Kimber question

[t951]

The gun is all black. Not stainless.

I should add, its the only gun I ever purchased that wasn't brand new. I bet that's a huge clue, I should have mentioned.

That's why I was asking about the feed ramp.....what if the previous owner put thousands of rounds through it?

I just looked and Wilson Combat is EXPENSIVE! Wow, beautiful but very pricey!

[targa911S]

Just buy a damn Colt and be done with it.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Just buy a damn Colt and be done with it.

I owned four Commanders wth years between each before I finally gave up on Colt. Just not worth the money, even if they keep their value better than some others. Springfield just work better for me and cost less. My dad has a Series 70 Commander that's a tackdriver. But the ones I've had have simply not been that accurate. I'm done with them.

[Mo_Gearhead]

QUOTE: "its the only gun I ever purchased that wasn't brand new"
_________________

Someone (PO) may have changed the recoil spring.
Also, non-factory magazines can cause feed problems and also cause the slide to NOT lock back after the magazine is empty.

If it was mine I would take the advice mentioned above and find a reputable local gunsmith.

[Rick Lee]

Yes, but high-quality, aftermarket mags should work fine. Chip McCormick, Wilson, ACT, Novak, etc. should work with any 1911. If they don't, the issue is probably the gun. I had a problem with the slide catch on my last commander. I swapped it out for a checkered one by Wilson and, though I couldn't see any difference at all between the two, the Wilson one really fixed it. FWIW, I had a good 10k rounds through my older SIG P220 before I had a problem and then learned they recommend the springs be changed out every 3k rounds. I used the old recoil spring to reinforce a collapsed vacuum line in the varioram of my 993. Worked like a charm too.

[t951]

here are some quick pics of it....

The barrel seems like it is worn a bit on the outside, but it looks decent otherwise.

Trigger pull is the most precise and crisp I have ever shot, with the exception of a customer Stoner SR25 Sniper rifle.

[Rick Lee]

That barrel ain't your problem. Let's see the inside of the barrel bushing, slide and frame rails, feed ramp and inside of slide catch. Is anything binding when you manually move the slide back and forth?

[t951]

Rick,

I will try and get it apart here later today. I have to do it in the shop, because the spring is so strong.....well, it has put a nice dent in my ceiling before when it shot out.

After it's apart, I will take some more pics.

Thanks again!

t.

[ODDJOB UNO]

gawd how many times do i have to "SPLAIN THIS!"

1) take it all apart and clean the hell out of it with q-tips.

2) take 3 flavors of ammo

3) shoot the hell out of it! ie. have someone loading mags for you. shoot the damn thing until ya burn off any leftover lubricants

4) it will be damn obvious by now what will shoot or will not shoot. at this point if its feeding correctly see what flavor groups best.

5) if yer hell bent on hollow points which QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT MFGS DONT LIKE.........YOU NEED SOME RAMPAGE! ie. a ramp job by a COMPETENT SMITHY!

6) 200 rds as fast as i can shoot before i even dick around with it.

7) play with different mags before ya send it back as mentioned.



i take each and every spoon out of the box upon purchase and literally tear it apart. clean everything with q-tips and my favorite lubes(its all about da lubes).




AND THEN SHOOT THE LIVING HELL OUT OF IT AT LEAST 200 ROUNDS IF NOT MORE!



if a FTE or FTF rears its ugly head..............well then we look at brownells or midway for uber goodies.


finally if the damn thing has pissed me off to no end..............it goes to the smithy or back to mfg.(PITA!) ask me how i know.


most new spoons work perfect. but some are just plain feeked up bastids that need an attitude adjustment like some people.


i too just got done with a hk p9s 9mm police trade in. perfect shape a "CLASSIC BARNEY FIFE" from der vaterland. sat in ottos or fritzz leather(YUCK) holster all the time and got holster burn on slide while otto or fritz ate streudel.



took it all apart, noted nothing screwed up and how perfectly clean entire damn spoon was. took it out with FMJ's and HP's. did NOT LIKE HP's at ALL!


this pissed me off to no end. ordered all new springs, buffer, blah blah. installed all and took it out again with same results. did not like HP's. FTF!


said the hell with it and made the corp. decision to go to ROBAR and have slide refinished and all internals NP3'd aka a "NORTON SPECIAL". told them about FTF HP's and they did a lil "FM"(feeking magic) on the feed ramp with their dremel tool...................AND LIFE IS GOOD and IT FEEDS HP's like poo thru a goose.

