Are Kimbers Really "All That" ?

M

Mike H

New member
I hear that some police departments are now investing in Kimber Pro Carrys for their officers in spite of the price. Failure rates of less than 0.1% were quoted during tests, no other guns tested (out of 32 I think) even came close to the overall performance of the Kimbers.

I wondered if any TFL members had invested some of their hard earned in one of these puppies, and if so, are you happy that you have purchased something in a different league than say a Glock or a Beretta (but not a Sig of course ;) ).

Mike H
 
I haven't shot one yet, but they say these are awsome. My wife's cousin is a lieutenant for the Tacoma, WA. PD. This is one of the first departments to authorize the Kimber Pro carry. He said they tested almost 40 different guns and then selected less than 10 for further testing. They shot over 23,000 rounds through 16 different Kimbers. Couldn't believe how reliable they were so they went out and bought another one locally and shot 5,000 rounds through it without one failure. AWSOME.

He still choose the glock 45cal as his new sidearm.


When I can scrape up some funds, I am going to look seriously at he Kimber Pro Carry II.
 
I had a few Colt's and when Kimbers were being praised up and down
by my local dealers and gun rags I was a little cynical. First off, I considered
them to be ugly as sin compared to my Colt's. The front serations weren't nec.
and the wide spacing was crude looking. The beavertail also was misshapen
compared to Brown's/Wilsons etc... and the Kimber stamp on the slide looked
feminine in style. None of my criticisms were function related, but that didn't
occur to me back then! I've owned CDP Compact, Gold Combat SS, Classic Royal
Custom (or was it a Classic Custom Royal? or Royal Classic Custom?) and a
Classic Custom (plain jane for sure). Sold all and kept the Classic Custom.
It had the best fit/finish and um... oh yeah, performance of the lot. Go figure.
Turns out great performance started to make the ugly hunk-o-steel look a little
more pleasing to my eye. I'm not a good enough shot and I haven't owned
enough 1911's to say if Kimbers are superior to any other name brand. There
reputation is crystal clear however. They have been reported by many to be
the most accurate out of the box production 1911, but with competitors
upgrading there factories to compete with the tight tolerances of Kimber I don't know
if that's still true. Within reason, reliability is the most important reputation a
gun can have and while the Kimbers have a good rep. in that regard, I have yet
to see any definitive comparisons of 1911's using the scientific method.
 
Maybe not, but I really like my Gold Match!
com.arcsoft.UtilMain
 
I've got two Pro Carry's--one in alloy and the other is an SLE (steel frame). I'm underwhelmed. Neither have fed (at least with my reloads) as reliably as my Colt Commander. The bull barrel does make it softer to shoot though.
 
Get the series 1 if you can. The series II's have the Schwartz saftey system on them and Gun Tests just gave the Pro Carry II a don't buy rating due to malfunctions and trigger irregularities they said were caused by said system. Kimber is in the process of changing it's entire stable to series II. I hope it doesn't put them under. I will be buying a series one asap.
 
It shouldn't affect the trigger much but the plunger that actuates off the grip safety is in contact with the sear so just make sure that contact area is well lubed.
 
From what I understand (haven't taken one down yet) there is a little more felt tension on the grip safety, but once the grip safety is depressed there are no effects on the trigger itself.

Shake
 
What Gun Tests found was that they could manipulate trigger pull by changing tension or pressure applied to the grip safety. I am not a smith but they sure were not impressed with the workings of the system. (which, they say, has been around a long time)
 
I have a Kimber Combat Carry (1999 Custom Shop), the gun is so nice...shoots great, built great. All Kimbers should be like this, but from what I have heard over the last year or so.....there has been a good % of happy and unhappy customers.
 
i have a series 1&2

my pro carry (1) is great. been through so many rounds i lost count. it has been absolutetly flawless since the day i brought her home. the same goes for my custom royal (2). now, i haven't shot it much...maybe a few hundred rds, but i tell you: it has the best trigger i've ever tried. the grip safety is not as loose as some others i've felt, but hey...when it comes down to it, it don't matter. it is the most accurate pistol i own. this by no means says that the pro carry is shabby...i just like the full size a little better. they are great guns. i would try to get a series 1 if i were a potential buyer....simply because...um....well, there are less parts to detail strip.....:rolleyes:
 
My one experience with Kimber was Pro-Carry. It malfunctioned frequently - 1) failures to feed, 2) sending the spent casing back to my head and 2) failures to lock the slide back on an empty magazine.

I sent the gun back to the factory. It came back a couple of weeks later (according to the factory, it enlarged the breech face, replaced the slide release and a couple other things). It still malfunctioned!

I was very unhappy. When it shot, though, it shot unbelievably accurately. It was MUCH more accurate than I could ever be (I know - because a competition shooter demonstrated it for me with it).

Skorzeny
 
I purchased a Pro CDP and I absolutely love it! The gun is extremely accurate and ultra reliable. I have put right at 1k rounds through it and have had no problems or malfunctions! I like this gun so much that I will probably buy an Ultra CDP!
Can't go wrong with a Kimber!
 
If you do a search on 1911 or Kimber you will find at least 850 gazillion threads discussing the *cough* merits of the Kimber pistols. HTH
 
Every mass produced (by this I mean not a custom shop piece) brand of firearm is subject to a few malfunctions. Custom shop pieces are cost prohibitive for many. The solution for me is to shoot every new pistol that I buy until it malfunctions or until I decide I want something changed or until I have just put a few hundred rounds through it. Then I take it to the excellent (if not nationally known - ---and very expensive) local gunsmith for a reliability check. He is in effect my local "custom shop". I give him license to do what ever is necessary to make the firearm reliable (no machine is 100% reliable). After that it is ready for sself defense.

I wish you all had a smith like him....regreatable you apparently do not have.

PigPen
 
I've got a Custom Target and a Pro Carry. The Target is totally reliable with everything but that flat point Winchester ammo. The Pro Carry would be my hands down carry gun except I've had a lot of trouble with the McCormick magazines and I don't trust it (for now I'll stick with the goofy-looking, weird handling, yet 100% reliable and tack driving Sig P239). I'm going to get some Wilson mags after the holidays and if that clears up the problems I'll reconsider.

Both Kimbers are the two most accurate centerfire handguns I own.
 
U have 5 Kimbers. I got rid of all the Colts I had, you know, the ones where it is expected to buy and then spend several hundred MORE dollars to make work right.

I own the Match version, Custom Classic, Royal and two Pro carry's, one in .40 and one .45.

I hate to say this, but out of the box, ALL was accurate and 100% reliable. (Now they will start messing up)

The only thing I have changed was the grips on the Pro's, because I wanted wood grips.

The Shooting stars mags that came with them has worked flawlessly.

Just my .02 cents.
 
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