+P in a Kimber?

[2sharp2]

WOW Gypsy, really old thread but welcome to the site from Tennessee.

[Chuck43]

Welcome to the forum gypsy, how about stopping by our "New Member Introduction" sub forum and introducing yourself to the membership. Tell us something about yourself, your interests, hobbies and where your located.

[cousinmark]

Originally Posted by gypsy I contacted Kimber today asking about the springs, I was wondering if I should install a heaver spring than the stock 18.5 lb, and questions about frame bashing using hot loads, I have a 10mm Kimber Eclipse, they said the gun can handle +P ammo, but DO NOT use +P+, my question was that I reload using longshot and bludot powder, I usually load middle of the road as far as charges go, but I have no idea if I am loading +P+ loads by loading the max. So to answer your question about +P ammo, according to Kimber it is safe to shoot

Welcome to KT gypsy. I have no doubt what you were told has been relayed accurately. That being said it's unlikely you were speaking with an engineer. I believe Chuck paraphrased the manuel with the "steady diet" mention. Kimbers are designed to function with +P ammo but you will be putting excess stress on the pistol. A few mags to verify function of carry ammo and I'd suspect there won't be an issue. For range ammo I'm thinking you're asking for trouble. Keep in mind aluminum framed pistols would be more likely than steel to potentially suffer.
As far as using your own production ammo we now get into a sorta sketchy area. I mean no offense just thought it'd be worth mentioning... If you have established data that comes from a known standard pressure chart I think you're fine even at the upper ends of the data. Like the experts all suggest, work your way up to those latitudes and thoroughly examine the cases for signs of excess pressure as well as your pistol for signs of problems. Expect the recoil spring to get fried prematurely. We have several esteemed members who fall into the "guru" category when it comes to ammo production and they can surely pick up the ball to get into all the fun that may come with venturing "off the charts" I'd suggest NOT doing it, you'll probably live but having both hands is nice right
...on the bright side there are several options out there for guys who like hot rod shooters. If you dig around here there are a few .460 Rowland threads. Those .460s are way cool :-)