Kimber Super Carry Pro - review

[hblac]

The OP's experience was similar to my experience with the Pro Carry II even after a trip back to the factory. I doubt I'll ever try another.

[shanzlik]

Well, Kimber agreed to send out a prepaid shipping label so we'll see what they can do. Turnaround is running 4-6 weeks they said. I'll post back with an update when I get it back.

[zombieslayer]

Did it really cost $1500? Sorry bout your luck, hopefully they fix it.

[bikerbill]

Excellent review, sorry you had such a bad experience. My UCII has been perfect since day one; I don't recall a 500-rd breakin mentioned in my manual, but I did run 200 rds of ball and 50 of my favorite SD ammo through it before I started carrying it in cool weather ... has probably 700-800 rds through it now, most with Wilson Combat mags, and not one failure of any kind ... I love it ... I'd be interested to see what Kimber does to make this right ... let us know ...

[Eagle0711]

Thanks for the detailed report. Sorry you've had those troubles, and I hope that Kimber makes it right.

My experience has been positive. My first was a like new Pro Carry II. The guy must have traded it off after a few rounds. It did have some malfunctions.

I called Kimber and they sent a new extractor, mag., and a recoil spring free of charge. I was told that they would do what ever it took to make it reliable.

At a few hundred rounds it shot perfectly. It is reliable an accurate. I carry it daily.

I bought a new stainless pro carry II in 9mm. It shot perfectly with 124 ball.
The short stubby HPs would nose dive and FTF. I called Kimber and was told that because of the shorter cartrige as compared to the 45 ACP that to use the longer bullets that have the same profile as ball. They recommed Hornady XPT and others.

Shot 250 rounds of longer bullets with no problems. I did buy two Check-Mate mags. which seem to be better than the stock mag.

I couldn't be more satisified. I hope that this works out for you.

As wev'e seen there are a lot of Kimber bashers, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.

[Ken - Oh]

As wev'e seen there are a lot of Kimber bashers, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.

Eagle0711, I consider that an insult. You have been lucky with yours, others have not. To imply that those of us with problems are useless is insulting.

[shanzlik]

Would I recommend this pistol? It's probably obvious by now, but I have to say no based on my sample The Super Carry Pro turned out to be Super Frustrating. For the price, it should exhibit a little better fitting, have a more durable feed ramp or a ramped barrel, and should not have the reliability issues that mine has. However, if those issues were solved or are not an issue on your example, I would say it would make a very good carry pistol. It conceals well, shoots very well, and could be a great carry pistol if Kimber put enough QC/QA into it.

I'd say that was pretty even handed and not bashing. I took time to point out all the positives elsewhere in the review, too.

[Mags]

Excellent and detailed review. I have an Ultra covert which I had to send back and it now runs great. I just bought an Aiegs 9mm pro and have a Super Carry Ultra on order. My experience with my first Ultra was dissapointing but Kimber made it right. I like thier features and looks and the customer service was great so I'll give em some more business. I'll be looking for your review when you get your gun back from Kimber.

[shanzlik]

Thanks, Mags. I will definitely bring this thread back up with a report when I get my pistol back.

[Shane Tuttle]

Originally Posted by Ken - Oh

Eagle0711, I consider that an insult. You have been lucky with yours, others have not. To imply that those of us with problems are useless is insulting.

Forgive them, Ken, for they do not know the definition of bashing yet somehow love to inject it in threads to stir the hornet's nest.

shanzlik, be sure to let us know what the outcome is.

[shanzlik]

UPS tracking shows Kimber got it today, so the time to repair clock starts on March 1st.

