As threatened, I took the new Kimber .45 out for its first shooting Thursday. (Kimber Custom II)

The Kimber manual recommends firing 100-150 rounds thru the gun and then careful cleaning.

Probably excellent advise. I couldn't help myself; however, and shot 250 rds. Gun worked flawlessly for the first 150. After that it began random gagging on the last round in the clip. One time a loaded round popped clear OUT of the clip! All of which left me UNimpressed with the factory clip.

Here are several random observations and questions I'll post in no certain order and invite comments or suggestions.

1. The pistol shot best with 230 gr cast bullets and did NOT shoot well with Winchester 230 gr FMJ. Best group was with cast bullet and max load of Unique.

2. Trigger is pretty creepy. Anyone know about adjusting these triggers? I see a hole in the trigger for tiny allen wrench and assume there is some adjustment???

3. Recoil got rather annoying, i.e. painful before all 250 rounds were shot up. I've shot a zillion rounds of .45 in my life and NEVER remember a .45 doing this to me before? Have I just gotten old and soft? (Very possible) OR how do Kimber pistols come set up from the factory? Are they basically built for target ammo out of the box or are the springs etc ready for hot hardball stuff?

4. Clips. I tried Wilson, Colt, Eagle and Kimber clips. Gun seemed to like any of the others better than the 7rd Kimber clip that come with the gun. Anyone have favorite clip?

5. Cleaned gun thoroughly today. Boy was it filthy. It's smooth and ready to go again.

[ 07-26-2003, 08:33: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

I like the Wilson's.

The Kimber is the only factory 1911 that can shoot the 45 Super without modification (although it's not advised without going to a heavier spring). This leads me to lean towards the "old and soft" theory

Might be best to have the trigger adjusted by a 'smith, as it's not hard to end up with a full-auto version of the 1911 if you're not careful (ie, hammer falls upon forward "slam" of slide). The Kimber trigger is less finicky in this regard than, say, a Colt series 70, but it's possible.

Pecos,try the Chip McCormick power mag. I have had good results with several finicky .45's in the past. It is all I use now. He has a web site. Also take a look in the Brownells cat. and have a look at some of the custom triggers that will drop in. An outfit in austin makes a drop in recoil device that replaces the factory guide rod, this can be found on the Sprinco website.Well those are my ideas...v

I like the Wilson 8 rd mag. I had three malfunctions within the first 500 rounds with my Kimber Custom Eclipse II using the factory magazine (I was also unimpressed), switched to the Wilson and haven't had a single malfunction in 750 rounds.

Thanks everyone for the ideas so far. I'll investigate all suggestions.

One other little point about the gun I forgot to mention was it shot LOW. Range was 25yds and bullets were perfectly in line with bull...but about 6" low with factory Winchester and 4" low with my hot 230 gr cast.

Obviously I don't have any mechanical sight adjustment on the Custom II. The easiest thing would be lower replacement front sight. Does anyone sell drop in front blades for Kimber? Sorry to be so dumb but it's been awhile and I doubt if I know the best sources for this sort of stuff any more.

I'll be VERY careful what I do about the trigger. A full auto .45 is not something I want to experience. I had a friend who tinkered with .45s and one day he achieved just this phenomenon ONCE. He assured me it wasn't pleasant...especially when you aren't expecting it.

Pecos
One year for Christmas I gave me a Colt Gold Cup, didn't get to the range until after New Years. This Gold Cup was most unique, it had three shot burst control, fire one shot get three, fire one get three.
Colt was most pleased to get that one back for a tune up. Found out later that the BATF does not have a sense of humor about that sort of thing and I could have gone to jail.
Jim

[ 07-26-2003, 15:56: Message edited by: arkypete ]

ARky, I'll bet Colt was DELIGHTED to get that gun back in their hands! They would have gotten in a lot more hot water than you. I knew a fellow who bought a S&W 44 mag not long after this cartridge came out. One of the holes in the cylinder was drilled out of alignment some how. The guy never noticed anything funny until he pulled the trigger. Naturally it blew the gun up. The good news it didn't hurt him. S&W had him a new replacement there THE NEXT DAY. This was back in the good old days before all the BS with the BATF and such. Sigh.

