Any issues with stock Kimber mags?

Ran a few mags worth through my Custom II and seemed to have issues with the last round on every mag.

Is this normal?

I plan on picking up 3 Chip McCormick mags in the near future.

Or should i be dumping the Custom II and upgrading to another model?

Also, new to the 1911 platform, I like it, its smooth, and accurate, but the safety is killing me.

Not normal.  I use these guys with my Custom II with no problems.  http://www.trippresearch.com/index.html

It's not normal.

What issues are you having with the last round?

----

Chip McCormick mags are fine on steel framed 1911's but the compressible follower design used will cause the follower to ride forward with the last round and "peck" at the feed ramp.   In a steel pistol it's no big deal as the only damage done is some wear on the bluing on the feed ramp.  

But in an aluminum framed pistol it will damage the feed ramp given the softer nature of the aluminum.

---

Since you're new to the 1911 and we're talking 1911 magazines there are also feed lip considerations on various 1911 mags.

The standard Browning designed US GI 1911 magazine has long tapered feed lips that are intended for ball rounds and allow the round to rise up but don't release the round completely until very late in the feed process.  They work great with hard ball rounds and offer the most controlled feed of the round.  They are also incredibly smooth with the slide going foreword very easily and consistently and if you're shooting ball rounds these are the mags you want.  Unfortunately they are less common and most people sell hybrid or parallel lipped magazine.   That's because generally speaking they do not do well with semi-wadcutter and hollow point designs which are generally shorter in overall length.  The shorter overall length allows the round to point upward at too extreme an angle as it moves forward and before it enters the chamber, with the front of the round then potentially getting jammed into the space between barrel and slide above the chamber.

Colt commercial pistols (except for the gold cup) started using  a hybrid lip design where the same taper as the GI mags was retained, but the lip was shortened to release the round earlier.   They tend to work well with FMJs (just not quite as smooth) but work ok with shorter SWC and HP designs as while the round can still angle up too sharply, the base of the round is usually released before it can angle itself up enough to jam itself into the area between barrel and slide.

The third type are parallel lips intended for use with shorter semi wad cutters and hollow points.  They hold the round down longer (due to the parallel lips) keeping it level, and then quickly release it (due to the shorter lips). This generally works well with semi wad cutters and hollow points as they stay more or less level until they are popped up into the chamber.  However, they won't feed ball rounds all that smoothly as the longer FMJ round is already being forced up the feed ramp before the lips have released it.

A final type is the Wilson 47D magazine.  These take an entirely different approach and basically just throw the round up in a level attitude very early in the process so the slide can push it into the chamber in free flight.   It's an attempt to create an uncontrolled feed process in the 1911, and as such it's the polar opposite of controlled feed in the 1911, and unfortunately it's not a perfect solution.  It however does work remarkably well, especially in 1911s that suffer from poor feed geometry due to ill shaped extractors, poorly throated chambers, rough feed ramps, etc as it pretty much by passes all that in the feed process.  If you've got a bubba'd 1911, a 47D magazine might get you back in business without having to fix everything that's wrong with it.

-----

Which brings us to two different philosophies in 1911 design - uncontrolled feed and controlled feed.

With uncontrolled feed you don't have to worry much about tolerances and angles, just start the round out high and level, release it early and let the kinetic energy of the slide do the work.  In fact, it's the feed approach Glock uses in it's pistols and they are known for good reliability.    In a 1911 however it can be problematic as it becomes very dependent on the kinetic energy and velocity of the slide and the relative spring forces of the recoil and magazine springs, and it can create some occasional random feed errors that will drive you nuts as you can't totally eliminate them.

Controlled feed is much more demanding in that the extractor shape, feed ramp and throat angles have to be precise, and if not you'll get some feeding errors.  But the good news is they are predictable and repeatable and the causes are easy to diagnose and thus fix.  Also, if all the specs in the pistol are correct, then the feed problems all lie with the magazine.

 

Okay, that was an awful lot to take in.

But what I gathered was Chips = no go in Kimber.

What would you recomend in a Kimber?

I've got CM Powermags that run flawlessly in my TLE.

Use Tripp Research magazines and you will not have magazine issues. I have 3 1911's 2 Kimber, 1 Springfield and use Tripp in all three and have had no issues in years.

Wilson Combat mags.

What I use.

My Kimber loves them.

Chip McCormick mags should be fine in your steel framed Custom II. I believe that the other poster was cautioning about using them in alloy framed pistols. I have a few CMC Match Grade stainless mags and have had no problems. My favorites though are Wilson Combat 47D 8 rounders. I recently bought a couple of Wilson ETMs, so far, so good.
I've never tried any Tripp mags but have heard nothing but good about them.
I have an older Custom, my son has a Custom II, neither of use have had a problem with CMC mags, my son has a few blue CMC Shooting Star mags that also function fine.

I have 2 stainless target II's and both run just fine with the stock kimber mags...This is in 9mm also.....And have also bought a CM shooting star and it runs flawless also......Sounds like you need to reposition your grip with your thumb under the safety and give that a shot....Don't be afraid to try something new just because everybody else might do it one way doesn't mean you have to......And hang in there and give your 1911 the benefit of the doubt you have one of the most beautiful weapons ever invented!

I've had so many FTF on the last round of my chip McCormick mags in my custom II, but there also is a 500 round (I say more like a 1000 round) break in period for kimbers.... I hardly ever use my kimber mag bc it looks like such a piece of shit... But also after over 1000 rounds I haven't had any malfunctions my last few outings... I also use dirty ass ammo

I had same problem on my new Kimber Custom Carry II and Kimber sent me a free TacMag and it cleared it up.  They should just give the better mags with the guns new to begin with, so stupid.

Have the same issue after a few k rounds with the CM mag.  Probably need to just replace the spring. CM seem OK, but I never had an issue of with the 47Ds