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Kimber Ultra Carry....What gives?

88K views 79 replies 53 participants last post by  Freethought 
#1 ·
Hey, I'm fairly new to handgunning. I recently purchased my first Kimber, Ultra Carry 2 (aegis). The question that I have is why all the negative reviews about Kimbers? So far I have 600 rounds through it and no problems. It is EXTREMELY accurate. I own several other pistols/revolvers and the Kimber is without a doubt the nicest of them all.The only modification will be to have an amedextrious safety installed as I am a lefty. The pistol that I own is in 9MM. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
#29 ·
It's true that threads that say "my gun works" won't be seen much. But in the course of my work at Galco, I talked to many unsatisfied Kimber owners. And of four shooting buddies who bought Kimbers in the last couple of years, three of them sold the guns because they didn't work. None of these guys were neophytes.

These conversations, along with watching various 1911s puke at Front Sight, made me dispense with the 1911 for defensive carry altogether. Now I carry Glocks. :mrgreen:
My wife carries a Glock 27 and I carry a Kimber Covert .45. My Kimbers have never failed to feed or fire. My Glock however, did malfunction and had to be repaired by a gunsmith. Still like Glocks. But, I will carry a Kimber.
 
#30 ·
I sold both my Kimbers shortly after I moved to Az. An Ultracarry and a standard 1911. Yes they were very accurate but the sand here gets into them and they just don't work well. My Springfield Armory Mil-Spec on the other hand never failed. I sold it to a friend who needed a reliable carry gun and was smitten with the 1911 legend. I used the Ultracarry in 45 ACP to post a 73.02 on a four stage steel course in "Fun Gun" once but cleaned it between stages. I could draw and shoot a golf ball at 12 yards with the Ultra carry. It's the gun I'm shooting in my avatar but I carry a Glock or SIG P series now.
 
#31 ·
I own three 1911's and I just added a Pro TLE 2 to join them. One of my carry guns happens to be a Rem R1 1911 with a five inch barrel. Keep it clean and properly lubed and that darned thing rocks. If the new Kimber works out it will probably become my main goto carry gun when I'm not riding a motorcycle. A Walther PPS40 fits nicely in a bike vest pocket and it's light and resists damage from moisture.
 
#32 ·
I own a new Kimber Ultra CDP II , it is the prettiest 'lil 9 m.m there ever was in my book .

I never had any issues in the couple hundred rounds I shot in it ; but my 7 year old ( who thinks it's his ) has shot it and it "stovepipes" on him .
Reading this post makes me feel that his limp wrist most likely is at fault - at least I sure hope so ......
I paid well over a thousand dollars for the firearm and at that level I'm in agreement it should be flawless and function perfectly .
 
#33 ·
....I paid well over a thousand dollars for the firearm and at that level I'm in agreement it should be flawless and function perfectly .
your gun is a machine, machines fail regardless of the price..... the most expensive , best engineered machine ever made has encountered uncountable failures and two catastrophic failures that killed the users.... the space shuttle
 
#34 ·
Kimber has been plagued with problems for a while.It seems the 1st generations are starting to be missed.I think this is when the poor quality MIM slide stops were breaking,and it escallated from there.Failure to feed and eject were the big problem-extractors never tested,barrel timing issues,out of spec ramps,etc.Occasional hammer drops but I can't remember if it was tuning or long trigger bows.

Another forum had a year plus poll of malfunctions for 1911 by brand,and non 1911s ended up in too.You entered the brand,how many you had and how many malffed.Had to be a malf,no stoppages from bad ammo,limping it,etc,a real malf.There were a lot of hits for the major players,and Kimber was running close to a 50% return or fix rate.Glock was lowand HK almost nonexistant.From what I've seen over the years (decades),I find it fairly representative as a whole.I'll try to find it in the old posts if anyone wants to see it.

Anything manmade can and will fail but the frequency is in the hands of the manufacturer.HK makes the majority if not all of their parts in house for control,it's very rare you hear of one puking for that reason.If you are outsourcing parts you are at the mercy of their quality control,and the cheapest vendor doesn't equal quality as the MIM debate has shown.MIM isn't the problem,it's the quality of the process.
 
#35 ·
I am not learned enough to be aware of any/all problems with the Kimbers ; but just as I expect my Sig X-5 to be highly dependable and virtually flawless ;

I want to believe the Kimber folks when they claim the Ultra CDP II is built under special conditions and is the best they have to offer . If that's not the case , and some 1 out of 2 end up with problems -
I don't care who's fault it is or why : I will not stand for it . That B.S 1 year warrentee is a bunch of sheet as well .

I can only hope my gun falls into the 50% of them that don't develop problems .......if not , then I will quickly dump it and get a H&K
 
#37 ·
I was checking out the H&K P7M8 ; and noticed it comes with a lifetime guarantee ......now let's see

1 year for Kimber and a lifetime for H&K ......hummmm
Yep, if you're not proud of your product why would you stop at one year? Springfield is lifetime too. I watched many 1911's fail this weekened at the Western States Singlestack Championship. From the looks of things if you want the best a high dollar STI is best right now.
 