Little stories like this the factory wishes would just go away. Doesn't say much for their quality control.

Pecos45-- From what I've heard from my shooting compadres was that Kimbers seem to be ammo sensitive. When I shot any of these guns that were fixed, they worked just fine. But with my old Colts and the Springfields, they all perked just fine out of the box. Maybe you should send it back to factory and have them look into your problems. I prefer Wilson mags myself.

Hello gentlemen,
This is my first post here, this topic happened to be very timely for me. Regarding the pistol shooting low, yes you need a lower front sight. I just bought a new Kimber Tactical Pro and after 550 rounds am delighted with it. Except....it shoots low. Around 8" inches at 25 yards with 230 grain loads. I called Kimber and spoke with Dennis at the Custom Shop and he is sending me a replacement front night sight for my pistol. He offered to do the job at the factory if I'd send the slide in, however, I really preferred to have my local smith do a simple replacement with his sight pusher tool. My Tactical Pro had a .180 front and needed a .150 which will lower the POI around 5" inches at 25 yards. This will put the POI and POA together when using the white dot/green night insert. Evidently Kimber has three front sights, a .150, .180, and a .210. Occasionally the wrong sight gets installed on a particular gun. Marlin did the same with the Guide Guns 18 1/2" barrels/sights and the regular 1895 22" barrels. Not a big deal I think. A little research over at www.1911forums.com Kimber forum revealed this to be a not unheard of occurance. You might give Kimber a call and see what they have to say.

Am I the only person reading this thread and wondering exactly what one is paying for with a semi-custom gun like a Kimber? I cannot believe that someone would pay around $800 for a gun that doesn't even shoot to point of aim. Don't they test fire these before they leave the "factory"? I can buy a Charles Daly or an EAA Witness and at least they will feed, eject and go bang. I am not being facetious here because I am seriously thinking about buying a Kimber, but for heavens sake, what is one paying for? These guns are not cheap. A Sig, H&K or Glock will at least function out of the box.
Peter.

I had to get a different front sight for my HK USP 9 to change the point of impact,they charged me for the sight blade. I don't see the point of impact problem as much of an issue if the factory is willing to stand behind their product.
Jeff

[ 07-30-2003, 02:34: Message edited by: Jeff57 ]

Jeff57. Your point is well taken, especially with different bullet weights and different sight pictures. I like a 6 o'clock hold for example, but if the gun shoots with a 3/9 o'clock hold I will still use it. So, I can handle a couple of inches vertical variation, but not a gross amount. I guess I would be disappointed in my H&K if I had to do that. I did have to get another front sight for my Witness, but then it was free and I paid less than 300 bucks for it!
peter.

Gentlemen - Thanks for your comments all. GC, I will follow your example and just call Kimber about a lower sight blade. The issue of a pistol, any pistol, shooting high or low doesn't worry me at all. This is simply a function of the ammo we run thru them. Depending on how hot the ammo is and the recoil it generates or doesn't generate......any pistol is going to recoil differently and thus print differently on the target.

What WOULD worry me is if my Kimber were scattering bullets all over the place and wouldn't group in a washtub. This, I'm happy to report, is not the case. The gun groups very good.

MOST auto pistols have their little querks. There are a lot of things happening in very few inches. We just have to learn them and adjust.

I've got a whole lot more things going RIGHT with my new Kimber than I do giving me trouble. I'm still happy. In fact, tuning up and customizing a pistol till it is just right for us individually is part of the fun. I've just begun.

I just called Kimber and spoke with a JOHN about my sight issue. He told me exactly what GC said Dennis told him. So, Kimber is mailing me a new lower front sight. John says the .180 sight is intended to go on pistols with ADJUSTABLE sights, which the Custom II does not have.

I asked him about the creepy trigger and he said if I will send the gun to their custom shop, they will be happy to fix it under warranty.

Bottom line - They couldn't be nicer and more cooperative. Thanks, Kimber. I think they are a good company in the best tradition of American Firearms Companies.

All of the Sigs I have owned included a target shot by the gun and signed by the person who was the factory tester!