt and one in the gun, and I'm still carrying less than two 9mm Glock mags with TTI basepads. Don't get me wrong, I love my Kimbers, and I love to shoot the 1911. I trust the platform. I trust my Kimber. But it's a labor of love. A Glock would be a hell of a lot less work.

I'll end by saying, I'm not a 1911 armorer or a firearms instructor. I have no affiliation with Kimber, other than I own four personally and I'm issued two by my agency. I will also mention that my Kimber Ultras function just as well as my 5" TLE's, although I have a significantly lower round count through the Ultras.

 

[cadetabuchanan]

@theWRECKLESSone, my thoughts exactly. I have a Stainless Target II that I shoot Single Stack USPSA and a little IDPA with and the gun has never EVER failed me, UNTIL i get 500+ rounds through it in one day and it's dirty and dry and I get a stovepipe or 2. In which case i determine i've shot enough for one day and its time to go home and nap. I take extremely good care of my 1911, I treat it well and it's good back to me. I carry it concealed sometimes as well for kicks and enjoy carrying it knowing that the presentation of a 5" 1911 would scare a dude to death, although it's heavy on my hip. Accuracy is exceptional, but that comes with the platform truly, slide fit and function are tight, no slop and freaking wiggle in these guns compared to many other 1911's ive shot. I have ran every type of ammo you can imagine through it and I haven't had but maybe a couple hiccups here and there, mostly because of a faulty handload or something. My Uncle has a TLE that is rather finnicky about what ammo it likes to feed, although i think its his choice of mags more than anything. The guns really aren't that expensive when compared to other 1911's. If you shop on gunbroker you can find them at reasonable prices way under MSRP. I wouldn't ever say my Kimber was the same quality as one of the higher tier 1911's but for what it is, I love it. Buy one, try em out, you won't be sorry. Just my 2c.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[hooahmedic]

I have a 1st Gen Kimber Custom Stainless that I won't trade for the world, nor sell it. I have no clue on how many rounds I've put through it but I started carrying for my daily duty carry, SWAT and off duty in 2000. Its still my carry gun on and off duty. I"ve sent it to JoJo's Gun Shop for a tuneup once, its getting time to do it again. I run Wilson 47D mags only. Honestly, I"m spoiled when it comes to Kimbers at least 1st gen's, I've had so little problems with that I can't recall there being issues. I ran it through Texas Firearms Instructor school in December 2015, ran it hard. No problems. Ran it through a CP course in Dec 2014, ran it hard. No problems.
Larry Strange - if you can find a 1st gen Kimber, do it.