Not a fan But Curious?

[wcd]

Seems like from the sources I tend to look at for availability Kimber 1911's seem to be in stock? What are they doing differently then other manufacturers? Was there really that big of a surplus of them prior to to the proposed new normal?

 

[meyer4589]

I think places like Cabelas where they are in stock all the time don’t attract the buyer that is going to drop 1k on a Kimber.

 

[DadSmith]

Seems like from the sources I tend to look at for availability Kimber 1911's seem to be in stock? What are they doing differently then other manufacturers? Was there really that big of a surplus of them prior to to the proposed new normal?

I see a ton so to speak of them to laying around also at lgs's. Maybe their cutting corners to save a dime is getting out and hurting their reputation.

 

[Amishman44]

Seems like from the sources I tend to look at for availability Kimber 1911's seem to be in stock? What are they doing differently then other manufacturers? Was there really that big of a surplus of them prior to to the proposed new normal?

Kimbers have a reputation of being fairly finiky when it comes to which ammunition will feed consistently through them. Straight-edge or Nosler bullets don't tend to feed well at all.
Have a friend who has a Rapter II and loves it, but can only feed one type of ammo through it!

 

[hANNAbONE]

they used to be good...but the quality control is lacking and now they are simply overpriced pieces. Happens a lot to these manufacturers - they try and cut corners. I owned 1 and sold it 2 months later.

 

[flatlander]

About 21 years ago, I had 5 of them. They all ran great with a minimum of 1000 rounds through any of them. Got into a bind and sold almost all my guns at one point. Got completely out of .45acp.
Now I've gotten back in to 1911's. Although I miss the feel of the "melt" on my CDP's I won't buy another Kimber because I just don't hear good things.
Which reminds me that I STILL need to get with Allen to do some work on my Colt SS Competition.

 

[BugI02]

I have not owned one but have shot those belonging to friends. Anything not full size (commander sized etc) seems to be a real problem child.

 

[Whip_McCord]

I have a 1st generation Kimber SS Custom Target that I bought in 02/2000. Never any issues with it. It shoots great and handles my light loads (using 13 lb spring) of swaged lead Zero 185gr HPSWC & 200gr SWC bullets just fine.

I have heard of the newer Kimbers having issue described by others above as well as rusting. Mine never had any of those problems.

 

[Magyars]

I've also got an early Kimber Classic. It's one of m favorites...I've had it so long the night sights are no longer working.

 

[88E30M50]

I’ve had two of them and they were both built after 2010. Both ran well with no issues but both were overpriced given the delivered product. The finish on the aluminum frames was really poor and would have probably been more durable had the frame been anodized first. Or, just hard anodized and left be. By the time I added night sights and an aluminum MSH, I was in close to $1100 for a shabby looking gun.

My guess is that the market for those guns is wary of the quality based on a lot of documented issues and internet folklore. They would probably sell at $650 but might not move at $1100