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Screw it. I guess I’ll see if I can horse trade my way into a RIA or Springfield next week.
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Quoted: I've got a 20 year old TLE/RL II, black from their glory days. Back when they supplied them to LAPD SWAT, then the Marines with the Warrior not long after. Motherfucker has been an absolute tack driver from the very first shot. Put thousands of round through it and never had a single malfunction. View Quote |
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Quoted: Quoted: Any gun out of the box that’s not operating correctly has a problem. Any manufacture’s product (gun) that needs a break in period should be avoided. OK, retard. It's retarded to think that a thousand dollar gun should be able to function out of the box? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Any gun out of the box that’s not operating correctly has a problem. Any manufacture’s product (gun) that needs a break in period should be avoided. OK, retard. @t44e6 you've been here long enough to know personal attacks are no bueno. I suggest you edit that before someone reports it. |
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Quoted: I never understood the rumor that 1911s were unreliable until I shot a factory new Kimber today. Cleaned, lubed, & made a quick range trip. Noticed it was tight out of the box. Shot 200 rds Win/Fed FMJ. Chip McCormick/Kimber mags. Probably 7% FTF in the first 100 rds. Maybe two on the second box. I know they say there’s a 400 rd break in period, but holy shit. Is this normal and will it typically improve after 400 rds? I don’t feel like I can trust it right now. View Quote Attached File |
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Kimbers ARE NOT JUNK.
They could be better but for what you pay they are pretty good Throw away the Kimber magazines, break it in and run Wilson combat mags and it will likely be GTG. If you want to improve it , get rid of all MIM parts for Wilson combat bullet proof parts and it will be even better long term. IT IS NOT A GLOCK |
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Quoted: I shoot multiple 1911s. I assure you, the platform isn’t the issue. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: TWO WORLD WARS!!!!! If the jammy 1911's worked the first time, we wouldn't have had to fight WW2 I shoot multiple 1911s. I assure you, the platform isn’t the issue. Attached File |
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Of the 13 1911's I have 7 are Kimbers.
NONE of them have ever given me any problems. The other brands are: Colt, 2 each, National Match, Compact Uremix Remington Rand RIA = Front sight fell off Fusion = Junk, wont fire 20% of the time and crushes brass when it does. |
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Quoted: Kimbers ARE NOT JUNK. They could be better but for what you pay they are pretty good Throw away the Kimber magazines, break it in and run Wilson combat mags and it will likely be GTG. If you want to improve it , get rid of all MIM parts for Wilson combat bullet proof parts and it will be even better long term. IT IS NOT A GLOCK View Quote So they’re not junk if you gut them and replace all the parts? Yeah... Sounds like a quality item. |
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It seems I picked the perfect brand for learning how to work on and maintain a 1911 platform
@45-Seventy I think he's only stating that if you want the extra reassurance replace the MIM parts for bullet proof. Not that it needs them to be a quality gun. |
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Have a Eclipse Ultra II.. I'll never buy another Kimber product again.
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Every 1911 Ive owned stuttered out of the box. Colt, kimber, sig and SA.
The 1911 is a unique design. Suppose to be more on the loosey-goosey side than the tight/tuned side most production guns are these days. So yeah, break in required. I wouldnt trust any 1911 till its reliably fired 500 trouble free boolits. The kimber I have now is fairly reliable. Wouldnt bet my life on it though. |
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Quoted: It seems I picked the perfect brand for learning how to work on and maintain a 1911 platform @45-Seventy I think he's only stating that if you want the extra reassurance replace the MIM parts for bullet proof. Not that it needs them to be a quality gun. View Quote Correct. To be a quality firearm you have to replace not only all of the internal parts, but also the barrel, slide and frame. |
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Kimber has enjoyed a reputation of poor quality control in their 1911 pistol line for many years. It seems that the outliers are the ones that function well out of the box or with a little break-in period. Anecdotally, it's about a 50/50 chance of getting one worth keeping. Not a brand worth buying into.
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One of my buddies was sitting in the range house and his Kimber fell out of his holster onto the plywood floor. Shitty MIM hammer snapped right off.
