Quoted: That settles it. Thanks for the info y'all (except for those of you that just couldn't keep from making comments like "It just don't belong!"). Sleep soundly knowing that I won't be purchasing a Kimber with external extractor because of your advice. It just sucks that Kimber went off and decided to go cheap on us. I used to think that Kimbers were the best "out of the box" 1911. Its encouraging to see they apparently quit using the EEs but now I'll never look at their guns the same.
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Don't get me wrong.
I own a Kimber and love it. It's one of theirs with an internal extractor and it works very well. Aside from extractor issues with the Eclipse Pro II I had, it was a fine handgun, as well. I have no problem recommending a Kimber to my friends, but I don't think Kimber's external extractor design was a good design.
On the other hand, the Sigs and S&Ws I've seen with external extractors have worked quite well. They use a different design than the Kimber. It's a longer extractor and from what I've seen, it appears to be a good design, very similar to the design on the more recent Browning HPs. It's still a proprietary design, and I can't replace it with an off the shelf product, but I've met too many pleased Sig and S&W owners to discount it.
I believe the Springfields are also a great value. Right now, I own some Colt's, a Kimber and a Springfield. They're all fine firearms and I'm quite pleased with all of them. Looking at Kimber's website, it appears they've modified the Eclipse series to have internal extractors again. If my Kimber Eclipse had had an internal extractor, I'm sure I would still have it.
Cheers,
kk7sm