New Kimber, have a few questions.

N

Nifer

New member
I finally decided on what gun to get, and bought a Kimber Ultra CDP II today at my local gun shop. I got delayed (every damn time I buy a gun!) but didn't get called back today so I will have to pick it up next week.

How many rounds is considered standard for break in of these Kimbers? I only picked up 200 rounds of Wolf today, but plan on putting at least 500 rounds through it before I decide to carry it. is 500 pretty much standard break in time, or do Kimbers take 1000+?

Also, do grips cut for Colt's officer frames fit the Kimber compact frames? I like the wood grips on the CDP, but it never hurts to have some extra laying around. I am thinking micarta or carbon fiber.

Also, are the Hex head screws worth it? all my custom knives use hex head screws and I like them a lot, but for firearm grips, are they just for looks? Or is there any real advantage to using them?

Also, I am pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but what gun mags do you reccomend for this pistol? I am thinking of getting some Wilson 7 rounders for the compact frame. Is Wilson basicly the best there is, or should I consider others?

Thanks for your time, as this is my first 1911. I am really excited.

JR
 
I finally decided on what gun to get, and bought a Kimber Ultra CDP II today at my local gun shop. I got delayed (every damn time I buy a gun!) but didn't get called back today so I will have to pick it up next week.

Same here. If you've ever had to report fraudulent activity with your credit, or if there are too many folks out there with similar names in your area, you'll likely get delayed every time.



How many rounds is considered standard for break in of these Kimbers? I only picked up 200 rounds of Wolf today, but plan on putting at least 500 rounds through it before I decide to carry it. is 500 pretty much standard break in time, or do Kimbers take 1000+?

Normally only about 200, but I certainly will vouch for ya if you want to run at least 500 through it first. Just don't use only ball ammo, which should feed regardless. Throw some JHP or JFP into the mix to properly test function. BTW Wolf ammo is considered junk by a lot of people. If you get jams with it, try different ammo before blaming the gun.



Also, do grips cut for Colt's officer frames fit the Kimber compact frames? I like the wood grips on the CDP, but it never hurts to have some extra laying around. I am thinking micarta or carbon fiber.

Yes.



Also, are the Hex head screws worth it? all my custom knives use hex head screws and I like them a lot, but for firearm grips, are they just for looks? Or is there any real advantage to using them?

Slotted screws are bound to get buggered up from slipping with the screwdriver. Plus, when used to mount a set of really nice grips they look like steel hubcaps on a Corvette.



Also, I am pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but what gun mags do you reccomend for this pistol? I am thinking of getting some Wilson 7 rounders for the compact frame. Is Wilson basicly the best there is, or should I consider others?

For a compact .45 Wilsons are the way to go. Myself and everyone I know who's fired a chopped .45 like an Officers ACP or Compact has had better results with the Wilson mag than the factory Colt or Kimber mag. The plastic follower can wear over time, but that's a minor issue.



Thanks for your time, as this is my first 1911. I am really excited.

It should be a good one. Have fun and stay safe!
 
I would toss in a suggestion that you do not use the Wolf ammunition in that new Kimber. In the experience of friends who have tried it, the lacquered steel case can cause feed reliability problems and the primer sealant has a way of gumming things up in the firing pin works. The steel case might also be a little hard on that Kimber extractor.

It also tends to be filthy.
 
What dsk said.....................

is excellent advice on every question. I shoot 500 rounds on break in. I just like to shoot - no other particular reason. Good shooting.
 
In the Manual for my Kimber custom Eclipes, The first thing the manual states to do is field strip and clean the pistol, then it goes on to say that for proper breakin of the firearm shoot 400-500 rounds of quality factory 230Gr ball ammo.Cleaning the pistol every 100-150 rounds.

I agree with dsk on the Hex head screws.


Tony
 
Speaking of wooden grips, when I got my CDP a few years ago, I asked them to leave the rubber grips on. The counter salesman just looked at me funny.

Is there something so wrong with just liking rubber on my Kimber?

I do want it to "stick" everytime I grab for it, wet or greasy hands and all.
 
dsk covered it all very well. My Kimbers ( A Custom, Compact, & Ultra Carry) have all run well from the first round, but 2-500 is a pretty good run-in and also good peace of mind. The only other thing I would add is that the compound recoil spring on the Ultra doesn't have the longevity of the larger guns. I don't recall what the recommended replacement point is, but I believe it's around 2000 rounds. A quick e-mail to Kimber should get you an answer.

Enjoy.
 
I consider break-in to be 500 rounds. For the first five hundred, I'd shoot nothing but .230 ball. You can experiment with defense rounds later.

And as for Wolf, I wouldn't shoot it during or after break-in--but especially not during break-in. Do your break-in with a reliable ammo like white box Winchester. Then if you run into problems you are less likely to have to ask and answer, "was it the ammo?"

Welcome to the Kimber family!

Randy
 
Sellier and Bellot is my break-in ammo of choice. Nice hard bullet jackets. I've found it even more reliable than Fed. Amer. Eagle. I've probably shot 5,000 rounds of S&B .45 over the years. Wish I'd saved all the brass.

That said, good luck on your Kimber. Most of them work right.

Yo
 
it's interesting to see the different takes folks have on breaking in the carry guns...

i usually run about 200-300 rounds of whatever i have (usually hardball) through a gun to settle it down. this is just to let the parts mate/seat during the cycling...i don't worry about hiccups during this phase, i'm actually looking for recurring problems (bad mag, loose screws, flying sights)

before i'll carry a self defense round, i'll try to shoot 200 rounds of it through the gun without ANY malfunctions (figuring i've already culled out the bad parts)

somewhere in there i usually try to run through a few rounds that usually give problems (185gr swc and speer's 200gr jhp "flying ashtrays") just to see how good it's running. if i'm feeing cruel, i'll run an empty case through a good mag!!!
 
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