Are Kimbers Really "All That" ?
- Thread starter Mike H
- Start date
September11
New member
all that
I know of two local smiths that won't sell Kimber because the first two times they filed bankruptcy it hurt a lot of suppliers who got stuck holding the (empty) bag. The difficult part is that Kimber has put out a great product that feels great in the hand and shoots very well and most people seem very happy with their purchase. How do you fairly and completely rate a company that has only been producing pistols for a short while since their last resurrection/recovery??? Browning, Colt and Springfield have been making 1911s for as long as they have existed... Ford, Chevy, uhhhh..... will Kimber be Dodge or Cord
They have spent a huge amount of money advertising and I think their guns look great. It will be very interesting to see if they can make a run of it. FWIT I hope they do, variety and competition is good.
I know of two local smiths that won't sell Kimber because the first two times they filed bankruptcy it hurt a lot of suppliers who got stuck holding the (empty) bag. The difficult part is that Kimber has put out a great product that feels great in the hand and shoots very well and most people seem very happy with their purchase. How do you fairly and completely rate a company that has only been producing pistols for a short while since their last resurrection/recovery??? Browning, Colt and Springfield have been making 1911s for as long as they have existed... Ford, Chevy, uhhhh..... will Kimber be Dodge or Cord
They have spent a huge amount of money advertising and I think their guns look great. It will be very interesting to see if they can make a run of it. FWIT I hope they do, variety and competition is good.
LeadPumper
New member
Your Chips Sir?
Never fired a CDP, held one at the last show, ended up buying a Custom Classic Series II. First range session last night was a quick one, only 75 rounds, but I was eager to know.
I've read here, and other places, of the goods and bads of 1911's in general, and Kimbers in specific. Here's what I have to say:
The Kimber I bought, for me, is the most expensive, most accurate, most comfortable weapon I own. It had one FTF (last round in next to last mag of the night). No other hiccups or problems to report, but it is far from broken in. It balanced and handled well, the trigger was crisp and consistant. Accuracy was one large ragged hole at 25 feet with six flyers, my fault , not the gun(had to keep sticking new orange dots on the bullseye).
I've read of the firing block pin on the series II, and dry fired both series I and II side-by-side at the show. I could not tell the difference. However, I am no 1911 expert, this is my first 1911 and another person may feel differently about the firing pin block.
It is my humble opinion, after firing the Kimber, that while it is more expensive than everything else I own, it is also in a different class. "All that and a bag of chips?" Yes, but not everyone likes this particular flavor.
-LeadPumper
Never fired a CDP, held one at the last show, ended up buying a Custom Classic Series II. First range session last night was a quick one, only 75 rounds, but I was eager to know.
I've read here, and other places, of the goods and bads of 1911's in general, and Kimbers in specific. Here's what I have to say:
The Kimber I bought, for me, is the most expensive, most accurate, most comfortable weapon I own. It had one FTF (last round in next to last mag of the night). No other hiccups or problems to report, but it is far from broken in. It balanced and handled well, the trigger was crisp and consistant. Accuracy was one large ragged hole at 25 feet with six flyers, my fault , not the gun(had to keep sticking new orange dots on the bullseye).
I've read of the firing block pin on the series II, and dry fired both series I and II side-by-side at the show. I could not tell the difference. However, I am no 1911 expert, this is my first 1911 and another person may feel differently about the firing pin block.
It is my humble opinion, after firing the Kimber, that while it is more expensive than everything else I own, it is also in a different class. "All that and a bag of chips?" Yes, but not everyone likes this particular flavor.
-LeadPumper
Um...Mr September 11...(and some others on this post)...
What in the H E Double L are you talking about...Get Your facts straight before you misguide a potential buyer...
I don't believe Browning has ever made a 1911 (unless you count the man himself).
Springfield has not made 1911s since their beginnings. The original company made a small number during either WWI or II. The newer company (no relation other than name) started making them as an after thought well after their inception.
Colt has filed bankruptcy more than once and their customer service sucks.
Kimber is the largest manufacturer of 1911s.
To any potential buyer of any firearm: Buy what you want...buy what you like...try it for yourself...don't let your puchase be influenced by most of the B.S. on this or any other forum!
What in the H E Double L are you talking about...Get Your facts straight before you misguide a potential buyer...
I don't believe Browning has ever made a 1911 (unless you count the man himself).
Springfield has not made 1911s since their beginnings. The original company made a small number during either WWI or II. The newer company (no relation other than name) started making them as an after thought well after their inception.
Colt has filed bankruptcy more than once and their customer service sucks.
Kimber is the largest manufacturer of 1911s.
To any potential buyer of any firearm: Buy what you want...buy what you like...try it for yourself...don't let your puchase be influenced by most of the B.S. on this or any other forum!
AC's & 45's
New member
I'm on my first Kimber, its a Custom Eclipse with this notorius series II saftey, my verdict is that this is the single best firearm I have ever owned. I have owned 5 Glocks, 2 Sigs, 1 Kahr, 1 S & W auto, 1 Colt, 1 Springfield, have a Steyr M40, and my Kimber out performs them all. None even come close to the reliability, fuctionality, asthetics or anything else you could think of. I'm close to a thousand rounds and I have not had one FTF etc.
Jason Demond
New member
I have never met a bad one. The one's I own and some others I have fired, all worked great.
I bought a Classic Gold Match (Series 1) about two years ago. Paid $900 new. At first I was very disappointed with it as it had many FTFs and FTEs. So many that I sent it back to Kimber for repair at about the 400 round mark. They test fired it (40 rounds) and sent it back without doing anything. However, after that it never hiccuped again!
