Kimber is worse than crack

[dunndw]

dang it

I went out to Guns and Leather Friday to shoot out of the NRA basic pistol training with Len. Like any good gun nut, I got there early to drool over the counters. I ran up on a used 4 inch Kimber Pro CDP. It looked pretty rough though. I had some misgivings about it. After shooting with Len, I went back out and looked at it again and left it there. There's probably nothing wrong with it, but I didn't get the "mojo" from it...but I did get the itch:D

Franklin Gun Shop had a new Pro CDP in the case, and I had a Glock 30 that needed new night sights and springs...so...I now only have 1 Glock 19...and 3 Kimbers :-) The Pro CDP "melt" job is sweet. Now If I can free up a day next week to go shooting I'll be REALLY happy. G&L wanted 850 for the used piece, the new one was 1150. The Glock brought in around 450. With tax and background I paid 800, which is what they wanted for the used one.

[The Rabbi]

They are nice-looking guns. I was almost seduced into buying one myself. I've shot a couple and they are the nicest 1911s I've shot, and that includes a Les Baer gazillion-dollar model.

But then I remember that at IDPA I have seen more Kimbers malfunction and break in ways $800 guns just shouldn't do.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

Nice piece there.

[Guest BigBoostDSM]

Nice piece, a Kimber is on my "to buy" list...but then again, what isn't

[Guest triggertime]

Wow....

[Guest Len]

Well, obviously I was at G&L with Dunndw and also showed remarkable restraint -especially with that Barrett rifle ($7k+!!) right there on the counter! (wow...) Kimber is an excellent value for your 1911 dollar -high-end for a moderate price, but I too have heard of malfunctions under stressful conditions. However, I still want to buy my own and find out for myself.

Oh, and Dunndw was a real nice guy, shot well and showed fine gun-handling skills. Great meeting you man!

Congrats on the new Kimber!

[dunndw]

Good meeting you too Len. I appreciate the time you took to get me up to speed so I can attend class Friday...even with your sights being off :-)

We both had trouble walking away from the Barrett..and the Nighthawk they tried to tempt me with.

I've heard both god and bad on Kimbers. My own experience has been 99% good. the only one I've had any problems with is my Ultra Raptor. it likes to FTF every once in a while but nothing that a tap or a tap/rack wouldn't take care of. I think it has more to do with a 3 inch 191 than it does with it being a Kimber.

I had more trouble out of my Springfield GI Spec then any of my Kimbers.

[Guest Steelharp]

BigBoost... I'll have a matching set of Series 1's up for grabs soon... just FYI... a full size stainless, and a Pro Carry SLE...

[Guest CrazyLincoln]

Looks just like mine, but an inch shorter. I love kimbers....

[2000silverz28]

BigBoost... I'll have a matching set of Series 1's up for grabs soon... just FYI... a full size stainless, and a Pro Carry SLE...

Any pics of them? I'm looking for a pro carry II right now. I'm about to buy a new one. Email me some pics, condition and price to steve_howell78@yahoo.com.

Steve

[Guest Steelharp]

No pics, yet... they're at my 'smith getting checked out... planning on selling as a set...

[Guest Papabear]

Nice looking gun, And not a bad deal for brand new.

[TGO David]

Man, I miss my Kimber... but I'm glad it went to someone who will put it to good use.

Regarding the broken Kimbers, etc., I never had any problems out of my Tac Pro II at all. Ever. It fired everything I fed it and never complained, never jammed, never hiccuped. But recently I did notice a few posts over on the 1911.org forums regarding some problems folks were having with Kimber customer service. I can't help but hope that they are just isolated incidents rather than some new "norm" up at Kimber's New York HQ.

One of these days I might own another.

[dunndw]

I took her to the range today....just as I suspected. No problems. Well...I had one FTF at around the 140 round mark. I did notice that I'm pulling EVERYTHING to the right worse than usual with this one. It's not the gun. I plugged the X one handed at 15 ft. It's my grip. I really wanted to keep the factory wood grips, but she might get a set of Houges for carry work.

Does anyone have any suggestions other then practice practice practice to help me overcome the pulling problem?

[The Rabbi]

Not knowing how you're gripping the gun, it's hard to say. You might be pushing with your left hand, maybe anticipating recoil. Try moving the left hand a little further around the right so it has less leverage to push.

Just a SWAG suggestion.

[dunndw]

Guess that WOULD be helpful :-)

I'm left handed, right hand is my support hand. I shoot is what I guess is a weaver stance like this fella

I'm applying (I think) too much pressure with my support hand and pulling my shot off at the last minute.

I switched to a (what I call) teacup stance and was hitting point of aim, but weapon control suffered.

[Guest Len]

Danny:

The most common issues for a lefty who's hits are right of POA are as follows:

1) Pushing (anticipating recoil) (POI might be high as well)

2) No follow through

3) Too little trigger finger (common when working with a new-to-you gun)

4) Tightening fingers at the break

5) Jerking/slapping trigger (POI will often be low as well as to the right)

(again, often the case when getting used to a new trigger, or for people used to shooting shotguns)

Go here:

http://tngun.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=50&dir=DESC&order=name&limit=5&limitstart=20

Find the target called "targetlefthanded" print out and take it to the range. I'll have a couple on Fri for you as well.

Hope this helps.

[Guest db99wj]

Here is an idea. Snap caps thrown in with your live ones will tell you a lot. You know they are in there, but you don't know when. If you are jerking (anticipating recoil) , pushing, slapping, jerking the trigger, you will find out real quick when you pull that trigger.

[dunndw]

Thanks guys. I like the snap cap idea. I KNOW I'm jerking sometimes. When I took my Para out with the LDA after shooting the Kimber I was anticipating the trigger break of the 1911, not the LDA trigger. I noticed I was pulling the trigger to where I expected the shot to go off, then releasing the trigger without firing the shot.

Muscle memory isn't always a good thing.

Len...thanks for the link. I had that downloaded somewhere but I couldn't find them yesterday to print them off.

[Guest Len]

+1

We use this technique in classes all the time. It helps. Good call db99wj!

Btw, another little thing we like to do is have students shoot a revolver chambered in .357. Put 4 .38s in along with 2 .357s. A couple of good lessons come out of that, especially in intro-level courses.

Here is an idea. Snap caps thrown in with your live ones will tell you a lot. You know they are in there, but you don't know when. If you are jerking (anticipating recoil) , pushing, slapping, jerking the trigger, you will find out real quick when you pull that trigger.

[molonlabetn]

Speaking of Kimber (and crack ), has anybody heard or seen any recent news regarding the KPD? I can't say that I'm all that interested in getting one, but nothing has made it to market, so far, but it's still prominently displayed on their website...