An interesting thing at the UPS service center when I dropped it off yesterday - the one lady thought it had to go next day air. She asked a 2nd lady, who came and looked at the prepaid label I brought with me. She saw it was going to Kimber and said, oh Kimber, they have a deal with UPS to allow it to go 2nd day air. Usually UPS requires next day. Makes me wonder how many pistols go back to Kimber that they have enough volume to setup an exception to policy like this? (wondering in a curious way, not slamming Kimber)

Another interesting thing, they had a no firearms on this property sign at the main entrance. But, you have to go there if you want to ship your pistol through them. Little odd! It wasn't a 30.06 compliant sign as Texas requires, it was more of a generic no knives, guns, what-have-you sign, so I went ahead and carried concealed in there, too. I just thought that was ironic.

[Auto426]

An interesting thing at the UPS service center when I dropped it off yesterday - the one lady thought it had to go next day air. She asked a 2nd lady, who came and looked at the prepaid label I brought with me. She saw it was going to Kimber and said, oh Kimber, they have a deal with UPS to allow it to go 2nd day air. Usually UPS requires next day. Makes me wonder how many pistols go back to Kimber that they have enough volume to setup an exception to policy like this? (wondering in a curious way, not slamming Kimber)

Honestly, I don't think UPS themselves know what their handgun shipping policy is. Just about every store you visit will give you a different answer. The last two guns I ordered from Bud's were shipped to my FFL using UPS second day air, so this "deal" isn't exclusive to Kimber alone. Seems to me like it has more to do with having an FFL than anything else.

[Ken - Oh]

Yes, I had noticed that Kimber uses much more reasonable second day air.

IMO it's all a scam to fleece us. If I ever end up shipping a gun, I'm sure going to try for second day air.

Ken

[shanzlik]

I received the call from Kimber today that my Super Carry Pro is on the way back to me. The good news so far is that they did find an issue with the fit of the barrel to the feed ramp. I had noticed that the barrel had what appeared to be a slightly asymmetrical cut in it before I sent it in, so I will be interested to see if it looks different now. They also said they worked on the feed ramp and polished it afterwards, along with adjusting the extractor tension. They didn't mention anything about the wear on the lugs so we'll see if they changed anything there and maybe forgot to mention it in the short phone call.

I am hopeful that the changes will get it up and running reliably. I am glad I sent it in rather than continuing to try things on my own, as it obviously had some problems as it came from the factory.

Pre-refurb work pictures:








Post-rehab pictures to come after I get it and test fire it....

[vandyatc]

Originally Posted by Ken - Oh

Wow, that sure is a nice looking gun! Looks good enough to make someone want to buy one even when they realize the risk of problems.

<sigh>

Don't feel bad. After reading the reviews a year ago I still didn't think I would have so many problems. After all I have earlier Kimbers (1997, 2001) that were good guns. A year ago I bought a Kimber TLE as a carry gun. It's spent most of it's time in the safe and has been expensive for ammo and replacement magazines while trying to get it to be reliable. So far, with 800 or 900 rounds through it, I still can't fully trust it.

I think I'm at the point where it works okay with FMJ or SWC ammo, but not JHP ammo. Of course that's not so good for a carry gun.

I wonder how many people that have reliable Kimbers are just shooting range ammo, not premium defense ammo.

I've been debating to keep experimenting with it, or to get a DW, Sig, or Springfield (or go back to my Sig P220)

Ken

My story is identical... I've replaced a lot more parts though. I'm hoping I have it licked. 200 more flawless rounds and I'll trust it.

[45Gunner]

Nice gun review. Sorry to hear that you had a problem. I hope Kimber makes it right for you. I own 4 different Kimbers. Had a problem after shooting one of them for the first time...seemed to be a chunk of metal broken off of the frame near the ejection port. I sent it back to Kimber and the problem taken care of and the gun back to me within 3 weeks.

I noticed you changed the recoil spring. I have done that with all my Kimbers and have noticed an improved performance by experimenting with different tension Wolff Springs. One other note pertinent to 1911's, not just Kimber: I have noticed that after every 500 rounds they should be detailed stripped and the ejector should be removed and it and its housing should be completely cleaned. Depending upon the brand of ammo used, it may have to be accomplished a little more frequently.

