Monkeyleg
Member.
Today was the first time I got to shoot my new Kimber Eclipse Target II that I picked up nearly three weeks ago. Too much going on. 
Anyway, before I even shot the pistol, I compared it to the other two Kimbers I have: a five year-old Stainless Gold Match, and a three year-old Pro Carry. The first thing that struck me was the heavy trigger. Granted, I had Kimber lighten the trigger on my Gold Match to 3.5 pounds, but the Eclipse trigger was even heavier than that on my untouched Pro Carry. The trigger also felt gritty, something I know will go away with further shooting.
The second thing I noticed was the sharpness of the checkering. I thought it would be uncomfortable to shoot, but that turned out not to be so.
Having read many posts about problems with the Kimber series II pistols, I expected to encounter some kind of malfunction, especially since I was going to use my own handloads. I put a couple of hundred rounds through the pistol without a single feeding problem. No problems with the series II safety. Actually, there were no problems other than the elevation screw on the sights: the screw requires a lot of torque to turn, more than what the little Kimber sight tool will tolerate. I'm going to oil the screw and see what happens.
What was really surprising was that the Eclipse outshot the Gold Match (or did I outshoot myself with the Eclipse versus the Gold Match?). With the Gold Match, I'll usually put 18 or so rounds out of 25 into a 3" black at 50 feet. (Okay, I'm old. So sue me). I figured that, with the much heavier trigger, I wouldn't do anywhere near as well with the Eclipse. Wrong. I did much better. I had great big holes in the middle of the black.
Now, the question is: why? The Gold Match has a much better trigger, but has about 15K rounds through it. The Eclipse has, IMO, better sights: a thicker front blade, and the bar/dot sight system makes focusing on the front sight a bit easier for older eyes. Still, I get some pretty wild flyers from the Gold Match, but had none with the Eclipse. Could it be that the Gold Match barrel is getting worn out?
I guess the answer to that question will involve comparing the two barrels with a magnifier. In the meantime, though, I'm one happy camper.
It's a keeper. And purty, too.
Anyway, before I even shot the pistol, I compared it to the other two Kimbers I have: a five year-old Stainless Gold Match, and a three year-old Pro Carry. The first thing that struck me was the heavy trigger. Granted, I had Kimber lighten the trigger on my Gold Match to 3.5 pounds, but the Eclipse trigger was even heavier than that on my untouched Pro Carry. The trigger also felt gritty, something I know will go away with further shooting.
The second thing I noticed was the sharpness of the checkering. I thought it would be uncomfortable to shoot, but that turned out not to be so.
Having read many posts about problems with the Kimber series II pistols, I expected to encounter some kind of malfunction, especially since I was going to use my own handloads. I put a couple of hundred rounds through the pistol without a single feeding problem. No problems with the series II safety. Actually, there were no problems other than the elevation screw on the sights: the screw requires a lot of torque to turn, more than what the little Kimber sight tool will tolerate. I'm going to oil the screw and see what happens.
What was really surprising was that the Eclipse outshot the Gold Match (or did I outshoot myself with the Eclipse versus the Gold Match?). With the Gold Match, I'll usually put 18 or so rounds out of 25 into a 3" black at 50 feet. (Okay, I'm old. So sue me). I figured that, with the much heavier trigger, I wouldn't do anywhere near as well with the Eclipse. Wrong. I did much better. I had great big holes in the middle of the black.
Now, the question is: why? The Gold Match has a much better trigger, but has about 15K rounds through it. The Eclipse has, IMO, better sights: a thicker front blade, and the bar/dot sight system makes focusing on the front sight a bit easier for older eyes. Still, I get some pretty wild flyers from the Gold Match, but had none with the Eclipse. Could it be that the Gold Match barrel is getting worn out?
I guess the answer to that question will involve comparing the two barrels with a magnifier. In the meantime, though, I'm one happy camper.
It's a keeper. And purty, too.