atlscrog Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 All, This is my first post, though I have been a lurker for some time. Simple question: I do not see many Kimbers in the game, why not? In the spirit of full-disclosure, I currently have two 1911's, an STI Spartan and just yesterday picked up a lightly used Kimber Stainless Target II for a steal. Thank you, Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) We have Kimber shooters up here in Ohio. I do not have one because my ex-wife's name was Kimberly. Maybe I should volunteer to be a KIMBERLY shooter! Anyways, welcome to the greatest shooting forum you will ever find, and hope you enjoy the game as much as the rest of us do. Edited March 16, 2008 by CHRIS KEEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket35 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Welcome and I have seen a few Kimber shooters splattered about. Actually Cooter79 shoots one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) Welcome to the forum. There are people out there shooting Kimbers. SS is one of the smaller divisions and those that shoot it have a lot of guns to choose from. There are quite a few manufacturers building 1911's, but Kimber certainly has their share of that market. I suspect that if you went to a few single stack only matches you would see more of them. Tls Edited March 16, 2008 by 38superman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Burtchell Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I see lots of Kimbers being used in in Single Stack and IDPA CDP here in Central Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribble Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Yeah I do shoot a Kimber in SS. I think you don't hear about them as much as most people tend to support manufactures who support the shooting sports. Kimber doesn't really support like Springfield, Para, or STI does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) Yeah I do shoot a Kimber in SS. I think you don't hear about them as much as most people tend to support manufactures who support the shooting sports. Kimber doesn't really support like Springfield, Para, or STI does. I agree. I don't remember ever seeing them as sponsors. STI, Para, Springfield, S&W, and others seem to give us more support. However, let me point out that they do advertise in front sight. The latest copy has a full page ad for Kimber on the back cover. That is a form of support for USPSA. IIRC, they had a special pistol that generated a donation to the USA Olympic Shooting Team each time they sold one. That too is support for shooting sports. They could do a better job for us, but they are not without merit. Tls Edited March 16, 2008 by 38superman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary1911A1 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I agree with the above and I also think their firing pin safety has to many problems although I guess there is the Warrior and new SIS that doesn't have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxman Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 My wife shoots a kimber Eclipse Target 2 in Limited 10. She is now looking for a Kimber target 2 9mm. It appears though , that this is an elusive critter. The Kimber she shot performed flawlessly all of last year. But I do regret that they do not do very much to support our sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) As USPSA grows, companies like Kimber will pay more attention. Make it your mission to recruit at least one new shooter every year. "If you build it, they will come". T Edited March 16, 2008 by 38superman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WDB Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I started using a Custom Target II for L-10. Thing will eat anything I feed it, don't recall a problem in over 10K rounds. Good gun!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddjob Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 There are a few here in the Calif clubs I shoot at. Whats more important is that two of the guys I work with carry Kimbers (LEO). They seem to never have a problem with them & when they drop a piece in the old garage and it goes MIA. Kimber replaces the part free of charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlscrog Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Thank you for all of the great feedback! I see there are plenty of shooters, and notion of supporting the shooting sports makes a lot of sense. I think I'll enjoy shooting my Kimber in SS. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeMartens Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Kimber does pay for advertising space and they have in the pass offered to sale firearms at cost for matches. I think that you will see more Kimbers out there as single stack participation increases. Kimber went through some growing pains, they had an excellent gun in their first series I classic custom, but when they changed to the series II and went to the external extractor it turned alot of people off, especially since they were slow to react to the failure of their external extractor. But they did and removed it. I wouldn't have a problem using a Kimber, I would replace the slide stop and replace the sear, hammer and disconnector with non MIM parts. But as far as their major componets go, the slide, frame, and barrel these are some of the best parts out there. I carried for a long time a Kimber Pro Elite (actually sold that to my uncle when he needed something lighter to carry) and never had any problems with it in several thousands of rounds. The second 1911 I ever bought was a stainless series I custom, I shot it a bunch and sold it to a guy that has lots and lots more rounds through it. He did have to replace the slide stop and the disconnector they broke, but that was it. With all that bveing said, if I were in the market for a new 1911 just starting out and didn't want to get one built I would a Dan Wesson Pointman 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Big