I hate Kimbers!

General Firearms Handguns - 1911
1

Yep, that is what I said. I hate Kimbers. Every single one I have fired was a preening safe queen that would only work if you use the most expensive magazines made of meteorite and unobtainium, or hipster vintage artisanal 45ACP ball made from reclaimed virgin copper and brass. Did I mention that the ammo needed to be non-GMO? I have friends who swear by them and have tried to educate me on the virtues and the reason why I needed a Kimber in my collection. I would just blow them off and go back to shooting my Sig Legion, which is made from real operators, or so I have been told.

Over the past few months, I have been pining for another commander sized 1911. To me, the Commander is the best 1911, with a rail making it perfection. After letting go of my Sig 1911 TacOps Carry, I kicked myself for days, and knew that I would need another one soon. I almost broke down and bought a Rock Island, because I have had a few in the past, and other than needing to have the feed ramp polished, they run nicely. They just didn’t look that good, and they are heavy. I was trolling a few shops in my area, looking for my next piece when I came across a Kimber Pro CDP II. It was the only 1911 that I had see that fit my criteria. It was lightweight, with a Commander frame and night sights. Since it was a Kimber, I passed it up to look at a Ruger Commander that he had next to it. It was okay. Not as nice as my Sigs, and only cosmetically better than the Rocks.

I then asked to see the Kimber. You know, for shits and giggles. Just at that moment, the skies opened and there was the singing of angels as I picked up this piece of aluminum and steel. I racked that slide and was almost sold at that point. It was smooth. Smoother than my Sigs were, but the trigger was a little heavier. I looked at the price. He was asking $850 for with, which was only $100 more than the Ruger. Since the Kimber came with night sights and the Ruger didn’t, I figured I would see what I could do on the price. I got him down to $800 with 3 mags OTD. I bought two more mags while I was there, just to see what mags work best.

I went to the range with it this past Saturday. I wanted to run it to see if it would make a carry piece, or if I was going to throw it into the safe for a future sale. I had 150 rounds of Winchester Service Grade 230 Ball, 50 rounds of Tula, 100 rounds of 230gr FMJ reloads and 50 rounds of assorted JHP. I broke it down at home to take a quick look to see if it needed a cleaning, and it barely looked fired. I wondered if it had even gotten through its break-in period. I wiped it down and put it back together. It must have been trying to be on its best behavior because it only had two failures. That was due to my son limp wristing it, and that was only with a Kimber ProTac 8 round mag. I was amazed at how well it ran, because it ate everything I fed it, and was accurate. This one Kimber has me rethinking what I feel about the brand. Hell, I may even by another one day, if I can find a railed Pro somewhere.

2

I picked up a used desert warrior with the Kimber .22lr conversion. As a 45 the gun has been flawless with all kinds of ammo- Tula and aluminum range junk, several brands of 230 ball and a few different full power defensive loads. The mags are Wilson 47d’s so I can’t comment on any other type of magazine. The only issues with the 22lr are with cheap (well, used to be cheap) brick ammo that had a full underpowered rounds that FTE’d. Tap and rack cleared the malfunctions with out issue. With good 22lr like CCI and Norma I have not experienced a single fault in 500 rounds.

Ps- that’s a nice looking gun, and looks like you got it for a good
price.

3

Thanks, I was looking at the .22 conversion for plinking and I think Kimber only recommends CCI. I know I have issues with cheap .22lr in my son’s rifles. CCI always worked.

4

I have a TLE/RL II, which I love, and a Kimber 22 conversion kit. The kit HATES Remington ammo but loves Federal, CCI, Winchester and Speer. I just have to make sure the magazines are clean, but taking them apart and wiping them down works like a charm. The Federal and CCI run the cleanest but the Winchester and the Speer aren’t bad. Love the kit and the only problem I’ve ever had was when the extractor was filthy.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

5

If you had negative experience with one, why did you get more? As a rule, those most knowledgeable about 1911s, do not recommend Kimber. They are considered the Bush Master of the 1911 world. There will always be someone who will tell you they have one that.s been perfect (just as owners of BM, DPMS, etc) but the BTDT in the 1911 world, do not as a rule recommend it. I have heard your story way too many times to ever consider that brand of 1911. I used to be all about 1911s, them went to polymer wonder pistol via M&P with APEX kit, so am out of the loop on latest in 1911 world. My advise, sell your Kimbers to your expery buddy who talked you into that brand, and get something known for quality and reliability, two terms not generally associated with Kimbers.

6

7-8 years or so ago I had a Kimber Pro CDP and had no issues at all with it. It ran everything I shot and had no malfunctions. I ended up selling it to purchase another weapon. Then I joined this site and read all of the issues that Kimber had. Only thing I can think is that I got lucky and bought one of the good ones. Would I buy one again. Nope! Not when I can get a Colt for the same money. I’m about a gnat’s hair away from buying a new Colt LW Commander as is.

7

I purchased one about 3 years ago worked fine for a few mags worth then had issues, tried different mags, ammo, polished and repolished feed ramp, basically just a very pretty gun that served no utility. Sold it at a loss needless to say, and moved on. Only 1911’s purchased after that were Dan Wesson.

