Arise!!! Arise, zombie horse and accept your beating. (Kimberrrrrrrrr)

Are Kimbers reliably out of the box on par with say an out of the box Springfield range officer now?

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ForumSurfer

ForumSurfer

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Okay I had a troublesome Kimber. A ProCDP II. The factory mags were trash but it ran fine other than some MIM parts that broke...which Kimber replaced. It also seemed to devour recoil springs with an unholy appetite. I'd be forced to replace them way too soon. Looking back that could have been something else and I wasn't smart enough to diagnose it then....but swapping springs kept her running.

My goodness man that was nearly 10 years ago probably and alot can happen in ten years of manufacturing. Soooooo enough blabbering and on to the question:

1. Is Kimber's reliability out of the box on par with say an out of the box Springfield range officer now?

That's it. Now, unleash the flames. I love some of the Kimber commander sized options with the sort-of-but-not-quite-bobtail-cut. My gut tells me to run away and stick to Colt or Springfield, though. Yeah yeah yeah I can rent one but a box of rounds ain't gonna tell me much long term except it shoots nice.

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I do miss mine, to be honest. Never had a problem with it. And, have several friends that have Kimbers that have been great.

I've only read bad reviews online. But they sell a TON of 1911's so I imagine it's a numbers game. I wouldn't be opposed to owning another. Just not a 1911 guy really.
 
This poll is going awry
 
I have had no Kimbers but plenty of others with no complaints except for a tight 9mm chamber on one Springfield Loaded. I rented a reamer and it fixed that right up.
 
CZfool68 said:
For the price of a Kimber IMO it is worth saving up for a Dan Wesson. I've had them both and the difference is obvious.
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Even my Dan Wesson had daddy issues and I sold it.

In full disclosure, I have not owned a Kimber, as beautiful as I think they are, because of their bad on-line rep.

I've owned Colts, Springfield, Fusion, and Dan Wesson. Of those four, the Springfield gave me no gas and performed as advertised from day one with no issues. The others gave me varying degrees of surprises depending on the model and the caliber (45 and 9).
 
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ForumSurfer said:
This site is clearly ran by a buncha hipsters. I'm sure someone probably spit cafe mocha on their north face vest when they wrote that.
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fieldgrade said:
Even my Dan Wesson had daddy issues and I sold it.

In full disclosure, I have not owned a Kimber, as beautiful as I think they are, because of their bad on-line rep.

I've owned Colt, Springfield, Fusion, and Dan Wesson. Of those four, the Springfield gave me no gas and performed as advertised from day one with no issues. The others gave me varying degrees of surprises depending on the model and the caliber (45 and 9).
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The čaliber seems to be the key. It seems tougher for companies to make reliable 9mm 1911's. All my 45's were about 99.99% perfect. Think I had a FTF in the first mag on a Colt once.
 
CZfool68 said:
The čaliber seems to be the key. It seems tougher for companies to make reliable 9mm 1911's. All my 45's were about 99.99% perfect. Think I had a FTF in the first mag on a Colt once.
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Definitely agree.
 
ForumSurfer said:
Okay I had a troublesome Kimber. A ProCDP II. The factory mags were trash but it ran fine other than some MIM parts that broke...which Kimber replaced. It also seemed to devour recoil springs with an unholy appetite. I'd be forced to replace them way too soon. Looking back that could have been something else and I wasn't smart enough to diagnose it then....but swapping springs kept her running.

My goodness man that was nearly 10 years ago probably and alot can happen in ten years of manufacturing. Soooooo enough blabbering and on to the question:

1. Is Kimber's reliability out of the box on par with say an out of the box Springfield range officer now?

That's it. Now, unleash the flames. I love some of the Kimber commander sized options with the sort-of-but-not-quite-bobtail-cut. My gut tells me to run away and stick to Colt or Springfield, though. Yeah yeah yeah I can rent one but a box of rounds ain't gonna tell me much long term except it shoots nice.

super-carry-pro_1.png
Click to expand...

You have to remember that Kimber sells more 1911s than the next 2 manufacturers in terms of volume combined. By the sheer numbers you are going to see more out of the box defects from Kimber even if their % is the same as other manufacturers. That said I am not a Kimber fan. For what they charge there are better values in 1911s. Guns with less MIM and better fit and finish. If Kimber sold for less they would have more appeal to me. They are pretty but I do not consider them hard use guns. For me basic Colts and Dan Wessons represent better value.
 
CZfool68 said:
The čaliber seems to be the key. It seems tougher for companies to make reliable 9mm 1911's. All my 45's were about 99.99% perfect. Think I had a FTF in the first mag on a Colt once.
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This one has and no issues. I run the factory supplied mags and Tripps.

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Either has this one...

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My only issue with Kimber is they don't work in my hands... All those levers and such get in my way and I screw up with them...

Standing in a booth they run flawlessly though and the old Stainless II I had Ed Brown bobtail and tune up is a thing of beauty...
 
