Kimber 1911 break in question

[Cali_RSV]

CalGunners,

I know it's suggested to break in a Kimber 1911 with 500 rounds of factory rounds but do you guys think it would be ok to break in the gun with Freedom Munitions rounds? I feel they are as good as new and fire really clean. Plus that's typically what I shoot along with BVAC reloads. Both I am very happy with. I can't think of a reason why I shouldn't break in with the ammo I normally use. Thanks in advance!

[MA2]

IMO
As long as the bullets are new
-only if you are experience any malfunction, than switch to factory to eliminate ammo issue in the equation.

okay...

[Bainter1212]

The only thing you have to shoot for the first 500 rds would be FMJs. Shouldn't matter what kind. After 4 or 500 rounds your Kimber will start to reliably feed hollowpoints and whatever else you shoot through it.

[trigger945]

I have no experience with Freedom Munitions... However, I have broken in other 1911's using factory reloads without issues. I have only used FMJ's during break in though.

Use them, but have about 100 rds of Federal AE in case Freedom doesn't work out on your Kimber during break in.

I can tell you though that after break in period is over, my Kimber feeds factory reloads without any issues. I haven't used brand new ammo in a while!

Congrats! It's finally home, eh? You will love that thing!

[Cali_RSV]

Tomorrow it will be here! Pics to follow. I only have about 100 rounds of the FMJ so far. I need to buy more! Thanks for the tip on using strictly FMJ for break in. That helps a lot

[Bainter1212]

Ehhh....that Kimber probably will not feed HPs at all until after break in. Mine didn't. Neither did my EMP. Both factory manuals recommended a break in before feeding HPs. Both were spot on. You can always try tho.....

[Cali_RSV]

Even my M9 didn't feed hollow points perfectly before break in. It would get caught on the barrel load ramp area. I'll make sure I do a proper FMJ break in. Hollow points are expensive for target regardless.

[victor1echo]

Sure. Breaking in not competition. If you have a ff or other misfeeding problem it might be the amunition, and if you use quality factory ammo then the gun may have a problem.

[Cali_RSV]

Misfeed on the M9 was from Federal Premium HST Tactical 9mm. Doubt it was the ammo. I'm sure it was the break in. But this is about what I should do with my 1911 once it gets here. I think I know what I'm going to do now. Thanks everyone!

[Lead Waster]

IMHO "Break in period" or "Break in round count" actually means "Anything that doesn't work during this period/round count is due to break-in mating of the parts and should ignore any malfunctions until this period is over".

ie; it's actually a grace period during which you can't "officially" count the malfunctions against the reliability of the gun.

I don't think that the rounds matter. Unlike a car, the gun, during it's firing cycle will not vary much except maybe powder load, which may differ a bit from maker to maker but all are SAMMI spec'ed. You can't really shoot "low power, then high power, then vary the power" etc, like you'd do with a car engine which has a very large operating range of RPMs/loads, etc.

So basically ... shoot whatever you want out of it and don't start counting "consecutive reliable rounds" until the period (actually round count) is over.

Of from the factory's customer service point of view "Don't call us about any problems until round 501"

[Artema]

The bulk ammo places seem pretty good. American Quality 10mm is better than the crap Remington UMC 10mm, and that would be considered a factory round. I would stick with Freedom's new brass, not their reloads, as mentioned above. Usually close in price.

[DBADRAT]

FMJ for the break in. probably doesn't matter if new factory or your reloads. Got to Love a Kimber.

[Lead Waster]

FMJ for the break in. probably doesn't matter if new factory or your reloads. Got to Love a Kimber.

yeah, for bullet profile/weight, stick with 230gn FMJ so you can tell if any problems arise from using different profiles. For instance, you want to change as few variables as possible while you are going through the grace period.

Stick to one brand, one profile...not because it will "break in" better, but it will help diagnose problems.

Mark your magazines and log problems you encounter, including the magazine number. That way you can tell if a particular magazine is problematic. Maybe even stick to just using the magazine that came with the gun and only try a different magazine AFTER the 500 rounds.

Keep things simple to iron out potential bugs!

[negolien]

No issues as longs as their FMJ and that's just to avoid ftf's. You can break it in with whatever ammo you want to be honest. Break in just helps polish everything up so it's cheaper to do it with cheap ammo.

As a side note my Custom II has had 0 failures in the past two years of running IDPA. I use Herter's, Wolf and Tula only. I did run several brands of JHP's thru her before I found two that would feed 100% of the time. Those were Hornaday Critical Defense and Speer Gold Dots.

[c3 rolling]

From my experience with about seven of my 1911's, if it malfunctions during the so called break in period, you will experience issues even after that. If my pistol malfunctions at any time, I try to figure out whats wrong with it instead of wasting more ammo. Only INCREDIBLY tight 1911's may need a break in.