8

The bulk of my 1911 knowledge comes from fixing the Kimberly I used to own…

9

Not to disagree with you per se, but I have a Warrior that feeds and functions with the utmost reliability. My Kimber experience is based on two models I’ve owned, the TLE II and the Warrior. The TLE II had two trips back to the factory and still then wouldn’t function with anything resembling reliability. The Warrior has had exactly 3 malfunctions in >7,000 rounds. I functions with everything from my LSWC target loads to full powdered Hornady XTPs over a stout charge of AA #5. I love my Warrior. I bought it wanting a railed 1911 when it’s competitor the MC Operator was no where to be found. Now I own both and I like the Warrior better.

At my local range I am known as the 1911 guy and every time I engage in conversation with someone over what brand to buy, I always steer them away from Kimber, unless they are fully aware of what they are potentially getting into.

10

I am normally one that does steer clear of Kimber, but for the price, I felt that even it is was a dud, I know where the fixes are. It doesn’t hurt that a friend of mine if an armorer and know his way around 1911s (Kimbers in particular) His run fine, doesn’t matter what ammo or mag. He mentioned that the CDPs are actually a little better QC’d since they come from the “Custom Shop”. Personally, if this shop had a Sig 1911 Carry, i would have taken it in a heartbeat over the Kimber, but he didn’t, so here I am. Maybe I got one of the duds that works perfectly, but I am happy with it.

11

I think this might be one of the more honest points regarding Kimber I’ve seen. I’ll be honest, my personal view of them is a cut rate manufacturer, mostly because I’ve seen more than a few issues from them, in particular two custom Kimbers that came from the factory so messed up that the pistols would not function, both ended up requiring multiple trips back to the manufacturer and about six months before Kimber ended up replacing the entire slides and the guns then proceeded to work as one would expect. This has been 6-8 years now and both are still going strong, and still in the carry rotations of the individuals who own them, and both shoot and group very well. But, six months to fix issues that came down to both having the slides machined improperly I have issues with. Granted the issues were fixed, but still. On the subject of the Warriors, I can not honestly say I’ve seen much bad on them, and most I’ve known who have had them said they ran well, to the point there have been times where I looked at a used one but funds were not available, and honestly I find myself more drawn to the Current Springer offerings.

I think the point ends up coming down to a lot of people’s minds isn’t that Kimber can’t make a gun that runs well. They can, so can others. The issue comes down to that they seem to have put out at times more problem guns than other manufacturers and if it doesn’t run well it could be a royal headache, which is what keeps me away from them.

12

I have shot a lot of USPSA and the Kimbers always seem to fail. I have seen multiple safety lever disintegrate to having guns full auto and dump full mags.

That was enough for me to never buy a kimber. I always hear of the locals talk about how their kimber has been 100% reliable and never malfunctions. I just can’t believe that’s the truth.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

13

I talked to a well known Smith back when I owned my Kimber. Since a lot of their parts are made to a “mid-spec” to minimize fitting, you’ll have some that work, some that work sometimes, and some that don’t work at all. Mine ended up having its stock parts replaced with Nighthawk and 10-8 parts, so it worked fine when I got rid of it.

14

I usually get a FTF in my old Gold Match when I get to about 250-300 rounds of dirty waxy Bullseye lead semi-wadcutters. It loves Chip McCormic mags. Never had any other issue with it. I expect regular ball ammo would get more mileage between needing a wipe down.

15

After a bout of trouble with an ria I had and attending a lav 1911 operators class and seeing a pile of 1911s go down I came to a few concussions. You get what you pay for. Only <$1000 1911 I’d probably trust is a Springfield and that’s only after shooting it a bunch. You have to maintain them, they are an enthusiasts gun. They need maintained.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

16

Yeah, I think when you hear the 1911 words of wisdom stories, a lot of them leave out the $800 vs $4000-$6000 aspect which is as distorting to the data set truth as “my 1911 has never fails”.

17

I’ve owned 3 kimbers. And traded/sold 3 kimbers. I have only one 1911 now, a Nighthawk Custom. Crazy expensive, but flawless and approaching 7K rounds through it.

18

I have a sa trp operator and a Wilson cqb elite. 3041 through the trp and 998 in the Wilson. I ran the trp in the vickers class, it was the only 1911 that didn’t malfunction in that class. But their is a massive difference between the $800 and $3500 1911s. I don’t think you need to buy a $3500 1911 to get one to run right, not by any means. But I sure as hell am not carrying an armscor, taraus or kimber either. Sa and colt makes the best production guns until you get to Dan Wesson I think.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

19

I was not impressed with the reliability of my stainless TLEII and ditched it.

Also not a fan of the Swartz safety and would never buy another 1911 that has such a silly feature.

Colts and Springfields for me from now on.

20

Ditto this.

I have the TLE/RL II and the .22 conversion kit.
I carried it as my duty gun for years. Never failed me and ran any quality ammo I fed into it.

I’m Retired now and for the most part only gets carried occasionally since it’s heavy as all hell and I’ve trended towards my G19 almost exclusively because carrying concealed is all I do these days.

I bought the conversion kit mainly for plinking, small critter control (squirrel, porcupine, opossum etc) and for coup’ de gras work if needed when hunting. CCI being hard/ expensive to get, I have opted for standard issue Federal since it seems to run best. I get an occasional failure with the standard issue stuff, but when I do run CCI minimags in it it runs flawlessly.
As for the occasional fails with the Federal standard ammo; it’s not big deal because, A- it’s not a defensive/ personal safety thing and B- it just reinforces failure drills.

All this said I cannot speak about any other Kimber 1911 of any configuration since I have not experience… But mine? Yeah, I’ll keep it and rely on it anytime. I actually miss carrying it frankly. It’s just not really a CCW type gun.