Owen Sparks Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 After experiencing nunerous 1911 functioning problems during matches last summer, I decided to "bite the bullet" and buy a new Kimber custom II. The first time out it jamed a few times but I was told by several knoledgable people that it just needed breaking in. My first match attempt yielded several malfunctions on the first stage but then it seemed to settle down and run fine. Next practice session at home it jamed 2 or 3 times. Then, after a thouough cleaning, disaster, jams on every stage of the match except the last one. After the match was over the match director who does all of his own gunsmithing asked to examine my pistol and try to determine what the problem was. Between the two of us we fired over 100 rounds through it We fired it fast, slow, limp wristed and even upside down and COULD NOT make it jam. After a thorough cleaning it went right back to malfunctioning at least once per magazine so I had to shoot the last match of the season with a borrowed gun. Last night my gunsmith called. He said that the problem was primarily that the fiting pin stop was grossly undersized. This was allowing the extractor to rotate in its tunnel enough that it was not allowing the extractor to hook under the case rim and would fail to go into battery. For 700 dollars you would think a new pistol should work right out of the box. OS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Try spending a couple thousand dollars or more for an STI open or limited gun. you almost have to take it to the gunsmith right after you buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Nope. I have seen $3,000 custom guns that still need work after they were delivered. My STI Trojan went back several times. Please do not take this next part the wrong way, $700 is a lot of money but the cheapest single stack Wilson/Nowlin/Baer/Rock River are typcially twice that amount. I can not speak to Kimber's customer service but my experience with STI has been excellent. They fixed and returned the firearm within a week after receiving it. Wilson has always treated me fairly-great customer service. So I think what you experieced is fairly typcially--not necessarily appreciated but a reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I shoot with several people who shoot newer Kimbers and they have constant problems with thier's also. I have an old Kimber Gold Match Target that has run 100% since day one. What is the problem with the new ones? Quality control, cheaper parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I have 3, just got the 3rd.. it runs great (with the right magazines), the other 2 in 45 have always run 100%. I only use 230Rn in the 45, I've heard of problems with others.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 My Kimber Target II has eaten everything I have thrown in it from 155gr swc to 230gr ball without a hitch. Mostly I have been shooting Zero 185gr jhp's. Maybe they crank out a lemon now and again but so far I am a happy customer. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 The only problem I have seen with Kimbers is improper extractor tension. That takes about 5 min to fix. All six of mine have been flawless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockchucker Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I have 7 Kimbers. None of the 45's will run with 200 SWC lead bullets. The ramp to barrel throat angle just isn't right. With plated 200 SWCs the failure to feed is worse (softer bullet material). 230 FMJ or 230 RN Plated run flawlessly. I'm thinking of having a Smith re-contour the ramp/throat on at least two of the pistols this winter. There would be no problem if I only shot RN bullets, but I love the 200 SWC. Less recoil and nice clean holes! I have had problems with both my 38 super and my 9mm Kimbers. The main problem was a failure to lock the slide back on the last round. Calls to Kimber were rewarded (promptly) by a new slide release being mailed out. Switching the slide stops seemed to cure the problem. This appears to be a common problem with 9mm and 38 super and Kimber was up front about the fix. Yes $700-1,000 is a lot to spend on a pistol that isn't reliable, but when you think of the variety of ammo that we are asking the pistol to run with, it shouldn't be unusual to have a gun puke on some types of ammo. Like one of the previous posters mentioned. Even the Wilson, Bauer, Novak guns sometimes need to be tweeked. If I wasn't overall satisfied, I guess I wouldn't own seven.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glk21C Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 friend of mine had problems with his initially also. Believe it or not it wound up his grip was bad. He corrected that, malfunctions went away. Ditto on the 200SWC, or as we found any SWC round. Just didn't like to feed right good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 (edited) Interesting, just about all I shoot are 200 gr SWC lead bullets. Never had a feed problem with any of them. I run an 11 lb. spring. A light spring will show up any feeding issues. Most feed problems are mag related. I tend to use only Wilson mags. Most shooters load the 200 SWC too short. I load mine to the same OAL as 230 RN - 1.260". Edited October 13, 2006 by Joe D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 +1 to what JoeD said. My kimber runs 200 grn plated or lead swc with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 About this time last year, I went looking for a .38 Super 1911 to use occasionally in Single Stack division. I found a new Kimber Team Match .38 Super at a gun show and worked a trade deal on a shotgun I wasn't using anymore. I figured I would need to do some work on the gun to make it want I needed for competition, but have been very pleasantly surprised at how well it functions and shoots from day one, in stock condition. The only thing I have done is change the springs. With a 17# mainspring and a properly adjusted sear spring, the trigger pull