Kimber 1911's opinions?

4

45automan

New member
Hey guys I am looking toget a new 1911. I looked at a lot of them and have made my choice,I want a Kimber Custom Classic,Blued.Anyway i wanted to get the SA Loaded model then i didi a side by side comparisan of the two and the Kimber seemed like the better of the two. Better fit and finish,better trigger,less sharp edges,all out of the box. This tells me that in 500 or a 1000 rounds the Kimber will be even better.
Of course being an old school 1911 fan that i am that stupid full leanth rod has got to go. A nice stainless bushing and spring and plug should do nicely. I know many people love the FLGR but if John M Browning felt that the 1911 needed one he would have given it one.
I also realize that you guys were just poking fun at me,no offense taken here.
Thanks,45automan
 
Hello, 45automan. For the money, I think the Kimbers are very good buys. I, too, don't care for the full length recoil guides and simply replaced mine with the "standard" recoil spring guide and a spring cap. Works fine. Several thousand rounds later, the Kimber continues to work just fine and to group very well. Best.
 
45Automan
I have two Kimbers, a Gold Match and a new compact, both are tight and reliable. The Gold Match has fired a wide variety of factory as well as my reloads with out a hitch. The Compact had a few failure to feeds in the first 100 shots(Winchester 230 gr. ball) but none after a detailed strip and clean. Definitely the best buy for the money!
Bill Daniel

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Prosecute criminals to the fullest extent of the law and their weapons will become harmless.
 
I have a Kimber Custom Classic and have had no probs. That gun is very accurate too. and have a Kimber Compact on the way 5 more days.

:D
 
Okay - You asked... (grin)

I have had a total of 4 Kimbers - First a Blued Custom (early run - shot 2" low) and I traded it off.. {sob!}

Now I have a stable full of them! Let's see - Smallest to largest:
Kimber Ultra Carry - Very accurate - Shoot eggs at 25 yrds with this dude!
Kimber Pro CDP - Also VERY accurate - Light! Beautiful to look at... *NICE* Trigger!!!
Kimber Custom Stainless - IDPA Pistol - Also very accurate! Nice and heavy for training... Decent trigger with some creep.

And - I jumped into the Springfield Armory 1911's too - A Stainless 1911-A1. Fairly accurate, it just doesn't get the range time the others do... Very sharp edges, broke in with some issues (Slide jammed at full recoil for about 90 rounds) but runs fine now that it is broken in.

You can do alot worse than Kimber in my *OPINION* and some folks claim there are lemons. I have had >ZERO< issues outside of the first low shooter. I submit that when you hold 40% of the market, you are bound to have some oopses - Ask Microsoft about ooopses...

Get the Kimber, be sure you check it out and play with it at the shop - resolve any issues before you plunk your $$$ on the counter - Have em field strip it for you... Really check it out... if something red flags for you, ask for another pistol.

Happy Hunting, it's half the fun!
HTH
 
I have the Custom Classic, and it is a sweetheart right out of the box. It is still pretty new, but has about 500 rds through it without a hiccup.

An article in the July/Aug issue of American Handgunner discusses the guide rod question. (The title is "The MYTH of the Full Length Guide Rod". That give you a hint of the findings?) What the author concluded was that a full length guide made zero difference in accuracy, either better or worse. Other claims for the full length, such as reducing recoil and increasing spring life, are also found to be unsubstantiated. He sums up that it just doesn't make any difference, and that if a gun has one at no extra cost, he would leave it in. Otherwise, he would go with the original design.
 
Love mine. The only problem I had was with the finish which seemed to wear too fast. Supposedly they fixed this. I have two now, the Custom Classic and the Compact Aluminum - love them both.

My buddy and shooting partner is into the Springfields which are also nice guns. The Springfields are a few bucks cheaper, the Kimbers are a bit more accurate, both brands seem to be completely reliable with any ammo we've tried.

Can't go wrong with either brand. My two cents.




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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Kimbers are great pistols. The only part I don't care for is the plastic mainspring housing which is easy to replace. Also, don't believe the detractors of MIM parts. I have tens of thousands of rounds through my pistols with no appreciable wear on any of the MIM parts.
 
Count me among those not sold on MIM parts for use where there is strain or flexing. OK for a safety, grip safety, mainspring housing. Not good for a barrel bushing (some of Kimber's have broken, resulting in "firing" the guide rod down range), extractor or slide stop.