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Quoted: kimbers are junk sorry to put it so blunt, but there it is. View Quote This. They used to be a premier 1911 builder. But when their fame got to their heads, the QC went to shit, and all they cared about was putting out pistols with the Kimber name. Anymore, there is no "break in" for a Kimber, because they are all broken from the factory. If you want a reliable, out of the box kick ass 1911, buy a Dan Wesson. Even before CZ bought them, they were building amazing pistols. But now that CZ owns them, they have ramped up production, but have still managed to increase the quality. Sorry, OP, but Kimbers are shit anymore. |
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Quoted: I was afraid of that... How do you fuck up a 1911? RIAs run like ugly, rattling sewing machines. I assumed American machinists would have the kinks worked out after a century and change. View Quote 1911's run great when they're loose, but we have this fascination with making them NOT loose. If you do that without a lot of careful adjustment and skilled labor it takes time to wear in and may never be reliable. On the other hand, some folks get lucky and they work great right from the start because everything worked out. Buying tightly built but not hand fitted and dialed in 1911's is an exercise in frustration for a lot of folks, not just with Kimbers. Personally I've been happy with my Kimber and know several others who are equally happy, but we all bought models that get more post production attention. Likewise, I've been very happy with Springfield Armory's Loaded line from about twenty years ago and the stainless milspec I used as a project gun. Both ran well and were accurate enough, but were loose enough to not start choking if there was any dust or a slightly long or short round compared to their ideal. People forget that the pistol was originally designed as a military pistol with plenty of rattle and room for dirt to not gum up the works. Gunsmiths tightening them up did so carefully and with attention to keeping things smooth and aligned properly. They often left most of the gaps intact and only tightened up several contact points to increase accuracy without taking away the room for dust and dirt to have room without jamming. Modern "tight" built production pistols don't do this and can easily jam up with anything that gets in there. Building a tight 1911 that's also reliable isn't impossible, but as a mass production item it's difficult. It's not an accident that most modern production guns that are considered super reliable are also the ones that have short rail sections front and back rather than full length sections. |
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Quoted: Every 1911 Ive owned stuttered out of the box. Colt, kimber, sig and SA. The 1911 is a unique design. Suppose to be more on the loosey-goosey side than the tight/tuned side most production guns are these days. So yeah, break in required. I wouldnt trust any 1911 till its reliably fired 500 trouble free boolits. The kimber I have now is fairly reliable. Wouldnt bet my life on it though. View Quote “Fairly reliable” is the highest level of praise which can be bestowed upon a Kimber. |
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Quoted: You literally just answered your own question. 1911's run great when they're loose, but we have this fascination with making them NOT loose. If you do that without a lot of careful adjustment and skilled labor it takes time to wear in and may never be reliable. On the other hand, some folks get lucky and they work great right from the start because everything worked out. Buying tightly built but not hand fitted and dialed in 1911's is an exercise in frustration for a lot of folks, not just with Kimbers. Personally I've been happy with my Kimber and know several others who are equally happy, but we all bought models that get more post production attention. Likewise, I've been very happy with Springfield Armory's Loaded line from about twenty years ago and the stainless milspec I used as a project gun. Both ran well and were accurate enough, but were loose enough to not start choking if there was any dust or a slightly long or short round compared to their ideal. People forget that the pistol was originally designed as a military pistol with plenty of rattle and room for dirt to not gum up the works. Gunsmiths tightening them up did so carefully and with attention to keeping things smooth and aligned properly. They often left most of the gaps intact and only tightened up several contact points to increase accuracy without taking away the room for dust and dirt to have room without jamming. Modern "tight" built production pistols don't do this and can easily jam up with anything that gets in there. Building a tight 1911 that's also reliable isn't impossible, but as a mass production item it's difficult. It's not an accident that most modern production guns that are considered super reliable are also the ones that have short rail sections front and back rather than full length sections. View Quote Weird that had built race guns with far tighter tolerances than anything Kimber has ever offered seem to keep working after thousands of rounds without cleaning even when filthy. It’s as if the whole “tight tolerance” thing isn’t really an excuse. |
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My Les Baer locked up so tight it was hard to hand cycle the slide.
But, it never failed. Kimber? It’s not a break in - it’s just junk. |
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FPNI.
Kimbers are garbage. I tried two of them and my buddy tried two of them. All four were junk. Kimber told us it's to be expected and it should get better after a 1000 round or so break in. We laughed and sold the guns immediately. ETA- it might have been a 500 round break-in. I don't remember. Either way, fucking stupid. |
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Quoted: Yet Springfield Armory 1911s run without a hitch from the first round. How come Kimbers cannot do that? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I seem to recall reading at some point Kimber says there needs to be a long break in. To the tune of 800 rounds I thought. Yet Springfield Armory 1911s run without a hitch from the first round. How come Kimbers cannot do that? This! Every Colt I have ever owned did not require a “break in”... |
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My Kimber was shit. Traded it for a G19 and never looked back.
