Kimber Compact Custom value?

[Guest Twin63]

I have a Kimber Compact Custom that I acquired new in 1999 (I traded a Glock 27 + a little cash for it). I don't have a camera at the moment, but it is in very good/excellent condition, low round count, and has not been modified. Any idea of the value? The Standard (Series I) vs. Series II has me a little confused, but I'm thinking $600-$700?

[Guest Twin63]

Sorry Mods...I just noticed the sticky about "What is my gun worth" posts. I'll do more research outside of the forum. I'm not sure how to delete the post - if one of you could do that I would appreciate it.

Guess this is why I'm listed as a Freshman

[Lumber_Jack]

before we get delete happy here maybe we can hash this out a little without it being a true "what it worth" thread. This is not against the rules unless you are trying to sell it without paying to be a benefactor member.

Now as for the pistol. These are hard to come by, but not a collectors item or anything. A series I, means that it does not have the Swartz firing pin safety mechanism. But whats more rare is that its a Series I and compact. The only comp I could find was one that sold on Gunbroker in March for $705 Kimber Compact Custom 45 Parkerized SERIES 1! : Semi-auto at GunBroker.com. So I would try to stay on the upper end of your price window mentioned, maybe even a little higher. But if it were me, I'd just keep it, great gun. Is it Parkerized or Stainless?

[Guest Twin63]

Thanks Lumber_Jack...didn't mean to start on a slippery slope (so much for a memorable 1st post, huh?).

To answer your question, my Kimber is parkerized. I would take a few pics, but my son has our camera out in Colo Springs and my cell phone doesn't do pics very well. There have been times that I wished I had bought the aluminum frame model. The steel frame is great to shoot, but you know you're carrying it.

[2000silverz28]

I have one of these myself but mine has the stainless slide and aluminum frame. I took it to a local gun show a few weeks ago and they wanted to steal it. Best I was offered was $650 and that was with 4 wilson combat mags. Needless to say I put it back in the safe. I wouldn't let mine go for less than $800 with the four mags.

[hkusp40cal]

Also from what I understand if it is a OR gun vs a NY gun will make a difference on the price. The OR guns seem to fetch higher numbers. I am not a Kimber expert at all, but it seems the OR guns were considered more "custom" than the NY guns.

[2000silverz28]

How do you know which one you have? Does it have the location on the slide? I've never really noticed. I'll have to get it out of the safe in the morning and check it out.

[Lumber_Jack]

How do you know which one you have? Does it have the location on the slide? I've never really noticed. I'll have to get it out of the safe in the morning and check it out.

Yeah it will have Clackamas, OR. , or Yonkers, NY. The Oregon stamp is believed to be of higher quality, but I don't know how much truth there is in that. But they definitely sell for more regardless

[Warbird]

Yeah it will have Clackamas, OR. , or Yonkers, NY. The Oregon stamp is believed to be of higher quality, but I don't know how much truth there is in that. But they definitely sell for more regardless

I have found there are people who 'collect' and will pay more for just about every kind of firearm made. They will find something about them and as a fan group and claim it makes them more valuable. Heck this is even true of Gen 1 Glocks and such. I have shot a couple of the Clackamas Kimbers, and found nothing special about them. The truth is they were all made in Yonkers. They didn't have extraordinary hand fitting or hand lapping. They didn't rack as smooth as glass like custom guns. Heck from the beginning they used MIM parts, even the bushing in the beginning.

They were well made pistols, which looked nice and had lots of doo dads usually only seen on custom guns, but for a fraction of the price. They changed the industry, I say that with no small amount of emphasis, and capitalized on a nationwide magazine capacity law that saw the resurgence of the 1911 which was mainly shot by the devoted at the time. They took advantage of new methods of producing pistols much cheaper and made a gun previously only available to the well off or the truly devoted to the mass public. At the time Colt expressed no interest in offering such things, though they could have more easily done so than any one else and would today have been much stronger for it. Gotta give it up for the entrepreneurs.

But in the end those guns were no better made than the first Yonkers rollmarked guns and were decent, but not extraordinary custom guns or anything of the sort. They were never a custom gun and never had the refinement out of the box of a truly worked over custom gun. But, they did almost always work and they did look like a custom gun.

Kimber quality really didn't suffer until they simply could not keep up with demand and I think some things probably slipped through the cracks. They have had some QC issues, but are these numbers aberrant or more a reflection of the number of guns sold? I don't know. 1911's are even today a more finicky gun to produce and do so w/o problems than the Glocks and M&P's of the world. They didn't exist, as a handgun company, until the 90's and now make more 1911's than any company in the world, including Colt.

But in the end the Clackamas guns are worth more, by at least a bit, to those who fancy themselves Kimber collectors.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Warbird

[2000silverz28]

Mine is new York made. Oh well I still wouldn't let it go for what I was offered at the gun show.

[Guest Twin63]

Mine was made in Yonkers, NY. I only use Wilson mags in mine (I had a couple of issues with the factory mag early on and never fully trusted it). I agree with Warbird, though...my Compact Custom isn't truly a custom gun, but rather a very well machined factory gun. At the time I couldn't afford a Novak or Wilson and the Kimber was as close as I could get in my budget.

[Guest JHatmaker]

I'll let it stay, as it doesn't look like you're intentionally trying to skirt the rules.

The original sticky was created back when we had a flurry of "ads" being posted by non-Benefactors.

If you do decide to sell, consider becoming a Benefactor and sell it in the classifieds.

Kimbers typically go quick.