kimber: pros and cons

[cadillac3240]

Sold my first.. and I miss it! getting another soon..Night and day with the feel, kick, and accuracy against my Glock 23c.. don't get me wrong, I love my Glock as it sleeps with me in my night stand drawer.. but let's hear the peps and cons on the kimbers

[cadillac3240]

*meant to say pros and cons

[Hdawg]

My Ultra Carry II has a great trigger and has never had a failure to feed, fire or eject. Only complaint I have is that for the price, the front strap should be checkered.

[wildhawker]

Pros: great way to spend more money than needed and lighten your wallet. Cons: quality control, trigger...

[DHart]

Kimber has been riding a wave of hype for a good number of years... they know how to create guns with bling and they are masters of hyping it to the hilt. The coolaid has been deeply fermented and poured lavishly throughout the land.

Back in the Clackamas days, they built a fine pistol. Not long after the move to Yonkers, things changed significantly... when you started seeing the "II" designation after the name of the gun... yep, Schwarz safety mechanism and, for a time, external extractors. And an huge emphasis on bling and marketing hype, to the detriment of quality control and reliability. Kimber did a masterful job of creating an allure that is hard (for many) to pass up. They did smashingly well with the weekend recreational shooter with money who wanted something fancy looking and resonated with the fervor of the coolaid crowd.

Sure, plenty of guys have Kimbers that do run well. But I would guess that most of them never put the guns to much hard use. And plenty of Kimbers do not run with solid defense reliability. In fact, 1911's in general, when not tested rigorously under stressful conditions of training and tuned to a fine point, tend to suffer when compared to the best modern defense gun designs.

If you're going to buy a 1911 for fun and weekend kicks at the range, Kimbers are as good as any. Go for it and have fun. They are wonderful pistols for that.

But if you're going to buy a 1911 for a serious defense pistol, first, consider something other than a 1911, OR, buy a more trusted brand, get it totally dialed in by a professional, and learn the detailed ins and outs of tweaking 1911s for utmost reliability.

The 1911 can be a good defense pistol if you have the time and plenty of money to do it right. I think they're best as a range gun, considering some of the other more modern options that are now available for serious defense use. They are truly an enthusiast's gun and have a hard time competing with guns such as Glocks, M&Ps, etc when it comes to utter reliability and certainly in terms of firepower/capacity. I've certainly got more than my share of 1911's, including a number of fine customs. I sure do like them and enjoy shooting them. But they are not what I carry and they are not sitting on my nightstand when I sleep.

For your next 1911, consider perhaps a lightly used Ed Brown or Wilson, perhaps a Nighthawk, a Springfield Pro, or even a basic production Colt.

And keep a few Glocks close at hand, for serious social purposes!

[B Strong]

Kimber has been riding a wave of hype for a good number of years... they know how to create guns with bling and they are masters of hyping it to the hilt. The coolaid has been deeply fermented and poured lavishly throughout the land.

Back in the Clackamas days, they built a fine pistol. Not long after the move to Yonkers, things changed significantly... when you started seeing the "II" designation after the name of the gun... yep, Schwarz safety mechanism and, for a time, external extractors. And an huge emphasis on bling and marketing hype, to the detriment of quality control and reliability. Kimber did a masterful job of creating an allure that is hard (for many) to pass up. They did smashingly well with the weekend recreational shooter with money who wanted something fancy looking and resonated with the fervor of the coolaid crowd.

Sure, plenty of guys have Kimbers that do run well. But I would guess that most of them never put the guns to much hard use. And plenty of Kimbers do not run with solid defense reliability. In fact, 1911's in general, when not tested rigorously under stressful conditions of training and tuned to a fine point, tend to suffer when compared to the best modern defense gun designs.

If you're going to buy a 1911 for fun and weekend kicks at the range, Kimbers are as good as any. Go for it and have fun. They are wonderful pistols for that.

But if you're going to buy a 1911 for a serious defense pistol, first, consider something other than a 1911, OR, buy a more trusted brand, get it totally dialed in by a professional, and learn the detailed ins and outs of tweaking 1911s for utmost reliability.

The 1911 can be a good defense pistol if you have the time and plenty of money to do it right. I think they're best as a range gun, considering some of the other more modern options that are now available for serious defense use. They are truly an enthusiast's gun and have a hard time competing with guns such as Glocks, M&Ps, etc when it comes to utter reliability and certainly in terms of firepower/capacity. I've certainly got more than my share of 1911's, including a number of fine customs. I sure do like them and enjoy shooting them. But they are not what I carry and they are not sitting on my nightstand when I sleep.

