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Been tinkering with my new Kimber 9mm Target II.

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Calliope 
#1 ·
I bought this gun to have a soft shooting range gun and something to tinker with. Had trouble from the get go with extraction and the trigger was a bit rough, so...

New EB extractor and EGW firing pin stop, carefully fitted.

Swartz parts have been temporarily removed.

Trigger bow and disconnector smoothed, I left the hammer and sear alone. This was my first time detail stripping a 1911. Far easier than I expected.

Since the slide was flinging brass far away and recoil was stiffer than I wanted, I installed a 22 pound ISMI mainspring and a Wolff 13 pound variable recoil spring. Slide velocity and recoil have been reduced with the heavier springs. Brass flies about 6' now.

Couldn't get it sighted in well, it shot high despite the rear sight turned all the way down, plus the front is a bit wide for target shooting at .135", so I bought a Dawson .215" high by .125" wide ramp front sight. Now I'm sighted in at 50 yards just a few clicks off the bottom. Perfect.

Just need a good magazine now. One of my Kimber mags won't lock the slide open and the one that works only hold 8 rounds. Prolly get a gen 2 Wilson, they're on sale at Brownell's right now.

At the range today the work paid off. Did some very nice shooting at 50 yards despite the dark, wet conditions. 100% reliability with the good mag. Pretty happy with the results.
 
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#2 ·
If you have not been following the issues of new member Mr. TXscooterguy, this is for you.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

When you have completed your "tinkering" and if you should decide for whatever reason your pistol needs a return trip to the mothership. If you don't reinstall ALL the factory original parts before sending it back to Kimber, then Kimber will restore your pistol to factory specs while it is there. (Yes, that means new parts will be installed "at your expense." Your fancy aftermarket parts may not be returned to you (probably not.)

Happy it is functioning well for you.
 
#4 ·
If I was ever going to send it in, it would have been right away when I had trouble. But like I said, this gun is for tinkering, and I want the satisfaction of fixing it myself and learning about the 1911 in the process. All the factory parts are unmodified and in a bag, just in case.

Uh-oh …. you're in trouble now. :eek:
Yeah, 'cause now it works? :p
 
#5 ·
Roger that. Carry on.
 
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#9 ·
The mainspring effects trigger pull but should have no effect on the recoil. My Stainless Target II has been fitted with a #17 mainspring and a recoil reducing mainspring assembly. Brass is ejected much less than 6' away.

I would ask what your handholds are? My STII is a pussycat with 124 gn bullets @ 1080 fps.

As far as the hammer and sear go, do to touch them without a sear jig!!!! Brownells has the Ed Brown sear jig available at low cost. I also ordered a new sear pin so I don't have to use the one in my pistols. That way I can work on a spare sear and trigger and have it ready to go in my parts box if it is ever needed.

For mags, I bought the Wilson Combat 10 rounders from Dillon Precision last year. Have not had a single malfunction with these mags. Brownells have them too. Much better than the 10 round Mec Gars I got that only hold 9 rounds.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I disagree about the mainspring not reducing recoil. I have my buddy's SA 45 Mil Spec on long term loan. He wanted me to see if I could get his Kimber rimfire conversion running reliably. I had to go to a 19 pound mainspring to get it running. When I put the 45 top end back on, recoil was far brisker with the 19 pound spring than it was with a 23. Maybe I'm just more sensitive to it.

On my gun the increased mainspring did increase trigger pull slightly. It's heavier but crisper than it used to be. Perfect. I don't like a real light pull as I like to shoot in winter. You don't want a light trigger with cold, numb fingers. 4 pound is my minimum, I'm prolly closer to 5 right now.

Hammer and sear I'm leaving alone, I don't have the right equipment or training to mess with the critical surfaces.

You must mean a recoil reducing recoil spring assembly. Is that the Sprinco system? Do you like it?

The first handloads I shot were leftovers from an old poly pistol. 4.2 grains HP39 under a 125 HAP. Then I brewed up some real wimps, 124 cast/coated over 3.5 grains WST. (worked up from 3.0 because there's little data on WST in 9mm). Now I'm shooting 115 JHPs over 4.7 grains HP38, closer to full power. Accuracy seems to improve with speed in the 9mm, so I'm still working up. Love HP38, soft muzzle blast compared to Bullseye or Power Pistol.

Factory brass was flying well over 10' when I first got it, even the wimp loads were flinging at least 6'. Now factory is less than 6' and the wimpy loads less than 3'.

As an arthritic old dude, I would like to hear more about your recoil reducer.
 
#11 ·
Dropping the mainspring weight allows the hammer to be re-cocked much more easily. This has the same effect as reducing the recoil spring weight as a way of decreasing muzzle flip and perceived recoil. When we fire the gun, the less resistance there is to the slide moving to the rear, both in overcoming and compressing the recoil spring and re-cocking the hammer, the less energy gets passed on to you. Guns that have an external hammer like a 1911 offer us the ability to drop the mainspring (aka hammer spring) weight in addition to going to a lighter recoil spring, as well.

Also dropping the mainspring weight will, to a certain extent, drop your trigger pull weight and is part of a good trigger job, though you will still drop your trigger pull, a bit, if you replace the mainspring and do nothing else.
 
#12 ·
Perceived recoil is a funny thing.

Muzzle flip doesn't bother me, it's the speed of the slide hitting the frame that seems to bother me. I know it's just the opposite for some people.

It's like shooting single action revolvers. So many people swear by the Bisley grip frame for reducing recoil that I had to try it. Did not like it at all. It seemed like it just came straight back into my wrist. I much prefer the standard NM Blackhawk grip that let the gun roll up in the hand. Muzzle rise was greater, but I had less discomfort even though the gun was lighter.

Of course some will say the only factors are gun weight and cartridge power and quote some math formula, but math formulas fly out the window at the range.

I think some of us just perceive the recoil differently.
 
#13 ·
Congrats on your Kimber Stainless Target II 9mm pistol. I bought the same pistol last year. I have not touched the hammer or sear. I added an Ed Brown trigger-sear spring, lighter weight magazine release spring, and a Smith & Alexander one piece MSH and magwell. Mine runs perfectly and recoil is not noticeable to me. Makes a wonderful range gun!:)
 
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