Have the tables turned against Kimber?

R

Red Bull

New member
Like 6 months ago, it seemed that people could not day enough good about Kimber. They were super-reliable, the best around and all that.

Now, I see LOTS of Kimber-bashing. I hear bad stuff about their customer service. I hear about them being sent back because they don't work right out of the box. Worst of all, I am hearing about reliability problems. These were things unheard of to me 6 mopnths ago when Kimber was "the bomb".

I am hearing these bad things on lots of forums. Has Kimber gone downhill? Maybe they grew too fast and quality is waning?
 
I would like to know of one... just one, gun maker who hasn't been the subject "bashing" at one time or another. Though there are at times legitimate complaints, I think most arguments against this or that make of firearm are the result of insecure egos or childishness ("if it isn't a Glock... it sucks!"). Ok, I'm getting snippy. Sorry.

I think any product which assumes a sudden and unexpected popularity is bound to be forced into faster production. The results will undoubtedly be lesser quality and more complaints. If this is true for Kimber I certainly hope they notice the problems and correct them.

I own three Kimbers now, all bought within the last four months or so. They are all great firearms. For the price they are extraordinary. No complaints here.

I hope these complaints are just being blown out of proportion. For now, I'm going to file this away with the "break-away" Beretta slide and the Glock "kaboom."


[This message has been edited by JJR (edited October 30, 1999).]
 
All I can give you is my FIRSTHAND experience, not what I "hear" on the internet, but I hope it's still reliable enough for you.
I have personally owned four Kimbers, and put well over seven thousand rounds through them combined, with not one single jam. They have consistently been the most accurate handguns I have ever fired.
I have three close personal friends who have bought Kimbers on my reccommendation and love them, and have also yet to have a jam.
I know at least a half a dozen people personally that frequent my favorite gunshop in town that have bought multiple Kimbers and have yet to have a jam or any other problem.
There are three Kimber master dealers within a half hour of me, and I know all three of them. I have asked them about their Kimber sales and they have sold literally HUNDREDS of guns between them. Yet between them, they have returned a grand total of three for any reason to the factory.
So, to answer your questions, no.
 
Kimber has not gone down hill by any means.
I suspect they have gotten better.

When you have A LOT of sales - you can expect a few more problems... Volume does this. Its just in the odds.

Kimber has gained its rep the hard way. You really think they would let it all slip?

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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
George H. said:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Kimber has gained its rep the hard way. You really think they would let it all slip?[/quote]

Did you ever own a new S&W made in the late 70's-early 80's? Their QC slipped badly during that time. I bought a new M19 which had to be sent back to the factory after 12 rds fired because someone had buggered the hand and pawl. S&W corrected it at no charge, and confirmed what I suspected-the parts had been cut and installed with incorrect angles, and then someone had tried to correct it with a file, then just let it go with file marks still in the metal. I had dry fired the gun for nearly 2 weeks before I had a chance to live fire it, and the dry fire had smoothed up the trigger pull nicely. After the first rd. fired, however, the trigger pull kept getting heavier and heavier. By the time I finished firing the 12th rd., DA pull was probably in excess of 20#.
The point is, anyone with with a hard-earned reputation for quality can let it slip. Look at Colt's current problems. The stuff they're cranking out today is definitely not up to what they were doing 20 years ago. On the other hand, S&W pulled out of that slump nicely, and today has a higher standard of quality than at any time in the past.
No experience with Kimbers, but as you say, the more you make, the more probable it is that a few lemons will slip through. It's the curse of mass production-you can't insure every single piece you produce will be 100% up to standards. Try to name one company that has never turned out a single "lemon," ANY product, not just guns. Bethca can't do it. :)

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Shoot straight regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center http://forums.delphi.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=45acp45lc

[This message has been edited by 45King (edited October 30, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by 45King (edited October 30, 1999).]
 
Greetings all. I own but one Kimber. It is the plain "Custom Classic" 5" with the Kimber blue, that could be better. That said, the gun's given me no problems and shoots well with a variety of ammunition. I've not bought any of the current guns so I cannot positively comment on quality or it's reported decline. Two friends have purchase Kimber .45s in the last 3 months. One was the compact carry gun and the other was their full-size target model. I've shot both and they worked fine. Best.
 
My stainless compact has about 400 rnds thru it. One FTF, one fail to lock the slide back. I figure that's just teething problems. Otherwise flawless and extremely accurate. I'll keep you posted on the next trip,but it only seems to get better.

FWIW, I have several SIGs, none have EVER FTF or any other problem, but I have heard a bunch of SIG bashing (and SIG is MUCH bigger than Kimber). It happens to everyone. M2
 
Ah, okay, so it is the same as the argument against the Glock Kaboom! rumors.

-Great popularity of the gun makes others resent that gun type and spread evil rumors about it.

-The fact that 2 million Glocks are now out there, there are bound to be some bad ones somewhere.

-There has yet to be any gun company that has not had a lemon here and there that blows up or jams.

-Rumors grow out of proportion and suddenly a few bad cases turn into an "epidemic".

Okay, now I see. I am a big Kimber fan...heck, I named my DOG Kimber! But, I am also a Glock fan. Would have named her Glock, but Kimber sounds so much better for a dog. ;)

So...I guess we will assume the Kimber problems are blown out of proportion and then the same with the Glocks, that we we can all stop bashing each others gun choices. Personally, I have owned well over 20 Glocks and they have all been great right out of the box. (The only reason I sell them is because for some reason one of my friends will offer me lots of cash for it on the spot, and I can't resist, so I just go buy another new one).
Anyway, I am glad to hear that Kimbers are doing okay, because I am looking to buy one.
 
