Interesting article re: Kimber 1911 pistols


billwot

New member
"ALE's pricey guns prove unreliable"

Front page of our local newspaper:

Link Removed
 

I have a Kimber Ultra Carry II and it has been outstanding. The "ultra" series are 3" barreled guns that are said to be touchy on reliability.
 
It is hard to see that from a Kimber unless people were not cleaning them or something

I don't know if you actually read the article, but the writer's point was that the leadership of ALE has a history of buying premium firearms, keeping them for a very short service life, then selling them at bargain prices to agency personnel.
 
I can't say I'm very surprised. Kimbers have received a lot of votes in various "Worst POS gun you've owned" threads on various websites that I visit. I've never owned a Kimber so I can only go on what I read. A lot of Kimber owners love theirs but I've seen an alarming number of Kimber owners who think otherwise.
 
I don't know if you actually read the article, but the writer's point was that the leadership of ALE has a history of buying premium firearms, keeping them for a very short service life, then selling them at bargain prices to agency personnel.

The article says that the Kimbers were traded to a dealer for Sigs so apparently they weren't sold to the agents at a discount price as had been done previously with their service pistols.

289 documented malfunctions out of 150 pistols. Yikes.
 
So what gun shop has all these used kimbers??? I'm betting it was a combination of the shooters the ammo and the maintenance. I wonder how much their being sold for.
 
I understand that most of the Kimbers have many of the race gun bells and whistles installed. I know they have match barrels but does anyone know if they also have match chambers? I have a Caspian 45 made with a Quadralock match barrel which has a tight match chamber. Factory/military ammo will not fit in the chamber and all rounds have to have a tight taper crimp to function. The factory rounds will almost always have a FTF unless I run them throught the taper crimp die. Being finicky with ammo is a major difference between a service pistol and a accurized pistol.
 
I don't know if you actually read the article, but the writer's point was that the leadership of ALE has a history of buying premium firearms, keeping them for a very short service life, then selling them at bargain prices to agency personnel.

I read it all... I was just trying to twist my mind around that part... well I couldn't it is just crazy...
 
I own and shoot a Kimber Ultra carry II

No issues yet, I shoot what ever ammo I can find on sale. :to_pick_ones_nose:

I clean my weapon after every range day regardless of the quantity or quality of rounds I used. I usually shoot 2 or 3 hundred rounds each range visit so I must have a few thousand rounds down range by now. (haven't kept track)

No issues what so ever.

It's my daily concealed carry weapon. I just bought an XDm .45 and have a crossbreed IWB holster on order so I might switch to it for my daily carry. :cray:

Chap
 
Well, I've been wearing a Kimber Pro Carry for years. But I must admit, I had the ambi safety removed, replaced with another conventional safety, because I had issues with the detent and the safety "sneaking up" enough to stop the gun. A first attempt at reshaping the safety (mostly on the theory my thumb was nudging it) failed.

I am not sold on recoil spring guide rods, and am not impressed that field stripping is more difficult than a standard Goverment Model.

The gun shoots fine, though does not like getting filthy. I've run into reloads that wouldn't chamber, but my buddy's P90 shot 'em just fine.

I don't like the plastic trigger and plastic mainspring housing, but they work (I understand newer Kimbers have gone to metal on these parts.

My Beloved Kathleen has been lusting after a Kimber Super Carry Custom, wanting the full length barrel, reduced weight of alloy frame, and improved concealment factor of the Kimber copy of the Ed Brown Bobtail.

I get the impression that Kimber's success in recent years had caused production to run away from quality control.

I'll have to do a bit more research, while saving up the shekels...

If Kimber copied the Bobtail, so must have others. In this, the 100th anniversary year of John Moses Browning's masterpiece, there are 60 companies making 1911's. There are bound to be other good ones out there.
 
I know any maker can have a bad run. I have a compacr SIS model. I like it alot and it is as accurate if not more than my full size Colt and springer. i love these guns also. But anyone who buys a kimber knows that they need around 2-300 rds to break in, with alot of cleaning and oiling in between. Once this is done, the pistol is unbelievable. Especially the ones from thier custom shop. A very good gun IMO
 
Kimbe Super Carry Custom

I carry a Kimber Super Carry Custom in a Cross Breed Super Tuck Deluxe holster; relatively easy to carry, perhaps still a bit heavy. The Kimber needs more rounds shot before an opinion can be given regarding reliablity. However, not a failure to this point.
 