Repeating what I have said before. A full length guide rod aids in extraction and ejection. The extraction of money from your pocket and the ejection of it into the maker's pocket.

Jim
 
Stick with the Shooting Star magazines like it came with or others with stamped metal followers. The polymer followers in Wilson Combat magazines may result in slide stop malfunctions. I learned this the hard way. Its' the guns fault, not Wilsons'. www.1911forum.com

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"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Walt Kelly
 
Beg to differ. I have not used anything BUT Wilson 8-rounders in my full size Kimbers and have yet to have the first jam. Maybe a problem with the Kimber you had, not a brand-wide problem.
Also disagree with Jim. Over 5,000 rounds through the first Classic Custom I had, well over 6,000 rounds through my Gold Match, not a single parts breakage. I am friends with two of the Kimbers dealers in this town and they have had a grand total of two parts breakages with Kimbers they've sold (and those numbers are into the high hundreds) and neither part was MIM.
 
RikWriter-
Sorry, but my experience has been very different. I own four Kimbers. A Classic, a Classic Royal, a stainless Gold Match and a Pro Carry (blue). The only one that has never had a slide stop malfunction with Wilson Mags is the Pro Carry and that is because I never even tried them.
Called Kimber about the problem and the first question out of their mouths was "Are you trying to use Wilson mags?." Kimber blamed Wilson. Called Wilson and of course they blamed Kimber slide stop specs.
At this point I don't know who is really at fault but I suspect Wilson Combat may be right. From the number of other discussions I have seen about his same problem I know I am not alone.
I certainly envy the good luck you have had with this combination! It almost drove me nuts trying to figure out what was wrong.

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"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Walt Kelly
 
RikWriter-
I just noticed something-you are using Wilson EIGHT rounders? All of the Wilsons' I was trying to use were SEVEN rounders! Think that could be the difference? The followers are different. I have a couple 8 rounders that came with my Wilson 1911 that I was going to convert to 7. I am going to try them out in my Kimbers instead.
Thanks for the inspiration!

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"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
Walt Kelly
 
Wilson seven round magazines work fine in my Kimber Pro CDP. But so do all others I have tried. :)

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ralph

Life Member NRA
 
I don't know much about the seven round Wilsons...only ever had one and I sold it with a gun. Hopefully going to the eight rounders solves your problem. Good luck!
 
Some thoughts on this discusson:

Kimber is a better gun overall due to quality materials on the major components. Frame (esp Kimber aluminum frames), slide, barrel are top notch. We could do with different small parts, but we've got several tens of thousands of rounds through various Kimber models with great results.

Springfield is good with a good dehorning job- and we would prefer a better barrel- the standard SA loaded gun comes standard with a two piece barrel.

Tens of thousands of rounds through various Kimbers with full-length guide rods and not a single problem due to the full-length guide rod. If nothing, it keeps the weight where you need it. Better the lighter m/s housing and heavier muzzle. If the full length guide rod is coming off because of John Browning, make sure you remove the beavertail grip safety, extended thumb safety, and dovetail front sight as well.
;)

Wilson magazines are the standard for most military specops groups using 1911s. That doesn't necessarily mean that they have a monopoly on top quality magazines. The Kimber slide stop is a separate thread unto itself, but the bottom line is that you've got to test your individual gun with various magazines before making a determination on reliability. The Wilson mags are generally thinner in width, which causes more side to side play within the grip of the 1911. If the slide stop engagement is already a bit questionable, the play can compound the issue, resulting in a malfunction.

We've had good luck with Wilsons in our Kimbers, and we've seen bad luck in others. Wilson offers a different follower for the Kimber, Kimber doesn't offer a different slide stop. The plastic follower is more susceptible to wear versus the steel follower (such as mccormick), which begs questions regarding service life.

Our 2 cents.
Happy shopping!


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SKD Tactical Accessories
www.skdtac.com
Your source for hard-core, no-bs gear.
 
I have a Kimber stainless target LE, and I'm very pleased with it. It's considerably more accurate than my Springfield, something that I was surprised I could notice. :) My only complaint is the chamber is a bit too tight, and I have to be careful with my reloads, where the Springfield will take almost anything I can run off the press.
 
I really like the Kimbers (base models) I don't care for the custom shop offerings. You would be hard pressed to find more gun for the money. I have the custom classic and the ultra carry both are outstanding. Can't go wrong with Kimber base models.

mdc
 
Nice looking guns for sure, but their warrantee and customer service sucks butt. If that were improved, it would definately be a great pistol.
 
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