Kimber 1911

[bigted]

Just wrapped up a deal on a Kimber 1911 custom 2, two tone pistol in 9mm.

Did Kimber's come down drastically or did I get a kinda deal at 600.00 dollars new in box?

At any rate just wondering if any info is available here on this (by my standards anyway) usually a high end 1911? is the pistol Kimber's used to be, still the well built, accurate pistol they were?

Thanks all.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I would say that you got a good deal

[nun2kute]

I haven't shot it in a while, but I paid over 9 for mine, and have no complaints. I can't possibly see you being disappointed. I've just gravitated to larger calibers.

[Dan Cash]

I can't speak to the pistol you have but I have 6 .45 Kimbers. Each one of them is an amazing shooter and as reliable as a hand gun can get.

[bigted]

Awesome. Can't wait till it gets here to my FFL. Never have shot a 1911 I did not like. This pistol looks awesome with the stainless frame and black slide with rosewood grips.

I have never shot nor owned a 9mm 1911. Should be very fun.

[Petrol & Powder]

I can't speak to the Kimber that you have but one of the best 1911's I ever owned was a Commander length lightweight Kimber in 45 ACP. Out of the box it shot as well as an acquaintances' full size Les Baer.

That was 20 years ago and I don't know if Kimber's quality has held up but I was favorably impressed.

[phonejack]

I have 2 Kimbers, 45 & 9mm. Both have proven flawless.

[Wayne Smith]

I have a Kimber light Commander .45 as my carry pistol. Decent trigger, not great, and since DougGuy's treatment it swollows my cast boolits and shoots them accurately. I've put between 800 and 900 rounds through it so far.

[osteodoc08]

I’ve had several kimbers over the years. The one I still have is a first gen, pre Swartz safety, gold match target that is superb. They’ve all been good. Alexander’s in n ga, frequently have that model on sale for $600 but they’re a rock bottom sales price leader. You did well

[bigted]

Well received the Kimber. Just beautiful. Two things that I became aware of when cleaning the shipping oil out is;

1 ... it is a series 80 with the firing pin safety.

2 ... it has a plastic main spring housing.

Now as to the series 80 ... I have heard the hoorah about the extra parts and possibility of dirt and crud making it unreliable ... however ... ALL Glocks and ALL XD's have the same thing with NO problems that I ever heard of.

The plastic spring housing seems to function good but the longevity of it being plastic makes me a little nervous ... SO ... I have a steel housing coming in the arched configuration to try out.

Pictures to come as well as a range report.

All in all ... as I handled the parts , my impression is of a tight , well put together pistol that desperately needs a good 1 to 200 rounds of breakin shot thru it. I also have a Wilson 10 round mag coming as well as a packmayer10 round mag. Can not wait for the range visit to put it to work and dust out the edges for the break in.

Did I say ... SHE IS A BEAUT!!!

Nother question occurs ... will 1911 mags for 10mm exchange with the 9mm mags?

[bosterr]

While your Kimber has a firing pin safety, it's not a Colt Series 80 type that works off the trigger (I had one). Both my Kimbers has the Swartz firing pin safety that works off the grip safety. With the tooling I bought to do trigger jobs on both I got 3 1/4# pulls. I swapped out the main spring housings for steel ones, a pretty easy job to do.

[bigted]

So bosterr ... did you disable your grip firing pin safety? I do not see any reason for it and the dang thing is a pain when assembling the slide. Looks kinda tiny to me ... as in maybe a bit on the cheap side.

[Petrol & Powder]

Because the Swartz style firing pin safety works off of the grip safety and not the trigger, it doesn't affect the trigger pull.
It is more complicated than a 1911 needs to be but it doesn't bother me as much as the series 80 firing pin safety.

I carried a series 80 Colt for a few years and after I polished the parts, I could live with it. It never had the trigger that my original LW Commander had, but it was serviceable. I've shot guns with the Swartz safety and they didn't bother me at all.
The parts can be removed (access is under the rear sight) but I would try it for a while and see if it's a big deal to you.

