Is this normal wear? (1911)

[LostCoast11]

I've had my Kimber for about a year now, and while cleaning it earlier today I noticed that there were what look like odd imperfections on the inside of the barrel (please forgive me if there is a better term to use). This is my first 1911 so I'm not sure if this is just me being paranoid, but it doesn't seem normal to me. Also, on the slide, there is a point on the bottom of it that sticks out a slight amount (enough where when I clean it, sometimes the cleaning cloth I use catches the side of it). For some background, I've taken it to the range probably 5 or 6 times and put 900-1k rounds through it. I've always used factory ammo, and the vast majority of the rounds shot were Winchester white box (230gr FMJ).

As Kimbers come with a one year warrenty, and my one year is coming up pretty soon, I wanted to see what you guys think... is this just normal wear of the pistol, or is it defective and should be sent back to Kimber? My apologies that some of the pictures are a little blurry, I was having some trouble with the focus on a couple of them.

Any help or feedback on this would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

[reagan8]

That definitely doesn't look normal to me. My Kimber Custom II has several thousand rounds through it and doesn't have any wear that looks like yours. I shoot factory ammo exclusively, and it's usually 230 gr round nose (often WWB).

[Marquand]

I have a prewar Colt 1911A1, a Springfield Armory 1911A1, and a Nighthawk GRP with varied amounts of rounds through their original barrels and none of them have the type or amount of barrel damage shown in your pics.

I'd contact Kimber about some warranty service if I were you.

[trigger945]

Sorry OP but I cannot see what you were referring to on the slide. What part of the slide is in question (what angle did you take the picture from)? I can't picture it in my head. Maybe it's me.

I agree that the barrel does not look the best but I am not sure if it affects performance. Maybe worth looking into or maybe not a big deal. It does not look too concerning to me, though.

Hopefully the more seasoned 1911 gurus can chime in soon. In the meantime, maybe take better pictures so people can help diagnose and advise.

[kengotit]

I hope kimber will take care of you. I heard too many nightmare stories about
kimbers customer service

[R.Mac]

I wouldn't think it's wear.Are you sure it hasn't always been like that?
It looks like the transition from ramp to chamber is not fully cut/polished. If the gun cycles fine, I wouldn't worry about it. Probably better to have this than a cartridge that's not fully supported, the condition that a barrel can be in if ramp is pushed too far forward. You can always get after it with a polishing attachment on a Dremel AS LONG AS YOU DON'T REMOVE ANY MORE MATERIAL! Just sort of smooth the corners of ramp and transition point @ chamber. Go for it Boyo!

[LovingTheYear1911]

Barrel doesn't look normal. Ive never seen that in any of my 1911s including kimber.

As for the slide I cant tell what your referring to.

[Twistedsteel]

I wouldn't think it's wear.Are you sure it hasn't always been like that?
It looks like the transition from ramp to chamber is not fully cut/polished. If the gun cycles fine, I wouldn't worry about it.

This ^

[Syds Grandpa]

A Kimber! I'm shocked. Look at the availability of every quality 1911 right now and compare that to Kimbers. They sold their sole.

[LostCoast11]

Sorry OP but I cannot see what you were referring to on the slide. What part of the slide is in question (what angle did you take the picture from)? I can't picture it in my head. Maybe it's me.

I agree that the barrel does not look the best but I am not sure if it affects performance. Maybe worth looking into or maybe not a big deal. It does not look too concerning to me, though.

Hopefully the more seasoned 1911 gurus can chime in soon. In the meantime, maybe take better pictures so people can help diagnose and advise.

Yea sorry about those... I cropped in a bit to make it more visible. Here are the original pictures of the slide which hopefully give a better prespective of the location on the slide.

I think I will try my hand with Kimber customer service... this gun is from their Custom Shop so hopefully they are somewhat more receptive.

Thanks everyone for the help, I appreciate all your insight.

I wouldn't think it's wear.Are you sure it hasn't always been like that?
It looks like the transition from ramp to chamber is not fully cut/polished. If the gun cycles fine, I wouldn't worry about it. Probably better to have this than a cartridge that's not fully supported, the condition that a barrel can be in if ramp is pushed too far forward. You can always get after it with a polishing attachment on a Dremel AS LONG AS YOU DON'T REMOVE ANY MORE MATERIAL! Just sort of smooth the corners of ramp and transition point @ chamber. Go for it Boyo!

I am not sure, it very well could have always been like that... I just noticed it though. As far as functioning, the gun has had some FTE issues (one in every hundred or so rounds on average).

[LostCoast11]

Pictures attached.

[trigger945]

I think calling Kimber Customer Service is a good plan. I highly encourage it so you can have peace of mind.

For what it's worth, I took my Kimber apart and took a few pics of the inner slide similar to how you took yours, as well as the barrel (chamber side).

Please see below:









I still can't tell if there are any issues with your slide. I can see how cloth/swab/cotton can get caught in the area because of the sharp edges. I did not take apart my other non-Kimber 1911's to compare but my Kimber (also from the Custom Shop) has had no issues since I got it. It has over 3,000 rounds (FMJ and HP combined).

Now in regards to the barrel, see last pic and compare to yours. Yours may have some wear that I don't see on mine. Maybe worthwhile to show your pics and my pics to Kimber CS so they can advise.

I have had only one interaction with Kimber CS - that was to have a warranty claim on my night sights. It was a wonderful and expense-free experience. Very quick turnaround, too.

See for yourself and report back to us on the issue (or non-issue) and your experience with Kimber's CS.

Good luck!

[redcliff]

It's really hard to tell anything with my old eyes looking at those small pictures. Probably best to let Kimber look at it for sure.

If I were to speculate either the barrel had a defect that caused a chip to depart or it was damaged during machining of the feed ramp. The slide burr may have been caused by the barrel chip's departure or possibly the ejector has some issue causing it to rub against the slide. Again, pure speculation though and probably wrong.

[Inkman]

The barrel 1 pic simply looks like it wasn't machined out perfectly but i certainly don't see any issue if you have put 1K rds thru it. It is not wear and tear and i wouldn't worry about it.

Can't tell from the pics what you are talking about on the slide, even when i expanded em.

Al

[JTROKS]

Is that peening on the barrel's throat? It seems a bit high and odd for the extractor hit, but you said its been fine for 1k rounds now.


I'll post pics of same area of my Kimber later.