[vandyatc]

What spring strength did you go to? I just went to 18.5 Wolff. So far so good, but as I said, I want 250 rounds through it without a problem first.

[Ken - Oh]

One other note pertinent to 1911's, not just Kimber: I have noticed that after every 500 rounds they should be detailed stripped and the ejector should be removed and it and its housing should be completely cleaned. Depending upon the brand of ammo used, it may have to be accomplished a little more frequently.

Ejector? Isn't that staked in? I'm no expert on detail stripping but my Colt Gold Cup has had 15-20K rounds through it and I've never removed the ejector.

[vandyatc]

I think he may have meant the extractor

[45Gunner]

My mistake...I did indeed mean extractor. My wife was talking to me when I was trying to write. My wife says I never listen, at least that is what I think she says.

With regard to the springs, I try both a 16 lb. spring and then an 18.5 lb. spring to see which functions better. It is a trial and error system and I do not have a magical formula. If it works, it stays, if it doesn't it gets put back into the parts box.

[vandyatc]

Ok. I bought the pack and have a 16 (orig), 17.5, 18.5, 20, 22, & 24. I'll trial and error.

One got the gun running so sweet (if this pans out), and the heavier spring takes some kick off. I like it. It's a hobby gun, not an EDC.

[mikemcg9mm]

So what ever happened with the Super Carry?

[shanzlik]

I eventually sold it. Had continued problems and the quality of their repair work was very poor, both functionally and visually. Here's some of what I posted in a couple other boards.

Here are some photos after Kimber serviced my Super Carry Pro and before I have had a chance to test it again. I am not impressed to say the least. Round count is 850+ (not sure how many they added to my count). You can see where they left some marring inside the frame and below the feed ramp when they worked on it, as well as undue wear on several areas for such a low round count. Also notice the very visible marks on and in the barrel.

[shanzlik]

original post on another forum, asking what people thought of the work:

OK, I received my Super Carry Pro back from Kimber the other day. They say they refit the barrel, polished the feed ramp and tuned the extractor. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet to see if it works now, but while I am waiting, anyone have any comments on the quality of their work and whether it's typical for Kimber or something happened here? I have my own opinions and am curious to hear your's.

I had 850 rounds through it before sending it in. Some of the odd wear / marred surfaces were not there when I sent it in.

[shanzlik]

I got tired of responses like this one, so I didn't post it here. I guess some people have different standards. To me, they shouldn't return it in worse condition, and there is no way the parts should be that battered in <1,000 rounds. Seven other 1911s of mine have as many or far more rounds and look better than that. Including some with alloy frames.

Well, the barrel for example has fairly deep scratches that were not there before, there is a large gouge uner the feed ramp that wasn't there before, there is a lot of wear on the frame in the barrel link area, the barrel link area itself is very gouged up, the ramp doesn't look particularly polished like they said they did, and the ramp still has pitting issues, etc.

This "before" picture makes it look like all they did while polishing the ramp was add a new gouge below it...



This "before" picture isn't the best but shows the barrel was polished and did'nt have deep scratches. I don't mind the loss of polish, but deep visible scratches don't speak well for the quality of the work.



What I am wondering is this: is it typical for the gun to come back from Kimber with a worse appearance, whether or not it was fixed?

They may have fixed it, but returning it in a poorer condition, even if in appearance only, will likely lower its resale value to anyone inspecting it pre-purchase, and certainly would lower the owner's satisfaction with their purchase.

If you took your car in and they said they ported the heads or something, and when you looked under your hood the block was gouged and the alternator was banged up from their tools, I don't think you'd expect to hear the excuse that it's just appearance don't worry about it.

This didn't start off as a complaint, I am genuinely curious if this is the norm when Kimber works over a pistol under warranty.

It obviously wasn't sent in for purely cosmetic reasons, as they themselves said the had to refit the barrel. If I were solely worried about cosmetics, I'd have pointed out all the areas where the finish is coming off of the frame and slide.