Kimber Manufacturing

This afternoon I had a lengthy discussion with Sergio, Kimber’s customer service representative.
My Solo has been returned twice for assorted reasons, but the lingering problem is that the gun will not reliably extract an unfired round. Racking the slide to extract a misfired round will result in a jam about 80% of the time.
Kimber’s position is that the gun is not intended to extract a live round by racking the slide. Their position is that the magazine must be removed, then the unfired round removed, then the magazine re-​inserted, and another round chambered.
In my opinion, a little striker fired pistol such as the Solo has a better chance of a light primer strike than a hammer fired pistol, so an unfired round is a distinct possibility. The ability to extract that unfired round is critical in a self defense situation.
Sergio told me that I could send the gun back into Kimber, but they don’t test the gun by trying to eject an unspent round. They only test fire the gun, and if it fires and ejects, then they consider it acceptable. The ability to eject a live round is not a feature that was designed into the Solo.
Upon learning that the Kimber Solo was designed in a way that it could NEVER meet my self-​defense criteria, I suggested that I send it back, and Kimber could offer me a credit on another of their products that WILL be suitable for self-​defense purposes. That suggestion was declined. So now I’m stuck with a Solo that works perfectly according to the way Kimber designed it. Sadly, no one told me that the gun doesn’t eject misfired rounds before I spent a lot of money on it.
Part of the reason I’m posting this is to vent, partly to warn others before they invest in a Solo, and partly as a longshot that a Kimber representative will read this and attempt to pacify an unhappy customer.

I recently purchased a custom II from The Armory. It is a beautiful firearm except for the all black sights and horrible magazine. I sent the slide back to Kimber to have Meprolight night sights installed. Wow is about all I can say! I have never shot so well with a 45 acp. It is more accurate than my CZ 97b which is also awesome in different ways. The factory mag fails to feed the first round almost everytime. It is gritty feeling when loading rounds. I called Kimber and spoke to CJ. He was understanding and is sending me a new ss 8^rd mag n/​c. I was a custom service manager for a fortune 500 company and I am appreciative of great service. Kimber makes fine firearms and gives superior service. I will buy more of their products in the futue=Phil

Kimber makes excellent 1911 style pistols.
When searching for my first single action 1911, I compared many high end brands. I read hundreds of pages of information about each manufacturer, and finally decided on a Kimber. I wanted a commander sized single stack gun with a stainless steel slide. The Kimber that met my needs was the Pro-​Carry.
This gun is incredible well made. The tolerances of this gun are super tight and Kimber advised the gun would need a 500 round break in period. During the break in period, i experienced a few failure to feed problems, but this was possibly the most accurate gun I had ever fired. Once the break in period was done, i still had some failure to feed issues so i called Kimber. They said to send them the gun and they would fix it. I mailed it to NY and within a few weeks, my gun was back and better than new. Despite being out of warranty, there was no charge to rework my gun. I was very disgusted since this gun was very expensive, but their customer service really made up for my issues.
Now for the not so great. Kimber uses barrels which appear to be stainless, but are actually carbon steel «in the white». These barrels are very prone to rust in New Orleans humidity. I didn’t know this, and despite monthly cleanings, my barrel developed minor surface rust. While back at Kimber, the gunsmiths refinished my barrel. They didn’t have to do that, as it didn’t affect functionality, but it was a nice touch.
Despite my few complaints, I love my Kimber. If you’re looking for a traditional 1911 style pistol, I urge you to check them out.

Great customer service. Very friendly phone service and loyalty building support.
My personal year 2006 TLE/​RL2 runs flawless even with the infamous external extractor. I installed the Wolff «extra power» extractor spring and haven’t had any issues.

I have had one negative and many other positive experiences with Kimber. I have purchased a number of firearms from them, and currently they all work beautifully. I will start with the negative.
Negative:
I had problems with my pistols that I purchased from them having FTFs. I spoke with technical support the first time, and they support worker informed me that he will send out the slide stop at no charge. Well, three weeks went by, and no slide stop. He informed me that it would be at the most a week; I gave them three. When I contact them back again, I spoke to another technician, and he informed me that they had no record of my support call and no record of sending in the part. I informed them of the technician I spoke to, and they made it right by sending me my slide stops and free recoil spring for my troubles. Every since then, both of those firearms are working flawlessly.
Positives:
–Quality of product. Except for the FTFs, which was later corrected, I have not had any additional problems with any of my Kimber firearms. They make a great product and stand by it. When contacting Kimber, they are very efficient in answering questions and helping with problems. I would recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a 1911-​style handgun that has the best production quality for the money.