Kimber 1911 how good are they

cbabes said:
You never owned a Kimber? WTF? LOL The upper-tier trainers are the most misleading source of information on the net, especially if you are inquiring about their sponsors. I tried to be open minded with you but this is simply ridiculous.
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fwiw. you've made an excellent decision, its a beaut. armchair quarter backs be damned, they can buy what they want. i trust my norc more than the colts and trps i've seen in use and fail, norc has yet to let me down, guess i'm laughing all the way to the bank.:D
 
Sambaru said:
Except MIM is also used by many non-custom (read under $2500) guns and also in cars, appliances, tools, etc. People talk as if MIM is utilized solely in Kimber guns and no where else in the world.

You can't deny MIM is not of the highest quality but there is nothing wrong with well executed MIM. It's a procedure that has been around for 40 years, and a lot of the bad shiz you hear about Kimbers are from earlier days when they got their MIM parts made in India. Now everything is made in house and you will find anecdotal evidence of Kimber failures are not nearly as high now as it was 6-8 years ago. THAT's really when you hear all the horror stories of Kimbers crumbling into dust because of poor MIM parts.

A lot of people cite 1911 gurus who look down on Kimbers and advise against them. Obviously this is the case not only because they need to promote their own thing but because they can easily afford to purchase $3000 guns. Ask a car expert.. we'll say Jeremy Clarkson what cars he thinks are the best. Is he going to say,"Honda Accord?" No, he will say a Ferrari or Lambo or something. Not everyone can afford Lambos though and Honda Accords will do just fine (though they are "worse" cars).

People lose track of the fact that Kimbers are popular because for $1200, you get a ton of features. Find me another brand of 1911 that offers the same bang for the buck that doesn't use MIM at all and I will buy that instead.
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I visited the Pratt & Whitney Canada Plant last weekend and guess what? They use MIM parts in jet engines! One of the techs was nice enough to explain the process to me and although he admitted it is a cost saving process he convinced me of their quality. John Stoeger used aerospace technology for the AR15...

I decided to go for a Kimber Custom II, I got a lightly used one for $725! If I coulf afford a WC, Ed Brown, Les Baer or any hi end Colt $2500+ 1911, I would certainly get one of those but I think a $725 Kimber is a lot of bang for my buck!

Thanks for all your coments!
 
Wolfstrack said:
I have over 25K on my Kimber and I've changed only the recoil spring....where are the bad parts on my Kimber I've no idea ......(read misanthropist) ......
always I have a BANG when i pull the trigger and it's ridiculous accurate...
believe me it's already no fun shooting my Kimber because at 15 yds make holes in the same 1.5" bullseye spot all the times
- never had a FTF, FTL, FTE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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25K on 1 recoil spring change makes me think someone (no one in particular) is hammering his frame awful hard.
 
MtlCanada said:
Nice pistol, got to love stainless steel.Give your impressions after you hit the range.
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Well, I put a box of CCI Blazer Aluminium cased rounds through my new Kimber this afternoon. Although this is only the second 1911 I've fired, it remains my favourite handgun design. Feels great in the hand, has that nice short trigger pull I like, and shoots far more accurately then I do.

My only complaint so far is the sights. Black on black against a target's black centre is a total eye strain. First thing to upgrade I guess ;)
 
Had a Kimber TCII .45 which was very nice but I would go for full steel frame next time.

This S&W Pro-Series in 9mm is the best $1800 I've spent on a 1911. I use it for IPSC standard and after 3 years no issues ever. Don't know or care whether it has any MIM parts. Rather get out and shoot and leave that to others.

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I have never owned a wilson or any other 3g 1911... I have however owned a few kimbers. Started with a custom II target. Loved it, used it to get good, but always had a desert warrior in the back of my mind. Finally bit the bullet and 1700 bucks and a week later I was cutting my groups near in half... It was a huge jump in performance for me... Now I know that I'm comparing a 900 gun to one twice as much, but so is every one else who compares a high end kimber to a wilson or a nighthawk. Point being, kimbers are an awesome value for what you spend...
 
