Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

So, been starting to look at a small pistol my wife can carry and manipulate well. Out of all the ones we've looked at, we both like the Sig P238. However, while looking at one of those, we noticed a similarly-sized, slightly sleeker 1911-style pistol next to it. The Kimber Micro. They apparently have both .380 and 9mm versions, but I'm not sure of the reputation. I get mixed reviews searching around the web and I know Kimber can be a bit polarizing. I have to be honest, the Sig is nice, but the Kimber was just a little smoother, sleeker (less blocky slide), and prettier. Turns out it was also a little cheaper, but without night sights, so maybe that's a wash.

It's unlikely we'd find one to rent and shoot, so does anyone have first-hand info about these little guns.

I would not get a kimber,  well documented with tons of problems, especially the smaller barrel versions.  The sig 238 is proven and shown to be reliable.  Kimber makes some beautiful firearms but the quality has been suspect.  I have not shot the kimber, I'm sure it's nice but personally I would have to put 1000 rounds down range before I would be comfortable with the kimber.  My wife has the 238 and it is probably the easiest slide to manipulate and is a fantastic shooter in the 380.  Very accurate as is the 938 in 9mm.

Yeah, that's what I keep hearing from people that don't own the Kimber. Doesn't make it any less legitimate, I just wondered if anyone here actually had one. My head keeps saying "Sig" but my heart says "Kimber...maybe?" I figured if there was anything positive to be said about them, it would be here.

I have a kimber micro that I bought a couple months ago. I agree that the kimber looks better then the p238. Out of 200 rounds that I have fired I had two malfunctions. Both were from the first two magazines I put thru it. I also had a few times when chambering the first Round with slide release it won't go into battery fully. From what I read it is due to a weak recoil spring, which kimber will send you a new stiffer spring. From reading online it appears that if you get a micro that's not operating 100% and send it back for Warranty it will be good to go after that. I'm not sure what sigs Warranty is but kimbers is only a year. The claim that the p238 is perfect out the box is not true either, a friend of mine has one that had problems for the start and even after going back to sig still is very ammo picky.

A sig fan and own many, last year I bought 2 P238's, for my wife and one for daughter. I'll make this short, the worst shooting guns I may ever have owned. As reported by many the recoil was moderate and the feel of the gun was fine but, when it came to shot placement neither were acceptable with various ammo. Fucking unacceptable.
I decided to sell them on GB and went to the  Kimber Micro Raptor and an LC9....Couldn't be happier with the Kimber. 300+ rounds through it with no issues. The Micro is a great choice and the build quality is incredible. Yep, going to pay a premium but, well worth it. There was a time I would not of considered a Kimber but, since the Micro I have gone on to buy a TLE Custom and will not be the last. Best of luck.

I just got one of the Kimbers a few weeks ago and really love it. Traded my Sig P238 for it. I like it a lot better and it is very accurate for a short barrel gun.

I've had a micro CDP for quite a while now. Absolutely no issues with it. It is very smooth shooting and so easy to carry. I would not hesitate to get another.

I am in this same situation. I was originally looking at LCP's, but am thinking about one of these little 1911's after feeling a 238. I am now considering a kimber micro as I read more about them. There seem to be conflicting reviews for both, but one thing is for sure that they both have better triggers than an LCP.

I carried a 3" Kimber Ultra Carry in .45 ACP for years and put about 20,000 rounds through it before I retired it.

Kimber have a bad reputation but it stems mostly from user ignorance or error in these areas:

1.  Kimbers tend to have fairly tight tolerances and it can take a couple hundred rounds to get one fully broken in.  After that they'll run extremely well in terms of both accuracy and reliability, as long as you change the recoil springs on schedule. But by then many Kimber owners with a box or so of rounds through it, will bash it on the internet and sell it at a loss to someone else, who's smart enough not to point out the problem isn't the Kimber.    

