Kimber Ultra carry concerns

[BillK]

I am thinking about buying a Kimber Ultra Carry II for my carry weapon. But I keep reading about all kinds of failures and jams, Most of the postings I have read are a couple years old. Have they worked out the kinks or are they still an "iffy" fire gun? I would love to hear from some of you who own one. Thanks.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Teufelhunde]

All of the 3" 1911 style guns from any manufacturer seem to be a little finicky at times. This appears to be a crap shoot on a gun by gun basis, and Kimber is no different. I have an Ultra CDP II, that is a couple of years old, and has put around 1000 rounds of many different makes downrange, without a single failure. I may be one of the lucky ones, but just remember that you tend to hear of the bad much more than you hear of the good.

YMMV

[bigdog44]

Nope, I am with Teufelhunde. I have an ultra CDP II as well. See my avatar on left. It shoots great and has never been a problem in 500+ rounds. I do carry it as well, the key for me was getting a couple very good magazines for it. I bought 2 Chip McCormicks and never looked back. I shoot Several different ammos in it from ball ammo to JHP. I love the gun and do stake my life on it.

[archer51]

The short barreled 1911's are very susceptible to limp wristing, magnifying and problems that might be there.

If the ramp has been properly polished, the chamber throat reamed, the extractor is tuned properly and quality magazines are used you should be good to go, provided you don't limp wrist it.

[gunthorp]

No problems with 800 rds through my EDC Ultra CDP/LG. I use Kimber Pro Tac mags and hold it stiff when shooting. My heavier Combat Commander and Gold Cup get more range time and don't have to be held so tightly. Don't worry, when someone is trying to kill you, the grip will be plenty firm.

[BillK]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I will be a Kimber owner here sometime in the near future!

[markush]

Don't worry, when someone is trying to kill you, the grip will be plenty firm.

I like that and would add... a heavy trigger pull will not be noticed.

I'm on the look out for a compact 1911 also. It seems I get bombarded with Kimber advertisements daily (the American Rifleman magazine is always within reach of my favorite reading seat). At times I am weak and the ad makes me consider a Kimber again...that is until I start to research the model of the month. As soon as I come across all the complaints I snap out of it and write off Kimber...again...until the next AR issue arrives

[retsupt99]

I've had several Kimbers, Ultra, Compact, and Pro...sold them all to dive fully into Glocks.
I did like the Kimbers and none of them ever gave me a problem, I just discovered the Dark Side, and I'm staying here.

[Teufelhunde]

I'm with resupt99 on this one. I love shooting the Kimber, but when it comes to carry, the Glock 26 gets the call EVERY time.

[Blue]

1000+ rounds through my Ultra Carry. Had a few feed problems during the first 100 rounds, changed to Wilson Combat mags and have not had a problem since.

[Chaplain Scott]

My 3" Kimber raptor gets rotated into the carry line-up with my battery of 4" Kimbers. I would recommend that you pay attention to the recoil spring however and replace it per the instructions.......

[satchmod]

Had an Ultra Raptor, Ultra CDP and a Pro Carry (4") and had no issues with any.

[GoPackman]

I just want to echo Blue's words. While I don't own any Kimbers right now, I have owned quite a few over the years. I always used Wilson Wilson Combat magazines and could probably count the number of feeding issues to be less than 10 in 1000's of rounds.

[Frogbones]

I stopped counting at 1000rnds.

The gun has ran without a hitch....one of the few guns that I can say honestly has ran flawless since the time i got it two or so years back.

[leathernuts]

Heres my story: My first experience with Kimber was an Ultra Ten II and that thing was flawless. Sold me on Kimber, but it was difficult to find a holster for because of the poly frame. So my second was a Ultra CDP II. I was extremely excited as this was the one I had always wanted. Unfortunately, I could never get it to shoot at the range without an FTF until I picked up Kimpro Tac Mag. Not one problem with that mag, but by that time I had given up on Kimber despite I had on order a Kimber Warrior that came, but the LGS decided to spend my money on their financial difficulties. Long story short they had one Kimber Customer II with N/S and to make it right, they gave me that, some extra Night Hawk mags and a crismson trace laser. That one has only had one FTF and thats it but I dont carry it. Whatever, Im off subject. I really didnt want to mess with it, but I was told and have read, that the 3" sometimes require some fine tuning and can become some excellent carry pistols.