[6bg6ga]

We had two Kimbers at the house. One was my wifes in which I did a trigger job on it to where it was tolerable to shoot with a now crisp clean 3lb trigger pull. The one I bought I never shot it and it remained new in the box until I sold it at a gun show. The plastic parts in the Kimber turned me off. I switched to the Springfield Range masters with adjustable sights that I did trigger jobs on and they shoot really well and are better made in my opinion than the Kimber.

[Idaho45guy]

At least it's not in .45 AARP...

Saw that designation on another forum the other day and it made me chuckle.

[osteodoc08]

In case you guys haven’t been noticing, Kimber has been fazing out their Schwartz safetys. If it doesn’t have the “II” designation, it’s “series 70”

[bigted]

LOL ... is a 45 AARP kinda wrinkled and tired?

[bosterr]

bigted...What P & P said exactly mirrors my experience with the Swartz and the series 80 Colts. The Swartz dosen't effect the trigger pull in any way, the series 80 colt did. As far as being a little bit of a pain to re-install the slide, don't depress the grip safety any amount and the slide will easily ride over the plunger like it's not even there. The stainless main spring housing I replaced the plastic one with was a Wilson Combat and was a cinch. The black one I replaced the plastic on my 3 inch Eclipse was a no-name brand and wasn't quite a drop in. I had to run a file a few licks on the two ears at the top of it.

[bigted]

Thanks. I have an arched housing coming along with a regular guide rod and cap to replace the useless full length rod and resultant fungernail splitting hollow cap.

I may just order a stainless housing from Wilson too but will use the black arched one first as I do not think I have ever shot a 1911 with the arched housing ... so perfect time to try one. If I like it , may install it on my Springfield

All in all, I really like this Kimber. Have yet to shoot it but bettin I like it then too. Gonna run a few box of Remington hard ball thru it for breakin. By then my dies and cases should be here. I have some Lee 95 and 120 grain cast now and PC'd ready for reloading.

[bosterr]

I swapped out the full length guide rod for the short conventional one too. My 2 Kimbers slugged at .451 and I size to .452. I use the Accurate Molds version of the H&G 68 and it shoots great.

[Petrol & Powder]

I got the SAECO #069 (basically a plain base H&G #68 copy) mold in a four cavity and I couldn't be happier.


Edit
OPPS forgot the OP has a 9mm :oops:

The 120 TC is a good all around 9mm for cast bullets.

[bigted]

Sheesh. Took the Kimber out today with 100 rounds of Remington 115 grain ball loads.

My Gosh this is a fun pistol. Shoots plenty reliable and outta 100 rounds ... 100 percent reliable. No bobble nor shimmy. She hit in the same zip code every shot. Very mild recoil and makes shooting the 1911 a new experience. What a dandy!

Only glitch would be the trigger. NO NO not the letoff ... altho it is heavier then my Springfield. No what I refer to is the trigger itself. The grooves are very deep for a great trigger grip with my trigger finger ... but ... the outside grooves on both sides are really sharp. Little hard on the trigger finger. Small bit of stoning will take care of this small problem tho.

I am very impressed with this Kimber and can hardly wait for my next range session with it. I will exchange the spring housing and the guide rod tho. After a couple hundred more breakin rounds I will do some thinking on doing a trigger stoning and smoothing.

Srry ... no photo's yet.

[Dan Cash]

I did not care for the plastic main spring housings on my Kimbers either but they stand up well. No problems in 35 years; you get used to it. Full length guide rod had to go as did the extended thumb safety. I am happy now.

[bigted]

Yes the extended thump safety has already reared its ugly head. Accidentally shifted it on during shooting and briefly wondered why I couldnt squeeze the next shot off. Perturbing.

I will be replacing it as well.

After shooting the 45, this is a real hoot. Even for small game, I do not see or feel underguned in any way ... I see this pistol becoming a favorite very soon ... unless I discover something I just can not live with.

Sure do not see what it may be tho.

[BNE]

I have one Kimber and plan to have it till I pass it to the kids when I am dead and gone. I think you will only like it more and more.