Did they actually do something and wouldn't admit it? Or, did it just need some break-in time and that coincided with the send in? I don't know, but I sure love the gun now. Extremely accurate and completely reliable, as long as I don't feed it Blazer JHPs. For some reason, it does like them much.
Oh, yeah. The original factory mag was worthless and Kimber replaced it for free. The replacement was the same type, but it works fine. Since then I've bought a bunch of Wilson mags and really like them.
Did they actually do something and wouldn't admit it? Or, did it just need some break-in time and that coincided with the send in? I don't know, but I sure love the gun now. Extremely accurate and completely reliable, as long as I don't feed it Blazer JHPs. For some reason, it does like them much.
Oh, yeah. The original factory mag was worthless and Kimber replaced it for free. The replacement was the same type, but it works fine. Since then I've bought a bunch of Wilson mags and really like them.
September11
New member
Ummm Mr Sundance SIR…
I am on my knees
You are right, my facts are inaccurate and I wish to apologize to anyone who decides to make a purchase based solely on my post… It is misleading and my facts aren’t straight. Thanks for the correction.
Kimber has been making 1911 pistols since 1996 and has filed bankruptcy which did screw over several small businesses. (that is fact) I also stated that many people are very happy with their Kimbers. (That is hearsay) Kimber is the largest manufacturer of 1911s today – What does that tell you??? (that invites conjecture)
Colt has a very long history - including good, bad and ugly… (much like the Ford company! Interesting comparison, but not very original)
Browning Hi-Power has a section in 1911forum.com and according to their web site they have been making pistols of JMB design under their current name since 1935. If they aren’t making a 1911 then I have been mislead and am therefore passing along misinformation. (boy I really screwed the pooch there… Sorry ! )
Springfield … well there you go. “the oldest name in American firearms” has only been making the 1911 since around 1980. I stand corrected.
To summarize in case you’re too literal to figure it out - The question was… Are they “all that” ??? My answer was… maybe it is too soon to tell. That is my opinion. It was a simple toss out... We aren’t discussing the minute details of the history of the gun…. Simple question – I thought I would toss out my thought on the matter. Sorry you got lost in the trees for the forest Sundance.
I have another one for you Mr. Sundance… Merriam - Webster ---
Forum - a public meeting place for open discussion (not a place intended for you to look for people to make yourself feel smart)
Discussion - consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate
My answer did include some fact, some misinformation and some opinion. I think maybe I will include a disclaimer with my posts in the future so I don’t have to be berated by people like Mr. Sundance.
I am on my knees
You are right, my facts are inaccurate and I wish to apologize to anyone who decides to make a purchase based solely on my post… It is misleading and my facts aren’t straight. Thanks for the correction.
Kimber has been making 1911 pistols since 1996 and has filed bankruptcy which did screw over several small businesses. (that is fact) I also stated that many people are very happy with their Kimbers. (That is hearsay) Kimber is the largest manufacturer of 1911s today – What does that tell you??? (that invites conjecture)
Colt has a very long history - including good, bad and ugly… (much like the Ford company! Interesting comparison, but not very original)
Browning Hi-Power has a section in 1911forum.com and according to their web site they have been making pistols of JMB design under their current name since 1935. If they aren’t making a 1911 then I have been mislead and am therefore passing along misinformation. (boy I really screwed the pooch there… Sorry ! )
Springfield … well there you go. “the oldest name in American firearms” has only been making the 1911 since around 1980. I stand corrected.
To summarize in case you’re too literal to figure it out - The question was… Are they “all that” ??? My answer was… maybe it is too soon to tell. That is my opinion. It was a simple toss out... We aren’t discussing the minute details of the history of the gun…. Simple question – I thought I would toss out my thought on the matter. Sorry you got lost in the trees for the forest Sundance.
I have another one for you Mr. Sundance… Merriam - Webster ---
Forum - a public meeting place for open discussion (not a place intended for you to look for people to make yourself feel smart)
Discussion - consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate
My answer did include some fact, some misinformation and some opinion. I think maybe I will include a disclaimer with my posts in the future so I don’t have to be berated by people like Mr. Sundance.
Mike in VA
New member
I have three - a Custom Royale, an Compact in stainless, and a blue Ultra Carry - all have been very reliable, quite accurate, and a pleasure to shoot. The UC is sensitive to limp wristing (I consider that operator error), but I enjoy them all and wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Kimber to anyone who wants a nice 1911 pattern pistol. M2 $1/50, YMMV.
Before my first Kimber purchase, about 5 years ago, I inspected as many as I could find in 20 or so different shops. ALL were very consitant in fit & manual function, so I ordered a s.s. standard model. Very pleased, so I ordered a compact alum, very pleased also. In the last year or so i've seen a lot of inconsistencies on new ones, glitchey lock up, poor trigger pulls, stickey slide stops mag releases & thumb safeties. The worst was PDP or a CDP(you know, the 975 dollar one) & it had all the above problems.
Maybe just a fluke, but I feel the earlier ones were better.
BTW: Kimber filed for chapter something or other BEFORE they started making 1911's. Springfield on the other hand has reorganized once, maybe twice in the last two decades. I think, I'm almost certian, I'm pretty sure, but not 100% positive. I will not requote in front of a judge or on national TV.
Happy holidays, Gunzo
Maybe just a fluke, but I feel the earlier ones were better.
BTW: Kimber filed for chapter something or other BEFORE they started making 1911's. Springfield on the other hand has reorganized once, maybe twice in the last two decades. I think, I'm almost certian, I'm pretty sure, but not 100% positive. I will not requote in front of a judge or on national TV.
Happy holidays, Gunzo