Well, I've been wearing a Kimber Pro Carry for years. But I must admit, I had the ambi safety removed, replaced with another conventional safety, because I had issues with the detent and the safety "sneaking up" enough to stop the gun. A first attempt at reshaping the safety (mostly on the theory my thumb was nudging it) failed.

I am not sold on recoil spring guide rods, and am not impressed that field stripping is more difficult than a standard Goverment Model.

The gun shoots fine, though does not like getting filthy. I've run into reloads that wouldn't chamber, but my buddy's P90 shot 'em just fine.

I don't like the plastic trigger and plastic mainspring housing, but they work (I understand newer Kimbers have gone to metal on these parts.

My Beloved Kathleen has been lusting after a Kimber Super Carry Custom, wanting the full length barrel, reduced weight of alloy frame, and improved concealment factor of the Kimber copy of the Ed Brown Bobtail.

I get the impression that Kimber's success in recent years had caused production to run away from quality control.

I'll have to do a bit more research, while saving up the shekels...

If Kimber copied the Bobtail, so must have others. In this, the 100th anniversary year of John Moses Browning's masterpiece, there are 60 companies making 1911's. There are bound to be other good ones out there.
I agree. There are always guns that have bad runs. Even names like Colt and S&W have them. If the company that makes a 1911 you like has a bad run, you can get another one made by somebody else. Or even build one yourself. Top Shot has one on right now made by Colt. :biggrin:
 
Everybody builds a lemon every once in a while. Eventually, somebody in quality control is asleep at the switch and misses something. That doesn't mean that you should have to be stuck with it. Somebody (dealer, distributor, manufacturer) should step up to the plate and make good on the error.

That being said, the only 2 guns that were new and nonfunctional/unsafe when they arrived at the gunshop I worked at for several years at were a Springfield 1911 (grip safety didn't work at all :eek: ) and a late production AMT Automag III in .30 Carbine (there was a bur on the safety that blocked the firing pin but AMT's quality had gone to hell by then). Those were the only 2 new guns that have ever came through the doors of the shop that weren't 100% out of the box. In both instances, the problem was found by us at the shop before they were sold because EVERY gun that was put onto the sales floor was inspected by us before being put in the display cases. Both were sent back to either the distributor (the AMT) or the manufacturer (Springfield) and they were replaced at no cost to the shop.
 
ATTENTION ALL KIMBER OWNERS!
Now that you know your Kimber is virtually worthless, you can sell them to me really cheap!

I'm kidding, but I'm also serious.
 
I've heard as much "bad" about Kimber as "good" and I don't have any 1sthand experience with the brand, so I can't say.
 
No panic sellers?

How come I can never find these really bad Kimbers I hear about for sale?
I've also heard a lot of trash about Sigs in the past 6 months, but I can't find those really cheap, either! Exception being the Sig 250s, which just are cheap (price...as in inexpensive).

The people that I know that own Kimbers (including little old me) love them, trust them, and have had no problems of note with them. Granted that's only a couple of dozen guns, but it makes me wonder how we all got so lucky...

Same with the SIG owners that I know. Maybe that's only 60 guns or so, but these are people I know and guns that I've handled or shot.

Once again: any of you poor, unlucky souls stuck with a premo SIG or Kimber that you need to sell real cheap, email me! I'm willing to help!
 
How come I can never find these really bad Kimbers I hear about for sale?
I've also heard a lot of trash about Sigs in the past 6 months, but I can't find those really cheap, either! Exception being the Sig 250s, which just are cheap (price...as in inexpensive).

The people that I know that own Kimbers (including little old me) love them, trust them, and have had no problems of note with them. Granted that's only a couple of dozen guns, but it makes me wonder how we all got so lucky...

Same with the SIG owners that I know. Maybe that's only 60 guns or so, but these are people I know and guns that I've handled or shot.

Once again: any of you poor, unlucky souls stuck with a premo SIG or Kimber that you need to sell real cheap, email me! I'm willing to help!


WELL SAID! I challenge anyone to find an item, gun, TV, car, anything, that has not had at least ONE negative comment. As with all mechanical or electronic instrument, there are good, bad, and ugly with everything. I LOVE My Kimber, I loved my Sig's, and I am sure I will love my next purchase....or I wouldn't make it, :)
 
In Dec I bought a Kimber Ultra carry. I tried to get to the break in number of 500,couldn't do it,sent in back to Kimber,after 7 weeks I went back to the local store I bought it at, they offered to give me back my money or trade,trade it was,RIA Tactical and a Glock17 came home with me,the following week the Kimber came back with a new slide and some barrel work, check out some of the Kimber blogs,there are a lot of unhappy people out there !!
 

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