Kimber comes home, final chapter.

Ankeny · January 27, 2000, 04:30 PM

My Classic Stainless Gold Match came home two days ago, exactly two months from the day it was sent in for warranty repairs (the second time around). Kimber checkered the front strap at 30 l.p.i. at no charge for all of my troubles. That is a very nice gesture, not to mention it adds considerable value to the pistol. The checkering is perfectly executed and provides for a non-slip grip. I like the checkering job very much.

I noticed they replaced the slide and who knows what else. They also polished the frame and slide back to new condition and there isn’t a handling mark on the pistol. It looks like Kimber really did a great job.

I took the pistol to the range and shot 200 rounds through it with only one failure to feed. The pistol might choke after another 200 rounds or it might work flawlessly for the next 1,000 rounds. Only time will tell. I shot 230-grain ball from Remington, Winchester, CCI, and Federal (one box each). At twenty-five yards I was averaging five shot groups right around six inches. I figured the accuracy problem could be me, so I moved the target up to ten yards. I shot at a pretty good pace, since reliability had been the issue, and I had one ragged hole the size of a fifty-cent piece when I was done.

After I got warmed up, I moved the target back to 25 yards and the best I could do was 4-5 inch groups. I don’t know what to think of the lousy groups because I felt good and thought my performance was better than that. I’ll try some other ammunition another day. Perhaps some accuracy was sacrificed in exchange for reliability. I sure hope not. Kimber assures me they hand fit and tuned the pistol and it reflects their best work. However, I seriously doubt that they shot the thing for accuracy since no mention was made of it and no test target accompanied the pistol.

Anyway, my thanks to the folks at Kimber who intervened and took a personal interest in the pistol. In particular, thanks to Joe and Richard for making things right.

BigG · January 27, 2000, 04:42 PM

Ankeny, enjoy yer (re)new(ed) bangstick!! Hope it gives you years of trouble free enjoyment! BigG

------------------
Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson
If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok
Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up.
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG

Monkeyleg · January 27, 2000, 05:10 PM

Ankeny, when you refer to Joe and Richard, are you talking about Joe Seuk at Kimber? I've been pestering him on and off now for months about triggers and magazines on my two Kimbers, and he's been really great to deal with. It seems others on this board have had problems with Kimber's customer relations people, but they've been as considerate to me
as the folks at RCBS have.

Dick

MusclesMcGee · January 27, 2000, 07:16 PM

Ankeny, I'm glad to hear you got your gun back and you are happy. Just curious, which ammo did your kimber choke on ? CCI Blazer ?
I have had bad luck with that brand and will never buy it again. The only jams I have experienced have been with the Blazer, and it left a lot of Copper shaving in the chamber. I find my accuracy to be poor with Remington, great with Fiochi and Federal Eagle. I was shooting really crappy last night and can relate, better luck next time !

Svt · January 28, 2000, 08:09 AM

Stick with Federal Hydra Shock. You can't go wrong with it. I've had my Kimbers jam on CCI and Remington before but NEVER on the hydra shock.

------------------
Svt
Son's Place

Guns don't kill innocent people. Democrats kill innocent people.

7th Fleet · January 29, 2000, 01:41 PM

Are you shooting to check the accuracy of your Kimber, by standing free hand or from a secure bench position? It does make a great difference in the final results. Also have a friend who is a better shot than you are shoot it for accuracy from a bench before you make a final decision on how accurate it is or is not. As a LEO Firearms Instructor, I can tell you first hand that makes a big difference in some cases. Enjoy your pistol and be safe.

Keith Rogan · January 29, 2000, 02:22 PM

4-5" doesn't surprise me with ball ammo. I'll bet if you look around at various match rounds it'll shoot to about 2 1/2" off a rest. You may even do better if you reload and like to experiment.
I have the Custom "Target" which is really just the stadard model with adjustable sights and it'll do 2 1/2 - 3" when I don't have a hangover and I use 165 grain semi-wadcutters.
I also have the compact and it'll turn in pretty good groups as well under the same conditions.
The only jams I've ever experienced with either gun were just recently with some reloads that I'd set a tad too deep.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

224 · January 29, 2000, 03:43 PM

Ankeny,

Hate to say it but it's probably the shooter, not the gun.

