Kimber 1911 how good are they

misanthropist said:
Consider that both Hilton Yam and Larry Vickers have no trouble recommending other brands from whom they receive no funds, and that neither of them produce a pistol which competes in any way with any offering from Kimber... Yam's outfit used to recommend them in the Series 1 days...they later experienced so many issues they stopped recommending them. They have continued recommending other guns, so it's not like they don't recommend 1911s other than what they build. They just don't recommend Kimbers, because of the extensive issues generated by the later models in particular.

To my knowledge Larry Vickers has pretty much stopped building 1911s entirely, and Hilton Yam only does one-off customs. So they really stand to gain or lose nothing by advising anyone on whether to buy a particular mid-level pistol or not.

Further to that, when I stop to think about the big name guys who build fighting 1911s on owner-supplied guns, like Dave Berryhill, say...I cannot think of a single one who recommends Kimbers. I can think of quite a few who I have seen advise against them, though.

But I definitely agree that people should do their own research.

I advise one caution when doing research though: look at whose opinion you're reading.

Is it a person with extensive 1911 experience who has run their gun up to 10 or 15 thousand rounds, or is it some guy who will tell you they have 3000 flawless rounds...when it's actually more like 800 rounds, and they've forgotten about the 7 stoppages they had because they decided it was probably related to a "break-in period"?

Is this a person who has had a dozen different 1911s and run thousands of rounds through every one - think about what that costs to do - or is this a person who's owned 3 1911s, and shot a combined total of 2000 rounds (which they will describe on the internet as 10,000 rounds)?

In short, is the person an expert, or a hobbyist who bought a pistol for $1500 and needs to justify the purchase to themselves?

If you feel you can answer all of those questions about the source, then you probably can assess whatever information they're giving you pretty accurately.
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^^^^^^^

X1 mill.

There you have it folks! No further discussion.
 
Also, for a little perspective (2007 figures from the ATF, pistols only):

Brown 1065
Colt 17833
Baer 1974
Springfield Armory 13687
Wilson 2339
Kimber 55722
Dan Wesson 2374
Nighthawk 1201

So Kimber sells more guns than all those other manufacturers combined, and also considering the 2nd and 3rd place are Springfield and Colt who both make other non-1911 pistols, there are far more Kimbers out there. And so it comes down to simple math... that many more Kimbers produced automatically equals that many more problems.
 
FWIW, I ran quite a few Kimbers on a commercial range and they were real work horses. I had a couple sights break, and a few safeties (both are MIM if it makes a difference).
The frames lasted more than 6 years, the slides at least three. Each year would see at least 30,000 rds through each gun.
They were not 100% reliable throughout the period and unfortunately I didn't keep records of stoppages, but they were not consistently failing and they were extremely accurate shooters. My friend took one of the 40cal Stainless guns that had been in use for three years, and was able to shoot a tight fist sized group at 25yds. He was quite impressed with the trigger and accuracy.
I also tried out Taurus, and STI Spartan guns in smaller numbers and they failed rather quickly in comparision with barrels cracking and slides failing in about a year.
 
Sambaru said:
Also, for a little perspective (2007 figures from the ATF, pistols only):

Brown 1065
Colt 17833
Baer 1974
Springfield Armory 13687
Wilson 2339
Kimber 55722
Dan Wesson 2374
Nighthawk 1201

So Kimber sells more guns than all those other manufacturers combined, and also considering the 2nd and 3rd place are Springfield and Colt who both make other non-1911 pistols, there are far more Kimbers out there. And so it comes down to simple math... that many more Kimbers produced automatically equals that many more problems.
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Or maybe its that they produce more by cutting cost aka quality just because theres more of them doesn't mean they are better.

Go to your local gun shop and see how many kimbers are there compaired to colt's which are tipically way harder to get.
 
Shooting Centre said:
FWIW, I ran quite a few Kimbers on a commercial range and they were real work horses. I had a couple sights break, and a few safeties (both are MIM if it makes a difference).
The frames lasted more than 6 years, the slides at least three. Each year would see at least 30,000 rds through each gun.
They were not 100% reliable throughout the period and unfortunately I didn't keep records of stoppages, but they were not consistently failing and they were extremely accurate shooters. My friend took one of the 40cal Stainless guns that had been in use for three years, and was able to shoot a tight fist sized group at 25yds. He was quite impressed with the trigger and accuracy.
I also tried out Taurus, and STI Spartan guns in smaller numbers and they failed rather quickly in comparision with barrels cracking and slides failing in about a year.
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No surprises there...
 
anyway Kimber will beat any other ~1k price guns on the market for the reliability and accuracy out of the box
vote for Kimbers all the time, one of the best 1911s in the medium price range
 
Stainless_smith said:
Or maybe its that they produce more by cutting cost aka quality just because theres more of them doesn't mean they are better.

