|
Which Kimber???
Collectively we've had four Kimbers: A Stainless Ultra Carry in .40, a Pro CDP II in .40, CDP Compact and an Ultra CDP both in .45.
The Stainless Ultra Carry and the Pro CDP II were both HORRIBLE and by horrible I mean HORRIBLE guns.
My first day at the range with that Ultra Carry made me want to throw it in a lake.
EVERY SINGLE SHOT through the thing was a failure to do something. A failure to feed, to eject, to extract. Double-feeds, stove-pipes, failures to go into battery, you name it. I was so frustrated with the thing I literally wanted to take it back to the store THAT DAY and DEMAND my money back.
I put $400 dollars into getting it smithed and when it came back it was better but it still had failures, jams and issues. Not wanting a gun that was simply not proving reliable, we sold it.
We put more than enough rounds through it for break in, we had it smithed, we changed mags, we did everything you CAN do to a gun to make it work and it never did (at least not to a defensive handgun standard). Who would want to keep such a gun?
My husband's Pro CDP II was about the same experience.
When I bought the Ultra CDP I was VERY (and I do mean VERY) skeptical. I swore that if the gun had so much as ONE hiccup in 500 rounds I was getting rid of it and never getting another Kimber for the rest of my life.
It has probably had three times as much through that and it still hasn't had a failure.
The thumb safety did break (or was about to break) and I replaced that, and the extractor did need tuning after I noticed my brass was getting chewed up and finding brass marks on my ejection port, but other than those two issues I've been very pleased with my little Ultra. I'll never get rid of it.
So, out of the four Kimbers we've had two (meaning 50%) have been lemons.
If I ever buy another Kimber, which is doubtful, it is going to get the full brunt of my skepticism until it has proven itself beyond a doubt. If it gives me even a fraction as many problems as I've experienced with other Kimbers I'm going to get rid of it faster than you can say, "Kimber."
I have other trusted friends who've also had both very wonderful and very poor experiences with Kimber and it only stands to prove that you can get either greatness or crap from Kimber, you just have to decide whether it's worth the risk or not upon purchase.
|