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Why aren't Kimbers considered competition worthy?


Qbert

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I've noticed when considering a single stack for competition use, Kimbers aren't considered up to snuff for the rigors of sport shooting. Why is that? It seems to me that Kimbers are just as well made as Springfield, Colt, or any of the other mass-produced 1911s.

A little enlightenment would be appreciated.

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Hello: The older ones I have seen have been good. I have a friend with a 9mm target with over 30,000 rounds through it. It still shoots great. Like any of the standard grade 1911's you may want to change out some parts for better quality ones such as the sear, hammer, safeties etc. I like the looks of some of the Kimbers too bad they still don't make one in 40. Thanks, Eric

Edited by Aircooled6racer
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I get the impression that at least some of it is lingering backlash, even after all this time, from the change to the "Series II" guns. the "Pre-II" guns were nearly the best deal you could get you're hands on. better fit and finish at a price competitive to Springfield, decent guts, and if you liked em fancy looking the Royal was standard offering.

series II guns came out, price went up, quality went down, stupid crap (slide stops for example) started breaking, people started trash talking.... basically if you remember the older guns, then you're more likely to think that the Series II guns suck, and in competitive circles that bias seems a bit more prone to spread.

all that said, a few months ago I saw a Pre-II Custom Target (used obviously, and stainless) for around $1K and was very tempted, but I don't have the spare change at the moment.

Edited by Detritus
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Some guys around here use them and do well. Others not so much. Having the gun run right out of the box seems to be pretty hit or miss over the last few years. I work in an LGS and see a fair number of them come back with issues. If so many of them weren't safe queens I think we would be seeing a lot more.

Colt uses less MIM parts than the others you mentioned. Not as pretty as a Kimber but they work well.

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Have a Grand Raptor have used in SS a few times no problems, but really too nice to ruin the finish on. Would have to say if Love2shoot comments has to be a reason.

That said MAYBE if Kimber sponsored our sports more might be used,seems they are the only major 1911 manufacturing company who doesn't.

Available for sponsorship Kimber email me ;-)

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Having the gun run right out of the box seems to be pretty hit or miss over the last few years.

I had that problem. Finding a bullet profile that the gun likes and putting in different spring weights got it running like a champ.

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Hello: I forgot to add I had 3 Kimbers. The Grand Raptor was made into a much more accurate pistol after I fitted a new bushing, as good as any high dollar 1911. The Eclipse 10mm I had I fitted a 40 and 9mm barrel to it and it ran all three perfectly. The last one I had I only shot it 100 rounds and someone wanted it again another Eclipse in 45acp. All these guns I had about 6-9 years ago and all had internal extractors. Thanks, Eric

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Got an old Custom II ran perfect for 15K rounds, I turned it into a .40 S&W gun (cut frame for W/N ramp, fit Kart barrel and bushing and STI slide). After tweaking it to get it to be reliable again it works perfect. Lower half is all original Kimber, only change was adding Kimber ambi-thumb safety and some basic sear and hammer hook polishing to get nice trigger. Lower with all Kimber parts has about 20k rounds with no problems. Why did I change it you ask; I have a Les Baer in .45 and a Springfield in 9mm so I needed a .40. It runs factory length ammo fine and that's what I ring in my Caspian High Cap Ltd gun so no need to fuss with long loaded ammo. I will say the Kimber (bought in 2001) was fit much tighter and smoother than the Springfield bought in late 2014.

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I've been shooting a Kimber Gold Combat II for the past 10 years without complaint. If I were to buy another 1911 in 9mm to compliment my current .45acp, I'd absolutely consider using a Kimber as my base gun to build an awesome Single Stack/Classic division blaster around. Over the years I have swapped out a bunch of parts on my current Kimber (adjustable sights, magwell, competition safeties, flat trigger) but it's nothing unusual to customize those parts in any 1911, and I shot it for a long while as stock.

I agree with Greyhounder that the biggest hold-back for Kimber in USPSA is Kimber's lack of support for our sport. I don't think this is anti-USPSA in any way (I HAVE seen some video of Kimber shooters, but they may have been more IDPA... or just employees wearing the shirts???), but rather (I believe) they've chosen to concentrate their support for Olympic style bullseye shooting instead. As far as Kimber staying out of USPSA, this hurts them in two ways: 1) we tend to support the companies that support us; and, 2) their guns aren't out-of-the-box competition ready because they don't have the benefit of USPSA shooter input in designing their guns. Instead, they tend to build guns that have "tactical" safeties, sights, etc., etc., with I think one exception that is more bullseye in nature.

