robertg5322

Left handed pistol shooter her. Left hand, middle finger works for me. I have to shift my hand slightly to get the finger to the button, but I don't have to move the gun in my hand, so getting back to shooting is as simple as moving my middle finger back under the trigger guard as I complete the reload. If I use my right hand (I used to shoot right handed), I have to shift the gun to get my thumb to the button. Grab a gun and try it, you'll see what I mean about having to shift the gun to reach the button vs. moving your middle finger to the button. Unless you have really long thumbs, you need to twist/reposition the gun in your hand to reach the button with your thumb. I don't have really long thumbs.

There are more 40 cals out there than you think. As well as 9mm. Just sayin' not hatin'. I have them in all except 38 Super and I am looking to fix that. I'm in California, not many out here, with our "Safe Handgun Roster" keeping those evil .40 cal 1911 guns from running amok and doing evil things to our delicate snowflake population. That said, I have a .40 Single Stack, I converted an old Kimber I had. Shoots nice, Kart barrel and bushing, STI slide and a really bad parkerizing job.

Weather, geography, family, work or it's better than where they came from (NY, NJ, MA, some other country). Me personally, I'll be here til retirement then move to NV. Came from NJ (way worse than CA, and no weather or geography to make up for the rulers and their folly). I figure my house in northern CA will allow me to get a bunch of land anywhere else so there's that.

I was born in NY, grew up in NJ, left in 85, don't have any plans of going back.

Forgot to add my diagnosis. Primer bar is most likely rubbing the housing (actually the side of the primer cup that holds the spring). You need to limit the side play of the primer bar as it is being actuated.

Or drill and tap a hole for a nylon bolt to limit side play on primer bar.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dillon-550B-550-Primer-Track-Bearing-Plate-W-Ball-Bearing-Upgrade-3rd-Gen-S-S-/231669217427?hash=item35f08fb893

Please don't take my rant as hammering on you personally. Not my intent.

You say that as if NJ is any better. Fill disclosure; I lived in NJ for 17 years. Let me start by saying that I am in no way defending California, its politicians or the idiots who consistently vote them into office. But as bad as California is, as long as a gun is on the stupid roster, I can go buy it without first obtaining permission from my insect overlords. Yes, I must wait 10 days to "cool off", and I am limited to 10 round magazines (in the interest of schoolyard safety I'm assuming), and I have idiotic restrictions on what features the long guns I buy can have, but unlike New Jersey, I can make an impulse buy of a gun in California. Go in Gun Shop, see gun I like, purchase gun, wait 10 days, pick up gun, go to range and shoot gun. In NJ, this is not so. You must first get permission to own a gun, then get permission to buy each one. I know people who still live there, they say it typically takes about four months for the "authorities" to grant this permission. 11 days from buy to shoot in California. Try that in New Jersey. Yeah, you have a 15 round mag limit vs. California's 10 round limit, but it's still a government imposed limit on your rights. Given that neither California or New Jersey is a gun owner's Utopia, and both have ridiculous taxes, I'll take California with its climate and geography over NJ with, well there simply is no redeeming value to New Jersey. Preach Brother ! Oh the irony of defending California's ridiculous gun laws.

You say that as if NJ is any better. Fill disclosure; I lived in NJ for 17 years. Let me start by saying that I am in no way defending California, its politicians or the idiots who consistently vote them into office. But as bad as California is, as long as a gun is on the stupid roster, I can go buy it without first obtaining permission from my insect overlords. Yes, I must wait 10 days to "cool off", and I am limited to 10 round magazines (in the interest of schoolyard safety I'm assuming), and I have idiotic restrictions on what features the long guns I buy can have, but unlike New Jersey, I can make an impulse buy of a gun in California. Go in Gun Shop, see gun I like, purchase gun, wait 10 days, pick up gun, go to range and shoot gun. In NJ, this is not so. You must first get permission to own a gun, then get permission to buy each one. I know people who still live there, they say it typically takes about four months for the "authorities" to grant this permission. 11 days from buy to shoot in California. Try that in New Jersey. Yeah, you have a 15 round mag limit vs. California's 10 round limit, but it's still a government imposed limit on your rights. Given that neither California or New Jersey is a gun owner's Utopia, and both have ridiculous taxes, I'll take California with its climate and geography over NJ with, well there simply is no redeeming value to New Jersey.

