How do you like your Kimber???

[Guest johnmattwill]

My birthday is fastly approaching, and I have been saving up for a 1911. I really like the looks etc of the Kimber, but have never shot one... The only experience I have with them is drooling up at GB.... Ive been looking at the Pro Tactical II and the Stainless Ultra Carry II.

I have heard that Kimber has had some FTE problems due to the extractor, switching from an internal to an external?? But I dont know if that is true.... or which style extractor was better....

So, my question is How do you like your Kimber? Reliable? FTE and FTF? Would you trust it enough to make it your Carry gun? Which model and which extractor do you have?

Thanks in advance for all your input, I find that personal experiences are far more reliable than any other source.....

[Punisher84]

I have a Stainless Pro Carry II and here is my advice from dealing with 1911s and Kimber the past few years. Stay away from a 3" and an external extractor.

3" 1911s tend to not be as reliable as 4" and above. It tends to be issues with the recoil spring and guide rod mainly, in my experiences.

The external extractors just plain suck and they break constantly. Kimber makes a good gun, but they have had some quality control issues lately. I would look at a 4" with a internal extractor and decide what fit and finish you want from there.

Rock Island Armory is a brand that has been picking up alot of steam lately as well. Cheap, but very reliable. Springfield Armory also makes a fine 1911.

[Guest cjr]

I have a Pro Covert II the 2 tone with digital camo Crimson Trace grips.

I have never had a problem at all,no break in period,ejecting problem and eats what ever I feed it.

Permit has not made it here yet so,I cant make a suggestion for carry.As far as trust goes,I would not have to think twice about the reliability.

[StumpyBeagle]

I have a CDP II Pro that I carry everyday. I have fired around 4 to 5 hundred rounds through it with some of the crappiest ammo found on the planet and have had no issues what so ever. Its extremely comfortable to wear IWB and its very accurate.

[Ropin4gold]

I have a Kimber TLE II RL that has 500 flawless rounds through it. I would look around the boards, there are some good deals to be had.

[Guest HexHead]

I've had two Kimbers, a Stainless Pro Carry II which was my carry gun and a Royal II which I still have. Both were 99.996 flawless throughout the break in period. Just took the Royal to the range yesterday in fact and again it was flawless.

I would definitely recommend the Pro size though over the Ultra. The Ultra's do have a reputation for being more finicky with the shorter action.

If you want to split the difference, their compact model has the 4" slide of the Pro on the smaller Officer size frame from the Ultra.

[BigPoppa]

Totally unscientific results, but...........every shooting school that I have ever taken with a student using a Kimber, their guns were ALWAYS

jam-o-matics.

Could have been the shooters each time, I dunno.

YMMV

[SpacemanSpiff]

Never a problem with my Kimber. At least 2000 rounds through it.

Well actually, the only problem that I had was removing the grip and the grip screw bushing came off.

[Guest Crunchman]

I have a CDP II Ultra compact, my son has the 5 inch Raptor. Probably 3k + rounds through both. I had 2 FTE's on my 1st and 2nd mags, no problems since. My son has never had a problem with his. We shoot handloads, round nose (ball), hollow points, and lead SWC's...the Kimbers digest all of them. I carry the CDP everyday and have no qualms about trusting my life to it.

[Fadex]

I have an Eclipse ProII. It has never had a problem firing or ejecting anything. The only FTE I have ever had with it was due to a crappy Promag magazine that I bought. Once I went back to the factory magazine it cycled perfectly.

[Guest jwp]

The internal extractor models are just fine.

If I were to buy another one I would swap out the plastic main spring housing for a steel one and possibly change out the thumb safety as well. Other than that they are just about as good as you can get "off the shelf".

[Guest bheard]

jwp

Why would you change the main spring housing?

BH

[Guest VolGrad]

Which one? (joke ... meaning I liked mine so much I bought another one)

I have a Custom II which I put the same NS on as the TLE has, all it is missing is the checkering. I also have a Pro TLE/RL II. Both have internal extractors and were produced in 2008.

I love these things. They have been fantastic so far. I am confident enough with their reliability to carry them. The accuracy is incredible. I shoot them noticeably better than anything else I have ever shot. I am certain it is the 1911 platform more than the brand though.

I prefer the heavier models though over the ones with the lightweight frame, just personal preference though. They feel and balance better to me and soak up recoil a bit more.

I am a bit leery of going to an Ultra based on a lot of reading too but if I believed everything I read I wouldn't have purchased a Kimber in the first place so take that with a grain of salt.

I think it speaks highly of Kimber for JWP to make that comment. He has some really nice custom 1911s with his own brand name on it sitting in his counter - CCA. For him to say the Kimbers are worthy is notable IMO.

[bvarnell]

I have an Ultra CDP II & a SIS 5", never a problem either and I carry the Ultra when I'm not not carrying a 2" J frame S&W.

If I can find a 4" Pro Raptor, SIS, or CDP at a good price, I'll let you know how I like it.

[EMTRN]

As some have mentioned, the internal extractor models are great. Mine is a 5 in and has no problems. Don't use cheap mags. The wilson's and the kimber tac mags have served me well, the mags that come with the gun are crap.

[MikeW]

I like my Kimber's.. I have two pre-series II Kimbers and have added a Grand Raptor II (internal extractor)to the mix recently.

My two Compact (Compact Custom & Compact Aluminum) are both Great shooters for 4-inch barreled guns. They will feed about any ammo and I have never had any issues out of either of them. They are accurate as I can shoot and a great carry size firearm. However, I do change out the recoil springs (Wolff XP for 4-inch) every 800 rounds or so in the 4-inch guns just in case.

I hope to shoot the Raptor II soon to see if the Gen II gun will act the same as my other two. I know that they all have MIM parts in them but that is "ok" for now. I have only ever had one MIM part fail and that was in a Colt gun. I do hope to get an Ed Brown Kobra Carry soon... but I want to see what Phillip at Goodlettsville gun shop can do on a custom .45 first. My next .45 will not have MIM parts so that leaves Wilson, Ed Brown, Nighthawk, and a few other custom builders in the running.

[Punisher84]

Never a problem with my Kimber. At least 2000 rounds through it.

Well actually, the only problem that I had was removing the grip and the grip screw bushing came off.

I did have that problem on the alloy frames. I used loc-tite.

[Guest TnDeerHunter]

Never had a problem out of any of my Kimber's they seem to digest what ever I feed them.

[Guest Todd@CIS]

I've owned 4 (two 4" 45s, 5" 45, and a 5" 9mm).

All were 100% reliable except when using Wilson 8 round mags with the 45s.

With Kimbers, I'd try and stick with Series 1 guns. Quality seemed to be a little better. Series 2s seem to be more "hit or miss" from what I've seen.

[Guest Todd@CIS]

jwp

Why would you change the main spring housing?

BH

Because they're plastic.

[Guest bheard]

Is it weak plastic? Do they give trouble? I have run about 4000 rounds through mine with no problem.

BH

[Guest Todd@CIS]

Is it weak plastic? Do they give trouble? I have run about 4000 rounds through mine with no problem.

BH

I have heard of them breaking, but I've never had trouble with them (never kept them long enough, though).

I think it's a "piece of mind" thing, plus a plastic MSH on a 1911 is just plain cheesy.

[Guest bheard]

Thanks Todd. When mine breaks I will replace it with steel.

BH