Well...kind of.

50 rounds

47/50 DID NOT go into full battery. Missing going into battery by about a millimeter...won't go in by tapping the slide, only if I pull the slide back a 1/4 inch (or so) and letting it loose.

3/50 did go into battery, all 3 were when manually dropping the slide with a new mag. No rounds went into full battery after firing a round.

The slide locked back 5 times with a round in the magazine.

1 Stove pipe

Rounds ejected about 25 FEET to 5 oclock. Leaving brass marks as shown in picture.

I know Kimbers needs some TLC, and aren't 'broken in' for 500ish rounds, but did I get a lemon?

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Par for the course as I understand with Kimber. Sorry

Hope you get it figured out OP.

Don't own a Kimber product partially because I have seen similar stories. I am sure the majority run fine, but then I read things like you posted that makes me wary.

I have the same gun in 45 acp...bought probably 15 years ago. Never had any issues.

Sounds like stiff spring?

Put some lube on the locking lugs.
And the link.

Hand cycle from fully open, using the slide lock to release the slide .

Like 1000 times...
Or until your wife bitches, she can't hear The Hallmark Channel .

Then try it at the range.

Pull you bbl and see if the rounds will drop in easily.  They should.

Hang on, did the empties really go 25 yards?

Lol...feet. Good catch.

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Sounds like the extractor has too much tension.
Have you tested the extractor tension yet?

That’s better.  I’ve had good service from my kimbers.  
Check the extractor tension and see if your ammo will plunk in the chamber.

I assume you were using factory ammo.  This sounds like the barrel leade needs to be lengthened.  Try this easy test.

1. Remove the barrel
2. Drop a loaded round into the chamber
3. Push forward on the chambered round while rotating it

What should happen is the brass case mouth is pushed up against the steel chamber ledge and the cartridge will easily rotate.  If it will not rotate and you have to pry the cartridge out of the barrel, the bullet is engaging the rifling.  This is a bad thing and will dramatically raise the chamber pressure when the round is fired.  The fix is to lengthen the leade (freebore).  I'd send it back to Kimber and ask them to do this under warranty.

Ideally, the loaded cartridge will fall into the chamber and make a distinctive sound as the case mouth makes solid contact with the chamber ledge.  It's this distinctive sound that gives this test it's name The Plunk Test.  Upending the barrel will result in the chambered round freely falling out.

Premature lock back can be caused by the shooter's off-hand thumb making contact with the slide stop.  I would test for this possibility by firing the pistol strong-hand only.  If the slide still locks back prematurely, the bullet is probably coming into contact with the slide stop lug.  Before cleaning the pistol carefully inspect the slide stop lug for brass colored smears.  If you find some, the fix is to carefully file away the smears.  Be very careful when doing this since removing too much metal will result in the follower not being able to make contact with the slide stop lug and the slide will not lock back when empty.

Alternatively, you can remove the slide and put the slide stop back in the frame.  Then slowly insert a loaded magazine while observing if there is any contact between the top cartridge and the slide stop lug.

What kind of stovepipe?  Live round or empty case?

Some times, the slide locking back when there are rounds in the magazine is because the round at the top of the magazine just barely bumps against the slide release on the inside next to the magazine.

While it is an easy thing to fix, OP should not have to do gunsmithing on a brand new pistol in order to get it to work properly.  I would be very disappointed, but with all the similar stories I have heard about Kimber's inconsistent quality control, I am not surprised.  I imagine all the other malfunctions are similarly easy fixes, but again, OP should not have to fix it.

If Kimber says OP needs to fire 500 rounds through the gun to break it in before it is reliable, I would want Kimber to either send me the 500 rounds, or return the pistol so THEY can pay for the 500 rounds to break the pistol in.  At current ammo prices, that 500 rounds required to break in the pistol amounts to quite a substantial increase in the cost of the pistol.

That really sucks OP.  I love 1911's and I love 10mm but I was always concerned about 10mm 1911's, maybe trade it in for a Tanfoglio witness hunter? Or maybe chew Kimber a new one?

Looks WAY to dry

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try tomorrow.

