Kimber and other 1911 opinions please

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JMB

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Hi all,

Today I told the people at my local gunshop to make the next Kimber Classic that comes in mine. It should be here by the end of next week. I owned a Colt 1991A1 briefly but sold it after being very underwhelmed. The Kimber is obviously a much better made pistol, but I'm wondering if there's anything I'll need to do to it in order to get it to run reliably for self-defense, or if it will be good to go out of the box. Any opinions or advice you could lend on Kimbers and the 1911 in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
JMB,

There are 2 things that it seems like all Kimbers need before they are reliable. The first is new magazines, the second is a new slide stop. After replacing both of these with Wilson parts, my Kimber has worked flawlessly.

bkm
 
Ditto what Dorcas said! If your
pistol does not lock back after
your last shot replace the "slide
stop". Dorcas , why do you need to
replace the magazines? Kimbers come
polished internally and have
aftermarket custom features that
other brand guns don't come with.
Kimbers are top of the line ,
most accurate 1911 or for that
matter most accurate pistol that I
have ever shot , period! After you
go to the range , start a new thread
& give us a full report!
 
I think Kimber has fixed the slide stop problem. I made the same trade a few months ago (1991A1 for a Kimber Classic stainless) and there is no comparison. I think the 1991 was the worst gun I've ever owned and the Kimber is, without question, one of the best. I've only put 500 rnds through it, but I have never had the slide stop fail. Nor have I had any problems with the factory magazines. Not one problem with anything, at all, ever. Enjoy!
 
Dorcas, I have had four Kimbers and have friends that have at least that many, and none of us have needed a new slide stop. True, the 7-round mag that comes with the Classic Custom sucks, but I think the slide stop thing may have been solved, or else is more rare than some people think.
 
Thanks for the advice so far guys. I had already planned on buying a bunch of Wilson 7 round (sorry, i don't trust 8 rounders) mags anyways, but I didn't know about the slide stop problem. I'll definately keep my eye on that.
 
JMB,
I use Wilson 7 rounders too. I'm not convinced that 8 rounders are less reliable then 7 rounders, but I would prefer to not take the chance. The magazine that came with my Kimber had a horrible follower that no amount of bending and tweaking could cure.

As far as the slide stop is concerned my pistol wouldn't lock the slide back after the last round, and it is a common problem. I was at the gun shop just the other day when a woman was returning her new Ultra Carry because the slide stop didn't lock back. Also, if you do a search about at dejanews you find all kinds of posts about this very problem.

bkm

[This message has been edited by Dorcas (edited August 28, 1999).]
 
Greetings, sir. I have a Kimber Classic that's given me no problems whatsoever. I do not like full-length recoil spring guides so I replaced mine with the old standard and an end cap. The weapon has been utterly reliable with a wide variety of loads and quite accurate. I use only 7 rnd magazines for serious purposes. best.
 
I don't know why anyone would distrust the Wilson Combat 8-rounders. They are all I use in all my 1911s and I have yet to have a mag-related malfunction with one of them.
 
JMB

I've owned a Kimber Custom Classic for two years now and have never had a malfuntion of any kind. The gun probably has about 500 rounds through it by now, so it's fairly new.
One thing I felt it did need when I first purchased it was an action tune to include a trigger job. After this was performed and after I painted make shift bar-dot sights with "white out" on the existing McCormick's, this gun rides high on my list of favorite pistols.

For ergonomic and aesthetic reasons I've added hand carved cocobolo grips [probably not spelled correctly] and will be sending the gun somewhere to have the front strap checkered, bar & dot sights installed, and a decent finish added to the gun.

At this time I am more than pleased with the gun. Good luck with your purchase.
 
JMB

I've owned a Kimber Custom Classic for two years now and have never had a malfuntion of any kind. The gun probably has about 500 rounds through it by now, so it's fairly new.

One thing I felt it did need when I first purchased it was an action tune to include a trigger job. After this was performed and after I painted make shift bar-dot sights with "white out" on the existing McCormick's, this gun rides high on my list of favorite pistols.

For ergonomic and aesthetic reasons I've added hand carved cocobolo grips [probably not spelled correctly] and will be sending the gun somewhere to have the front strap checkered, bar & dot sights installed, and a decent finish added to the gun.

At this time I am more than pleased with the gun. Good luck with your purchase.
 
Hi Everybody

Just recieved my Kimber Custom Stainless Covert today. This is my first 1911 style pistol and I am looking foreward to training with it.

I see from some of the posts here that some are having problems with their mags and have been going with after market mags (Wilson). Does anyone out there have any experience with Chip McCormicks Shooting star 7-rounders? I bought 7 of them while waiting for the pistol to come in and I was wondering if I should look into picking up others and which ones if I have a problem with these.

Thanks
Ross T.
 
I have 2 Shooting Star 8 round magazines. I use them in both my Kimber and Colt Comander with no problems. From what I hear though, I am one of the lucky ones, as more people have problems with them than don't. I do plan on buying a couple (or 4) of the Wilson ones though.
 
Stephen A. Camp - Do I understand you correctly that you replaced the full length recoil spring guide with a regular spring as on the original A1? Good move. I have never liked the full length spring guides either. I am interested in the performance since. How long do you leave your recoil spring in? Have you had any problems what-so-ever?
 
I'm new to this forum. Noticed Steve Camp had posted a message--he lives nearby & is considered a knowledgeable, experienced, skilled & trustworth shooter. Heed his advice!

I have heard nothing but glowing reports from users of Wilson 8-round (or any other size) magazines.

BTW, the 1991A1 Compact .45ACP, which I carry when serving arrest warrants in plain clothes, has digested ~2,400 rounds with nary a hitch in its giddyup. I did replace the recoil spring plug w/an aftermarket one cause of the reports of the little tab shearing off & tying up the pistol. Talked to the past- Pres of Colt ~3yrs ago--he said he wasn't aware of any such problem.
 
I have two Kimbers, a Stainless Classic Target and a new Stainless Classic. The Target has been the model of perfection. Use it in IDPA, it now has approximately 2000 rounds through it with no gun or magazine related problems. It did not like some factory reloads I used once, but it wasn't the guns fault. I do not use them any more. I use 8 rd Shooting Stars.

The Classic has problems locking back. New slide stop is on the way. I hope this will solve the problem. To be honest, my Target model has spoiled me. I had the standard sights replaced with Heinie Slant Pro Staight 8's.

Kimbers are well made and accurate. A lot of gun for the money.
 
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