Kimber. Overpriced?

And my 3" Kimber still is running perfect.
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Same here:
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230 grain FMJ ball or 230 grain XTP all feed and cycle just fine. The gun is not actually a gun which I would have bought, a friend needed money so I ended up with it. I planned to just sell it off till I started shooting it. Never thought a little 3" .45 ACP could deliver such good accuracy. I have since become very fond of the little gun and have no plans to sell it off. Reliable and accurate so it works for me.

Ron
 
I don't believe Kimber is over priced. I buy a gun to shoot. I bought a plain black Kimber II, as I said earlier I had to do a little work to it but it is built tight and shoots very well. Is it as pretty as my Colts, no but it will shoot with them and it costs less. It is easier on the hand than the older Colts, rounded edges I guess. MIM you worry about isn't an issue for me. I have quite a few rounds thru the Kimber, even more thru a 625 revolver that's full of MIM. No problems so far. I did have an ejector break in a Citadel pistol, it had about 3000 rounds thru it, it is a cheap pistol made by same company as Rock Island.
 
I lived in SoCal for almost 2 years. Kimber keeps a good number of their product line on the California DOJ Roster of approved guns for sale to residents of the state. If you live in CA and you want a 1911, you don’t have a lot of choices other than a Kimber.

Personally, I wish I’d bought a Dan Wesson PM7 that is the only DW that is CA rostered, and DW keeps that model in production to stay in the CA gun market. It was relatively easy to find a PM7 at the local gun stores in SoCal that I frequented. A PM45 which is close to a PM7 is a rare bird at an LGS outside of CA.
 
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It's hard to beat CZ for value/quality. Kimbers are decent guns but they don't always run perfect out of the box and need break in. They are nice guns and like a fancy car we don't buy them because they are the best gun but a classic all steel 1911 style firearm that fits hands well. The 1911 is the king of single stack guns 110 years strong after being invented. The problem with Kimbers and some other 1911s including Springfield and Colt is people buy them and expect them to run like a glock out of the box. Yeh, that's not typical but then again they don't have the unsupported chamber problems in a stock Glock either. I would not recommend a Glock or any other single action pistol for a Newbie!!! Double action with a decocker or a revolver is in my opinion a much better choice for someone that can't handle a jam without a babysitter.
 
This is a simple question to answer.

The seller (assume retail shop) sells the firearm for whatever profit it deems necessary to sustain its business.

You pay whatever price you feel comfortable paying,...........or not. The question of whether or not it is overpriced is moot and irrelevant.
 
….Both came out of the box and started dropping dimes, center target, 7 yards…..
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What is dropping dimes and how do I know if I’m doing it?

Broke them in at about 400 rds.
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What happened before 400 rounds that made it not broke in?

Then starts the conversation: "They are overpriced.""I could have bought 2 (fill in the blank with ur favorite manufacturer)."
Any thoughts?
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You need new friends. Yes, I’m saying this tongue in cheek. That said, you need to evaluate based on what makes you happy. When I have looked at & shot Kimbers, there are things that make me unhappy. I would not begrudge another for having bought one.

Now if a guy buys a $6000 1911 to get a “basic reliable pistol”, I might argue there reliable guns available for just slightly less. That said, his money, his gun.
 
I own two Kimber rifles that are fantastic, but no Kimber pistols. For me (and this is just me speaking my own opinion) the S&W 1911Sc I bought as my first 1911 was more in line with what I was looking for than a Kimber, same when I bought my Springfield Operator. About the same price as a comparable Kimber model, and with the Springer I had to change out the weird 2 piece guide rod, but they were more what I was looking for. My friends with Kimber 1911s have had no serious issues. I just prefer their rifles to their pistols.
 
There are very few pistols I would say are "overpriced" with a broad brush.

We know that old Kimbers (Oregon) had a very devoted following.
We know you will not see many Kimbers on the 50 yd. line at Camp Perry.

If I were to get a new 1911, I would be calling Rock River Arms of Illinois. One reason is they are within an afternoon's drive of where I live. Finding a 1911 gunsmith is getting harder and harder. The main reason is that my style of shooting is accuracy competition.
 
