Strange behavior from new 1911?

S

Shmackey

New member
Took my new Kimber to the range today. I set the target out at 10 yards, and the first magazine went right to my point of aim. All in the 9 or 10 ring. That's no big deal with my .22 but I was surprised at how accurate this gun was.

But then...I moved the target out to 17 yards, and the next magazine's worth of rounds all went WAY low-right. I had to aim completely out of the black, high left, to even have a chance of hitting the bullseye.

I brought the target back to 10 yards, reloaded, and sure enough, it was all low-right. I'm a newbie but I'm a good shot and I know when my shots aren't going where they belong.

First things first, I checked the sights to make sure they hadn't come loose. They were both dead-center and solidly attached.

What in the world is going on here?
 
I have 1911s that when cold will throw the first shot or two way high, then go back towards the center once the barrel heats up. Every gun is a quirk unto itself. Take it out again, maybe with different ammo and see if it does it again.
 
Don't shoot it again till you have it figgured out. Maby screwed up recoil spring guide. If new, call it broke and give it back for fix or replace. They get way too much money for a do it yourself kit.

Sam
 
Kimber?
First thing I look at on both my Kimbers when they don't shoot where they should or when they should is the recoil spring guide rod to make sure it hasn't unscrewed itself.
 
My bet is that it's you and not the gun, especially if you're getting good results at 10 yards and then crap at 17. That's not enough of a change in distance to produce the change of impact that you describe.
 
I've shot a .45 before and did well. And once I brought it back to 10 yards, it was still low-right. So basically the aim changed after a couple of magazines.

I really don't think it's a flinch. I even shot it from the bench and it was low-right.
 
Shmackey


I shoot low with my Kimber past 15 yds. Its me, not the gun. In the last IDPA match I noticed that everyone shot low on a 20 yd target we had. Its extremely difficult to maintain the proper angle at that distance. In sport shooting situations I aim for the "A frame", placing the sites on the neck region and they usually fall center. If I were you I would go to www.sportshooter.com and check out their improving section. It helped me tremendously.
 
Uhh...yep. You better send that one ta' me. I'll see if I can break it in fer' ya' and in 3-4 years I'll send it back and you'll just owe me for the postage...:cool:

LOL...Come on...If it's that far off and you've not shot it much. Dump another thousand downrange and let us know how it's goin' then...I bet it'll "straighten out" by then ;)

If it "stayed" low right...you will need to adjust the sights and use some loc-tite once they are back in place. If there is no other mechanical reason for the sudden shift, then it'll be just a matter of shooting after yo get the sights set...You can use a small punch after loosening anything that might be holding the rear sight...like an allen head etc...Maybe put something hard between the punch and the sight before you tighten down the vise and give it a whack in the direction you want to move the group on the paper. If you're not comfortable with drifting the sight, why not ask the guy you bought it from or contact someone local that you trust to help you?
Good Luck...and congrats on the pistol. This "is" the Custom Carry you just bought right? It'll be a good one after you get all the little things the way you want them...Have fun and let us know what happens...Good Luck again...
bandit.gif
 
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Ditto Ledbetter. I love 1911's, but man it's taken me some time and effort to shoot them well. I'm still not entirely there. Listen to the guys that know. They all say range time is the key. IMO, the 1911 is a hard one to master. So hard that I'm about to give it up. I do much better, with less practice, with several other types of semi-autos. You might be the same.
 
I will concede that the problem could be the gun, but it seems more likely that the shooter is the problem. Have you let a more experienced 1911 shooter try the gun?
 
If you're shooting low but the groupings are tight, you might need to get some adjustable sights.

Barring that nothing is wrong with the gun, maybe the bushing needs adjustment.
 
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