Kimbers: Why So Much Hate?

[DArBad]

It's not hate, they are actual examples of shoddy workmanship and bad CS. You can love kimbers if you want, nobody is stopping you.

What makes you think I " LOVE " Kimber?? I've had Colts and Springfields and those brands have their own issues as well, serious issues yet they don't get as much airtime(thrash-time) here as much as Kimber does.

[bombadillo]

My 3 1911's have been flawless. A '43 Ithaca, a 1974 Colt 70's series full house custom, and a Dan Wesson PM7, and all have been perfect. The Kimbers I've shot have all had issues of one thing or another. Their marketing with NRA, sponsorship of NRA, and other ads are what keeps them in business.

[gotshotgun?]

I really hate their rusty barrels. I went looking and saw a cabinet full of Kimbers in a gun shop all with rusty barrels... no thanks.

[DArBad]

My 3 1911's have been flawless. A '43 Ithaca, a 1974 Colt 70's series full house custom, and a Dan Wesson PM7, and all have been perfect. The Kimbers I've shot have all had issues of one thing or another. Their marketing with NRA, sponsorship of NRA, and other ads are what keeps them in business.

Understand your experience, bombadillo.

Now let me tell you mine. I had 4 Colts (3 1991s, 1 Double Eagle); 4 Springfields (1 Mil-Spec, 1 GI, 1 Standard, 1 SS Loaded).----They ALL started with FTEs/FTF issues. Poor fitting of parts, etc. etc. I learned to fix 1911s because of those 8.

Lately I bought 2 Kimbers, both were flawless. Excellent in fit, finish, and function out of the box.

All production 1911s can have issues since they are nothing but man-made products. What grinds my gears are the incessant, rude, ridiculous remarks we keep reading here inf the forum, most especially as pertains to Kimber.

I don't LOVE Kimbers, I tell things based on experience. Now, you said, Kimber is in business because of sponsorship. That is a far fetch assumption on your part. The 1911 world is a fiercely competitive field. No amount of marketing will allow a company to survive long IF it fields nothing but mediocre/poor product.

That Kimber survived and thrived for so long only means, they are doing right things. They are not perfect, and there are lemons. BUT to continually spout hate is just not right. And RUDE, uncivilized remarks more so.

[FLAWLS1]

There are just too many other options for people to put up with Kimber, bottom line. In every price range, a better option can be had, whether it be from DW, SA or even Sig. Kimber is bottom of the barrel. They weren't always, and they may not be forever.. but the bottom line is people don't see the need to take the risk with Kimber when there are other options available. For specifics, see any of the 100 trillion hate threads of which this topic originated from.

Hey, we have a Parrot in the thread. Kimber is the bottom of the barrel now?

[fullspeed1]

After shooting an 80 series Colt, I was convinced that my old Custom II was more refined in terms of fit and finish. With a much better feel in the hand, way better trigger, sights, beavertail, hammer and overall package. The Colt was a rattle can with a sloppy trigger and horrible machining. The Colt shot just fine, but for that price tag, it left a lot to be desired.

[sholling]

For all the Kimber hate in this thread, fact remains that Kimber is the biggest seller for production grade 1911 for several years now, over 80,000 units IIRC.

So, fume in the mouth, spit all the negativity, but Kimber will not sell if they are not good. Its as simple as that.

I'd think that they would read things like this and improve on it ASAP. These posts are terrible for their business. They should take notice since everyone looks up reviews before buying now a days.

They sell all the 1911s that they can make so there is no incentive to improve quality, engineering, or customer service. As long as there are Kimber fanboys telling newbies that don't know any better to buy a Kimber - Kimber will keep selling all they can make. And why not it's a marketing-driven* company with pretty products and eye catching ads and those things sell people who don't know any better. Basically they are getting by on looks and a reputation that they created in the 90s and coasting comfortably.

*Companies are usually classified as marketing driven, engineering driven, production driven, or finance driven based upon their priorities. A marketing driven company will put most of their efforts into putting out lots of pretty products as fast as possible and selling them based on looks and advertizing. An engineering driven company will usually be slower to market with new products because they want to get their products right every time. A production driven company will often want to ease manufacturing headaches by reducing the number of product variations. A finance driven company will usually drive profits by cutting marketing, engineering, and production costs including quality assurance.

Wow, only a 1 year warranty? Might as well buy a Ruger or Springfield

Springfield Armory warranties their 1911s for the life of the original purchaser. Ruger does not include a written warranty but has a reputation for standing behind their products in the rare case of one not working.

All,
Let's get something straight it's not "hate" that keeps many of us from recommending Kimbers - it's awareness of the responsibility each of us takes on when we recommend a product to newbies. Newbies look to us for knowledge based recommendations not pompom waving cheerleading based on little more than brand loyalty or in extreme cases pure fanboyism. They're flipping beautiful weapons and I'd love to recommend Kimbers more often but I'd like them to improve their Swartz safety and warranty first and I think that's a reasonable condition.

