Kimber Ultra Carry ii .45

[Cagunazrod]

I'll be picking one up in a week.
Really stoked that I was able to get the stainless version.
Looking forward to breaking it in and putting it on my CCW.
I'll pick up a couple Wilson Combat mags, and change-out the sights to night sights etc. , might change-out the grips, or not . . . I'll see how I like them first.
Anyone else running an 'Ultra Carry ii'?

BTW . . . 'The Gun Stock' in Fullerton has been great to work with . . . It's a small new gun store for those who may be interested.
FYI, they had a pretty good selection when I was in there.
No affiliation BTW.

[tacticalcity]

Looking forward to seeing the pics.

I picked one of these up a long time ago. Really liked it. Never should have sold it. I made some small modifications.

1. Put VZ Grips on it. Tried a bunch of differnt models. Most were too rough for my hands. Found a set that worked great. Wish I could remember the cut name.

2. Put Ameriglo Night Sights on it. There were pretty difficult to install. But worked great.

3. Put a Magwell Mainspring Housing on it. Was easy to install and worked and looked great.

4. I put a precut rubber grip tape on the front of the grip to make it "grippy".

5. I put a Wilson Combat Ambi-Safety on it. It was functional but not great. Would not do that mod again.

Some Quirks Worth Mentioning:

1. I had trouble with the Wilson Combat Magazines, despite being pictured below. The curved follower didn't work well with mine. Brand that worked best for me were Chip McCormick CMC magazines.

2, The extractor needs to occassionally be bent back into shape for extraction to work right. There are youtube videos on how to do it. So when stuff stops ejecting properly, do that procedure. It's not a big deal at all. And happens on all 1911s with this old school extractor design.

3, If you are new to 1911s they are a bitch to breakdown and clean, as well as get put back together. Look up videos on "idiot marks" and how to prevent them. My Kimber came with a bunch of them since I got it used. My current 1911 has none. They make a tool to help break them down. Get one. They are great.

KIMBER by Tactical City, on Flickr

[GraveTPO]

I was looking at one of these at the local Sportsman's Warehouse and, I'll be doggoned, I could not operate the slide release! Maybe my old hands simply weren't up to the task but after that little bit of humiliation, I went straight home and verified that I could easily operate the slide releases on my own 1911s.

[tacticalcity]

I was looking at one of these at the local Sportsman's Warehouse and, I'll be doggoned, I could not operate the slide release! Maybe my old hands simply weren't up to the task but after that little bit of humiliation, I went straight home and verified that I could easily operate the slide releases on my own 1911s.

Maybe a quirk with that particular one? Seemed the same to me as on my Sig 1911. Of course, I don't have mine any more so I can't pull them out of the safe and verify that. For the moment my only 1911 is my Sig TTT.

[GraveTPO]

Maybe a quirk with that particular one?

Probably. I sure would like to think so!

[Cagunazrod]

Looking forward to seeing the pics.

I picked one of these up a long time ago. Really liked it. Never should have sold it. I made some small modifications.

1. Put VZ Grips on it. Tried a bunch of differnt models. Most were too rough for my hands. Found a set that worked great. Wish I could remember the cut name.

2. Put Ameriglo Night Sights on it. There were pretty difficult to install. But worked great.

3. Put a Magwell Mainspring Housing on it. Was easy to install and worked and looked great.

4. I put a precut rubber grip tape on the front of the grip to make it "grippy".

5. I put a Wilson Combat Ambi-Safety on it. It was functional but not great. Would not do that mod again.

Some Quirks Worth Mentioning:

1. I had trouble with the Wilson Combat Magazines, despite being pictured below. The curved follower didn't work well with mine. Brand that worked best for me were Chip McCormick CMC magazines.

2, The extractor needs to occassionally be bent back into shape for extraction to work right. There are youtube videos on how to do it. So when stuff stops ejecting properly, do that procedure. It's not a big deal at all. And happens on all 1911s with this old school extractor design.

3, If you are new to 1911s they are a bitch to breakdown and clean, as well as get put back together. Look up videos on "idiot marks" and how to prevent them. My Kimber came with a bunch of them since I got it used. My current 1911 has none. They make a tool to help break them down. Get one. They are great.

KIMBER by Tactical City, on Flickr

Thanks for the heads up.
I had heard the CMC mags run friendly with the Kimbers, good to know. I've also heard those sights can be a pain to install as well. I am pretty familiar with the 1911 platform, my Dad has a couple old Colts. I have a little Sig P238HD (and other DA/SA Sigs), but this will be my 1st 'Almost a Real' 1911. I really like the size and fit for my hand of the Ultra Carry.

[tacticalcity]

I so read the title wrong. I thought you were saying you bought the full size Kimber Carry II. Hopefully my comments are still helpful/apply. As far as I know it's the same gun shrunken down.

I get tempted to add a Kimber Ultra Carry to the collection all the time. Great price on a concealed carry friendly 1911. And from my experience with the full size version I know it would be a great gun. Currently I have a couple Glock 26s that fill that role in my collection. As much as I love the 1911, I am a Glock guy at heart.

[pzbike]

[keith1911]

This is my Kimber Ultra Carry II. Only thing I did was change the sights and grips. Never had any issues with it and it feeds anything I've put though it.

[Cagunazrod]

Thanks for the heads up. Seems to a be a re-occuring theme I've discovered. I'm a little surprised your Eclipse had difficulties since it's a high-end model. The Ultra Carry is kind of their entry level model . . . we'll see how she does.

[pzbike]

[tacticalcity]

This is my Kimber Ultra Carry II. Only thing I did was change the sights and grips. Never had any issues with it and it feeds anything I've put though it.

Almost the same series VZ Grips I went with.

ETC (yours)

https://vzgrips.com/products/1911-vz-etc-full-size-grips.html

ETC Frag (mine)

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=25557968&posted=1

On my Sig 1911 I went with plastic grips with a similar (identical) look to the more aggressive ALIEN design from VZ Grips. They're made by a company called SkinGripz that I don't think is around anymore. Since they are plastic they are a little easier on the skin and wallet. But I think their identical designs to VZ Grips probably got them into trouble.

[newbutold]

Nice handgun. The Kimber mags work fine too.

[stevec223]

[stormvet]

Congrats on the new Ultra 1911, the 3” short fame 1911s are usually a love/hate gun when it comes to 1911 shooters. From my experience with them it really depends on the individual gun you happen to get, because of their compacted size there is much more probability of getting a gun that doesn’t run right. But if you do get one that runs great you’ll be amazed how such a small 1911 shoots so darn well, they are very accurate and easy to put multiple rounds on target.

I’ve owned three different ones in my life, a Para that was a train wreck. Could never get it to run halfway decent. A Colt that was so-so, ran well enough but still would have an occasional hick-up and a Kimber CDP that was by far the best of the lot. That gun just ran great with any type of ammo and would give my full size 1911s a run for their money accuracy wise. I ended up moving away from the platform as I could carry a commander sized 1911 just as easily as a officer size gun. But really do miss that ultra CDP, sorry I sold it.