I have never had any issues with how my Kimber works, but I have had issues with the finish. It shoots point of aim, but I am still not happy with it. For the money I paid it just doesn't seem like it is a great gun. The way the mouth of the chamber was filed, it is off center by a lot! If I had the money to do it again I would buy something else. Most probably a Springfield, but they are hard to find. Seems like the dealers in my area don't have them in stock or don't carry them. The DW's are awesome quality and so are the Wilson's and so on, but you pay for it. Those ones are definitely out of my price range! One can dream tho. Be careful because those damn 1911's are so addictive. You can't have just one.
 
I'll add some fuel to the fire. So with kimbers manufactured in such large numbers wouldn't you think the EE would be flooded with used kimbers? yet I usually only see new ones for sale. Of course there are some used ones but they arnt a dime a dozen. So this tells me people have bought liked and kept their kimbers. I bought mine 5 years ago and could not even come close to telling you how many rounds have gone through it with no issues at all. The only problems I had was when I tried to replace some parts with aftermarket parts mainly for cosmetic purposes. And have since gone back to OEM. And shoots like a dream again.
 
To add to my post here months ago. I have added another Kimber to my safe. From all the research I have done the MIM thing is way overblown. I replaced most of my MIM parts not because they failed but just as a fun project. Couple of things I have to say about the Kimbers is they feel amazing in the hand and are built very well. I just love holding them and looking at them. If you do get one with an issue once you fix the issue you will never want to sell the gun. My Warrior had the common issue that many Warriors are known to have which is an early slide lock (rounds still in the mag and the slide locks back). While I agree you should not have this issue with a $1700 gun but that is a testament to the Kimbers as I refused to sell it because I loved everything else about it. The "internet fix" was a Wilson Combat bullet proof slidestop which I bought and installed. Gun has run flawlessly for 600-700 rounds since. Kimber was willing to fix it but wanted me to send the whole gun in so I opted to fix it myself. My other Kimber a Pro Carry hasn't had a hiccup since I bought it. Only around 400 rounds in total through that one so far though. Anyway, I will not sell either of my Kimbers. If the MIM thing bothers you it's not very expensive to replace the parts. I like the Les Baer Thunder Ranch but don't think I will ever buy one due to the Kimbers I have in my safe. :)
 
I'm very happy with my Kimber ! 300 rounds so far and not a single issue to report . Love the Crimson laser grips and the lightweight aluminum frame. No regrets here ,, although I still want a Dan Wesson Valor :)


 
misanthropist said:
The Kimber is definitely not a 1911 about which you can really say, "I like the finer things in life, like this".

It's more like, "I didn't want to buy Norinco, and this was what they had in the local gun store".
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I agree for the most part with this statement, my local gunstore for example which is better then most has Kimber's in stock.... everything from pro carry II's to a raptor and a Super Match, beautiful guns that are ready to run out of the box with features most of us like, the only competition locally they have is something like Ruger SR1911/Remington R1 and the odd SA Milspec....

I have owned many 1911's, my favorite by far was a full blown custom colt combat with a steel frame, adjustable night sights, mag well and ambi safties..... wish I never sold it.

right now I have a Ruger SR1911 (.45) , STI Trojan (9mm) and a Kimber Pro Carry II (.45)....

Out of that Bunch I would rate them STI, Ruger and then Kimber, and some of the reason I rate the Kimber behind the Ruger are things like Poor Sights on the Kimber as well as the kimber came with only 1x 7 round magazine.

I paid $1k for the Kimber and it being more of a defensive style Pistol I think it should have came with nightsites, and at least 2x 8 round magazines.... seriously the ruger SR1911 came with 2 magazines (1x 8rnd, 1x 7rnd) and a good set of white dot novak "style" combat sights and I only paid $675 for it... and to top it off the ruger came with a nice gun rug.

the STI Trojan is a class unto itself, one of the smoothest feeling 1911's I have owned and very tight slide to frame and slide to barrel fit, very classy and well worth the extra money. (I bought mine used for $950)

so for my Money, I would gladly skip buying a kimber again and go right to the ruger 1911, or if I wanted to spend a little more and get the STI trojan. end of story. (The STI Spartan I would class the Same as Kimber)
 
Just like to add, after a 500 round break in period all of my 1911's have run flawlessly.

and whats the deal with companies making checkered double diamond grips and then sealing them with so much sealer they feel smooth... my sti is like that, and in comparision my ruger is perfect and really grippy
 
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