[skyscraper]

They sell all the 1911s that they can make so there is no incentive to improve quality, engineering, or customer service. .

That's pretty much what it all boils down to. The end result is more $$$, and thats all that matters with the new kimbers.

[Striker]

For all the Kimber hate in this thread, fact remains that Kimber is the biggest seller for production grade 1911 for several years now, over 80,000 units IIRC.

So, fume in the mouth, spit all the negativity, but Kimber will not sell if they are not good. Its as simple as that.

Under your analogy, High Point is a great gun as well, which it is not. Sales figures don't tell the entire story. Kimber makes a $700.00 1911. I don't even need to see their sales figures to know that most of their sales come at the low end, because that's the case with every manufacturer. Wilson Combat's low end is $2500.00. How many people spend that much on any gun? Not many. So saying it's a good gun because they sell a lot of them is a flawed analogy.

[Cuda440]

This is the only gun forum I read, and based on the threads here, guns going back to Springfield seem to outnumber guns going back to Kimber 10:1. Everybody just shrugs it off and says "Springfield has great CS, the fixed mine fast" and "they fixed all three of mine, they even fixed one twice and it didn't cost me a penny"

The really annoying thing that causes threads like this, is all of the Springer fans bashing Kimber every chance they get. There hasn't been a thread in the last 2 years asking about a Kimber that hasn't gotten multiple "get a Springfiled instead" posts.

I dont see people bashing Springfield in every thread, saying "get a Kimber, Colt, sig, S&W etc." when it's obvious that Springfield has its own quality control issues.

Simple fact is, that people just love to troll on Kimber threads. It's like a ford vs chevy or Glock vs XD thing, only some springfield fans post the same thing in every kimber thread ever started.

If you dont like Kimber, dont buy one. But dont act like its your civic duty to tell everyone you meet that they're crap because your friend rented one that didn't work reliably.

[DArBad]

Under your analogy, High Point is a great gun as well, which it is not. Sales figures don't tell the entire story. Kimber makes a $700.00 1911. I don't even need to see their sales figures to know that most of their sales come at the low end, because that's the case with every manufacturer. Wilson Combat's low end is $2500.00. How many people spend that much on any gun? Not many. So saying it's a good gun because they sell a lot of them is a flawed analogy.

So let me re-phrase it then.

If Kimbers were bad, horrendously subpar in quality across the board, they won't sell.

But they do sell, so Kimbers are NOT bad, horrendously subpar in quality across the board.

[skyscraper]

This is the only gun forum I read, and based on the threads here, guns going back to Springfield seem to outnumber guns going back to Kimber 10:1. Everybody just shrugs it off and says "Springfield has great CS, the fixed mine fast" and "they fixed all three of mine, they even fixed one twice and it didn't cost me a penny"

The really annoying thing that causes threads like this, is all of the Springer fans bashing Kimber every chance they get. There hasn't been a thread in the last 2 years asking about a Kimber that hasn't gotten multiple "get a Springfiled instead" posts.

I dont see people bashing Springfield in every thread, saying "get a Kimber, Colt, sig, S&W etc." when it's obvious that Springfield has its own quality control issues.

Simple fact is, that people just love to troll on Kimber threads. It's like a ford vs chevy or Glock vs XD thing, only some springfield fans post the same thing in every kimber thread ever started.

If you dont like Kimber, dont buy one. But dont act like its your civic duty to tell everyone you meet that they're crap because your friend rented one that didn't work reliably.

If YOU dont like the negative reviews, close the thread. This guy started a thread asking why Kimber has a bad rap. People, like myself, have owned kimbers that were junk. I didnt promote springfield or any other manufacturer once. Just giving an informed opinion.

[Cuda440]

If YOU dont like the negative reviews, close the thread. This guy started a thread asking why Kimber has a bad rap. People, like myself, have owned kimbers that were junk. I didnt promote springfield or any other manufacturer once. Just giving an informed opinion.

I'm not talking about this thread, obviously this is a "let it all out" thread.

The annoying threads always start something like "I've narrowed my choice down to two models- the Raptor and the CDP. What do you think is best for HD and range?" and end with a bunch of get a Springfield posts and kimber bashing posts. If they specifically ask about two kimbers, replying with niether- get a Springfield is trolling IMO.

[Garyson1311]

I have a Eclipse Custom Target II. Im the second owner and have personally shot at least 1500+ rounds through it and have not had a single jam, ever. I do keep it clean though. Say what you want about Kimber but I love mine.

[TripleThreat]

I think that it's worth noting Kimber covers thier guns for life when it comes to manufactured defects. Not exactly sure what that means but it seems some issues are covered for life.

Triple