Seems like everyone has their favorite brand of handgun. Mine is the Smith and Wesson line of K-frame revolvers. Still, I know a bad Smith leaves the factory from time to time and I have had a few. When Ron Power was still doing action jobs, I would buy a new Smith and send it to him for work before I even shot the gun. In fact, I have never had an out of the box handgun for competition or defensive work. No one can mass produce as good a product as the master craftsman can turn out one at a time. No one, period.
I bought a .45 from Kimber based on their reputation. Even though I have always used custom pistols, I thought this one would run properly right out of the box. The truth is, even if the pistol functioned properly, I would still make a few minor changes. At the pinnacle of my shooting career I realized that some of us take our equipment very, very seriously. We shoot a lot and have very high expectations. For instance, my Kimber has over 500 rounds through it and I haven't even used it for serious practice. Anyhow, I finally figured out how to get a Kimber fixed. The following is a copy of the letter I sent to Brian Bilby along with my pistol.
02-11-00
Advanced Combat Pistols
1010 Westwood Blvd.
Jackson, Michigan 49203
Dear Mr. Bilby:
Thank you for taking the time to discuss my Kimber Classic Stainless Gold Match pistol with me. As you know, this pistol has failed to run properly since the day it was manufactured. It has been back to the Custom Shop twice and they finally managed to get it to run with hardball. I was satisfied with the repairs right up until I started working up a hand load for the pistol. The guys at Kimber told me they would set the pistol up to feed lead semi-wadcutters as well as military specification ball, but such is not the case.
Brian, there is absolutely no leade into the rifling. In fact, the rifling butts right up against the case mouth. As we discussed, it is common practice to seat a semi-wadcutter with the shoulder of the bullet extending about .030 of an inch beyond the case mouth. With my pistol this is not possible. In addition to the poor chamber-reaming job, the slide stop needs some help. I guess the guys at Kimber are just too busy to hand fit a couple of parts to ensure complete reliability.
In a nutshell, please perform the following work on my pistol:
1. Clean up the chamber as per our discussion.
2. Take out the MIM parts that are most prone to failure and throw them as far as you can.
3. When you replace the slide stop, I would like one with a detent to prevent accidental engagement.
4. Check out the thumb safety. I like a positive engagement not the mushy feel. The detent is bad.
5. Get rid of the take up on the trigger. Replace the trigger as well as the hammer if you see fit.
6. Perform any other needed work.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to fix my pistol.
Thank you,
Ron Ankeny
That gentlemen is how to fix a lemon. Would I buy another Kimber? Yes, then I would send it to Brian or another name pistolsmith. I don't expect all of you to understand this, but production pieces have no place in my personal arsenal.
I bought a .45 from Kimber based on their reputation. Even though I have always used custom pistols, I thought this one would run properly right out of the box. The truth is, even if the pistol functioned properly, I would still make a few minor changes. At the pinnacle of my shooting career I realized that some of us take our equipment very, very seriously. We shoot a lot and have very high expectations. For instance, my Kimber has over 500 rounds through it and I haven't even used it for serious practice. Anyhow, I finally figured out how to get a Kimber fixed. The following is a copy of the letter I sent to Brian Bilby along with my pistol.
02-11-00
Advanced Combat Pistols
1010 Westwood Blvd.
Jackson, Michigan 49203
Dear Mr. Bilby:
Thank you for taking the time to discuss my Kimber Classic Stainless Gold Match pistol with me. As you know, this pistol has failed to run properly since the day it was manufactured. It has been back to the Custom Shop twice and they finally managed to get it to run with hardball. I was satisfied with the repairs right up until I started working up a hand load for the pistol. The guys at Kimber told me they would set the pistol up to feed lead semi-wadcutters as well as military specification ball, but such is not the case.
Brian, there is absolutely no leade into the rifling. In fact, the rifling butts right up against the case mouth. As we discussed, it is common practice to seat a semi-wadcutter with the shoulder of the bullet extending about .030 of an inch beyond the case mouth. With my pistol this is not possible. In addition to the poor chamber-reaming job, the slide stop needs some help. I guess the guys at Kimber are just too busy to hand fit a couple of parts to ensure complete reliability.
In a nutshell, please perform the following work on my pistol:
1. Clean up the chamber as per our discussion.
2. Take out the MIM parts that are most prone to failure and throw them as far as you can.
3. When you replace the slide stop, I would like one with a detent to prevent accidental engagement.
4. Check out the thumb safety. I like a positive engagement not the mushy feel. The detent is bad.
5. Get rid of the take up on the trigger. Replace the trigger as well as the hammer if you see fit.
6. Perform any other needed work.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to fix my pistol.
Thank you,
Ron Ankeny
That gentlemen is how to fix a lemon. Would I buy another Kimber? Yes, then I would send it to Brian or another name pistolsmith. I don't expect all of you to understand this, but production pieces have no place in my personal arsenal.