rhino Posted June 9, 2003 Author Share Posted June 9, 2003 BigDave and I put 78 rounds through the Kimber today and it ran like a . . . machine! Most of those rounds were Hungarian MFS 230gr FMJ that failed to go into the chamber gauge, so I'm thinking the tweak my FLG put on the extractor was exactly what I needed. Life is once again sweet in Kimberville. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 Very nice piece, Kimber make a fine firearm. Have you considered putting ambi's on it? Just food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted June 10, 2003 Author Share Posted June 10, 2003 Very nice piece, Kimber make a fine firearm. Have you considered putting ambi's on it? Just food for thought. Thanks! I probably won't do ambis, though. I'm right handed and when I shoot left handed, I can still get the safety okay with my index finger. It's a little slower than an ambi, but when I carried with ambis in the past, it seemed like the safety got swiped "off" a lot more frequently because of that extra lever. If I ever switch my offside carry gun from crossdraw to a standard left handed holster, I would give it consideration again. One thing is that since I have the thin grips, I'm limited in my choices with respect to ambis too. Since the grip is too thin the retain the Swenson style, I'd have to go with a King's ambi or a clone. I think it might be time to order the magwell and break out the files soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 The Kimber ran like champ through the 192 rounds of the NRA Action Pistol match today. That's several matches in a row with no problems! Methinks the thing "works" now! The S&A magwell (for use with slim grips) is waiting for it at my FLG's shop. Now we just need to find some time for him to fit it. One thing, though . . . the black parts of the Eclipse are slowly wearing away on top of the slide near the muzzle (holster wear). It's not going to be pretty much longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted August 6, 2003 Author Share Posted August 6, 2003 Uh-oh! The Kimber has a new li'l buddy! It started life as humble Kimber Classic stainless . . . so far, I've installed a short trigger, some contoured grips (they were on the other Kimber for a while), and some poor man's checkering. The thin grip panels are on the way (they will be Mahogany this time) and this time I also ordered a special screwdriver bit to help me remove and install the bushings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted August 7, 2003 Author Share Posted August 7, 2003 Now here's the dilemma . . . If my slim grips do not arrive in time, or if they do and I am unable to install them properly, should I still shoot this pistola in a match on Saturday? I plan to use the IDPA match as a function test and to see "where it shoots" for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted August 30, 2003 Author Share Posted August 30, 2003 Updates . . . The Kimber Target Eclipse II has been running like a champ for a couple of thousand rounds now, with minimal maintenance. I've shot several matches (a mix of USPSA, IDPA, and NRA AP) without incident. I also completed a 3-day Louis Awerbuck handgun class and had no problems. Others in the class were cleaning their guns (even the Glocks!) every night, but I didn't even have to re-lube mine. It also performed nicely in my subsequent carbine class when I had to transition to the pistola using a mix of my carry ammo and ball. Woo-hoo! The Kimber Classic went full auto on me a week after I bought it on the first stage of an IDPA match. I had installed a short trigger that week (it ran okay with original parts), and it kinda felt to me afterward like there was too much overtravel. I suspected that the trigger bow might be a little long and keeping the disconnector from resetting when it was pressed back all the way. When I visited my FLG, his first impression was the same as mine (which I did not share initially). So I swapped for a different short trigger with a shorter bow and all is well in Muddville. As my FLG says, "It's all in the tolerances." Now I just need to push the rear sight a bit so I can hit the target! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 The Kimber Target Eclipse II was in the shop (Neil Keller - Kustom Ballistics) getting a new grip safety. As some may know, the only thing I really dislike about Kimbers is the grip safety. It's crap. So today it came home with a spiffy new Ed Brown! It feels much better, and I will shoot it tomorrow. Now I need to get an S&A slim line mag well installed/fitted and I'll be ready to use it in Limited-10 again. I forgot how nice the trigger was ... it's not light (about three pounds), but there's no creep or other yucky things. It's a just nice, clean, trigger pull and I didn't have to get a trigger job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 18, 2004 Author Share Posted July 18, 2004 I used it for an IDPA club match today. I had forgotten how accurate the little beast was, but I did really well on the first couple of stages. Then we had to shoot strong hand only and the gun didn't go bang. Twice. The ejected rounds had very faint hits on them. Methinks that when I gripped with just one hand, I did not get the grip safety depressed enough to deactivate the stupid firing pin block. CRAP ON A CRACKER! I just knew this was going to be a problem ... I just had a feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 (edited) My Kimbers have not changed in a while, but I haven't posted any photos of them since I made significant changes either! Both of them are pretty much 100% reliable, but it's a lot easier to load 10rd mags into the Classic due to the Kimber factory mag catch. They both have front night sights only, as I only installed the front on the Classic and the rear tritium capsule on the Eclipse broke again (during a night shoot!). Here they are: Kimber Eclipse Target II: short trigger slim Navridex micarta grips S&A slim magwell Ed Brown grip safety STI mag catch (raised) The rest