I can only echo the advise already given. Shoot it from a rest if you can and let a few other shooters have a try with it. I'm gald that you got it back in good shape. Those experiences are *very* frustrating.

chmeyers · January 29, 2000, 09:39 PM

I also dealt with Joe Seuk and was impressed with his prompt correspondence and commitment to making me happy.

Ankeny · January 30, 2000, 12:16 AM

Monkeyleg:

Yeah, the nice guy at Kimber is Joe Suek. He seems to have his act together. The other fellow is Richard, don't know his last name. Richard is the guy who did the quality control after the gunsmiths worked on the pistol.

I took the pistol back out yesterday. I dragged some sandbags along and shot from the bench. It was kind of cold and I lost all of my brass in the snow, but I got much better results.

I shot up the rest of my white box Winchesters since that was what I shot for accuracy the first day. I count all shots including the "fliers". The first five shot group (25 yards) was 4 inches. The second group was 3.5 inches. The third group was 3 inches. That's a little better than offhand, but still not very good. Has to be the ammo.

I then shot four groups of five rounds each of 230 Speer "Lawman". Group one was 1.75, group two 1.25, group three 1.5, and group 4 was 1.5. I think that's very, very good. Then again, Kimber told me I had their best effort. Looks like the culprit was the ammo and that's why I didn't get too bent out of shape the first day.

224 and 7th Fleet:

Thanks for the advice guys, but I don't think the problem is the shooter (Grand Master). I think it was a combination of crappy ammo and shooting with the temperature in the low 20's with a windchill below zero.

January 27, 2000, 04:30 PM	#1
Ankeny Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 1998 Location: Shoshoni, WY USA Posts: 556	My Classic Stainless Gold Match came home two days ago, exactly two months from the day it was sent in for warranty repairs (the second time around). Kimber checkered the front strap at 30 l.p.i. at no charge for all of my troubles. That is a very nice gesture, not to mention it adds considerable value to the pistol. The checkering is perfectly executed and provides for a non-slip grip. I like the checkering job very much. I noticed they replaced the slide and who knows what else. They also polished the frame and slide back to new condition and there isn’t a handling mark on the pistol. It looks like Kimber really did a great job. I took the pistol to the range and shot 200 rounds through it with only one failure to feed. The pistol might choke after another 200 rounds or it might work flawlessly for the next 1,000 rounds. Only time will tell. I shot 230-grain ball from Remington, Winchester, CCI, and Federal (one box each). At twenty-five yards I was averaging five shot groups right around six inches. I figured the accuracy problem could be me, so I moved the target up to ten yards. I shot at a pretty good pace, since reliability had been the issue, and I had one ragged hole the size of a fifty-cent piece when I was done. After I got warmed up, I moved the target back to 25 yards and the best I could do was 4-5 inch groups. I don’t know what to think of the lousy groups because I felt good and thought my performance was better than that. I’ll try some other ammunition another day. Perhaps some accuracy was sacrificed in exchange for reliability. I sure hope not. Kimber assures me they hand fit and tuned the pistol and it reflects their best work. However, I seriously doubt that they shot the thing for accuracy since no mention was made of it and no test target accompanied the pistol. Anyway, my thanks to the folks at Kimber who intervened and took a personal interest in the pistol. In particular, thanks to Joe and Richard for making things right.

