New to Kimber, how good or bad did I do?

[JRWhit]

Through my typical antics I've acquired a Rapter II ,"blued".

I was after something blued and really did not want another stainless 1911.

I love the look of this pistol with the Zebra wood grips. I didn't care for the fish scale serrations on the stainless models but really like the way it looks on the blued slide.
So getting past the cosmetics, how did I do as far as performance?
I always hear Kimber get slammed for their reduction in quality in past years, but then again this isn't in the price range that the older ones were.
Thanks for the replies. Here is a pic of the model.

 

[kcofohio]

JRWhit, looks nice! Have you had a chance to take it for a spin yet?

We have 2 Kimbers here, with no problems as of yet. Both are of very good quality.

If you're happy with it, you did well.

 

[critter]

I've had really good luck with Kimber quality and performance.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A range report after a few hundred rounds of varying bullet types will tell you more about how you did than anything we can say.

 

[dusty14u]

I have the same gun and I have been really pleased with mine. Accurate, reliable and great looking. I have shot nothing but reloads and Gold Dots through mine with no issues. Over the years I guess I have well over 2k rounds through it.

When I take shooters to the range it is the most requested gun to use.

 

[burk]

They are probably the most accurate, tightest 1911's for the money on the market. If it was well taken care of, you did good. The Raptor is a quality piece. The only thing you need to really keep an eye on, is to keep the barrel well lubed. Kimber used carbon steel in their barrels on almost every gun until a couple of years ago. It makes for more precision machining, but they are prone to corrosion.

 

[Rinspeed]

I much prefer the older ones but I've shot quite a few of the newer ones and with good mags and a quick check of the extractor tension and they all ran great.

 

[Rock185]

I've had five of the series II Kimbers with the firing pin safeties. All good guns that displayed a more precise fit of barrel-to-slide-to-frame than most any production Colt I've owned over the years. All reliable from day-1, other than one that had an easily correctable issue. I believe the more expensive Kimbers may display a finer finish and/or different features than the standard guns like the Custom II, Target II, Eclipse,etc, but little or no difference mechanically. The blued Kimbers I've seen and handled were especially nice IMHO. This is not said to knock the more expensive Kimbers, as they are all well fitted and finished, whatever the model. The Kimbers I had were all well worth the asking price....ymmv

Oh yeah, none of the MIM parts on my guns broke, crumbled, cracked, deformed, melted, fell off or caused a problem in any way;-)

 

[rswartsell]

Kimber has clearly had growing pains (QC related, I think) over the years what with rapid growth, move from Oregon to Yonkers, NY and experiments with an external extractor. Any Google search will find dissatisfaction with QC screwups, poor customer service experience and misc. bitching.

This soured a lot of folks to Kimber, maybe unnecessarily. My Custom Target II has been impeccable so I can testify to their quality, even if spotty in some years.

 

[JRWhit]

First of all in full disclosure, I was lazy and stole the pic from the internet. My phone pic just didn't do it justice. Full credit to the photographer who took that picture.

It's been snow covered and dark by the time I get home so I have not yet had a chance to try it out. I'm hoping this weekend to put it through the paces.

It really doesn't look to have more than a couple hundred rounds through it at most. There is almost no wear in the tell tale places and there is still some of the factory packing to be found. I'd be lying to try and pretend that I'm not overly anxious to get out and use it. I'm definitely going to have to find some nice leather to go with it.

 

[psyopspec]

I've not had great luck with the two series II Kimbers I briefly owned in the early 2ks, and am very unlikely to go back to the brand. They make beautiful guns, but I just have no room in the safe for anything that requires me to be an apologist ("it's reliable except..."). Hope you have better luck, as I know many do! Springfield and Colt have both been better to me.

 

[anothernewb]

Recently bought a Grand Raptor II. I found fit and finish to be fantastic. I, however, had a pretty crunchy trigger. Easily remedied by the local smith - but at the same time. I felt that level of gun should have had something better.

