Are Kimbers worht the Price?

[firestorm89]

Just curious if the Kimber 1911 45's are worth thr price? I don't know anyone that owns one.

Thanks

 

[sixfivesavage]

Short answer...nope

 

[Kimber45]

I have a Gold Match that I bought in the 90's. It's very accurate and well made, not sure about the newer ones though.

 

[Lawman1800]

In my experience I would say no.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

It depends on how good of a shot you are. If you can hit the target at 10 yards and make a 6 inch group, then no, the Kimber is not worth it for you. If you are hitting a railroad tiedown plate at 40-50 yards with every shot, then yes, the Kimber would do well for you. When it comes to a Kimber it is all relative to how good you are, the pistol can only make your life easier.

I have experience with a Kimber Eclipse Target II, btw.

 

[Silverlode]

In my experience, a decade ago yes. Today, no.

 

[inkd]

I have an older Kimber that I wouldn't trade for any other 1911 out there. Absolute tack driver.

I've heard the newer ones are sketchy on the quality control though.

 

[swinokur]

....

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

Bought a NIB Stainless Target II in 2011.. My next full size 1911 will be another Kimber.

Has ate 7000 rounds without a single failure, and is very accurate if I do my part! Ive been nothing but pleased with mine.

The earlish, mid 2000's production years, Kimbers with external extractors had issues with that set up. Kimber did away with the external extractors, and went back to internal. Not sure why the hell the would go with an external extractor to begin with.

 

[SCARCQB]

I have a kimber tle rl 2 that I use to shoot coke cans and clays at about 110 yards. It has mim parts, the oxide finish sucks, I had issues with rust but it is reliable and accurate. It also is the smoothest 45 pistol in my collection.

It is expensive. But being able to shoot one hole groups at 25 yards is priceless.

 

[BenL]

From someone that actually owns one, yes. (Mine is an older Gold Match.)

 

[johnhmpg]

I also actually own a Kimber Custom TLE/RL II. 100% reliable and much more accurate then I am. For all of those of you who have actually owned Kimbers and have had issues with them please elaborate. We all can read the self perpetuating internet trash.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

I will elaborate, as an owner of a Kimber. No issue that I could not attribute to a bad mag or bad ammo.

At 40-50 yards hitting a railroad tiedown plate with no issues whatsoever. At 10 yards when I am out of practice, I am ripping the bull out of the target, say 3.5-4 inch groups at 25 yards (when I am out of practice). At 40-50 yards hitting the narrow side of a 1 quart oil bottle with every shot (when in practice), 8 inch paper plates at 100 yards are no problem, when I do my job properly.

No issues with the extractor or any other parts. I does everything I ask it to do.

 

[DeadIDik]

I wouldnt buy one even at half price.

 

[capman98]

I have a Kimber custom II and love it. Never had a problem. none what-so-ever

 

[JWBanshee]

I have two and They are Nice, But I think My next 45 will be a Les Baer.

 

[Just a Guy at the Range]

I had a Custom II .45, with the external extractor that just would not stay in the gun. It proved unreliable enough that I stopped using it in competitions. Kimber's customer service on the issue was also unacceptable, I couldn't buy spare parts to keep in my range bag, (they would only sell to an authorized Gunsmith, and then only for a repair at the time, causing the gun to be out of service for weeks), and they wouldn't convert it to an internal extractor version (which they went back to because of this, I believe), even at my expense.

Primarily because of the customer service issues, I will never do business with them again.

Your results may vary.

 

[Silverlode]

I will elaborate, as an owner of a Kimber. No issue that I could not attribute to a bad mag or bad ammo.

At 40-50 yards hitting a railroad tiedown plate with no issues whatsoever. At 10 yards when I am out of practice, I am ripping the bull out of the target, say 3.5-4 inch groups at 25 yards (when I am out of practice). At 40-50 yards hitting the narrow side of a 1 quart oil bottle with every shot (when in practice), 8 inch paper plates at 100 yards are no problem, when I do my job properly.

No issues with the extractor or any other parts. I does everything I ask it to do.

My best friend and my brother both own Kimbers.

My friend - One, a full size 1911 that is probably a decade old is a great gun. The second is a carry size model with external extractor. Gun ran great for a while and then FTE issues.

My brother - Carry size, internal extractor. FTE practically right out of the box and the rear sight was way off. Has had to return it twice for the extractor issue and Kimber doesn't even pay the shipping for clear factory issues.

No matter what you buy, you can get a turd. How the manufacturer handles it makes all the difference. You can spend less $ and get at least an equivelant if not better quality gun from Springfield Armory (in most cases) and their customer service is second to none.

Edit/Add: Both my brother and friend have two Springfield 1911s each and would both choose those hands down over anything coming out of Kimber the last few years. I own 3 Springfield 1911s with no complaints.

 

[clandestine]

In my experience as a professional gunsmith over a decade servicing several hundred Kimbers, no they are not worth the price even half of the price.

I'm not going to go into further details for my explanation. If someone wants more details they can search my past posts about the topic. I'm not interested in arguing with fanboys you can't put the Kool Aid down.

 

[Nostromo]

I also actually own a Kimber Custom TLE/RL II. 100% reliable and much more accurate then I am. For all of those of you who have actually owned Kimbers and have had issues with them please elaborate. We all can read the self perpetuating internet trash.

I have the same gun as well, love it. Yes it was expensive but I bought it the day I sold my house and had a phat check coming my way. Doubt that will happen again anytime soon.