I have a Kimber Ultra-Elite from their custom shop and was experiencing jams with virtually any hollowpoint ammo. Sent it back to the shop and they had it back to me within a week. Since then, I've put over 1000 rounds of assorted ammo through with not a single jam. Accuracy is pretty pathetic since it only groups 1 5/8" at 15 yards (from a bench). Seriously, with that type of service and performance, I couldn't be happier. If that's "slipping", where can I get more?
 
I have two Kimbers, a full size stainless, and a stainless Pro Carry. I have put approx. 1000 rounds through gun without a single malfunction. Neither gun has ever been to a gunsmith for any type of reliability work as they have functioned perfectly out of the box with all type of loads. I am so impressed with the quality of these pistols that I bet my life on them every day.....45Fan
 
The two Kimbers I own are the two best pistols I've ever owned, bar none.

I have a friend in Kimber management and we correspond regularly. The people at Kimber are fully aware that their market niche is absolutely dependent on the quality of their product vs the bargain price.
In a nutshell, they spent millions to create the high tech machinery that nobody else has - more money for R&D (they completely redrew the 1911 specs to tighter tolerances)- all of this big money before a single dime came in - and now with their computer controlled machinery, they are making pieces that rival the high priced guns like Wilsons at prices only a little higher than Springfields South American guns.
If quality drops, they lose their market. If they raise their prices, they lose their market.
They are FULLY aware of this. Everyones going to turn out a lemon now and again, but you aren't going to find any design flaws or lack of quality control in Kimber guns under the present management. They are selling a LOT of guns now and if even one in a thousand is flawed, you're going to hear more griping than you did six months or a year ago.



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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
I have two Kimbers. The Pro Carry Lightweight Stainless- I carry almost every day. I changed the rear sight- not needed, my preference, and had the trigger smoothed. The Gold Match is perfect. It's about the only gun I own that hasn't had anything changed. I 've been unable to get it to choke on anything, even with magazines that are marginal in other 1911s I own, loaded with anything I could find in my ammo locker. The finish is a deep blue that would make the best Python envious.I also own 1911 models from Para Ordnance, Springfield, and Colt, and have for many years, I think that everyone's just tired of going on about how great these guns are.
 
I don't even own a Kimber, but the people in my shooting club who do rave about them. I haven't seen one of them give their owner a problem during an IDPA match or just a plain range session.

From what I've seen, they're a quality product.

Mike
 
Ive never fired a kimber. But ive spoke to alot of gun shop owners and gunsmiths and everyone seems to be on the same level, THEY LOVE THEM !


Im not into the 1911 style pistols but they do look great and kimber seems to have re-paved the expectations for the 1911 field.

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TIM : )
 
I e-mailed kimber last week about my concerns over what I have read over the net and a few experiences I have heard of from others. To date Kimber did not have the courtesy to answer my e-mail. That is not a good sign
 
Well... many of you are saying very nice things about Kimber here. And up until recently, I had been too.. I won't repeat the entire message I posted last week. If you want to read it.. [Link to invalid post]

Bottom line.. Three different Kimber products.. three different sets of problems. I will be giveing their repair service one last chance to fix something that should have never broken.. We will see how they respond... and I will let you all know how it turns out...

A very unhappy..


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Bubba
IDPA# A04739
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It is long been a principal of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully. - Jeff Cooper


UPDATE: (11/02/99) My local shop had repaired my rear sights to get me through my match over the weekend. They pulled a set of sights from their stock. The smith called Kimber with the particulars and Kimber sent him a replacement set of sights. It wound up costing me a case of beer in gratitude to my local range for their efforts to get me back on the line quickly. Kimber wins points for NOT hasseling my smith about warranty repair and understanding the dire straits I was in to get to the match. Not overjoyed about the mental state I was put in right before a major match. But am relieved at the way it was resolved.




[This message has been edited by Bubba (edited November 02, 1999).]
 
I bought a kimber gold match 4 months ago. The first match I shot it in I got a 3rd place. it was the 1st match I had ever shot. Last week I got a new red dot for it, and It will put every shot in the same hole at 25 yards.

4 months ago, I bought a classic for my girlfriend. it is just as good as the gold match. I also bought a classic compact, and a stainless stainless. Not one failure in over 7,000 rounds fired.

I shoot plates and pins on diffrent nights, and I need reliability. Kimbers have it. I only wish they had 10mm in a a full size. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

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10MM Magnum.... tried the rest, now I got the best
 
I heard the same things from different dealers. The dealers that I know who do sell Kimbers are selling current inventory and closing business w/manufacturer.
Why?:

1. Too many buyers comming back w/broken parts and poor customer service, I'm told.

2. Pressure from the company to get dealers to carry far more stock in order to get lower dealer pricing. More than one told me that they are kind of high pressure in asking dealers to stock more.

The above are the comments of various dealers and do not represent everyone. It sounds from some Kimber owners that they have fine products and from others that quality control and customer service lacks.

Personally, the company based service manager, (NOT the custom shop), was extremely helpful in answering my questions. He even told me that w/the exception of the extras the base models were the same as the target. This kind of honesty says a lot if this man reflects the rest of the company. IMHO, prices are fair and competetive, but not low.

Sounds like I'm kind of wishy washy about this, but I'm only trying to be objective. My info is very limited and others here can speak on it better than me. Just added .02 worth of info. Hope it helps.

Robert

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"But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." -Jesus Christ (Luke 22:36, see John 3:15-18)
 
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