Both came out of the box and started dropping dimes, center target, 7 yards. Broke them in at about 400 rds.
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Getting good groups @ seven yards is nice but it's really only putting powder burns on the target. What do they do at 25 yards from a rest? When you say that they were "broken-in" @ 400 rounds, does that mean it took that long for them to function perfectly? I'm one of those people who expects (demands) that pistols function as intended straight out of the box. No excuses entertained. Shooting any pistol first before relying on it for self-defense is necessary but only for the purpose of confirmation.
 
Unless you are shooting competition a stock 1911 from 70 or before needs nothing but a little smooth up stoning to do its duty. Target pistols aren’t required in a gunfight. I’ve got several handguns. I can shoot but not on high level competition. My point is, how much better can you shoot a $2k gun better than a $1K gun?
Example: I have a FN HiPower Competition model. It shoots outstanding or it would have been sold years ago. The SIG 210 is suppose to be ultimate in 9mm. I always wanted one but never wanted to pay the price. The new 210 is around $1500. Can I shoot it enough better than the HP to justify it?
 
I used to shoot in competition every week. I have NEVER been in a gunfight.

I can shoot a $2,000 1911 better than a $1,000 enough to move me from first or second place down to 10th place or so in club competition. Knowing a gun is accurate to 2 or 3 inches (not all that tuned) at 50 yards means any missing is due to me, not random chance due to a loose gun. I can practice and improve. No amount of practice can overcome an in bad accuracy in a pistol.

I have never been in a gunfight. If going bang is your standard of excellence… what’s the fun in shooting?
 
Getting good groups @ seven yards is nice but it's really only putting powder burns on the target. What do they do at 25 yards from a rest? When you say that they were "broken-in" @ 400 rounds, does that mean it took that long for them to function perfectly? I'm one of those people who expects (demands) that pistols function as intended straight out of the box. No excuses entertained. Shooting any pistol first before relying on it for self-defense is necessary but only for the purpose of confirmation.
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My thoughts exactly Dgludwig. The idea that "we fit them so tight that we won't entertain warranty work til you've spent an add'l $200+ in ammunition is ludacris. And this is for a defensive pistol? How would you ever trust it? I don't know where Kimber is with respect to warranty work or customer service nowadays, but 5 years ago they were atrocious. I will readily agree that they do make a 'pretty' pistol, and their advertising budget must be enormous but.... YMMv Rod
 
Circa 1970's Colt Gold Cup National Match (Series 70) guns are selling for $2,000+. Are they worth that? No MIM parts - good solid out-of-the-box 1911. Doubtful. It's probabloy worth more like half that.

You can replace a bunch of broken MIM parts for $1,000 - which, btw, rarely ever break.
 
Circa 1970's Colt Gold Cup National Match (Series 70) guns are selling for $2,000+. Are they worth that? No MIM parts - good solid out-of-the-box 1911. Doubtful. It's probably worth more like half that.
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Any gun on any given day is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no more and no less. While you would not pay $2000 for a Series 70 Gold Cup apparently someone else will and that is all that matters to the seller.

Point being some people define expensive one way and others another way. Nice to know that people are laying out two grand for them now. :)

It's like saying Kimbers are overpriced. All depends on how overpriced is defined? While a thousand US dollars may be an insurmountable amount of money to some who don't have a grand laying around to other people a grand is not all that much money.

Ron

Ron
 
Is brand X overpriced? Compared to what... A cheap import or a domestic gun made by a generations old company?

Kimber are not a premium gun with a premium price. There are premium priced 1911's that fall short of premium quality, and then there are premium priced brands that are premium quality.

Kimber is a fairly priced mid tier gun, buy or do not buy, or consider a Dan Wesson, Nighthawk or semi custom.
 
I think people might be surprised if they knew the number of manufacturers using MIM parts in firearms and other products. It truly is an advancement in technology.
Smith &Wesson uses MIM parts but I never hear any complaints about them. Why are only the Kimber MIM parts problematic?

Personally, I think Kimbers are a good value. Every Kimber I've owned has been reliable, accurate and never needed any kind of break-in.
 
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