Kimber bashers: I need your honest criticism of the Ultra Raptor II….

[leelaw]

How do get those 5.56's to shoot from that thing?

Stuff two in there. .223 + .223 rounds up to .45, so that should work just fine.

[TonyM]

How do get those 5.56's to shoot from that thing?

Hold my beer and watch this. . .

[Glock-matic]

The raptor is a bit pricey for what you get, that would be my biggest issue with it. I would throw away the mag and get some wilson combat mags for it, the stock mags are welded shut and don't have the best springs. I am not a big fan of the ambi safety on a 3-5 o'clock carry gun, it tends to snag your shirt and print, and getting in and out of vehicles tends to deactivate the safety. My favorite 3" kimbers would be the Ultra CDP and the Ultra Eclipse.

[Corbin Dallas]

V,

Have you actually shot the Raptor? If not, I highly suggest you get some rounds on it if you can before dropping the hammer. The VERY short barrel makes for some wicked muzzle flip.

The raptor is a bit pricey for what you get, that would be my biggest issue with it. I would throw away the mag and get some wilson combat mags for it, the stock mags are welded shut and don't have the best springs. I am not a big fan of the ambi safety on a 3-5 o'clock carry gun, it tends to snag your shirt and print, and getting in and out of vehicles tends to deactivate the safety. My favorite 3" kimbers would be the Ultra CDP and the Ultra Eclipse.

I agree with Glock-matic here, the mags are complete crap from Kimber and the ambi-safety WILL eventually cause an issue.


FWIW, I also considered the "ultra" line of compacts from Kimber and ended up with a Dan Wesson CBOB. The extra round (8+1 v 7+1), slightly longer barrel (4.3 v 3.0) and slightly larger grip was the deciding factor for me. Still conceals VERY nicely and does not print even with a t-shirt.

[mwt1980]

This thread might help.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=44263

[Vinnie]

Hold my beer and watch this. . .

[5ohguy]

I have a Kimber Ultra Carry with the proprietary recoil spring assembly. It has been my most reliable 1911. I'd trust my life to it. Kimber makes good stuff and I wouldn't worry about the design veering from the original 1911 design too much when it comes to reliability.

Now having said that, I don't enjoy spending 40 bucks to replace the assembly and another major downside to the design is the fact that dis-assembly requires a tool. If I need to take down my weapon, I don't want to have to look for a tool. I believe the 3" Raptor uses the same assembly.

Even with the downsides, I still love my Ultra Carry and would buy it again in a heartbeat. The concealability of the gun is great, hasn't had a single hiccup in 1000ish rounds, and its accurate as heck.

If I had the funds, I'd buy a Raptor. Those are damn good looking 1911s made by a reputable American company. How could you go wrong?

[blindluck]

When asked which guns Larry Vickers recommended in a 1911:

He gave the thumbs up on Wilson, NH, Ed Brown, Les Baer and Springfield Custom. Only 5" barrels are recommended and if you had any 1911s with shorter barrels running reliably go buy yourself a lotto ticket .

So, from the guru it's an indirect knock on Kimbers and a direct knock on a short-barreled 1911. In fact, those sentiments are pretty much echoed by other BTDT types that use and service the 1911 platform for those whose lives depend on them. Not surprisingly, the internet is full of anonymous dissenters from that message.

Per post, http://www.m4carbine.net/showpost.ph...3&postcount=25

Also, read http://10-8performance.com/1911_Duty_Use.html

[crowbar1]

Hold my beer and watch this. . .

My side hurts from laughing so hard!!! That was great!!!

[Vinnie]

some good posts.
Thanks for the feedback

... RE Springs: This from the manual:

SPRING REPLACEMENT CHART

Compact & Pro Models:
Recoil Spring: .45 ACP & 40 S&W/22 lbs., .38 Super/18 lbs.
CHANGE EVERY 800 rounds.
Firing Pin Spring: HD, CHANGE EVERY 5000 rounds.
Mainspring: 23 lbs., CHANGE EVERY 5000 rounds.

Ultra Carry Models:
Recoil Spring: 18 lbs., CHANGE EVERY 1800 rounds.
Firing Pin Spring: HD, CHANGE EVERY 5000 rounds.
Mainspring: 23 lbs., CHANGE EVERY 5000 rounds.

http://www.kimberamerica.com/downloads/manuals/Compact.pdf

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From what I can tell, many of the Kimber problems from the past were due to their bad external extractor design, which has now been resolved with the internal extractors...

Here is a short read on it: Kimber Internal vs External Extractor

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Also, I agree the Ambi safety is not a good choice for me for CCW, so would consider workaround, or maybe one of the other models.

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From what I can tell, the Kimber Ultra is both sleek and reliable... but only if you get one that is not a lemon. Seems like the good ones stay good.

[gturner140]

Kimber Ultra CDP - love it and it IS perfect. It tends to be a little flippy and takes some practice to get used to the fast cycle - but once you do it is no big deal. I am a lefty so the ambi safety is needed. I have yet to convert to a lefty mag release, but I have used index for that since I was young.