Quote Originally Posted by Jaimecbr900 View Post
I've shot thousands of rounds through mine without a single malfunction nor break down. Mine is the external extractor kind too. Never a misfeed. Never a stove top. Never a FTE.

As for MIM parts, to be honest, it's really a moot point IMO. I see it as something miniscule that Kimber haters hold on to as an excuse.

Instead of worrying about MIM parts, the real question should be: Are YOU going to run 10,000 rounds through the weapon you choose or not?

I think the big Kimber haterism comes from bad QC in a $1000 gun. I actually agree with that. If you are paying that kind of money, you expect a certain level of finish. I get it.

But IMO if you buy a $500 base gun only to turn around and CHANGE out almost the entire thing to have the same things that a Kimber has out of the box......there's a reason for that IMO too.
I will give my .02 on each line/question/statement

- I have owned kimbers and had no problems as well. I have worked on alot of kimbers that were not as lucky. Its like they have 20 guys on there 1911 build line and 10 build shitty guns and 10 build ok guns.

- MIM parts IMO are not a mute point. Not all MIM parts are made to the same tolerances and definately dont come from the same quality control. When I can see the MIM casting marks on the gun parts and they are extremely rough and when you apply a dab of dyken blue on them and can visually see they make contact with parts they shouldnt IMO that is SHIT. Dont claim your $1k gun is the best on the market when in fact most people who own 1911's (from my experience at the range and through working on several of them) Kimber owners are bandwagon owners. Most of them feel there 1911 is the most elite pistol out there. Kimber has and still does make some nice shooters, but IMO dont make the best they are made out to be.

- I dont think round count has anything to do with my weapon purchasing decision. Most folks (once again my experience) hop onto the 1911 bandwagon because of there bulletproof reliability and because they look pretty. Even 1 FTF/FTE problem could be the one that takes your life. Out of the box unless you purchase one of the big name guys pistols I dont feel you get that kind of reliability with any gun. Any gun I buy should last 10,000rds with no problems.

- I completely agree with the horrible QC and customer service. I have had several people have problems with there CS. I personally had them loose a firearm of mine for almost 2 months and the whole time I got the "we are still working on it" response. I got it back and they had put a new magazine in it and that is all i could find. I sent it back 2 weeks later. Anytime your producing mass amounts of any kind of part your bound and determined to get duds. Roger.. Got it.. however I dont think you should have as many duds with your "custom 1911's" as they are advertised.

- Building a hand fit custom parted 1911 is not cheap. I can attest to that as I have built several myself. But I can promise you my custom $1k pistol will shoot better and be more reliable and have way better internals than your $1k kimber. Plus I will be able to flaunt it as a hand built gun with the goodies I want in it. I enjoy working on handguns and that is why i am biased to building project guns.

- One item we havent touched on yet. Kimber frames and there casting/machine marks. IMO they have some of the sharpest most uncomfortable feeling pistols out there besides there more expensive ones. THey utilize plastic mainspring housings in alot of there guns which IMO is asking for trouble.

- Another topic that I sort of already touched on. MOST kimber owners buy the gun, 2 boxes of ammo, and some custom grips and after they have shot the ammo they originally bought never shoot the gun again. It ends up in a drawer and just because it shot 100rds with no problems who is to say its reliable. I mean if you test drive a car for 100miles does that mean its perfect? Shit I am not trying to say that kimber makes shit guns. I am just saying that from my experience most kimbers I have played with didnt run right. There guns felt like you were shooting them with 100wt motor oil as they cycled slow and sluggish. Were not incredibly accurate out of the box and for the price IMO didnt offer all they were cracked up to be. Now on the other hand I think Kimber does make some of the nicest looking off the shelf 1911's out there. Some of there finishes and checkering patterns they use are sexy. I mean when the raptor first came out i almost nuted. When the SIS package came out i was uber extactic. But like I mentioned before. I can build a custom gun with the quality parts I want, have a great time doing it, and say I did it myself.

End of two cents.