kimber products

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bullet44

New member
I am new too pistol shooting and have been looking at a Kimber custom match but not
certain after reading this forum, I have
never seen a company so loved and hated,at
this point I"m confused, could it be that
so many more Kimbers are produced thus more
shooters using them.?? Perhaps people buy
and not clean them properly,??Close tolerance
means more care,unlike my Ruger p85 which will will shoot after falling in a mud pit.
Anyway, anyone having advice on buying Kimber
i"m listening, any Kimber owners please help>!!!

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This weekend I traded a Kimber Custom Target for a Smith and Wesson 686 plus.The kimber would only shoot 5 to 6 inch groups rested at 25 yards.I am sure this is an exception considering I have Custom Classic that shoots 2 to 3 inch groups.I did not feel like dealing with customer service so I aced it.I got a great deal on the Smith.I guess it is my fault for waiting a year to shoot it.But babies and two working parents have a way of taking up all your time.
 
I bought my first Kimber (the Compact Aluminum) last week. I wanted a lightweight 1911 style .45 and this pistol fit my needs perfectly. I'm not a newbie (nor expert) with 1911s as this is my 9th version of JMB's design of 1911.

Yeah, I've read the good, the bad and the ugly posts here about Kimbers. I'm also (just) old enough to not expect any 1911 style pistol to be perfect out of the box.

My Kimber will be off to my 'smith soon. Will have a trigger job, replace a few parts and have a general tune-up and analysis. Most of what I'm having done is probably not necessary, but I'm willing to pay to have this pistol set up to my preferences.

The viewpoint I had when purchasing this Kimber was that it had a solid platform that could be tweaked a little and end up near perfect for less than $1000.

YMMV

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BKs Pistol Pages
 
I am no expert, but do have some experience with 1911's.
I have the bottom of the line Kimber, the Classic Custom, and I couldn't be happier with it.
Yes, they are made to very close tolerances, and if extreme reliability (packed with mud but still shoots) is what you're looking for, I don't think this gun is it. You can go a long time between cleanings with modern ammo, but I don't recommend it. It will still function reliably, but cleaner is always better.
Mine did have a few failures to feed when brand new, but after a couple hundred rounds, either the gun settled down or I did. Haven't had another problem of any sort since.
As far accuracy, I can't see the dam*ed target too well at 25 yds, but my 18 year old son does and he easily gets 3-4 inch groups using a jacket and block of wood as support. Sometimes better. (Ruined the jacket). I get large one hole groups at 40 ft.
I have never used their customer service, but I have heard both good and bad. My thinking is the turn around time is likely to be based on the workload. Since they probably usualy don't have a large number of guns returned, they probably don't have a large number of smiths working. I think this is good, and I would rather wait awhile and have the job done right.
FWIW, I have found most functioning problems to be caused by the shooter. Not all, and some guns will get past quality control. But if a company stays in business, this will be a minimal number.
 
I'm with David on this point. I own a Kimber Custom Classic. I'm a 1911 fan and have owned more than my share, the Kimber is the better or equal of any 1911 that I've ever owned.

Most of the gripes about Kimbers on TFL seem to come from distinct sources.

1) Pistol smiths who make their living tricking out the 1911. They don't like the factory competition.
2) Shooters who insist on comparing the factory Kimber to a custom gun costing two to three times as much. They claim that their custom pistols are better. My answer to that is that at that price they'd better be.
3) Shooters who have purchased the Kimber compacts. Compact 1911s aren't as reliable as their full size brethren, regardless of the brand name. I've found this to be true of any compact that is the result of chopping down a full size pistol. This is why I stick with compacts that were designed that way from the ground up, like the Kahr.
4) Shooters who are brand name fanatics. If it ain't brand X it ain't s*!t.
5) Shooters who have never owned the particular brand of debate. These types tend to get their information second hand and spout off despite their own lack of experience.

Every comany makes the proverbial lemon. *Every* company. Kimber seems to be outselling all of the other 1911 factory brands out there. Given the law of averages it's only natural that you would see more problems. In our modern computer controlled world there will be problems with anything from time to time. That's reality.

As to the companies customer service, since I've never had a problem with my Kimber I can't comment. I will say that it has been my experience that how you deal with it on your end does make a difference (rightly or wrongly). If you deal with the problem in a rational manner you're more likely to get satisfaction than if you have the attitude of "My POS gun is broken and I want it fixed right god d!@#*d now !
 
Bullet44: Don't fall into the "It'n new, so it must be good," trap. What you say about your old Ruger is golden. I am one of the Kimber nightmare folks. My two cents worth says stick with what you know works. Buy extra mags for the Ruger, buy some good leather from Bianchi, buy ammo, take shooting lessons. If that fails, buy a Springfield Armory product.

Beware of a man who owns one gun... He probably had two, and one was a Kimber, and he had to send it back for repairs!!!!

Slim
 
224 I disagree with you AND Slim...he's offbase about Kimbers (typical of anyone who encounters one bad apple with any brand) AND he's not that funny.
 
224:

For the most part I agree with what you have to say. I worked in retail sales at Wyoming Police Equipment Sales for a couple of years and most firearms related problems are not the firearm.

Having said that, I did get a bad Kimber (and the Custom Shop even admitted it would not pass quality control) and the problems are still not fully resolved. However, the vast majority of Kimber pistols work just fine and they are good pistols for production pieces. I have had better luck with the functionality of Springfields, but the fit and finish on a Kimber is better.
 
I just bought a Kimber Stainless Covert today and love it! I put about 150 rounds through it, 20 of those being my carry load, 185gr Golden Sabers, and the gun never missed a beat! After I put another 100 or so rounds through it, I'll have my new carry pistol!
:-)

Tom
 
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