Kimber Pro CarryII jamming

[Guest DELETED]

My brand new Kimber Pro Carry II will not fire an entire magazine without some type of failure. Sometimes the first round will not load into the chamber, other times it will. Other times the slide will not return all the way forward. Sometimes the slide will not lock back after the last round. The only thing it hasn't done is stovepipe. As of today I've put 300 rounds through it and it isn't getting any better. I've tried different types ammo and about 10 diffefernt mags. The best outcome so far was with a no name magazine I found in the back of my closet and it only worked about 80% of the time. The Kimber mag that came with it is garbage. The other mags were Colts and they had no consistency either.

Any suggestions before I take it to a gunsmith or throw it against a concrete wall?

[timcalhoun]

My brand new Kimber Pro Carry II will not fire an entire magazine without some type of failure. Sometimes the first round will not load into the chamber, other times it will. Other times the slide will not return all the way forward. Sometimes the slide will not lock back after the last round. The only thing it hasn't done is stovepipe. As of today I've put 300 rounds through it and it isn't getting any better. I've tried different types ammo and about 10 diffefernt mags. The best outcome so far was with a no name magazine I found in the back of my closet and it only worked about 80% of the time. The Kimber mag that came with it is garbage. The other mags were Colts and they had no consistency either.

Any suggestions before I take it to a gunsmith or throw it against a concrete wall?

First take a deep breath.....It'll be okay. Most everything you have described will happen with bad mags. Wilson, Tripp and CM power mags are the way to go. PM me if you want some help or to try some mags.

[Guest nozzle13]

Sell it at a show for a substantial loss! That's what I did. I had one a few years ago, total piece of poo. I even sent it back to Kimber to get it rectified. Nope didn't fix it, and the guy that runs there shop is a huge A- hole. I believe mine stemmed from having an external extractor, but they just said I'm limp wristing. Yep, it couldn't be the gun. You know what I've got a Taurus that will shoot anything you put in it. I won't own another Kimber after my dealings with them.

To sum it up if yours has an external extractor, you may be screwed.

[Guest DELETED]

No external extractor. I have a Kimber Ultra Carry that has always performed perfectly. Sorry to hear about your issues.

[lowery100]

I have a couple of Kimbers that I have had 0 problems with. Most of your problems do, as stated above, sound magazine related. I would start with trying a Wilson or other known top brand mag just to see if it makes any difference. After that I would say it was time for a trip back to Kimber.

[Lumber_Jack]

First take a deep breath.....It'll be okay. Most everything you have described will happen with bad mags. Wilson, Tripp and CM power mags are the way to go. PM me if you want some help or to try some mags.

This^^^^^^

Sell it at a show for a substantial loss! That's what I did. I had one a few years ago, total piece of poo. I even sent it back to Kimber to get it rectified. Nope didn't fix it, and the guy that runs there shop is a huge A- hole. I believe mine stemmed from having an external extractor, but they just said I'm limp wristing. Yep, it couldn't be the gun. You know what I've got a Taurus that will shoot anything you put in it. I won't own another Kimber after my dealings with them.

To sum it up if yours has an external extractor, you may be screwed.

this is a horrible idea^^^^^

Your Kimber will be fine with a good mag.

[Guest Plainsman]

Try scanning through these videos and see if this guys problems resemble any of yours. This is a five part series, with the fifth part being the "resolution", with Kimber sending him a new slide stop.

[Punisher84]

Run Wilson mags and put a heavier Wilson recoil spring in it. I had the same problems with mine at first. Zero issues now. You shooting factory or reloads?

[leroy]

Take due note of Punisher's post here:

...Run Wilson mags and put a heavier Wilson recoil spring in it. I had the same problems with mine at first. Zero issues now. You shooting factory or reloads? ...

Words for the newly aggravated semiauto pistol guy to live by. Been said several times by our brothers in the posts above: --- magazine problems cause 90% of "malfunction issues" with semiauto pistols, no matter the caliber. This is a universal truth of the semiautomatic pistol world.

Reloads: Gotta have about the same recoil impulse as factory loads. That equals similar ballistics of the reloads as compared to "factory" loads. This is the "recoil spring" problem. Another universal truth of the semiautomatic pistol world.