Go to your local gun shop and see how many kimbers are there compaired to colt's which are tipically way harder to get.
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I never said they're better. If anything, in my previous posts, I acknowledged the lesser quality compared to others of a higher price range. We're on the same page there. You missed the point though. My point was there are over 23 times as many Kimbers as there are Wilsons so there will automatically hear about 23 times as many problems... but factor in Wilsons are considered among the best and Kimbers are mid-range and that number obviously increases.

Yes, everyone agrees they do cut costs aka quality which is why they are a 1/3 to 1/2 the price. If they didn't cut costs and went for quality only, they would be the same price as Wilson, Nighthawk, etc. So simpo... Kimber is like Honda and Wilson, etc are like Lambos. No one says Hondas are garbage because they aren't as nice as Lambos... so alls I'm saying is it's unfair to say Kimbers are garbage because they suck compared to Wilsons.

My local gun stores have 20 Kimbers each with 1 Colt total in the province, it seems LOL. It's too bad, I woulda rather had a Colt. Saw the Colt rail gun you got in your other thread... wish I had found that when I still had some funds in the 1911 jar heh
 
So, unless I'm mistaken, the OP is looking for feedback from actual owners. After reading 5 pages it looks like all the nay sayers are quoting the 'experts'. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're not experts in their own right, but you're not really answering the OP's question.

Looking through the post, it seems people who have owned a Kimber themselves, seem happy. I don't recall reading a post where someone had a Kimber and it was the worst POS they've ever owned and all the MIM parts turned to dust and dribbled out the magwell. You've got a fella who runs a shooting range comment that he runs a couple Kimber's estimated with 30,000 rounds a year with no critical failures. Go figure.:rolleyes:

In the 1911 platform, I've owned or own Springfield, S&W, Colt, and Kimber. The S&W and the Kimber have the better finishing of the Colt or the Springfield. By that I mean no sharp edges, and the fit seems better. Granted Colt has a nicer outside finish, no question. A blued Colt is like no other. I've had 4 new Colt purchases and 6 old models in my safe, so it's my personal experience talking, FWIW.

I use a Kimber Tactical HD II for IDPA, and I'm not sure how many thousands of rounds have gone through, but it's mare than a couple, and I've had no issues with gun. Sure it jammed, but because I changed the recipe on my handloads and it got a little grumpy. But once I got my load sorted it was fine. I never had an issue running factory, and I can't remember having any FTF or FTE.

I think I read something saying that sure you can buy a Kimber and upgrade it to that WC or the like, you might as well buy a WC or LB. Well, with a Kimber sitting at $1500 and a 'quality' pistol sitting $3000, if you spend $1500 replacing a handful of MIM parts and add an extended magwell, front strap checkering, ambi-safety...etc (all of which my Kimber already came with) then I think you're getting hosed.

All in all, I've got a Kimber, and it'll be last sell gun.

I'm no expert mind you, I'm just speaking from personal experience, so what do I know.
 
AdamO said:
My Kimber SIS was the most accurate handgun I've ever owned. Not a single issue with it the entire time I owned it, and I used it in the harshest of conditions. I would certainly not hesitate to buy another one.

If I were shopping for a new 1911 now, I'd look at Kimber and Sig.
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the SIS is my dream 1911, over nighthawk and wilson.

kimber is top shelf and contrary what some may want you to believe, they are used by various agencies as issued side arm. from what i have been told by owners, customer service is excellent and the bang for your buck is not easily matched by anyone else.
kimbers aren't for everyone, but to say they are average is flippant and off side.

i got a norc for my first 1911, don't regret it one bit, it works flawless, it ain't a tack driver by any stretch, but it never fails. i can't say that about the colts or springer trp's if seen fail numerous times at the range.

if you like the kimber, buy it, you will not be disappointed.

these days average is springfield, colt, and a few others that have sat on laurels for too long.
 
kimber's sis

GA_SIS_200804a.jpg
 
For the price I think a Kimber is a great buy, from what everybody is saying, they are great pistols.Does anybody have the 4 inch one Pro version with the 106mm barrel?
 
I just sold my kimber pro carry ii in 106mm barrel. It's a good gun for the price you pay for. I did pick kimber over colt, sti trojan, s&w, para. .

At the end off the day. You get what you pay for?
I just sold it to get a custom 1911. My complain would be that the extractor shoot brass at my forehead.
 
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