Agreed. 500 rounds is $300 right now. I don’t mind a little ‘break in’, but shooting half a case just to get to normal operation is a bit excessive.

Well, I waited until this exact model was available so I could have a ‘matching’ one with my 45.

Stopped at Scheels (where I bought it a few days ago), and talked to them. They’ll pretty much take care of everything if I need it fixed or swapped.

I too have the same gun in .45 without issues.  Sorry you're having issues. Try and rack the slide several hundred times, clean and lube, rack more, try to shoot it again, and if there are issues still call CS for service. Or take to a local smith. Those are the only options I see if you can't work on it yourself.

Good luck!

FPNI

The fact that all these posts tell you how to possibly fix it, should be very telling.  How Kimber stays in business is beyond me.

Send that back, dont bother wasting time, effort, or ammo on getting it to run. All the problems you listed are known issues with kimbers 10mm's.

I had the exact same issue with a new 45 two tone. I could get it to do it just by hand cycling. I detail stripped it and slightly polished the disconnector and the tip of the firing pin safety lever.  Never happened again.

Not sure if any of these pics help.

Plunk test passed no issue.

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I’m with checking extractor tension. My Kimber Stainless 9mm would fail to feed about 50% of the time. Adjusted the extractor and now it work 100%. Tension was way to tight.

This. I run a new 1911 pretty wet...that said, I had a Springfield 10mm that did exactly the same thing. I sent it back and now it is flawless. I am no gunsmith, but if you ask me there is something about the 10mm profile/size/shape geometry that requires things to be "perfect".

I might shoot one more box of ammo with the pistol real wet, but I would probably send that one back.

Barrel throat is correct, they used to be a sharp corner but as time went by Kimber smartened up and gave a gentle radius while still maintaining case web support.

I still recommend sending it back and letting them dick with it and waste their ammo making sure it runs correctly.

Nothing jumps out as being wrong in the pictures although I can't see the lower lugs clearly enough to rule out barrel bump as a possible cause.  Here's a mild example of barrel bump.  Believe me there are much worse examples.  Also, if this mild example of barrel bump isn't addressed, it will continue to worsen until at some point the pistol will simply fail to feed at all.



So far you've determined that there's not a problem with the chamber dimensions or the length of the barrel leade.

A simple test to determine if the extractor is the problem goes like this:

• Remove the extractor
• Lock the slide back
• Insert a loaded mag
• Push down the slide stop to chamber the first round

Do this for every remaining round in the mag.  If they all chamber easily and the pistol goes fully into battery each time then the extractor is the source of the problem.

These simple diagnostic tests that I've detailed in this and the previous post cost you nothing more than a little time and expand your knowledge.  They also allow you to communicate more effectively with the customer service folks and lets them know that you know what's going on.  There's no doubt this pistol needs to go back to the mother ship to be fixed for free under warranty but this is an opportunity for you to become more familiar with the pistol rather than being just a "trigger puller".

It doesn't look like you cleaned off the packing oil which is not a lubricant or lube it prior to shooting.

Early slide lock seems to be an issue in 10mm 1911s, I used an Ed Brown stop to solve the problem. Still had to file a few strokes on it to get working 100%.


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Did this. Removed extractor, reassembled gun sans extractor.

Success rate to get gun into full battery was higher, but nowhere close to 100%. Much higher when I locked the slide back and used the release vs manually pulling the slide and releasing.

Also, don’t have any other 10mm mags, but tried some 45 mags...one had a higher success rate than the factory Kimber 10mm mag. Still, nothing was 100% or even had a passing score.

Where we are right now

OP reports:

• FTRB Failure-to-return-to-battery
• Premature slide lock
• Stove pipe

Observations:

• Bullet nose impact with the feed ramp indicating potential poor barrel fitting

Diagnostic testing:

• Passed the plunk test indicating no issues with chamber dimensions or leade length
• Did not pass the extractor test as there were still intermittent failures-to-feed without the extractor in the pistol

Remaining inspection items:

• Evidence of slide stop contact with bullets in magazine
• Evidence of barrel bump on the lower barrel lugs
  

Unaddressed problem:

• Stove pipe - waiting to find out if this was a live round or empty case

Bottom Line

This pistol will need to go back to Kimber for warranty service to fix it.  The OP should not modify the pistol in any way or Kimber will not honor its free warranty.  Passing along the malfunction symptoms, the results of the diagnostic tests, and pictures of the damaged cartridges to Kimber will help them as they go about fixing the pistol.