As stated, there's not much difference in recoil, especially after the timer beeps. Most shoot for the logistical benefit, and there's also the "cool .40 cal 1911 dude" factor cause there aren't that many .40 cal single stacks out there.

Living in California, this is my biggest concern when buying off-roster guns; what do you do if your frame/receiver breaks/wears out/has a defect? And it 's not an unintended consequence of the stupid laws enacted by the imbeciles running this state (into the ground). It is exactly what they want to happen. And as long as they keep getting voted in by people who think there are "bigger issues than guns (personal freedom!!)", it ain't getting any better.

But they're just waiting to explode at the most critical moment, putting their owner's lives in danger, probably taking out innocent bystanders in the process. Cause they're Kimbers!!!! Damn you KIMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've seen that. It may actually be what makes the EGW part worth more than the others. The joint is the weak link when one uses the right side lever. If mine ever break, they'll most likely be replaced by an EGW version.

I've had the Kimber version of this (MIM) on a gun since 2002, over 20,000 rounds (that's a very rough estimate, I don't log rounds in my guns) and not a single issue. I shoot left handed with my thumb riding the right side lever, so it is experiences is share of stress. The "secret" is that when being used, the joint is not stressed, the safety is riding on the pin. If it or the other three I have on other guns ever breaks, I'll be replacing them with the same Kimber brand MIM part, $150.00 is a ridiculous price for this part (IMHO).

Thanks for the info.

Anyone got any tips on what not to do when lightening a slide to maintain durability and decrease likelihood od cracking the slide?

Can't speak for any gun other than mine. It worked fine. Of course I haven'd had the misfortune of actually having a gun that didn't work. Some needed a bit of work to get them where "I wanted them to be", but they worked out of the box, I just like messing with stuff, er I mean upgrading them.

Yeah, mine is from 2001, and it is the last Kimber I bought (not for any reason, I just don't see the need to own a bunch of guns that do the same thing, my 1911s are all different, 9mm, .40 S&W Single Stack, .40 S&W High Cap, and .45ACP) so I can't and didn't speak for the quality of newer guns or the efficacy of the issues others write of experiencing with them. Hell, I won't speak for the quality of any gun except the ones I have; they're the only ones I have any qualification to speak about. My Kimber was good, my Springfield was marginal (but easily and cheaply "fixed" and is not a very nice gun) and the Les Baer was without issue. The Caspian High Cap I built, so if it sucked, I have nobody to blame but me. And I try not to complain too loudly to others about the quality of my work on projects I do for myself. I'll just say I'd buy another Kimber or Springfield if I needed one, but I'd check fit and function at the shop before dropping the credit card. But that goes for a Les Baer as well. I'd probably opt for the Springfield just cause I like to keep it simple and they make their guns without the Swartz safety system. Easier to get parts that are generic. It'd be nice if there was a way of gathering complaint data from all manufacturers and organizing it, I think there would be little difference between the various manufacturers at the various price points, but that's just speculation on my part.

This discussion makes me think of every time I hear somboday say, "I've got a 1965 Ford/Chevy/Dodge that runs like a top. If Ford/Chevy/Dodge can make a vehicle that lasts 50 years like this one, then they've got my business for today!" People say this failing to realize that the Ford/Chevy/Dodge of 50 years ago is not the Ford/Chevy/Dodge of today. My Kimber is fantastic, but it was also built by the Kimber of 10 years ago and not today. Maybe things have changed...? You generally don't hear from people who have something that works. They just go on with life. Someone with something (don't matter if it's a car, gun or lawn mower) that doesn't work will let the world know of his misfortune. The interwebs have only made this more prevalent. Then you have to kind of extrapolate what it actually means if a few people are complaining about a company's product. Are these people a big segment of the owners of this product? Hard to tell. My Kimber was/is fine, but it's just one of many. My Springfield was loose and had crap parts, though it worked well as long as you don't mind a gritty, creepy trigger and a rattly frame to slide fit. It was reasonably accurate and perfectly reliable but the trigger and rattle bothered me. It's better now, and didn't cost too much to "fix", but for what I paid it should have been good from the start. I'd wager most out-of-the-box 1911s in the <$1,000.00 range are probably similar to the ones I got. Some will be better, some worse, but all usually work well enough. The tinkerers among us (you know who you are) will never be satisfied, and we wouldn't know what to do with a gun we couldn't tinker with. I know production class guns seem to be better, though they still suffer heavy triggers and occasional other issues. Not sure why this is, but I know every Beretta 92 I've held has been smooth and worked well from day one. Same with Glocks, XDs and CZs.