2. Frequently, the intrepid new Kimber owner, well armed with internet wisdom, decides to "upgrade" his new Kimber, replacing springs, adding a shock buffer, etc.  Some new Kimber owners do this before it's ever been fired, while others encounter a malfunction before it's broken in and decide it needs "fixed".  This is particularly a problem on the smaller frame chambers as the slide over run time is already limited and the spring forces need to stay stock, and an extra strong spring and/or a shock buffer will reduce the slide over run length and time and feed issues will result. The shorter Kimbers are very well engineered but they operate a little differently than a full size1911 and they are not well suited to DIY "upgrading", so if you want a toy to mess with, get something else.

3. The Swartz system firing pin safety is often claimed to be prone to breakage, but it's not if you field strip and reassemble the pistol correctly.  The pin of the firing pin safety is operated by the grip safety, not the trigger, so the trigger pull is much better - but it means the actuator pin rises out of the frame when the grip safety is depressed.  Enter our hero - the hard chested vet who learned how to strip and re-assemble 1911 in the military, or someone whose watched a you tube video and "knows" what he is doing.   When he goes to put the slide on the frame, he''ll be holding the pistol by the grip with grip safety in place and will raise the pin so that the end of the slide hits the raised pin.  The solution?  Obviously get another run at it and bash it harder. Eventually is works as the slide bashes the pin down hard enough to over come the mechanical advantage of the safety, or our hero bears down on it hard enough and end up lifting the tang enough to drop the actuator pin.  But eventually with this steady diet of abuse the actuator pin will break and our hero will blame the design, rather than correctly attribute it operator error.I've got three Kimbers and I've put at least 20,00 rounds through all three of them over the last 20 years and I've never had a problem with the Schwartz system.

4.  Most 1911 shooters don't have a clue when it comes to 1911 magazine feed lips, can't tell the difference between taped, semi-tapered, and parallel feed lips, or the differences in release times of angles, the differences in extractor profile that are needed to accommodate variations in feed lips, and the types of rounds for which they are intended.  These are the guys that then decide that the standard Kimber mag can be approved upon and then get one recommended by a go faster shooter with totally different requirements, and then wonder why it won't feed their self defense load hollow points.  

5. I've heard shooters complain about wear on the feed ramp alloy frame Kimbers, and of course they blame Kimber.   But when you talk to them in any depth you find out they are using a Chip McCormick magazine or another brand with a similar open front follower.  These followers are designed to compress to allow an 8th round in the magazine, but the open end creates a pointy surface that then "pecks" at the feed ramp every time the last round in the magazine is fed.   That's not a Kimber problem it's a problem with excessive head space in the shooter, who should know better than to use that type of magazine follower in an alloy frame 1911.

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In short, read the manual, avoid these 5 issues, and avoid the temptation to dick with it and a Kimber will serve you exceptionally well.

Like any other alloy frame 1911, frame life is in the neighborhood of 20,000-30,000 rounds depending on how stiff the loads used have been, but most non match shooters won;t shoot their Kimber that much so it's a non issue.  If you do shoot frequently, consider a steel frame Kimber instead.

Thanks for all that. I doubt my wife (even with me shooting it occasionally) would put 20k rounds through a self-defense pistol in a lifetime. I also don't generally tinker much with new guns (except my 10-22), so no worries there either. I also have the advantage of never having owned a 1911, so no preconceived notions of how to strip it and reassemble.

I still like this little gun, but I think we're going to wait a bit. The plan is to get her her carry permit, have her carry something of mine for a bit (either my Kahr 380 which is not the best fit for her or my LCR if I don't sell it) and see if she will carry first. Then, consider buying something for her. So, a buying decision is still a ways off, but the Kimber still leads the pack.

I have not had an issue with mine but I've only put about 250 rounds through it. The fit/finish is better than my buddies Colt Mustang. He wishes he would have got the Kimber. No issues with either though but not too many rounds through them either.

If I planned on shooting it a lot, I would probably go for the Sig just because of better (or maybe just perceived) customer service. I had every intention of getting the p238 but I got an amazing deal on the Kimber so I couldn't pass it up.