Kimber Customer Service

[kstrongsyj]

I am curious who has ever had to send a gun back to Kimber, and how well they took care of you?

Long story short, bought a Pro Carry II. Went to the range. Very first shot stovepiped. Over the course of 80 rounds I had 1 stovepipe and 7, yes I said SEVEN failure to loads (either double stacking or simply jamming the round and missing the chamber) So Friday my 1 trip to the range, 80 shot Kimber is off to the factory. I was just curious what experience you have had with Kimber's service.

Needless to say, I am not loking as hard as I was at another Kimber.

[///D]

Have you tried different mags? (Wilson or Chip)

Does your Kimber have an external or internal extractor?

What kind of ammunition are you using? Factory or re-load?

I have several and have not had any of these problems brand new or used. As far as I know, their customer service is not bad as well.

[tango-52]

I have three of the Kimber CDP IIs (Ultra, Compact and Custom). They were all a tight fit, with the Compact being the tightest. After 2000 rounds through the Compact, it is finally broken in. The others took around 500 rounds to break in. Don't use the stock magazines, except at the range. They will fail to feed properly. I use the Wilson Combat and don't have any problems. I find the guns to be very accurate, but they do take breaking in. And they don't like to eat reloads.

[kstrongsyj]

Interesting. I just got it so all I had so far were factory mags. (bought an extra) The bigger concern for me was the slide felt sloppy after my range trip. we grabbed one from the counter and it felt perfect, then went back to mine and it was rough, definitely not the same. We will see what Kimber says.

Have to get some aftermarket mags at the show in 2 weeks!

[glockman19]

It took me around 600 rounds to break in my Raptor II I onlyhave 400 rounds through my Custom II with no problems and only 200 rounds through my Ultra Raptor II wiht no problems.

For more info on Kimber Custom Shop Customer Service chcek out:

http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=21

[Kruzr]

Stovepipes are typically indicative of weak extractor tension. An easy and quick fix.

[1911whore]

get past 400-500 rds to break it in and see if it still does it

[CSACANNONEER]

I've posted my story before. But, here it is again. After conservatively +20K though one of my CDPIIs, most of wich were my reloads using my hardcasts and McCormick mags (I had trouble with Wilson mags) my hammer broke. I put it in the safe and started shooting my other CDPII and my old Custom. Anyway, at SHOT 2006, I talked to Winslow and told him about the broken hammer. He said that he hadn't seen a hammer break in five years. When I got home, I sent it in for repairs. It also had two stripper grip screw bushings and a loose plunger assembly. I did include contact information so that they could bill me when they knew the amount. Well, a few days went by and I hadn't heard from them so, I called. I was told that the repairs were done and it had already been shipped out. No charge. On top of that, they thought the Mepro sights were starting to dim and they replaced them at no cost to me, as well! I guess, I just can't say enough good things about their customer service!

[bear308]

As far as taking care of our range guns, they are awesome. Even when the frames go they have our guns back to us faster than almost anyone else.

[kstrongsyj]

Awesome. I am really glad to hear this. Kinda wishing I hadn't jumped the gun and sent it in so fast. I was just so frustrated at the time....

[GI_JOE]

Kimber only provides a one year warranty for their handguns, but stand behind their products. I've had my Kimber Eclipse for a couple years now and shoot it quite frequently. Just recently, the rear target sight broke. I called them and explained the situation. They told me they don't care how old the gun is, send it in and they'll see what they could do. They replaced the rear sight, the front sight as well since they thought it was becoming dim, and had it back to me within less than a week and a half. No charge, except for the shipping to them. I think Kimber is top notch.

[Stuka]

My mother had to send hers in for an extractor issue, got it back 7 business days later good as new. With that said, the factory mags are junk. After she replaced it a 3rd party mag, it has not had a single jam. With the factory mag, you had to leave a round or two out to prevent it from jamming.

[psriley]

Can't really comment on customer service because I haven't needed it, but my Raptor II works flawlessly with factory ammo and the stock mags. I also have a couple Wilson mags which work flawlessly. Every once in awhile I get a failure to feed with one of my reloads, but upon later inspection, the failed round was always out of spec somehow.

One problem I did have was with the reptile-textured wooden grip. It pretty much split right down the middle during the first range trip, but I didn't notice until I got home. No big deal since I had found a pair of python-skin grips for it that I liked better. I assume Kimber would replace the grips if I asked them.

[MedSpec65]

Since I switched to McCormick mags and 18.5LB recoil springs I've had no failures. I also buff my slide contact points and feed ramp with a crocus cloth during every other cleaning or so. The Kimber mags that came with my Custom II WILL fail. You need to run at least 500 rounds thru it to break it in.

[Franksremote]

They've always taken care of my Kimbers and have demonstrated that they stand behind their products. My last interaction came when the rear blade sheared off mid-stage at a shoot and a quick trip to Kimber resulted in a new rear sight that only took 10 days and $10 in shipping and insurance. Can't beat it when a new sight would've been at least $90.

+1 on break in. Although I haven't had issues during break in with mine, it does take time for stuff to heat up, wear properly and then settle in a new gun. 500 - 1000 rounds usually will do the trick and during that time you don't want to make any changes to the gun. After that, detailed notes about what it is doing and when, etc. will help in the final diagnosis.