That being said - aside from fighting the trigger, it grouped fantastic when it broke clean. A buddy bought a Crimson Custom II and it had a wonderful trigger. so perhaps just my bad luck.

I look forward to a bunch of shooting mine before I make a real judgement - but from what saw before sending it off - it will be a heck of a shooter and will likely make me very happy.

 

[tarosean]

A range report after a few hundred rounds of varying bullet types will tell you more about how you did than anything we can say.

+1

and congrats

 

[Casefull]

I have the Raptor in 10mm...great gun as are all the other kimber 45s, 9mm, and 38 super in the collection. I was a colt guy with a commander and gold cup. I bought my first Kimber 20 years ago and it made my colts seem like sloppy fitting poorly made pistols. No comparison for me. I have a Wilson combat 45 and I believe the kimbers are closer to the Wilson combat than the colts are to the kimbers. Maybe colts newer pistols have gotten better, I cannot say.

 

[Teachu2]

Nah - that's too pretty to shoot. Fondle it, admire it, show it off, then wipe it down and put it back in the safe. That way it will stay pretty, hold it's value, and not risk failure.

I know, I couldn't do that either. There are lots of satisfied Kimber owners, and I believe you will be another.

 

[Hanshi]

My one and only Kimber is an Ultra Carry .45 I bought in the late 1990s. It's tight, accurate and everything I'd want in a pint size .45. I'd love to have a full size Kimber in ss.

 

[Rinspeed]

This soured a lot of folks to Kimber, maybe unnecessarily.

As I've said several times in the past I love all the Kimber hate. There are boatload of Kimbers made 15-18 years ago that will, for the same money, embarrass the hell out of most 1911s made today.

 

[JRWhit]

Still looks good even when she's all dirty.




First intimate moment was nearly ruined by a bad magazine. But after weeding it out I sent about 300 rounds down range. Shooting 225gn flat nose reloads. Had a couple of hang ups that were exclusive to a 8 rd ruger mag. It's been giving me problems in the Ruger as well.
I'm going to have to push the rear dovetail to get it zeroed. But after I figured out where it was hitting, she became almost boringly accurate. I'm suddenly very happy she found a new home. The slide is smooth as silk and the trigger has a nice light break with a very short reset. Can't wait to she how she runs after a couple thousand more. Thanks for all the words of encouragement guys.

 

[orionengnr]

Nicely done.
I read a lot of Kimber hate, and i understand that if you spend a lot of money for a gun, you expect it to work.

But my experience has been exactly the opposite. I've had three Colts, three Springfields, four Paras, one DW and a few others. None worked as well as the first Kimber I bought.

So I bought another...and another. They kept working well, making me look like a better shot than I am, and giving me the features I wanted in a 1911...so I kept buying them. I'm up to eight or nine now (don't still own them all; I'm not independently wealthy, so I'm part of the want one? sell one... set).

Today, my well-used 4" Eclipse is the pistol I shoot more than any other. I carried it for several years, shot it in some competitions, take it to the range just about every trip. Used it to introduce new shooters to the 1911 (after a .22 revolver, a .22 Mark II, a .38 Spl revolver and a 9mm pistol), and these days i slap a Ceiner top end on it, run some .22LR through it, then put the original top end on and run some .45acp handloads through it.

Finish has taken a beating, but it still looks okay, and it is smooth, reliable as sunrise and shoots better than the day I bought it.

My wife sold her Springfield after shooting my Kimber a few times, and bought one of her own.

I sold a friend my pre-Series II 5" stainless (his first 1911), and he has bought at least one more Kimber (and a Ruger SR1911) since.

Enjoy it.

 

[nettlle]

Nice looking Kimber. As of this afternoon I have put 9,100 rounds through my Kimber Tactical Pro Carry ll. I did replace the extractor at 8,000 rounds but other than that it has been trouble free.