[MotoSook]

Have you tried a new magazine or new springs in the magazines you have? The mags you got used with the gun may be worn.

Failure to lock back is most times the magazine and then the slide lock. Its easy to fix both yourself for cheap.

What does the firing pin look like? Have you disassembled the gun to inspect these small parts? What does the ejector and extractor look like?

[t951]

Rick,

I will try and get it apart here later today. I have to do it in the shop, because the spring is so strong.....well, it has put a nice dent in my ceiling before when it shot out.

After it's apart, I will take some more pics.

Thanks again!

t.

[ODDJOB UNO]

p.s. part of the reason i run CIRCLES around alot of so called self proclaimed bad azz shooters..................IS THE ABOVE!


not one single one of my spoons, is ever LEFT ALONE! they are lovingly caressed,cherished,fawned over,jerked off on, massaged, stroked, uberized and basically BALANCED AND BLUEPRINTED and correct TESTED ammo USED! and if i cant figure it out.............i take it to the GURUS who do this for a living day in and day out.



always fun to have some clown start bragging, and then pull a spoon out with some MATCH/CORRECT TESTED AMMO and literally watch them walk away with their tails between their legs,when they see my groups.


there is NOT ONE SPOON IN MY SAFES I WOULD NOT BET MY LIFE ON............cuz dats how i roll. because i can. and because IM ANAL! call it a character flaw.

[fritzgator]

When i bought my PRO TLE II, used as well, i had some various issues,mainly stovepiping.. One day @ the range she went full auto on me.The seer was cracked,causing the auto malfunction, but the smith informed me of various mods that were done over it's lifetime, and it was not going to be reliable unless we brought it back from the edge so to speak. It now functions flawlessy no matter what i feed it. I use wilson combat and novaks mags. had feed issues with the std kimber mags.from the trigger i'd say that pistol you have has obviously been worked, take it in for a looksy/tune up. in central FLA you should have no problem locating a good smith, with the abundance of gun stores in that area. it sure is dirty. Just look at the difference from my feed ramp vs. yours.

[911boost]

I second the reccomendation on trying new mags. My Kimber likes the Wilson Combat ones the best.

On a side note, I had a great experience with their customer service.

Since your has been modified already though, you might not be as lucky.

Bill

[t951]

Wait, how do I know if mine has modded?

I spoke to a gunsmith here in Orlando today. He told me that my gun has too many issues to deal with until it get's a clean bill of health from Kimber. So, he told me to ship it to Kimber.

I called Kimber and they couldn't find the serial number. They asked me if it was a Clackamas gun. (it is). They put me on hold, and finally came back and said they could, even though it was made by a different company.

I have an RMA now. Does this have to go from an FFL to them, and back to an FFL and then to me. If so, what a pain in the butt.

I killed some time at Gander Mountain during lunch. It was SOOO hard not to buy another spoon.

I liked the Nighthawk GRP (way to much at 2700....not sure why it costs that much).

So, thanks everyone for the tips, but for now, it is going to Kimber.

[MotoSook]

Kimberly should have sent you a label to send the gun direct to the factory overnight. They repair and send it back to you. No FFL. That's how Springfield handled my factory service.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Soukus

Kimberly should have sent you a label to send the gun direct to the factory overnight. They repair and send it back to you. No FFL. That's how Springfield handled my factory service.

That was a very interesting thread, one worth a scan t951.

I have a Kimber .45 Desert Warrior I bought in 2002 and have no issues at all. They were popular for a bit, then simply seemed to crash quality control-wise.

[azasadny]

Clean the gun properly, lube it up and shoot a bunch, then report back what happened. My 1911's like to be lubed up, especially on the rails. I use Rig grease (Thanks, David!)

[t951]

I clean my guns after every shoot, so I am not sure why my gun looks so dirty.

My wife, or my best friend may have taken it shooting without telling me. (That would make me mad....)

But anyway, when I do go, they are clean with just enough oil to not gum up the works. All of my other stuff is maintained the same, so I am not sure why this one would be picky when clean.


t.

[fritzgator]

I noticed the clackamas stamp on the side and was curious as mine is the Yonkers,NY stamp. Clackamas, OR is the rifle manuf. location AFAIK. The trigger is what gave it away to me. Never seen that trigger on a Kimber,but then again, never seen a Clackamas pistol before.