Kimber question

[t951]

There seem to be a plethora of gun experts here so I figured I would ask...

I have a Kimber 1911 Custom. The gun is SOOOO tight that it only likes one brand of ammo. It jams occasionally and therefore sits in the safe, unless I want to go the range. (ie it is not what i have in the night stand for protection. (that is my lowly Ruger KP90 that has NEVER jammed once in over 2000 rounds of every brand of ammo).

Anyway, here are my questions:

What could be the problem?
Are there are any recommended gunsmiths for Kimbers in Orlando?
Are all Kimbers this tight and finicky?

Thanks!
t.

[svandamme]

I have a brand new Dan Wesson PM7.. Very tight as well.
Haven't really tried any other ammo but the Fiocci .45 ball i bought... And only had 3 jams
I only have the jams when the gun warms up.
Basically i get a failure to go to battery..

what happens is the oil/grease warms up, and the action cycles faster then when cold.
And i was using cheap magazines as well as the Dan Wesson (chip McCormick) mags.
The jams only happened with the cheap MecGar mags, not with the DW mags.
with the DW mags i never have any jams whatsoever.. And i've shot about 500 rounds this last month.

So the question is.. What mags do you use, and what kind of a jam are we talking about?
Make sure you get good mags, Chip McCormic powermags, or as others told me Wilson Combat

But, see what the others say, i'm a relative newbie myself, the DW is my first gun.. only had it a month.

[motion]

[enzo1]

Springs for COLT 1911 GOV'T PISTOL Semi-Auto Pistols if its a 5 inch barrel then you can can change out the recoil and magazine springs with colt springs on this sight. I had the same problem this cured it. also I oiled it liberally until it broke in. Change every SPRING out with aftermarket ones...

[enzo1]

[azasadny]

I would take it to a local, competent gunsmith (research this 1st). There are many things that can be done, but start with the least invasive and then test thoroughly after each modification. I have found that quality magazines and springs takes care of 95% or more of these kinds of issues...

[Rick Lee]

How many rounds do you have through this gun? They can take some breaking in. I'd want a few hundred rounds through it before I started replacing stuff.

[enzo1]

the 2 guys above know a LOT more about guns than I do.... what I posted is what I did with my particular gun and situation....also I ended up with a 18.5 lb recoil spring out of the "calibration" pack

[Mo_Gearhead]

QUOTE: "It jams occasionally.."
_________________

First define for us - "jams?"

Fails to feed?
Fails to extract?
Fails to completely eject (smokestacks)?
Fails to go completely into battery?

more info needed....

[t951]

Wow, great follow up questions.

So, this is what I have experienced.

The non Kimber clips jam regularly.
The Kimber ones, much less often.

I get a couple of things defined as a jam.

One, the empty case gets stuck sideways when being ejected.
Two, the slide doesn't lock back when the last round is fired (not a jam, just another symptom).
Three, I pull the trigger, and the round is not fired.

What I do:

1. Clear the round and cycle the slide.
2. Pull the slide, validate the gun is empty and manually lock it back.
3. Pull the slide a couple of times and have a couple of rounds get ejected.

The gun has had well over 1000 rounds though it.
It is SOOOO tight, and re-assembly is a nightmare. The spring is so strong.

Hopefully this helps. I can post pics if necessary.

How do I know if the feed ramp is in good shape, or worn?

Thanks again!
t.

[svandamme]

"Round is not fired"

is the gun in full battery?
Does the hammer at fall or not?

[on2wheels52]

Something's not right, fix it or sell it. It should not be that fussy, but then I don't own any Kimber pistols.
Jim

[azasadny]

I would definitely take it to a good, local gunsmith to have it inspected to see what's wrong. You could send it back to Kimber, but that's not what I would do 1st, I'd get it to a gunsmith 1st.

[Rick Lee]

I would send it back to Kimber. I've heard they have good cust. service and are used to fixing their guns because they have horrible quality control. Shouldn't cost you a dime.

BTW, what kind of ammo are you using? I'd be sure the last 100 rounds I put through it were 230 gr. FMJ factory loads so as to not have any warranty issues.

[t951]

The hammer does fall, but no round is fired.
Not sure what full battery means. If that means, is the round fully in the chamber, yes.....scares the crap out of me when I clear it.
If it means, if the magazine is full..then it varies.

The brands of ammo have always been standard brands (nothing like Wolf ammo, but Winchester, Federal (i think), etc). No +P rounds or anything either. The one round is does well with is Fittupucci or something like that.

So, does anyone know of a good gunsmith in central florida? I have thought about sending it to Kimber, but would like to know a recommended smith in the area anyway.

Thanks again for all the info. Pelican is an awesome resource once again.


t

[Rick V]

I don't have an answer for your question but I am glad to see I am not the only person who likes his P90

[targa911S]

send it back..

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I would send it back to Kimber. I've heard they have good cust. service

I guess they do if you like rude people on the phone who don't give a crap about making their customers happy.

used to fixing their guns because they have horrible quality control.

Yeah, they may be used to it but they haven't figured out how to do it properly, yet.

FWIW, I hate Kimber (Yonkers Kimber...when they were in Clackamas they made outstanding guns) and will never own another.

[Bill Douglas]

If it is a stainless steel 1911? Stainless steel binds. So the slide can jam up and oil doesn't help. Try cleaning out the oil and spraying it with a good quality silcon spray then try it at the range. It will appear dry but that doesn't matter, this simple "fix" may cure your problem with minimum of drama.

[Rick Lee]

I'd still demand Kimber make it right. If you want to start throwing money at it, you can mail it to Robar and have them refinish it in NP3, which is very slick due to the teflon content. It looks amazing. Eric Coffey had his Kimber redone in NP3 and it looks awesome. Definitely loosens things up as far as binding goes, but you shouldn't have to do that.