kimber custom tleII jams

[deserteagle]

having some major issues with jams.
i have one original kimber mag and two wilson combat mags. with each use the gun will jam(slide will not fully go forward) every other shot. this happens with each mag.

i have cleaned and lubed the gun after each use.

i have tried two types of ammo.

what am i doing wrong?
the gun is supposed to be new and looks like its in mint condition.

 

[Mags]

First thing you should do is to call Kimber because they will try to make it right. You might have an out of spec slide stop which is fairly popular on the newer pistols. Do you sling shot or use the slide stop to release the slide? What does your feed ramp look like? I still think it may be the slide stop though, call Kimber and they will send you a new one.

 

[Balrog]

How many rounds have you fired through it? If it is less than 500 rounds (which equates to $250 at today's prices), Kimber will tell you to fire 500 rounds through it to break it in, and then call them back.

After you have fired the requisite 500 rounds, you will most likely still have the same problem, but at least Kimber will then talk to you about fixing it. They may or may not pay shipping.

Kimbers sure are pretty guns though.

The slide stop issue mentioned above is only one of several things that could be wrong.

 

[EddieNFL]

If it is failing to return to battery, the extractor is probably not tensioned correctly (a very common problem with Kimbers). Easier to fix it yourself rather than deal with Kimber customer service.

 

[Balrog]

"kimber customer service" is an oxymoron.

 

[JoeSlomo]

If it is failing to return to battery, the extractor is probably not tensioned correctly (a very common problem with Kimbers). Easier to fix it yourself rather than deal with Kimber customer service.

+1

This is one of, if not, THE most common issues I read about Kimbers, and the ONLY Kimber I ever bought HAD this issue. This stems from poor fitting and quality control on Kimbers' part, period.

Check out 1911.org for troubleshooting and tuning tips.

http://newforum.m1911.org/

One way to trouble shoot the extractor tension is to simply take it out and hand cycle rounds, PREFERABLY dummy rounds. If the rounds are feeding smoothly without the extractor, that is a good indication that the tension is too tight, which restricts the movement of the round as it is fed causing your stoppage.

Relatively easy to troubleshoot and fix, however, if you don't feel confident, I would just take it to a smith that knows about 1911's. Some of them do simple fixes like that on the spot for nothing, or next to nothing.

Beats dealing with Kimber imo...

 

[deserteagle]

kimber

i thank you all for your insight.

im dissapointed to hear about this common problem with kimber. i was held to believe they are of high quality and reliability.

 

[EddieNFL]

i was held to believe they are of high quality and reliability.

More like "high dollar" advertising budget.

 

[swinokur]

I have a TLE/II that has over 1k rounds through it without a burp. Don't give up. It is an excellent handgun and needs tweaking.

 

[mljdeckard]

My Custom II is the best handgun I have ever owned. When you sell several times more 1911s than your nearest competitors, problems are magnified, but it doesn't necessarily mean a higher RATE of problems than any other manufacturer. Remember, people with problems scream a lot louder than the content majority, PARTICULARLY on the internet.

 

[MICHAEL T]

im dissapointed to hear about this common problem with kimber. i was held to believe they are of high quality and reliability.

you were lied to . Their all ad hype

 

[Balrog]

Their all ad hype

Well they are not all ad hype. They look good. Actually they look great.
But they just don't work as good as they look. In fact, I think from a functional standpoint they are considerably below Colt, S&W 1911s, and Springfields.

 

[GIJOEL]

Say what you will, Kimber will be the only 1911 in my safe. I'd call Kimber, be nice, don't yell at anyone and follow there advice. If they say the gun needs to be broken in more call back and talk to someone else.

 

[Balrog]

They are going to hold you to 500 rounds.

Only way around it is to lie to them and tell them you have shot it 500 times.

Don't be surprised if they make you foot the bill for shipping back to them. If they try that, whine and complain, and I have been able to get them to send you a shipping label.

 

[schmeky]

I want someone to list a 1911 manufacturer that hasn't had a problem . . . . . . . . (crickets in the background) . . . .

