anyone shoot one of these-I am considering a Kimber in 9mm-figure it will be about the most affordable, most accurate factory 9mm available for under $1000...am I wrong?

Dave

Haven't shot a kimber. Have shot a Colt. Is a very, very soft shooting pistol ... almost no recoil.

Ive got a 9mm sti trojan and its one of the most accurate 1911s ive ever owned and is a ball to shoot.

Shot a colt officers model in 9mm abit worked went bang every time. Personaly the Hipower platform is much better for the 9mm.

My S-I-L has a Colt 1911-A1 Series 70 chambered in 9MM that is very accurate and easy to shoot. His dad gave him this pistol or I would try to trade him out of it, but he won't part with it because it was his father's.

i have a 9mm kimber, which i'm very happy with. i shoot idpa with it. also have a .45 &.22 kimber, all on 1911 frames. not overly thrilled with the .22.

Personally, I'd go with either an STI Trojan or a Springfield Armory before I'd get another Kimber.
Kimber's are pretty, but too damned many MIM parts, and if you get an aluminum framed model the factory will tell you in the owner's manual that it's only good for about 20,000 rounds.
That may sound like a bunch to most folks. And if you're a casual plinker like the majority then you'll never come close to that many rounds through your gun.
But, being a competition shooter, I consider 20,000 rounds just getting broken in.
My $0.02 worth: Get something else. 9MM is fine. I'd just get a make other than Kimber.

i own kimbers springfields colts and an sti and have never seen where anyone of them wear any better then a kimber. Bottom line is if you shoot any 1911 enough just like any gun your going to have parts fail. there a mechanical device and they all break eventually. Ive got a kimeber comander with an aluminum frame that has digested well over 50000 rounds and the frame shows no wear at all. It has had an extractor put in it and all the springs have been replaced more then once and i had the slide stop break on it but ive had the same problems with all of them. Done right mim parts are actually stronger. Done wrong they will fail. but so will a cast or forged part. Some of the best 1911s ive owned are kimbers and id take one hands down before id take a springfield. Springfields are like rugers. there a good bang for the buck but quality control on them sucks. I seem to get good shooting ones that arent reliable or reliable ones that dont shoot well.

quote:

"Kimbers have the Swartz type firing pin safety system and there have been a number of reports of the MIM parts in this system breaking and rendering the gun inoperable."

quote:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-156426.html

Kimber Schwartz Safety Failure

Wichaka
September 15th, 2005, 03:09 PM
Follks me being a 1911 armorer in the L.E. profession, I've seen a lot of different 1911's coming across the bench, and keep in contact with other dept.'s that carry & use the 1911 variant.

Within the last 2 weeks, I've seen 2 Kimber Series II's where the tip of the rod that protrudes from the frame which activates the firing pin safety, has broken off, leaving the gun unusable. What is more frightening, is that they were duty guns carried by uniformed officers.
Upon starting the first stage of the last qualification, the gun went click. After doing a tap-rack drill, it again went click. After the third time of going click, the gun was taken apart and the problem found.

The Officers were unaware of the broken part, and during this last qualification at their respective dept.'s, they found out that the gun was useless........except for a very expensive paper weight.
Both had been carrying these guns for weeks or longer in this condition. They have no idea when this may have occurred. Both said that they had fired their guns on their off time, but it had been sometime since doing it.........which means, they are unsure how long it had been..........at least a few weeks they figure.

Folks, I recommend that you detail strip your Kimber series II's once in awhile and check the Schwartz parts. From what I understand, Kimber has been made aware of the problem.............

I'VE SEEN 20+ SERIES II KIMBERS TOTALLY INOPERABLE

LAPD SWAT Kimbers DO NOT have the Schwartz safety system nor do those purchased by the USMC.

I'd NEVER by a gun made in anti-gun N.Y. State

Get an STI Trojan in 9mm

I like my sti but i also own 4 kimbers with the schwartz saftey and have yet to have them fail or any nim part fail. These guns are not safe queens either. Two of them have round counts of over 50000. I shoot competition in 3 differnt leagues and have yet to see a kimber safety system fail or a nim part fail on the line. Ive seen more spingfields tore apart at the range by far then i have kimbers. If you have seen 20 of them fail id like to know where. You must be exposed to one hell of alot of kimber 1911s. I guess ive only been around them for 20 years so i may not have the experience. Personaly i own about every make of 1911 and like them all. You can get good or bad from any manufacture. I do get a chuckle at people that will stick there noses up at kimbers. 99 percent of the troubles with these guns are invented on the internet. I have many guns to chose from for personal protection. What do i usually carry. A kimber commander with an aluminum frame, that by the way has a round count that is well over 50000 without any sign a wear.(how could that be after what ive heard on the internet). It has nim parts a schwartz saftey and even has an external extractor!! Every part that is bashed by the kimber haters. Why do i carry it. Because in over 50000 rounds it hasnt malfuntioned even once. that is with factory loads and every kind of handload ive stuck in it. It goes bang EVERY TIME you pull the trigger. But know after reading about all these failures ill have to buy a new gun

quote:

Originally posted by COOL:

quote:

"Kimbers have the Swartz type firing pin safety system and there have been a number of reports of the MIM parts in this system breaking and rendering the gun inoperable."

quote:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-156426.html

Kimber Schwartz Safety Failure

Wichaka
September 15th, 2005, 03:09 PM
Follks me being a 1911 armorer in the L.E. profession, I've seen a lot of different 1911's coming across the bench, and keep in contact with other dept.'s that carry & use the 1911 variant.

Within the last 2 weeks, I've seen 2 Kimber Series II's where the tip of the rod that protrudes from the frame which activates the firing pin safety, has broken off, leaving the gun unusable. What is more frightening, is that they were duty guns carried by uniformed officers.
Upon starting the first stage of the last qualification, the gun went click. After doing a tap-rack drill, it again went click. After the third time of going click, the gun was taken apart and the problem found.

The Officers were unaware of the broken part, and during this last qualification at their respective dept.'s, they found out that the gun was useless........except for a very expensive paper weight.
Both had been carrying these guns for weeks or longer in this condition. They have no idea when this may have occurred. Both said that they had fired their guns on their off time, but it had been sometime since doing it.........which means, they are unsure how long it had been..........at least a few weeks they figure.

Folks, I recommend that you detail strip your Kimber series II's once in awhile and check the Schwartz parts. From what I understand, Kimber has been made aware of the problem.............

I'VE SEEN 20+ SERIES II KIMBERS TOTALLY INOPERABLE

LAPD SWAT Kimbers DO NOT have the Schwartz safety system nor do those purchased by the USMC.

I'd NEVER by a gun made in anti-gun N.Y. State

In the 50+ years i've been shooting and building 1911's I would hate to try and remember how many I have had. When I first got out of Gunsmith school in the 50's they were just cheap surplus guns and ammo was equally as cheap so were the most economical to shoot. The last few guns I built when the 1911 love affair was at it's peak a few years ago were built on Essex frames and slides which I preferred. I then started to buy Kimbers where I didn't have to do anything but shoot them. I had a Pro CDP that I liked very much,fully melted and all the goodies and shot superbly. Then I traded for a new Eclipse Pro Target II that I think is second to none. All steel( I had forgotten how pleasant an all steel gun was to shoot) and I prefer the BoMar type fully adjustable rear. Can't speak highly enough of it. The dealer I trade with is a large Kimber dealer and he has very few returns for repair. He is also an absolute expert on 1911's. I bought an Aegis when they first came out, just wanting a 9mm and except for replacing the hammer with one with a spur (I just could not get used to looking at the spurless hammer) I have nothing but praise for it. I prefer commander length 1911's and the only full government size I have at the time is an Essex frame with an original Colt conversion unit on it. It is a tack driver so to speak. If you are looking for a 9mm I don't think you could go wrong with the Kimber Aegis. To tell the truth I'm looking at a Colt 38Super right now. Have never owned a really GOOD 38Super and feel I ought to before I quit.

lubbockdave posted this thread in the middle of July. I wonder if he has made a decision yet?

Don't ya just love it when the Original Poster never comes back?

did not know I was "required to come back" but rest assured I am watching the thread...

I playd with a Colt 1911 in 9mm a long while back.
I can't say I shot it because I could get it to work.
The ammo I had were commercial reloads. They were not sized small enough to chamber.
If you are looking at this as a range gun this will not bother you.
If you are looking at this for a SHTF, home protection gun, I would lok elsewhere. My Glock and Beretta ate those reloads without issues.

large chambers are great for military weapons, but they do contribute to inaccuracy. match chambers are cut to minimum specs. match chambers frequently refuse to chamber many different brands of factory ammo. my 1911, 9mm, kimber has not refused to feed anything yet, but if i shoot wolf ammo with the lacquered steel cases, if i don,t clean the chambers every 100 rds. or so the lacquer builds up and i get extraction and ejection jams. so far mine has been accurate and reliable. i have shot 5,000-6,000 rds. so far. my shooting partner has one just like mine, IE. aluminum frame,been shot about twice as much as mine. no problems so far. i believe the problems with the safety are caused by attempts at improper re-assembly. i was a small arms repairman in the army and most of the repairs to 1911's were caused by the owner-operator.