Stove pipe was a live round.

New gun, I’d send it back and let kimber fix, like the man above said.

Never did a kimber warranty, but the others I have sent back went well.   Pretty painless, and you don’t need an FFL for shipping.
Insurance, get it on the package.

I’m taking it back to Scheels tomorrow. Gonna let them help me with it. Guy said they would take care of things for me.

My custom 2 was used. And was very nice.

My dad has an ultra carry that he’s had for at least 10 years. She’s starting to show some spring issues.

Live round stovepipes are most often associated with bolt-over-base malfunctions where the slide contacts the next round in the mag ahead of its case rim.  As soon as the round is pushed out of the mag its nose goes up, it's rim goes down, and the cartridge is pinched between the slide and the barrel.  

This can be caused by a mismatch in strength between the recoil spring and the magazine spring.  If the recoil spring is very strong and the mag spring is weak, the slide may come forward faster than the mag spring can push the next round up into position in time for the rim to be engaged by the slide.

It can be caused by a too weak magazine spring.

It can be caused by a mismatch between the power of the cartridge and the strength of the recoil spring.  If the recoil spring is very strong and the cartridge is wimpy, the slide may short stroke and come forward sooner than it would if it had traveled fully to the rear.  Once again, the mag spring doesn't have enough time to push the next round up into position to be correctly engaged by the onrushing slide.

The fix for a bolt-over-base malfunction is to replace the magazine spring with a new, stronger one and/or put a lighter recoil spring in the pistol.  You can also fit a flat bottom firing pin stop to allow for the use of a lighter recoil spring and you can drop in a heavier than standard mainspring to further slow the rearward velocity of the slide.

My guess is the mag that shipped with the pistol has a weak spring.  I would include a request for a new magazine due to this bolt-over-base malfunction.  All they can do is say no.

Mine would not feed well till I polished up the transition at top of the feed ramp and where the round strikes the top of barrel hood when it rolls over.
The way its ejecting could probably help to slow the slide a bit also.
Shipping now in in a meltdown if you send it back .

I had a full sized Kimber 10mm that presented me with the same issues.  I lost patience with Kimber and sold both of mine.  I purchased a Wilson Combat about ten years ago and have not had a single issue.

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I really wanted this one because it matches the 45 that I have (that has never given me issues). I was fully aware of Kimber's reputation, but for the most part, issues are solved with a little polishing or adjusting the extractor or just shooting it and breaking it in. Sounds like I got a lemon.

Only other 1911 I have is a Sig Scorpion...it had major issues, but they were easily solved. It locked up after about 20 rounds...the cerakote on the rails was just a little slick...some elbow grease to sand that down and it hasn't failed since.

I'll see what Scheels tells me tomorrow, hopefully, they'll honor their statement to take care of me.

Nope, you got a Kimber.  

My 10mm 1911s are either STI or Rock Island. I have two of the latter but the STI is more accurate.

Kimber does have a helluva marketing dept though, I'll give them that.

Scheels has my gun. They’re sending another one up from the CO store and are going to do a straight swap.

If OP wants to try mitigating some of his problems, here are my suggestions:
(Youtube will have videos showing how to do most of these things)

1.  Check the inside surfaces of the slide lock to see where the bullet/cartridge may bump the slide lock upward, use a small file to take a few thousandths of an inch of the part of the slide lock that protrudes furthest into the magazine well.

2.  Polish the feed ramp.  You can buy fine sand paper (up to 2000 grit, although 600-800 grit should be adequate) at a hardware store, or an auto parts store.  Wrap the sandpaper around a .25" wood dowel and polish the feed ramp.

3. Check the bottom edges of the extractor and round and polish them to remove any sharp edges.  Also adjust the tension on the extractor.

