Bye bye kimber

[NaturalSelection]

i was very excited when i bought my new kimber . my excitement was short lived however. the first 150 rounds or so were as smooth as silk, and then my troubles started. each time when i inserted a fresh magazine and released the slide, it wouldnt fully seat requiring a manual bump. it would fail to feed again at least once each magazine. i contacted kimber who told me that the weapon just wasnt yet broken in, so i ran another 350 rounds through it. the problem continued. i asked for help on the 1911 forum and was told there were known issues with blazer brass ammunition, so i took it back out with 500 rounds of WWB, remington, corbon, pmc, and the problem continued.

i stopped by sheels all sports (billings montana) to look for my next gun purchase, and the gun manager asked me how the new kimber was doing. when i told him of my troubles without hesitation he offered me a full refund (even after 1000 rounds!). they will send the weapon back to kimber for repairs and then sell it as a used weapon. once again their customer service amazed me.

since i really liked the 4" 1911 for ccw i turned around and ordered a springfield champion. if all my other springfields are any indication, im sure the champion will serve me very well.

this post isnt intended to be an anti-kimber post and i hope you dont take it as such. i know that anybody can make mistakes....i know kimber builds great 1911s overall....but like anybody else ill stay with what has served me best.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Team American]

I had an almost identical experience with my full size Kimber. Rounds would hang up half way into the chamber on a regular basis. I wound up trading it to a friend (and he's still a friend ) who liked to tinker with guns, and he still had the same issue.

I hated to get rid of it because it had the sweetest trigger action of any .45 I've ever used...

[Brian45]

Sorry to hear about your Kimber. Good luck with the SA Champion. I have been very happy with my SA Lightweight Champion.

[Bud White]

Thats to bad i go one of the Raptors on hold for myself good luck with the champion

[rocky]

Hope it works out. I love my champ., but had to send it back after 100 rnds the slide stop wasn't working.

[Weeg]

Geez...One of my 1911's is a Custom TLE...600+ rounds with not a single malfunction.


Maybe I got a fluke

[kansas_shooter]

Natural Selection... Please Please Please give a range report on the champion and any comments on a SA micro if you have one. Thanks

[CopperKnight]

Sorry to hear that. Years ago you wouldn't hear anything bad about them. Maybe they've gotten too big and their quality is slipping.

Or, maybe I wasn't in the right place to hear about them years ago and they had the same problems.

[jwkimber45]

That was excellent customer service from your retailer!!!

Sorry to hear you didn't get the problem sorted out. My Kimber Custom Compact has functioned flawlessly. Its a old one though, one of the first few hundred they put out.

[P95Carry]

Indeed that store manager has an awesome approach - that is superb.

Hope the Springer will replace any Kimber loss blues - sure it will.

[Blackhawk6]

You certainly do not encounter customer service like that every day!

[DaveT]

NaturalSelection,

Sorry to hear that the Kimber did not work out.

If your new gun does not fit the holster pictured in your link that well, keep me in mind and I'll buy the holster from you if the price is right ! I have a black Galco of that style, been looking for a brown one.

[Captain Crunch]

i stopped by sheels all sports (billings montana) to look for my next gun purchase, and the gun manager asked me how the new kimber was doing. when i told him of my troubles without hesitation he offered me a full refund (even after 1000 rounds!). they will send the weapon back to kimber for repairs and then sell it as a used weapon. once again their customer service amazed me.

Sure wish we had a store like this in Kalispell.

Now this is customer service!

[mtmack25]

Were you using Kimber's stock magazines? I am anticipating buying a Kimber soon, done a lot of research. My understanding is that the magazine's that they ship with are not worth much. When replaced with Wilson 47d's(the common solution, though I think a few others were mentioned), feeding problems are solved. Without knowing more, I can't say for sure.

[NaturalSelection]

Natural Selection... Please Please Please give a range report on the champion

will do, but sadly i dont know how long it will take. my dealer called 6 different distributors and nobody has one. i was told that they have been waiting for months for more springfields. i called sportsmans warehouse in missoula also just to see and they told me the same thing. jims guns in fayetteville NC has one on the shelf for $679 (plus shipping to montana) but since sheels did me so good i wouldnt think of buying from anybody else. with summer setting in ill have to try harder at concealing my 5" TRP until they can find me a champion.