"a trojan set up well from Dawson is $1200 ready to run (add a magwell if you want it) A range officer (again from Dawsons, is $998 with ICE magwell and trigger work a Kimber team match is $1400 but still needs FO sights and a magwell." A more apt comparison would be a Custom II Target, which is in the same realm and similar price point as the SA and STI listed above. If you can get past the firing pin safety and MIM parts (which almost manufacturers use these days) they're functional guns with forged frames and slides (again not sure that makes a difference but some really care about it) that are relatively well fit. Are there issues, of course. Does their customer service suck, if the internet is to be believed, yes, but I never had to deal with them in this fashion on the one Kimber I own. It worked for 15,000 rounds as a .45 and another 5,000 rounds so far as a .40 S&W. Same as my Springfield and Les Baer. The Kimber was fit better and ran smoother than the Springfield, and not as good as the Les Baer, cost less than the Springfield (full disclosure; I live in California, the Springfield 9mm sells for a premium here, so cost comps are most likely not relative in this case), and only required ambi thumb safeties (I shoot left handed), magwell, front sight and some minor trigger work to be USPSA ready. Same as the other two. When I turned it into a .40 cal gun (with STI slide, Series 70 type), disabling the FPS in the frame was simple and cost nothing, and it now uses standard parts, though the FPS was never an issue for me; it never malfunctioned or didn't disengage when I was using the gun. I see tons of STI Trojans at matches, and the owners love them. STI supports the game, so there's that. I have no issues with them, but in California, they have been deemed "unsafe" by my bureaucrats so I cannot own them without paying a huge premium, which I refuse to do. Same with Springfield RO guns. Sucks to be here, but that will change after retirement, at which point I'll need a bigger safe...

Kimbers come with plastic MSH, Springfield uses a POS ILS system MSH. Both get tossed with regularity if the gun is used by anyone shooting USPSA. As are the steel ones that don't have a magwell. Springfield has as many MIM parts as Kimber, and if the internet is to be believed the only mfrs that use less are Dan Wesson, Colt and STI. Of course Kimbers use forged frames and slides, where some other manufacturers don't. Does this make a difference, I don't know. Some say yes, some say no and most wouldn't know the difference if someone didn't tell them. Of course, even a Kimber (which ain't cheap) can be upgraded to real steel internals, a MSH/Magwell and a decent front sight and still come in a lot cheaper than a Dan Wesson. I have a Springfield (9mm), Kimber (.40S&W) and Les Baer (.45ACP). The Les Baer is nicer feeling, and required the least input from me (magwell and ambi thumb safety), but doesn't shoot enough better than the Kimber, which I modified and turned into a .40 cal gun, or the Springfield (in which I changed all internals to Cylinder & Slide parts (sear was trash, C&S kit was so cheap, I figured just swap all ignition parts), swapped the bushing and slide stop (to remove top-end slop) to justify the price difference. All are accurate, all run perfectly, and all are smooth. The Les Baer has front strap checkering, which I like, but the others have skate tape, which I like too. With regards to the Kimber firing pin safety, I never had an issue with it before I changed the gun. When I modified the gun, I simply filed the little pin that stuck through the top of the from to activate the plunger in the slide and voila!!!, out of commission. I needed the part that was inside the gun to be a spacer so I couldn't just remove it and throw it away. I know a few people with Kimbers, they all run well, are relatively tight (tighter than the Springfields I've seen), smooth and work well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Kimber, but I'd stick to .45 cal, as they don't use the ramped barrel for their 9mm guns. Not sure if it makes a difference, but seems almost everyone making 9mm and .40 S&W 1911 guns uses a ramped barrel, so I'll stay with the herd on these calibers.

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.

See if EGW will send a replacement. In my experience their stuff is first rate I'd bet they'd love to have the broken part to inspect, and would gladly trade you a new one for it.

Slides overy the screw holding the muzzle retainer in place.