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Kimber is a joke and the leaders of the company hate gun owners.
Buy a CZ or a Glock |
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Quoted: “Fairly reliable” is the highest level of praise which can be bestowed upon a Kimber. View Quote It has to be freshly cleaned or running a boosted suppressor to be 100%. Even with the suppressor though it'll start FTFing when its dirty. Comparativly my sig, glock and HK run all day long dirty or not. |
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1911’s are fairly reliable. They take a good smith to build them right. If they are not built right, they jam or bust parts.
I have owned and competed with many of them. The only one I never had issues with was a Colt 1991 Commander. |
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had a couple kimbers 12-13 years ago that worked well.
probably wouldnt buy another new one. bought a ruger sr1911 that kept choking on loading a fresh round and had to emery cloth the breech face to get the burrs off. been 100% now. fucking 1911’s..... range toys. |
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Quoted: I would probably call that an “unreliable” firearm. View Quote Lol, thats why I said "fairly" reliable and wouldnt trust my life with it. Its def not the gun I would grab if bad guys were on my heels. But yeah, unreliable. Its a great range gun though. Kimber does make purdy guns. Attached File |
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Has the issues with Kimber ever been diagnosed, or is it they have shitty tolerances?
There are certain specs a 1911 needs to have or the gun never works right. Big one is feed ramp angle being off is a big one but IM no 1911 smith. |
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My two Kimbers have been (almost) flawless.
Kimber 1: had a minor issue. Honestly, forget what it was. Customer service was great. Flawless, since then. (Some sort of racking issue.) About 3-4 thousand rounds. Kimber 2: only has ~1,000 rounds. Flawless. Their accuracy is phenomenal. I had one bad mag (Chip McCormack 10 rounder). It'd stovepipe on the 2nd round, every time. (The other mag just like it was fine.) Otherwise, not a failure of any sort. I understand the hate for the current owner/president of Kimber. I have two great .45s from the company. |
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I own several Kimbers, not a hic-up with any from the get go....
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I own several Kimbers, not a hic-up with any from the get go....
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Quoted: Every 1911 Ive owned stuttered out of the box. Colt, kimber, sig and SA. The 1911 is a unique design. Suppose to be more on the loosey-goosey side than the tight/tuned side most production guns are these days. So yeah, break in required. I wouldnt trust any 1911 till its reliably fired 500 trouble free boolits. The kimber I have now is fairly reliable. Wouldnt bet my life on it though. View Quote Opposite here. I've owned 6 1911's, and two Kimbers. ONLY the Kimbers had issues, and NONE of my guns required any breakin or gave me trouble. Smith, Colt, Springfield all worked out of the box. |
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I’ve owned two reliable full size models in the past FWIW. I think it must be luck of the draw.
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Quoted: I never understood the rumor that 1911s were unreliable until I shot a factory new Kimber today. Cleaned, lubed, & made a quick range trip. Noticed it was tight out of the box. Shot 200 rds Win/Fed FMJ. Chip McCormick/Kimber mags. Probably 7% FTF in the first 100 rds. Maybe two on the second box. I know they say there’s a 400 rd break in period, but holy shit. Is this normal and will it typically improve after 400 rds? I don’t feel like I can trust it right now. View Quote I would never buy a Kimber, much less a 1911 Kimber. I bought a Stainless Springfield 1911 NM, NIB, it has never jammed, ever. From the very first shot, it has run like a top, and even eats stuff a glock 21 won't eat. BTW, I only use Springfield factory mags in it. And gets 1.5" groups at 25 yards with 230gr Gold Dot. Kimber is tarded, you don't need to make a gun too tight to function reliably to get amazing accuracy. No gun should need 400 rounds run through it to get it to cycle "reliably". That's like $1000 worth of ammo, just to see if it will stop jamming. OP got fucked. |
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Quoted: Correct. To be a quality firearm you have to replace not only all of the internal parts, but also the barrel, slide and frame. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: It seems I picked the perfect brand for learning how to work on and maintain a 1911 platform @45-Seventy I think he's only stating that if you want the extra reassurance replace the MIM parts for bullet proof. Not that it needs them to be a quality gun. Correct. To be a quality firearm you have to replace not only all of the internal parts, but also the barrel, slide and frame. Attached File |
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