#38 ·
I was checking out the H&K P7M8 ; and noticed it comes with a lifetime guarantee ......now let's see

1 year for Kimber and a lifetime for H&K ......hummmm
And where are you going to find that P7M8 with warranty card still intact?

The P7 series has been out of production for a number of years and HK doesn't cover items bought as used. While Kimbers are over priced enough in my book, a NIB P7M8 will run you $2K+/-. I'd love to have one, but I don't think I'd be willing to pay that much for one.
 
#39 ·
from what I could tell , the orig. guarantee is transferable to a secondary owner .I will check into this .

But can I say : just based on belief in their products : seems to me Kimber cuts and runs after a paltry 12 months , where as H&K is willing to stand behind their product for a lifetime .

So even if I do not get any kind of warrentee (sp) , I think I would sleep much, MUCH better with a H&K under my pillow
 
#41 ·
all-righty then -

I did some research , some digging , etc

......and I found what many of you probably already know :

most of the main manufactures of firearms will fix a gun for free, however each situation is diffrent and depending on what person /dept. you speak to .you may get different answers to similar questions.

Politeness respect , and tact go a long way in interfacing with any company - and one feller might get the red carpet treatment , where as another might get a brush off . ALL the gun companies have

horror stories , but to stay in business -they have to get repeat or new customers and most if not all do their very best to make the customer happy .

The wording of many of the warranty's is a bunch of legal jargon and we all would be wise to take it with a grain of salt ; heck , Ruger doesn't even have a written warranty- but you would be hard pressed not to have them fix anything that malfunctions on their guns , for free !

I was wondering - on another subject .....since the H&K P7M8 is considered one of the best guns of it's type to have ever been made .....and like new pieces bring around 2000$ in todays market ;

why the heck did they stop making them ?? :rolleyes:
 
#42 ·
I was wondering - on another subject .....since the H&K P7M8 is considered one of the best guns of it's type to have ever been made .....and like new pieces bring around 2000$ in todays market ;

why the heck did they stop making them ?? :rolleyes:
Today's market is driven by the fact that they are no longer in production and are a niche gun. When the guns were being made, they were more expensive than their competition and had high costs to manufacture....

None of which has anything to do with Kimber Ultra Carry models, so it would be in our best interests to take this over to the HK Section if you'd like to continue. :smt1099
 
#43 ·
My Kimber Ultra Aegis II 9mm was a gorgeous gun and yes way overpriced at $1050. I experienced about 5 jams in only 100 rounds shot, gun was bought brand new. While the gun was high quality, the magazines were the achilles heel...very much junk and 99.9% the cause of the jams.

Purchasing a few nice Wilson Combat mags would be a prudent investment.

For the record, I sold mine and am looking for another H&K since I have only one gun in the household and that gun has to be the one I trust my life on.
 
#45 ·
I have a 3in Ultra Carry II .45 It's been my dad's, my brother's and then mine. All told, there's been several thousand rounds through it, and aside from a random stovepipe (which happens with any weapon that's not a revolver) it's never had a problem. Extremely accurate, reliable and lightweight. It's a great gun.
the only downside is the damn tool you have to have to field strip it. No barrel lock. There's this little paperclip like tool to hold the recoil spring back. It's annoying.
Other than that, excellent weapon.
 
#47 ·
I have a 3in Ultra Carry II .45 It's been my dad's, my brother's and then mine. All told, there's been several thousand rounds through it, and aside from a random stovepipe (which happens with any weapon that's not a revolver) it's never had a problem. Extremely accurate, reliable and lightweight. It's a great gun.
the only downside is the damn tool you have to have to field strip it. No barrel lock. There's this little paperclip like tool to hold the recoil spring back. It's annoying.
Other than that, excellent weapon.
I was able to buy a cheap jig thats about the size of a .22 shell that replaces that paper clip gizzmo .works like a charm - I will go find the feller selling them
 
#50 ·
I bought the Stainless Raptor Pro II 3 weeks ago, my first K. In spite of their caveat, shot 200 reloads through it without a hitch. Needless to say in spite of the negative comment read here at HGF, I love shooting that gun. As for the warranty issue I doubt I'll need it but it was way down the list of concerns. Auto Zone lifetime warranties most their low end parts, but I wouldn't use them on my car. Want to know who else offers a lifetime warranty? Hi Point. Won't own one of those either.
 
#51 ·
....I'll CARRY an ugly, cheap, MODERN XD, Glock, or M&P, over a 1911 any day. Same reason.
I can just hear the M&Pers saying the Glock design 25 years old, I'll take a more modern design.

Plus, in all fairness, how old is the combustion engine in our cars? We have the same engine design (internal combustion) that has been around for 100 years. The only difference is refinements.

Isn't the same true of the 1911 design - newer metals, more optimized frame hole locations, tighter tolerances, new features, etc.

How many 'modern' guns are based on some variation of the Browning tilt barrels?

I now have four Kimbers. All have been flawless through thousands of rounds.
 
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