Good luck; you can fix it with a bit of "tweaking"!

leroy

Edited January 26, 2011 by leroy

[Guest spoolie]

Welcome to Kimber...have fun putting money into a NEW gun to get it to run correctly. Next time look at a Springfield...cheap and runs out the box.

[Guest Moody]

Sorry to hear of your troubles... But - it's absolutely ABSURD for a gun that costs as much as a Kimber (even though I'm amazed that they sell them at the prices that they do, to begin with) should require any kind of aftermarket modification to run right. Pathetic.

Not to be an "I-told-you-so" person, because that's more annoying than useful, but you'd be best trying to work through these issues with the recommended advice, and if you don't see any sort of improvement - sell it and buy a gun like a Dan Wesson, Springfield (upper model), etc. and never have a problem again.

[Guest DELETED]

Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions. I'll grab a few Wilson Combat mags the next time I'm at the store and start there. The Pro Carry was actually my 3rd choice. I wanted a blued Colt commander, but after months of searching I couldn't find one. Then I started looking for a Springfield Champion. Same story. None to be found. I finally settled on the Pro Carry and even that was a pain to get. I have a 5" and a 3" 1911 and wanted something in the middle. When I started my search several months ago I never dreamed it would be this much hassle.

[StPatrick]

Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions. I'll grab a few Wilson Combat mags the next time I'm at the store and start there. The Pro Carry was actually my 3rd choice. I wanted a blued Colt commander, but after months of searching I couldn't find one. Then I started looking for a Springfield Champion. Same story. None to be found. I finally settled on the Pro Carry and even that was a pain to get. I have a 5" and a 3" 1911 and wanted something in the middle. When I started my search several months ago I never dreamed it would be this much hassle.

I'm in Franklin - if you want to test magazines, I have a pile of Wilsons you can try.

[Guest DELETED]

Oh, Happy Day! I got a Wilson Combat mag and fired 100 trouble free rounds today. Still hard to believe that an $800 pistol comes with a $0.50 magazine. Thanks again for all the help.

[leroy]

...Oh, Happy Day! I got a Wilson Combat mag and fired 100 trouble free rounds today. Still hard to believe that an $800 pistol comes with a $0.50 magazine. Thanks again for all the help. ....

Glad to hear it!! Don't feel bad; ive had several old time Colt Government Models that had the same problem with colt marked magazines. We used to change the spring if a magazine gave any problems at all.

Have fun shooting your new Kimber!!

leroy

leroy

[timcalhoun]

Oh, Happy Day! I got a Wilson Combat mag and fired 100 trouble free rounds today. Still hard to believe that an $800 pistol comes with a $0.50 magazine. Thanks again for all the help.

It has always been thus.

Glad to hear it.

[lowery100]

You can get Wilson "rebuild" kits to go in your other magazines for $7.95 instead of tossing them.

Replacement Springs / Followers-Wilson Combat

[Lumber_Jack]

Oh, Happy Day! I got a Wilson Combat mag and fired 100 trouble free rounds today. Still hard to believe that an $800 pistol comes with a $0.50 magazine. Thanks again for all the help.

I am enamored by this fact as well. If people would go in thinking my Kimber is going to cost me $XXX.XX + $32.00 for a new mag, there would be a lot less heartburn over the brand

[mav]

Its amazing what a good mag will do. I don't know why so many dump all over Kimber. I had two Kimbers, a Tactical II HD and Ultra Raptor II, and I never had the first problem with them even using factory mags.

[jdi731]

I've never had a single problem with my Kimber Pro Carry II and I use the factory mags.

Glad you got it all worked out though!

[Rightwinger]

Glad you got that fixed. Now the question is "has the Mrs shot it yet?"

[JPS]

I have a Kimber Ultra Tactical, and I had lots of problems with the factory mags.. With Wilson Combat mags, it runs great.

Thanks for posting the website with replacement springs - It didn't occur to me to replace the springs instead of just buying more mags.

[RobertNashville]

It's been my experience that most manufacturer nameplate magazines that come, at least with 1911 style pistols are good only for including then in the box if/when you sell the firearm to someone else. I have a few Wilson's and a lot of Chip McCormick mags and have very, very few problems with them.

[lowery100]

I have two Kimbers with a total of 4 factory mags and have had no problem with either of them in the Kimbers and 1 Dan Wesson 1911. But it is also well known these mags a the culprit in most problems. However I do carry Wilsons in all of them....