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A friend has 2 of the offiicer's size 45ACPs and they were ammo picky. I would not buy and older being that they are Series 80. I understand that they are making a Series 70 now.
 
KnotRight said:
A friend has 2 of the offiicer's size 45ACPs and they were ammo picky. I would not buy and older being that they are Series 80. I understand that they are making a Series 70 now.
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Kimber never made 80 series pistols. They used a schwartz safety based system on the II pistols. It it my understanding that post 2017 anything that does not have the II designation it a 70 series but I could be wrong on that.
 
KnotRight said:
When I said Series 80 I was referring to the Schwartz safety.
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That is not an 80 series system. The Colt 80 series system is a completely different design than the Colt Schwartz FPS. Colt however was the originator of the Schwartz FPS system.

IIRC the 80 series is trigger activated while the Schwartz system is activated by the grip safety.
 
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fieldgrade said:
Even my Dan Wesson had daddy issues and I sold it.

In full disclosure, I have not owned a Kimber, as beautiful as I think they are, because of their bad on-line rep.

I've owned Colts, Springfield, Fusion, and Dan Wesson. Of those four, the Springfield gave me no gas and performed as advertised from day one with no issues. The others gave me varying degrees of surprises depending on the model and the caliber (45 and 9).
Click to expand...

According to Ed, you liked the Fusion. He talked us into going down for the Fusion/Black Friday event. I am looking forward to trying a few. Of course, I am looking at .45 or .38 special.
 
Miss Lily said:
According to Ed, you liked the Fusion. He talked us into going down for the Fusion/Black Friday event. I am looking forward to trying a few. Of course, I am looking at .45 or .38 special.
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Fusion is Bob Serva who brought Dan Wesson back from the dead, turned them into a 1911 builder and sold it to CZ. Fusion guns have been hit or miss much like early DWs. Over the past 2 years they have gotten better but early on Fusions were a 50/50 proposition.
 
Miss Lily said:
According to Ed, you liked the Fusion. He talked us into going down for the Fusion/Black Friday event. I am looking forward to trying a few. Of course, I am looking at .45 or .38 special.
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I souped up a Freedom series Fusion Reaction, and it is my primary IDPA match blaster when I shoot 9mm. There is a lot to like about it. I sent you a PM. I had to swap extractors early on, but that was a $35 fix, and I expect I could have sent it to them and had them replace it, but being a DIY guy, and wanting to change it to a particular Wilson part I did it myself.
 
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My first pistol purchase was a pro carry II. Took my ccw class with it. Carried it for a few years. Super accurate. But... it went back to Kimber three times for slide finish issues. As in the finish would flake off in thumb nail size pieces. It finally stopped that after lucky number three. Then I found the slide was slowly eating the aluminum grip frame. Back again, it went...

I then promptly sold it at a loss. Super pretty, super accurate but the weird issues mean I won’t have another.

But I have been craving a 1911 again ever since. Unless it’s in perfect shape under $500, it won’t be a Kimber:/
 
Arise, zombie horse?
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I only have one Kimber, an old Combat Carry model, that hasn't hiccuped since I bought it. It shoots great and eats all the reloads I can feed it.
 
Yeah I'm just going to go with my original choices of either a lightweight colt commander or lightweight champion operator (I regret selling that one, it felt so just right in weight and proportion despite looking like a pig).
 
ForumSurfer said:
Yeah I'm just going to go with my original choices of either a lightweight colt commander or lightweight champion operator (I regret selling that one, it felt so just right in weight and proportion despite looking like a pig).
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I would take a hard look at a DW Vigil CCO or Commander. They can still be had in 45 ACP for under $1000.

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ForumSurfer said:
Okay I had a troublesome Kimber. A ProCDP II. The factory mags were trash but it ran fine other than some MIM parts that broke...which Kimber replaced. It also seemed to devour recoil springs with an unholy appetite. I'd be forced to replace them way too soon. Looking back that could have been something else and I wasn't smart enough to diagnose it then....but swapping springs kept her running.

My goodness man that was nearly 10 years ago probably and alot can happen in ten years of manufacturing. Soooooo enough blabbering and on to the question:

1. Is Kimber's reliability out of the box on par with say an out of the box Springfield range officer now?

That's it. Now, unleash the flames. I love some of the Kimber commander sized options with the sort-of-but-not-quite-bobtail-cut. My gut tells me to run away and stick to Colt or Springfield, though. Yeah yeah yeah I can rent one but a box of rounds ain't gonna tell me much long term except it shoots nice.

super-carry-pro_1.png
Click to expand...


I'm just glad @ForumSurfer is back. Have missed your posts, brother.
 
wvsig said:
I would take a hard look at a DW Vigil CCO or Commander. They can still be had in 45 ACP for under $1000.

17z_DW-Vigil-CCO-Left.png
Click to expand...

I appreciate that heads up. I havn't shot a compact in years. My hands are bigger and older and hurt more now so I need to go rent one. The local range always has a compact colt or springer
 
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