For your next 1911, consider perhaps a lightly used Ed Brown or Wilson, perhaps a Nighthawk, a Springfield Pro, or even a basic production Colt.

And keep a few Glocks close at hand, for serious social purposes!

Can't argue with anything you posted. I own a whole raft full of 1911 types from G.I. to full house, including a couple of Kimbers, but my edc is a Glock 35.

[stormvet]

I have carried a CDP-PRO for 10 years, sometimes I will change up and carry a Glock 27. But for the majority of the past 10 years that Kimber has been on my hip. It runs as well as my Glocks but is a better shooter.
I bought it before the ill advised switch to the external extractor and all the negative internet posting started. I have since add two more Kimbers and have been just as happy with them. Allot of the Colt fans really took a dislike to Kimber because they were new to the 1911 world but became the number 1 seller buy a large margin very quickly.
I shoot allot and run my guns hard, most likely allot harder then most people who claim that Kimbers are only good for bench shooting at the range.
I guess my Kimbers did not get the message that they are just glorified range toys, anyways mine work great, thats why one is on my hip and the Glocks, XDm, CZ, FNP etc are in the safe.

[glockman19]

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Kimber pistols. Because they produce more 1911's than any other company there are sure to be more negative stories.

I have had 5 Kimbers...all performed flawlessly except one, that after sending back now resides in my nightstand.

I agree that the external extractor was a complete failure but I have no issues with Swarts Safety and mim parts.

The reason I bought and will continue to buy Kimbers is because they are a great value for what you get.

In a .45ACP I prefer 1911's over Glocks. I prefer Glocks in 9mm and consider both to be "best of breed" in the respective calibers.

[corporateslave]

My Kimber had several out of spec parts. After a bit of work it runs fine now, but I still feel like I can't trust it with my life. Once I have a higher round count (post fixes) I might start to trust it.

All I can say is based on my experience I won't be buying a Kimber again.

[redcliff]

Between my friends and I we own 5 Kimber 1911's. 3 have had to go back to the factory for warranty repair. I no longer buy Kimber pistols. YMMV.

[DArBad]

PROS : Kimbers are pretty, nicely fitted and finished, quality pieces, loaded with features, and offered at prices the average person can afford.

CONS: They captured a big percentage of the 1911 market that is why you hear a disproportionate complaint about them in the internet.

SUGGESTION (to OP): For all the negativity ascribed to the Kimbers, try finding out if the LAPD SWAT, the TACOMA PD - who shoots their pistols in the hundreds if not thousands of rounds have complained about their Kimbers not properly performing, or breaking down due to the MIM components which the naysayers enjoy bringing up.

My Own Experience: I had 4 Colts, and 4 Springfields and compared to those pieces, the Kimber Custom II that I just recently bought from a fellow Calgunner, straight out of the box --- is much better in fit, finish, and function. I've since sold off my 4 Colts, the SAs Ive narrowed down to just 2, and I will buy more Kimbers in the future----money availability permitting.

[Anti-Hero]

External extractors are superior. Which is why John M Browning himself went to the external extractor design in later years. It's also why all the other "super reliable" pistols mentioned above (glocks, M&P, etc.) use external extractors.

It may not be a 1911 purist to have an EE, but it sure makes sense from a functional standpoiint.

[stormvet]

External extractors are superior. Which is why John M Browning himself went to the external extractor design in later years. It's also why all the other "super reliable" pistols mentioned above (glocks, M&P, etc.) use external extractors.

It may not be a 1911 purist to have an EE, but it sure makes sense from a functional standpoiint.

I agree. On any gun (Hi-Power included) except a 1911 style pistol.

[tacticalcity]

I just picked up a gently used Kimber Custom II for at a much lower price than I should have paid for the quality and condition of the gun. So far so good. My only complaint, and this is true of any steel framed 1911, is that it is too heavy to be comfortable during concealed carry. Feels like I am on the verge of being pantsed all day long. If you plan on wearing it on your hip, pony up for the aluminum framed models.

[1911Luvr]

I am not a Kimber fan for the very simple reason of it's firing pin safety design. Aside from that, the rest of the design is like any other 1911 and is fine by me. Of course that is assuming the quality of the build is excellent and to be honest, that is something that has been hit or miss on the different Kimbers I've handled. I pretty much take every 1911 straight to my gunsmith because I like things a certain way. That said if someone gave me a Kimber, I'm sure it'd be a fine shooter after Will had his way with it.