The excellent gunsmith (and GM shooter) I use actually likes to work on Kimbers, though he says that not many are brought to him. He told me that the QC of Kimbers is excellent. In his words, a stock Kimber is only "80% there" but every single gun is exactly the same 80%, vs. other manufacturers that may have an awesome "90% there" gun come off the assembly line, immediately followed by a gun off the same assembly line that is only "70% there" due to sloppy fit. With a Kimber, you always know exactly what you're going to get and can plan accordingly.

Kimber, are you listening? If so, feel free to give me a call, LOL! :cheers:

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(I HAVE seen some video of Kimber shooters, but they may have been more IDPA... or just employees wearing the shirts???),

I shot a couple of 3-gun matches with Kimber guys. They were employees of Kimber and were financially supported to to attend the matches. It was the same guys at two different matches.

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(I HAVE seen some video of Kimber shooters, but they may have been more IDPA... or just employees wearing the shirts???),

I shot a couple of 3-gun matches with Kimber guys. They were employees of Kimber and were financially supported to to attend the matches. It was the same guys at two different matches.

That sounds about right. Were they shooting Heavy?

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I've heard things about Kimbers.

One, I've heard that many of them have plastic mainspring housings. Maybe they work, but I don't want a 1911 with a plastic mainspring housing. Maybe I would if I hadn't seen reports of them cracking.

Two, I've heard that many of them have incorrectly sized firing pin stops. As in, not just a sloppy fit but a wrong fit (9mm for .45 guns or some such).

Three, I've heard that many of them contain bad-quality MIM parts, compared to better-quality MIM in certain other 1911s. True? I don't know.

To counterbalance this, I also hear of Kimber owners really liking their guns and not seeing any serious quality problems.

Overall, though, I've had an unfavorable impression of the Kimber brand.

Am I way off base?

Edited by GunBugBit
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I've heard things about Kimbers.

One, I've heard that many of them have plastic mainspring housings. Maybe they work, but I don't want a 1911 with a plastic mainspring housing. Maybe I would if I hadn't seen reports of them cracking.

A lot of people shooting SS are going to replace that when they add a magazine well anyways. Overall though it's not a high-stress part - almost all 2011's has plastic MSH's too and I've not heard any complaints there.

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Thanks for the replies. They're very helpful.

No, I haven't seen the insides of one lately. I only own one Kimber, an early Yonkers Custom Classic base gun that I bought new in Jan 99. It still serves me well (although the mainspring housing and the plunger tube broke early on), and the slide is starting to get that purplish hue that aged blued guns sometimes get.

It's just that I noticed hardly anyone here talks about Kimbers - almost universally people recommend using Springfields as a base gun for a build. And several people mentioned that Kimbers weren't a good base gun for a build. So I was curious. I'm not a fan boy or snob of any brand. I just like guns that deliver the goods.

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I think one of the reasons why it's not popular for competition shooting is that because of the firing pin safety or schwartz system. I started shooting USPSA with my Kimber Eclipse in 45 acp. And, I had problems gripping the gun properly in order to shoot. So, I had to remove the firing pin safety in order to shoot reliably. It would have been nice if they will make series 70 type again in 40 s&w.

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(I HAVE seen some video of Kimber shooters, but they may have been more IDPA... or just employees wearing the shirts???),

I shot a couple of 3-gun matches with Kimber guys. They were employees of Kimber and were financially supported to to attend the matches. It was the same guys at two different matches.

That sounds about right. Were they shooting Heavy?

No. Tac optics. These matches didn't have heavy. They did well with single stack guns too. I was impressed. One guy was named Rich and could really run that pistol as well as the rifle.

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I have used a KImber Custom Classic Series 1 for Single Stack and CDP for about 8 years. It has been problem free thru easily over 100,000 rounds, I finally replaced the barrel a couple of months ago. My only compliant with Kimbers is the total lack of support for USPSA or IDPA shooters or matches.

Edited by Bob Hostetter
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i think the consensus from other forums is that they use too many MIM parts (that bothers some people). They also seem to be the most advertised brand, and we pay for that advertising in gun purchases. Kimbers seem to run about $400-500 more than a Springfield equivalent. Plus springers are made in America and support shooting sports through different venues.

I have owned 2 Kimbers, a full size and a tiny carry version. I don't dislike them except for their 80s series safety and weird swoopy sights, but neither Kimber stuck around long. Now carry a light springfield and compete with a Baer that I have all set up for less than the cost of a Kimber entry level blaster.

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