The above three things will fix 95% of the issues...if not, you can try moving onto #4 below.

4.  If the slide/frame fit is too tight and binds, you can use some toothpaste, or you can add some scouring powder to the toothpaste to make a sort of valve grinding abrasive compound.  Use that compound VERY SPARINGLY on the frame and slide rails to polish out any machining marks.  Remember that you can always remove more, but you can NEVER put it back..so don't to much...just polish the slide/rails.  If the toothpaste doesn't work out, you can buy actual valve grinding compound at an auto parts store..use very fine compound but be extremely careful with it.

5.  You can put some green Scotch Brite pad on a bore brush that you power by a drill to polish out the chamber.  Again, remember to go slowly, be conservative, and don't get the scotch brite abrasive pad onto the rifling/throat of the barrel...just polish it out...mostly the top of the chamber where the bullet may bind feeding into the chamber.


You can use the same toothpaste compound on the barrel, barrel link, and anywhere else that the pistol is binding.  Again, go really slowly, and be cautious as you can never put the material back.   Do less than you actually think the pistol needs as you have to allow for normal wear/break in.

All the above presumes that the magazines and/or ammo are not the issue.

I cannot stress enough to be very cautious and conservative when using abrasives.

Any of the above will void the warranty, so the best idea is to return the pistol to Kimber with very detailed specific information about each type of malfunction by number.  That way Kimber can't say you didn't tell them about problem #3.  Each malfunction will need to be addressed, and you can even ask what was done to fix each problem.

I haven't dealt with Kimber's customer service, so I don't know how responsive they are.  Hopefully, you will be able to report back to us that they provided stellar service.  I don't know how Kimber would respond to you sending them a screen shot of your posting here so they are aware that you hope to report to all the members of Arfcom how wonderful their customer service is.  

Some customer service units respond very well to learning that you heard great things about their customer service.   Occasionally, reporting that you heard glowing things about their customer service will prompt them to live up to the great reputation, so you can report that reports of great customer service are all true.

Flattery is cheap, and some times works really well.

Thanks for the tips. But hopefully I won’t need them on the replacement. Just reading some of what people have posted, and trying a few of them, has been a wealth of knowledge and help.

Post a pic of the bottom of your barrel lugs.

I have had two kimbers whose lugs did not clear the slide stop on link up and the cross pin peened the shit out of the lugs. I stoned them smooth to fix it but it sure seemed like a dumb problem.

Commonly called "barrel bump" and is not uncommon in Kimbers.  You can see an example of a mild case of barrel bump earlier in this thread.  The OP was asked to inspect his lower lugs for evidence of this.

This thread makes me think twice about buying a kimber. Lately I've seen kimber's in local shops for reasonable prices. In fact that's about the only guns left in most stores. I've always thought of kimber's as kind of high end, something I couldn't afford, but I've heard a lot of problems with them. Kind of weird, the Chinese, philippinos, turks and brazilians can all build a great 1911, yet here in the good old US of A we turn out shit like that and charge top dollar for it.

When Kimber first started manufacturing 1911s they were top of the line.  As time went on their QC suffered.  To be fair, any assembly line, mass produced product is subject to tool wear and tolerance stacking.  If QC doesn't catch this and the product goes out to the the consumer, the company's reputation begins to suffer.  Add to that the need to maximize profit in order to stay in business and corners will be cut further compromising overall quality.

Kimber does make very pretty pistols and if you're willing to invest the time and money to fix manufacturing defects like improperly fit barrels, incorrect feed ramp dimensions, and poorly fit extractors then all will be well.  The thing is, it's a hit or miss proposition.  You can't predict if the pistol you buy from the gun shop will be perfectly made or a lemon.  This is not unique to Kimber.  All you can do is roll the dice and if you get a lemon, hope that their customer service and warranty guarantee will fix whatever needs to be fixed to make the pistol run 100%.

I agree, but what is ironic is that all these QC problems that Kimber's are having is why Kimber started making 1911's in the first place.

BTW, I have a Gold Match from 1996. Beautiful pistol that runs flawless.

Looks like maybe the lugs need to wear into the grooves of the slide, maybe.