My new Kimber

[Rugerman]

Well I did it, I finally went and became a 1911 owner. I purchased a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. What a beautiful gun I will post some pics later when I get my camera charged.

Went to the range yesterday and had a fair share of problems maybe someone here has some ideas of what is happening. About every 40 rounds or so it jams the exiting shell into the ejection port and basically crushes the end of the spent shell. Racking the slide clears it but If I am going to carry this gun I can't have this happening at all. My Glock has never jammed or failed to fire and I paid double for this beauty. Some have said I just need to break it in. Some have said I was limp wristing it but I was making sure that was not the case.

Any ideas? It is a beautiful gun and feels awesome in my hand.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Scott]

Have you had anyone else shoot it?

If you have had others shoot it and the same problem presents then look at the gun.

[Rugerman]

Yes two others have had the same thing happen

[Scott]

Same ammo for everyone or have you tried different ammo as well?

[Rugerman]

Tried different ammo as that is what I was thinking. It is a 10mm so the first time it happened I was using aluminum shells thought that was it. Then tried PMC same thing then tried remmington same thing. Hard to find 10mm easily. Nice punch though

[Scott]

Tried different ammo as that is what I was thinking. It is a 10mm so the first time it happened I was using aluminum shells thought that was it. Then tried PMC same thing then tried remmington same thing. Hard to find 10mm easily. Nice punch though

True, a variety of 10mm is hard to come by for sure. My 10mm is a S&W 610 3".

Puzzler to be sure. Several things are possible. Extractor, which I think is least likely with the frequency of the issue. Tight spring bringing the slide back before the case clears. Case too tight in the chamber slowing the extraction process or causing the slide not to cycle properly. There are other causes, but you have eliminated the shooter and most likely the ammo.

Are the cases exhibiting marks that would indicate they are dragging or really tight in the chamber? I have to assume the spring is pretty stout on this gun. You can also contact Kimber and see if they have encountered this before and have a recommended fix.

[mavrik46]

Rugerman, you didn't say how many rounds total you went thru. If i remember correctly, Kimber recommends at least 500 rounds for break in. I know it sounds silly that after paying that kinda $$$ for a Kimber that it doesn't run flawlessly out of the box, but if your Eclipse is anything like the .45 Eclipse Pro I had or the .45 Pro Raptor I have now, the chamber is tight. But if the problem persists, I would definately give Kimber a call. I believe that their customer service will take care of you.

[Knuckledrager]

Well I did it, I finally went and became a 1911 owner. I purchased a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. What a beautiful gun I will post some pics later when I get my camera charged.

Went to the range yesterday and had a fair share of problems maybe someone here has some ideas of what is happening. About every 40 rounds or so it jams the exiting shell into the ejection port and basically crushes the end of the spent shell. Racking the slide clears it but If I am going to carry this gun I can't have this happening at all. My Glock has never jammed or failed to fire and I paid double for this beauty. Some have said I just need to break it in. Some have said I was limp wristing it but I was making sure that was not the case.

Any ideas? It is a beautiful gun and feels awesome in my hand.

Are you saying that the gun is failing to eject and the extracted casing is becoming stuck between the breach face and the forward edge of the ejection port?

[Sh00ter]

Mavrik has it right...the gun needs lots of break-in rounds.

I've got 3 Kimbers...Grand Raptor II, Pro CDP II & Ultra Carry II with CT grips. The 5" Raptor & 4.25" Pro CDP took quite a few rounds before they became perfectly reliable. The 3" Ultra Carry has been flawless right out of the box...never any type of malfunction. I suspect that they build the 3" guns with a little more play in them for reliability. You can tell the difference in the "tighteness" of the 3" vs. the longer barrel guns.

I suspect that you just need to shoot your new gun 'til it's broken in & all should be well.

[retsupt99]

I would be calling Kimber...

I have two Kimbers... an Ultra CDP II and a Pro CDP II...both have been flawless from the first shot.

Stay armed...stay safe!

[Laseraim]

Sounds to me like one of three possibilities:
1) The ejector is slightly off it's intended position.
2) The recoil spring is a bit too stiff (see break in period)
3) You need better control

Have you disassembled and lubed prior to shooting? Is the spring plunger riding in the grove on the barrel nut? Field strip it, clean it thoroughly and reassemble reading manual's step-by-step instructions.

Look at the spent casings. Is there a little ripping on the rim? Check out anything that looks suspicious and let us know what you find.

[PShooter]

The above advice is great. Don't consider it carryable until you are 500 to 1000 rounds past the point of your last problem, at least. I have had reliability work performed on three of my 1911s by gunsmiths with very good reputations and I recommend doing that if Kimber doesn't figure the problem out first. No reason to be frustrated and waste ammo. The one to two hundred dollars you may spend on a good gunsmith will get you carrying sooner and feeling very good about the reliability of your gun. Make sure you use a gunsmith with a very good reputation though if you go that route. Even a good gunsmith may need one or two tries to get the bugs out so you still need a break-in period after they work it of course. Good luck. My 1911s are equal to my Glocks as far as reliability goes after being worked on.

[Goel]

I can echo others statements here. I purchased my Pro CDP II last September and had some "issues" (FTF) until I put about 500 rnds through it. Now it is flawless.

[Sarge45]

Lube your gun good. LOCK your wrists to try to basically eliminate muzzle flip. It will have a heavy recoil spring which translates to more energy transferred to your wrists over a shorter time. Locking your wrists is critical. Try it again.

[fatboy97]

I would be calling Kimber...

+1... never owned one myself, but I would definitely call Kimber. Got to love those Glocks.