is now a very nice clean 2 pounds. The gun feeds every bullet shape I've tried, including a 150-gr. SWC with very sharp edges (just used that bullet successfully in the Iowa Single Stack match, in fact), using older 10-round Shooting Star mags I purchased used. It also functions perfectly with both Super and Supercomp brass, which I just use interchangeably now. As much as I love to mess with 1911s, including building several match guns up from components over the years, this Kimber doesn't need another thing done to it. I've been very pleased with the gun. My Kimber .38 Super has the internal extractor and a ramped barrel, by the way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin J Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 (edited) Before the '05 season, I decided I wanted to give USPSA a try and bought a Custom Tactical II. I wanted to start out in Limtied Ten and thought the gun would be a good way to start. I had numerous problems that for the first year. So many in fact that I didn't shoot a single match that first year. I only attended a few practice sessions and was frustrated by malfunctions time after time. I kept taking it to the range and just when I thought the issues were worked out, the gun would start freaking out again. Finally, I started experimenting with OAL and different bullet types and found a really good combo. Then magically, the gun became a workhorse! Surprisingly enough, after I fired about a 1000 rounds of the "magic round", the gun started feeding anything reliably! Boy that was a frustrating experince!! Edited October 13, 2006 by Kevin J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockchucker Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Interesting! All guns are individuals and like people, each behaves a little differently! My 200 SWC loads are 1.250-1.255 OAL and the stock springs are all swapped out. Mostly I am running 17# mainsprings and #13 Wolff Variable Rate springs. At one time, I thought that the lighter recoil springs might be the problem, but when I put the original springs back in the gun (to get a little more umph! in the chambering process) the problem didn't go away. Like I said the Custom Target II and the Eclipse are going to the Smith this winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Merriam Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 +1 on the OAL....seems to be the key. An Aftec is a small investment..but worth it...I think it could pull a bowling ball out of the chamber once it were in Mine will throw brass at high speed in a neat pile...12Ft away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck in C Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I bought a Kimber Custom II Target a few years ago, and with a trigger job, a scope mount, and a twelve lbs spring it became my Bullseye gun. It's digested 4000 rounds of 200 gr. LSWC target loads without a hiccup, and is as accurate as anything I've seen. I bought a plain Custom II this year for a Single Stack back up, and it didn't function worth S---t. The slide locked back midway through a magazine, the barrel unlocked too early and blew gunk all over my arm, and it often failed to feed. I was too stupid or stubborn to send it back to Kimber, so I tried tweaking the factory parts with no luck. I finally replaced the slide stop, firing pin stop, and extractor with Wilson Combat Bulletproof parts (about $90). It now works flawlessly, and what ever else is screwed up with Kimbers they have good barrels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malak Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 I a master Kimber dealer, and occasionally I sell a pistol that doesnot run well, they are VERY good with customer service, give them a call and they will make it right... Good example: I sold a Kimber Pro CDP to a gentleman for a conceal carry gun, he went an test fired it by my suggetions, and it did not run, no matter what he tried to feed it, I looked at it, saw nothing wrong, test fired it, and I could not make it run... Shipped it to kimber and they said that something was out of tolerance in the slide, and they MACHINED a silde to fit his frame, hand fitted the barrel to the new slide, and shipped it back, no charge... Very good guys to deal with. Don't be afraid to call them and tell them you have a problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentG Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 (edited) Funny thing, today at a club single stack match I loaned a guy a couple of my wilson 8 rnd mags cause he only had 4 total McCormick 8 rounders. His gun would not run with a wilson mag I have used these mags in at least 3 or 4 different guns and was shocked that his Kimber (didnt catch what model) would not feed them. Sorry but I am not that impressed with Kimbers, I have had them and its hit or miss on fucntion. Then again lots of factory mid priced guns like that seem to be either great out of the box or a headache gun. Edited October 15, 2006 by tnek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_kahuna Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 (edited) I have an old first-generation Kimber Stainless Custom. The only problems I have had were magazine related. Cured problems by switching to Wilson mags. Pistol has run well for over 70K rounds, and I am still waiting for something to break. Has Kimber quality declined since the first generation guns? BTW, my Kimber is pretty close to box stock... no trigger job, no ramp/throat work, nothing. Cleaned it, shot it, no problems with good mags. Installed grip tape and Wilson Magwell as only mods. Edited October 15, 2006 by big_kahuna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Most of the Kimbers I've seen have been good from the box. If the gun was built tight, it just needs some break in. Every time I reblue a 1911 or SV it takes a couple thousand rounds to run again. It's metal! They're all like that... Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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