whoop if Kimber buys the inside cover of Front Sight magazine. Getting anything from them to support a club or bigger match is like getting blood from a turnip. I would rather give my money and vote with my pocket book by supporting the manufacturers who actually sponsor stuff at matches. Oh... yeah 'nother reason why I won't get a Kimber: This was a local shooter's gun. IIRC, the scuttlebutt I heard was that Kimber customer service totally sucked when they were told of the situation and emailed pictures. They should have bent over backwards for the guy, and they didn't. I have also heard that their customer service sucks from even gun store owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary1911A1 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Their Custom Service if you can call it that does SUCK big time. Don't ask, it upsets me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Hey...If you have a Kimber and want to start playing in shooting sports don't give it a second thought... They are as good as most and better than some. If you are looking to buy a new gun for shooting sports I would read the above and then make whatever decision you feel good about. The guns are just tools to play the games. You have to have one but not any special one... My .02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedale Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 My wife shoots a kimber Eclipse Target 2 in Limited 10. She is now looking for a Kimber target 2 9mm. It appears though , that this is an elusive critter. The Kimber she shot performed flawlessly all of last year. But I do regret that they do not do very much to support our sport. There is a Tgt II 9mm at my local P&G. PM me and I'll send you the contact info-if interested. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Big whoop if Kimber buys the inside cover of Front Sight magazine.Getting anything from them to support a club or bigger match is like getting blood from a turnip. I would rather give my money and vote with my pocket book by supporting the manufacturers who actually sponsor stuff at matches. I hear ya Chills, but I know I wouldn't want to buy a full page, 4-color, cover ad. Would it be better or worse, if, hypothetically, they off-shored production to a shop in Asia, and gave away a couple guns at matches? I'm coming to the conclusion that you and me and the rest of us who pay $20 for local match fees, and spend $15 in gas to get there, and $30 in ammo, rinse and repeat; keep memberships current, and buy brass and bullets, and powder and primers, and gear and more gear, and carefully save money and vacation time to shoot big matches....I'm thinking WE support the sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyshooter Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 i shoot a kimber target match in single stack. i have had only one dealing with kimber's tech and he was a little tough but i think their market is not what we do. i don't think they like the idea of all the custom work that we do to our guns. but i'm happy with the gun. it would be nice if they looked at us a little better but like merlin said it's a tool for our game. shoot 'em if ya' got 'em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I'm coming to the conclusion that you and me and the rest of us who pay $20 for local match fees, and spend $15 in gas to get there, and $30 in ammo, rinse and repeat; keep memberships current, and buy brass and bullets, and powder and primers, and gear and more gear, and carefully save money and vacation time to shoot big matches....I'm thinking WE support the sport. BINGO! I think you not only hit the nail on the head, but you drove that one home ..... I am flat broke, but somehow still manage to spend $8,000 - $10,000 a year on shooting expenses. What's wrong with that scenario ? Nothing ............ I still have TONS-O-FUN! PS Boo, I think you have the numbers correct, but just like on "The Price Is Right" you need to move them around a little bit. $15 match fee, $30 in gas, and $20 in ammo. Maybe it's $20 match fees, and $15 ammo, but the gas is still the most expensive ingredient in that recipe! Edited March 17, 2008 by CHRIS KEEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan 45 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Like any of the manufacturers, Kimber has some good people and some bad. You typically hear more about the BAD experiences on the internet, because that's what everyone is talking about. I've had to involve Kimber's customer service people twice, and both times they took care of my issues and had my guns back within a week and a half. One gun was an Eclipse II that sheared the firing pin safety, the other was a TLE that I bought used had a low point of impact. I told them I bought the gun used, they said it didn't matter to them and replaced the front night sight free of charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twister Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Cooter, who's mag well are you using on your Kimber? Looks very nice. I also shoot a Kimber Target Match, and have never had a problem of any kind. A lot of people at the range I go to, ask if I've had any complaints, seem suprised when I tell them no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribble Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Yeah I have never had any problems that weren't operator error. The magwell is a SVI, I like it as I get my hands in the right place almost every time. I bought it used and had heard of problems shooting LSWC so I was a little skeptical when purchasing as the previous owner never ran them through it. I have fed this a strict diet of 90% LSWC and 10% LRN without a single hiccup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twister Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Cooter, Thanks for the quick reply. I think I'll be looking into one of those. Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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