To the OP, a tight extractor is not that uncommon on any 1911. You bought a great pistol, once this minor issue is resolved, you'll be happy. If you bought it new from a gunshop, take it back if they have a gunsmith. If not, a local smith would probably adjust the extractor for a minimal fee.

Kimber will most likely make it right for little to no expense. There is ton of info on the net about how to adjust an extractor. It's really quite easy. Relax.

 

[TechBrute]

I suspect your Kimber "match" chamber is too tight. You can have a smith ream it out, you can see if it shoots out, or you can have Kimber work on it. I had this issue. I shot it out. After 250 rounds it smoothed out and was perfect after that. Yours sounds a bit more severe than mine.

Kimbers are fine guns. The detractors fall into 3 groups. Internet trolls, people that have heard someone else say that they're bad and parrot it, and the smallest group, people who have legitimate issues with a pistol. Kimber makes more 1911 pistols than most manufacturers. There will be some small percentage that will have problems, but that percentage is no higher than any other manufacturer, they just make waaaay more guns.

No manufacturer (in any industry) is perfect. Kimber is above average.

 

[Balrog]

Yes, it will probably be an easy problem to fix, its just a shame Kimber can't consistently make $900 guns that work properly without being broken in and tweaked.

Over the years I have owned probably 5 or 6, including the Custom II, an Eclipse in 10mm, a CDP, a stainless custom II, and a Custom Target. Of these, all had problems to a greater or lesser degree with failures to feed. Perhaps I am just extremely unlucky, but it looks like a control problem to me. Finally, I just decided that no matter how good Kimbers looked, I just was not going to buy anymore. I switched to S&W and Colt. I have had no problems with them.


I have no doubt that trolls exist and people with no experience repeat other people's stories, but I am being forthright and honest about my Kimber experiences.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

im dissapointed to hear about this common problem with kimber. i was held to believe they are of high quality and reliability.

who told you that?

do yourself a favor--sell it, and get a springfield armory 1911.

 

[JoeSlomo]

im dissapointed to hear about this common problem with kimber. i was held to believe they are of high quality and reliability.

Meh....

Don't throw away the baby with the bath water.

DESPITE the fact Kimber seems to have a problem ensuring they properly fit some of the smaller parts, over all, they make good guns. The lone Kimber I own is a very accurate gun, and after tweaking the extractor, the thing has ingested thousands of rounds stoppage free and proved itself.

The ONLY reason I bought it in the first place is because my shooting buddy had one that ran like a clock, and was more accurate than my springer A1. His even had an external extractor, which were notoriously problematic, but his ran. I used my Kimber as a game gun that year and put anywhere from 3-500 rounds a week through it for around 6 months without a hitch.

As much as they charge for their guns, there is NO excuse for poor QC and having to make "final adjustments" before you can get a gun to reliably function, however, when you do, you end up with a pretty nice 1911.

Fix the extractor and it will run. You can probably do it yourself.

 

[Sapper771]

When I dealt with Kimber's CS back in 2006:

-They would not speak to me about the problems I was having til I had 500 rounds through the pistol.
-Even after the 500 rounds they were still not reluctant to speak to me about the issues (they stated that I was not holding the pistol correctly, and that I needed to find ammunition that the pistol "liked").
- Kimber did not pay for shipping both times I sent the pistol back to them.
-Kimber was not open about what they did to my pistol when they had it in their shop.
-Kimber refused to refund my money after they could not fix my $1200 Kimber Eclipse Target II 1911. Kimber stated that I should continue sending the pistol to them til they got it right.

Luckily for me, the gun shop that I purchased the Kimber from gave me an excellent trade-in value after I explained to them the trouble I was having with both the 1911 and Kimber. I won't be buying another Kimber.

I hope their CS has gotten better. I am not bashing them, even though I feel I am warranted to do so. A friend of mine has a very nice series I Kimber that runs great. It seems like they either run or they don't.....but they are quite appealing to the eye.

I wish you luck, keep us posted.