Fellow High Road Members:
I am trying to decide between Kimber Ultra Eclipse or the Glock 26 as a back-up piece. I would like to hear from people who own a current model Kimber Ultra Eclipse (purchased in the last 12 months, and which has an INTERNAL extractor). I own Glocks and several 1911s and like both. The Glock I know would function well.
My concern comes down to the CURRENT Kimber's reliability. Over the previous 18 to 12 month period (that is to say that a year and a half ago) I purchased several Kimbers (4 of them were Custom Shop) and I had some HORRID experiences. The "custom shop" manager was less than professional and in fact, I will say he factually and persistently lied to me and failed to carry through of assured repairs.
The point of contention came down to the day that the custom shop manager told me regarding the unreliability of my Custom Shop Gold Combat, "It's not like you bought a limited edition. Those are truly custom pistols. All you bought was a pistol with a few custom parts, but not a truly custom gun. Now, if you had purchased a limited edition, yes, that would be truly custom, and you could insist that it function flawlessly". Finally, the Vice-president of the company called me, assured me that he would investigate. He was livid about the quotation! He stated that, "That's BS! All Kimbers, regardless of price, should give equal reliability".
My previous Ultra Eclipse blew the barrel the first day I shot it. Kimber replaced the barrel, but the gap between the barrel and frame looked like a picket fence. Accuracy was not good afterward either. It persistently failed to load/extract/go into battery, etc on average 7 out of 10 attempted shots. In short, it went back twice and was never corrected. When I sold it, I ended up telling the purchaser the truth of its problems and had to sell it for $375.00 (purchased for $999.00). It was truly a piece of trash. Then, there was the whole Kimber external extractor issue. Of the 4 Custom Shop Kimbers that I bought all 4 were defective, so I am rightfully hesitant to buy another Kimber without talking with my fellow THR members. Imagine, 5 Kimbers, 4 Custom Shop, and all defective. But, 100% of the external extractor Kimbers I have owned (about 9), all were 100% reliable, including my current Warrior.
I would like to hear about current-production Kimber, Ultra Eclipse models, internal extractor-only. Please tell me bluntly about the good and the bad.
1: WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR LIFE TO YOUR ULTRA ECLIPSE?
2: How is the barrel's bore quality?
3: How is the reliability?
4: How is the accuracy?
5a: Has it gone back to the custom shop for repairs?
5b: If yes, with whom did you deal?
5c: Did the person follow through and make the repairs?
Thank-you for your frank responses,
Gene (Doc2005)
I am trying to decide between Kimber Ultra Eclipse or the Glock 26 as a back-up piece. I would like to hear from people who own a current model Kimber Ultra Eclipse (purchased in the last 12 months, and which has an INTERNAL extractor). I own Glocks and several 1911s and like both. The Glock I know would function well.
My concern comes down to the CURRENT Kimber's reliability. Over the previous 18 to 12 month period (that is to say that a year and a half ago) I purchased several Kimbers (4 of them were Custom Shop) and I had some HORRID experiences. The "custom shop" manager was less than professional and in fact, I will say he factually and persistently lied to me and failed to carry through of assured repairs.
The point of contention came down to the day that the custom shop manager told me regarding the unreliability of my Custom Shop Gold Combat, "It's not like you bought a limited edition. Those are truly custom pistols. All you bought was a pistol with a few custom parts, but not a truly custom gun. Now, if you had purchased a limited edition, yes, that would be truly custom, and you could insist that it function flawlessly". Finally, the Vice-president of the company called me, assured me that he would investigate. He was livid about the quotation! He stated that, "That's BS! All Kimbers, regardless of price, should give equal reliability".
My previous Ultra Eclipse blew the barrel the first day I shot it. Kimber replaced the barrel, but the gap between the barrel and frame looked like a picket fence. Accuracy was not good afterward either. It persistently failed to load/extract/go into battery, etc on average 7 out of 10 attempted shots. In short, it went back twice and was never corrected. When I sold it, I ended up telling the purchaser the truth of its problems and had to sell it for $375.00 (purchased for $999.00). It was truly a piece of trash. Then, there was the whole Kimber external extractor issue. Of the 4 Custom Shop Kimbers that I bought all 4 were defective, so I am rightfully hesitant to buy another Kimber without talking with my fellow THR members. Imagine, 5 Kimbers, 4 Custom Shop, and all defective. But, 100% of the external extractor Kimbers I have owned (about 9), all were 100% reliable, including my current Warrior.
I would like to hear about current-production Kimber, Ultra Eclipse models, internal extractor-only. Please tell me bluntly about the good and the bad.
1: WOULD YOU TRUST YOUR LIFE TO YOUR ULTRA ECLIPSE?
2: How is the barrel's bore quality?
3: How is the reliability?
4: How is the accuracy?
5a: Has it gone back to the custom shop for repairs?
5b: If yes, with whom did you deal?
5c: Did the person follow through and make the repairs?
Thank-you for your frank responses,
Gene (Doc2005)
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