Kimber Stainless II 9 mm


Purchased 03/03/2012

Total round count 750

Ammunition used:
650 rounds American Eagle 115 grain FMJ
100 rounds Independence 115 grain FMJ

Break-in:
03/04/2012 500 rounds
03/05/2012 250 rounds
Break-in instructions followed



Problem:
Multiple failures to eject starting from round count 35, occurring in 3 different magazines, with increasing regularity, occurring with both ammunition brands noted above. 21 failures to eject were noted with the last 100 rounds of ammunition alone. 3 experienced shooters handled the pistol and all 3 experienced multiple failures to eject. Below are pictures representative of the failures noted.

It's going back to Kimber tomorrow.

Can't help but notice though that the gun in your pics is absolutely filthy. I would start with a thorough cleaning every 50 rounds.

May need to adjust the tension on the extractor. Also yeah a good cleaning always helps and 1911's like to be run wet.

The extractor is internal. Never had a problem with those before. I have other 1911s from Colt, Springfield, and Para and they all run internal extractors without issue.

To give Kimber some credit, the pistol was very accurate. I just wouldn't bet my life on its reliability right now. Having 21 FTEs in the last 100 rounds is pretty bad.

This man is correct! The extractor has to tuned to the pistol! You can do it yourself! There book by Jerry kunhousen I think that's how younspell his name ? 1911 shop manuel . Go over the extractor fitting , and start by getting. 2 new over sized extractors and some fine files and some dummy rounds. Its boarding mad tetious work !

I actually have Kuhnhausen's books 1 and 2 and I've put them to good use on my other 1911s. I just don't believe that a pistol should be this unreliable coming from the factory and the purchaser should be the one scrounging around trying to fix them.

I'm old school when it comes to 1911s. Always clean before taking it to the range for the first time, and clean often during break in. Use good lube - Slip 2000 EWL on all moving parts and a dab of mil-comm TW25B grease on the rails. Use good mags - Wilson ETMs. Never change any part from the factory when you're breaking it in (it may void your warranty).

My Pro Carry II has only FTE 2 times in about 900 - 1100 rounds. Once was when my buddy was shooting (for the first time), second one I can't remember, but I know it happened.

I don't know what to say, I clean it after every use, but I will say, I don't use half the lube you got in those pics. Just enough to make things run smooth and stay protected. If lube is pouring out and pooling up, there's way too much. I would also suggest better ammo. I run federal law man, nothing fancy, but it's cheap and doesn't jam.

Good luck man. I'm no where near the experts that the guys on this board are when it comes to the 1911. In fact, I just got my first...a Crimson Ultra Carry II. I cleaned it before I shot it the first time and immediately put 250 rounds through it. Not a single failure. Got home, cleaned it and shot another 300 or so through it the following week. Again, not a single failure.

Maybe I got lucky but I'm madly in love with my Kimber. Of course after posting this, I may have jinxed myself.

Most former Kimber owners I know are former Kimber owners for a reason.

I've never seen one that worked from the factory.

I can show you three.

I have no doubt they exist, but the percentage of non-working guns to working guns is not appropriate for guns of that price point.

What exactly is your beef? Apparently unreliability is ok in a cheap gun, even if the company won't fix it and you are on the hook for the costs of getting it up to speed.

But on the off chance you get an unreliable Kimber, they will fix it, no questions asked and no additional charge - and that's bad?

And to be fair, the "my kimber sucks threads" are often made by the same people who previously posted a "what upgrades should I get for my new kimber?" thread and/or something along the lines of "what weight recoil spring should I put in the new Kimber? I wanna have it when I pick the pistol up after the mandatory wait."

In my opinion a large number of Kimber *problems* are related to the numbbuts who owns it and mnesses with it. not any QA issues at Kimber.

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A variation on the theme are the Schwartz system haters who think the system is fragile. A few facts on that:

1. Schwartz worked for COlt who palnned to put it in production on the 1911. WWII was on the horizon however and Colt's largest potential customer - the US military - did not want to alter the production line or have 2 configurations in service so it was delayed until after the war.

2. Post war, surplus .45s were every where, Colt commerical produiction was small and not worth changing over production, and

3 by then millions of ex-GIs were familiar with field stripping the original configuration.

4. that is still the case today and when parts get broken in a schwartz equipped pistol it's because the moron re-assembling it is re-assmbling it like any other 1911 - usually with the slide and frame inverted.

5. That causes the plunger for the system to fall down in the path of the slide there the moron attempting re-assembly keeps whacking the slide back until he bounces the plunger out of the way. Breakage should not be a surprise....

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In short, you can;t fault Kimber for the ignorance of some of the customers who modify or mis-use their pistols.