is pretty much stock, although the trigger pull has been tweaked a bit. It's a nice 3#. Kimber Classic Stainless: short trigger slim Navridex micarta grips S&A slim mag well Chip McCormick grip safety PT Night Sights front sight, 0.100 in. wide with tritium insert poor man's checkering on front strap (skateboard tape) Edited January 11, 2005 by rhino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 All I'm gettin are red X's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 All I'm gettin are red X's All I'm getting are blue question marks. IOW, ditto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Pics should work now guys - I forgot to actually upload them - DOH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 They're fine now... nice looking Kimbers! I like those grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 Sorry about the problems with the photos, guys ... I should have had that fixed before I posted! I also posted the pics in the wrong order! They should be okay now. Thanks, ShooterGrrl! I appreciate the help with the pics ... BerKim ... thanks! I really like the Navridex grips. The price is right ... their micarta costs about the same as other make's wood, and I'm supporting a business in the Philippines when I buy them. The bushing and screws hardware are not the best, but Brownells has been good about replacing problem parts. I think the thing I really like about the guns now is that they feel so much better in the hand with the retrofitted grip safeties. I really believe the primary weakness of Kimbers is their grip safety (it's too low), and installing either and Ed Brown or Chip McCormick really improves them. I actually like the Chip McCormick version better, but it was too difficult getting the Series II gun to work properly with one. In fact, it was a challenge getting the Ed Brown part to work, and you have to really have a good grip or you'll hear "Click!" instead of "Bang!" In the future, I think it's worth the money to have the Kimber shop retrofit the grip safety on any Series II gun that has the parts intact. They're both really good shooters. The Classic's barrel is fitted unusually well, even for a Kimber. There is absolutely no excess play anywhere. The Eclipse barrel is not done quite as well, but the frame to slide fit is really good and smoooooooothe. Someday I may actually aquire some good quality ammo and see how well they can shoot, but they do nicely with cheapo Armscor 230gr ball for USPSA and IDPA. They group significantly better with my carry ammo (Georgia Arms factory loads with 230gr Speer Gold Dots in new Starline brass), but I've only used the Mk I eyeball to "measure." This year they will retire from the NRA Action Pistol scene, as I will be using my Springfield Armory 9mm. I need some pics of that gun too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Geek Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Rhino: The best alteration was all that black soot on the front half of the slide - keep blazin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 Heheh ... I knew that sooner or later my just-add-more-lube-until-it-quits "cleaning" protocol would come in handy for something someday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberkid Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Rhino, If you have a problem making grip safeties work with the II series guns, why not just remove the series 80 crap that is in them?? If your trying to keep them Bianchi legal, fine, but I dont think an inspector would pick it up, and who cares on your carry .45. Mine came out easy in about 2 seconds. I wish I had better pictures of the evolution that mine went through. Now it has a light slide, tru grip, modified safeties, ultra sweet magwell, and a Brazos FO front site. Just waiting on an ITS trigger and the evolution shall be complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 Dude ... it's a carry gun, so I prefer to keep the stuff intact if I can. I have a commander (that's been in the FLG's shop since 1998) that just won't work with its Series 80 crap, so I had to remove it. If I ever remove the rear sight on that Kimber for some reason, I will strongly consider ditching those parts, though. It's not an issue anymore now, though. I'm just not going to buy another 1911 gun that was originally equipped with any kind of passive firing pin block (unless I get some insanely good deal). That should keep me from wasting $$ I don't even have until I can afford a nicely tuned STI Trojan (or better!). Actually, I think I'm set for 1911s. It's nice to dream about more, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric nielsen Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Removing the safety plunger from the Series 80 slide can result in a chewed-up hammer and a notchy slide action. That's why some of the top gunsmiths "fix up" the Series 80 parts and put them back in the gun - so there won't be that sharp edge grinding at your hammer. As Rhino says, life is easier with the original 1911 slide design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Heheh ... I knew that sooner or later my just-add-more-lube-until-it-quits "cleaning" protocol would come in handy for something someday! Are you sure that's really shooting soot and you didn't just use your gun to poke the charcoal in your outdoor barbecue? Seriously, nice blasters dude. One of these days I'm really getting another singlestack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted January 13, 2005 Author Share Posted January 13, 2005 Are you sure that's really shooting soot and you didn't just use your gun to poke the charcoal in your outdoor barbecue? Seriously, nice blasters dude. One of these days I'm really getting another singlestack. Oh, man! You caught me! Busted! And by a cousin, no less! How could you tell that soot was from mesquite charcoal and not powder residue from thousands of rounds of Armscor 230gr FMJ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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