January 27, 2000, 04:42 PM	#2
BigG Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,334	Ankeny, enjoy yer (re)new(ed) bangstick!! Hope it gives you years of trouble free enjoyment! BigG ------------------ Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp "It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up. *45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel!* BigG

January 27, 2000, 05:10 PM	#3
Monkeyleg Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2000 Posts: 4,625	Ankeny, when you refer to Joe and Richard, are you talking about Joe Seuk at Kimber? I've been pestering him on and off now for months about triggers and magazines on my two Kimbers, and he's been really great to deal with. It seems others on this board have had problems with Kimber's customer relations people, but they've been as considerate to me as the folks at RCBS have. Dick

January 27, 2000, 07:16 PM	#4
MusclesMcGee Junior member Join Date: November 13, 1999 Location: CA Posts: 238	Ankeny, I'm glad to hear you got your gun back and you are happy. Just curious, which ammo did your kimber choke on ? CCI Blazer ? I have had bad luck with that brand and will never buy it again. The only jams I have experienced have been with the Blazer, and it left a lot of Copper shaving in the chamber. I find my accuracy to be poor with Remington, great with Fiochi and Federal Eagle. I was shooting really crappy last night and can relate, better luck next time !

January 28, 2000, 08:09 AM	#5
Svt Junior member Join Date: January 23, 2000 Posts: 467	Stick with Federal Hydra Shock. You can't go wrong with it. I've had my Kimbers jam on CCI and Remington before but NEVER on the hydra shock. ------------------ Svt Son's Place Guns don't kill innocent people. Democrats kill innocent people.

January 29, 2000, 01:41 PM	#6
7th Fleet Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2000 Posts: 1,469	Are you shooting to check the accuracy of your Kimber, by standing free hand or from a secure bench position? It does make a great difference in the final results. Also have a friend who is a better shot than you are shoot it for accuracy from a bench before you make a final decision on how accurate it is or is not. As a LEO Firearms Instructor, I can tell you first hand that makes a big difference in some cases. Enjoy your pistol and be safe.

January 29, 2000, 02:22 PM	#7
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	4-5" doesn't surprise me with ball ammo. I'll bet if you look around at various match rounds it'll shoot to about 2 1/2" off a rest. You may even do better if you reload and like to experiment. I have the Custom "Target" which is really just the stadard model with adjustable sights and it'll do 2 1/2 - 3" when I don't have a hangover and I use 165 grain semi-wadcutters. I also have the compact and it'll turn in pretty good groups as well under the same conditions. The only jams I've ever experienced with either gun were just recently with some reloads that I'd set a tad too deep. ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

January 29, 2000, 03:43 PM	#8
224 Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2000 Location: liberal, KS, USA Posts: 157	Ankeny, Hate to say it but it's probably the shooter, not the gun. I can only echo the advise already given. Shoot it from a rest if you can and let a few other shooters have a try with it. I'm gald that you got it back in good shape. Those experiences are very frustrating.

January 29, 2000, 09:39 PM	#9
chmeyers Member Join Date: November 30, 1999 Location: Rock Island, IL Posts: 75	I also dealt with Joe Seuk and was impressed with his prompt correspondence and commitment to making me happy.

January 30, 2000, 12:16 AM	#10
Ankeny Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 1998 Location: Shoshoni, WY USA Posts: 556	Monkeyleg: Yeah, the nice guy at Kimber is Joe Suek. He seems to have his act together. The other fellow is Richard, don't know his last name. Richard is the guy who did the quality control after the gunsmiths worked on the pistol. I took the pistol back out yesterday. I dragged some sandbags along and shot from the bench. It was kind of cold and I lost all of my brass in the snow, but I got much better results. I shot up the rest of my white box Winchesters since that was what I shot for accuracy the first day. I count all shots including the "fliers". The first five shot group (25 yards) was 4 inches. The second group was 3.5 inches. The third group was 3 inches. That's a little better than offhand, but still not very good. Has to be the ammo. I then shot four groups of five rounds each of 230 Speer "Lawman". Group one was 1.75, group two 1.25, group three 1.5, and group 4 was 1.5. I think that's very, very good. Then again, Kimber told me I had their best effort. Looks like the culprit was the ammo and that's why I didn't get too bent out of shape the first day. 224 and 7th Fleet: Thanks for the advice guys, but I don't think the problem is the shooter (Grand Master). I think it was a combination of crappy ammo and shooting with the temperature in the low 20's with a windchill below zero.