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How to make your Kimber Micro reliable thread.

29K views 44 replies 22 participants last post by  cousinmark  
#1 · (Edited)
I thought I'd start a new thread about making a Kimber Micro more reliable as well as other general information for Micro owners. My Micro is just about 2 months old and now runs like a top. Initially, I was highly disappointed with my Micro's reliability and was considering getting rid of it. Some of the things I have done aren't really needed, but I'll share them with you anyway because they do make it a smoother running pistol. My time is limited so I'll have to do this in separate posts. You are all also welcome to chime in and add things about the Micro that you have found. I also have a good amount of experience with firearms so please do not do anything that is above your skill level. I'm also not a writer or photographer so please bear with me. Here we go!;)

1. I have come to the conclusion that these pistols need to be broken in regardless of what Kimber says. I suggest you run about 200-300 rounds of FMJ before you start trying expensive self defense ammunition. If ball is your SD load, carry on. :)

2. Clean your pistol before your first range trip and oil it well during the break in period. My Micro gets pretty dirty from a couple hundred rounds and needs to be cleaned really well. These aren't Glocks so clean your pistols.

3. I personally broke a firing pin during dry fire exercises even though Kimber claims dry firing is safe. I no longer believe them. IMO, snap caps should be used. Here's what I use:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/786010/a-zoom-action-proving-dummy-round-snap-cap-380-acp-aluminum-package-of-5

4. If you haven't already upgraded your recoil spring and guide rod, you should call Kimber and get one. I personally think the Kimber flat wire spring is weak so I run a 12lb. Wolff for a Colt Mustang in mine with the new style guide rod. More on this later.

5. Grip screw o-rings! #60's, from Lowes, are too thick. You want part# 9262K102 from McMaster-Carr. They cost $6.53 for a 100. Just copy and paste the part number in the M-C search bar and it will lead you to it. I can also sell you a set of 4 for 6 bucks!:)

https://www.mcmaster.com/

6. Wolff gunsprings for the Colt Mustang work for the Kimber Micro. More on this later.

https://www.gunsprings.com/COLT/MUSTANG%20&%20PONY/cID1/mID1/dID68

That's all the time I have for now. I'll post how to fix your magazines tomorrow.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Fix your mags!

It seems the #1 complaint for the Kimber Micro's is follower related. Sig Sauer followed Colt's design, but for some reason Kimber changed it. The problem comes from the rounded tangs at the front bottom of the magazine. These tangs can get bent in slightly which can cause them to not engage the slide stop correctly. I have a 7 round mag that you could actually hear click past the slide stop. If you have side to side slop with the follower inside the magazine body you are going to have issues. The fix? Bending the tangs back out so they contact the interior of the mag walls. You want them to touch, but you also want them to slide freely. I suppose you could use a couple pairs of needle nose pliers to bend them back out, but I'm showing a different approach. If you use pliers you might want to wrap them in electrical tape so the don't mar the follower and cause binding inside the mag.

I simply found a steel punch slightly larger in diameter to the radius on the mag follower. My punch measured .340". You can see from the pictures how i did it. Use a smallish hammer and a solid surface to eliminate bounce. Give it a couple hits and check fitment. Repeat until the tangs are slightly touching the mag walls. When your finished and your mag is back together, you should have zero side to side slop. The reason I did it this way, opposed to the pliers, is I wanted the tangs to move at the same time and stay centered. Be careful not to hit the back of the follower when you are bringing the hammer down. Slower lighter strikes are what you want. I hope this makes sense. If not, feel free to ask me questions. My mags have been perfect since doing this. Good luck!;)

Also note that the Wolff 5% extra power magazine springs (for Colt Mustang) work perfectly for the Micro mags. Both 6 and 7 rounds. Even the 6 round Wolff spring feels slightly stronger that the 7 round Kimber spring for some reason. I'm using them in my mags and they run 100%. You will have to bend the top coil on the Wolff springs with 2 pairs of needle nose pliers, but it's simple. If anyone needs a picture let me know.

https://www.gunsprings.com/COLT/MUSTANG%20&%20PONY/cID1/mID1/dID68#771
 

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#11 ·
How do you know that dry firing caused the firing pin to break? I had something similar happen to the firing pin on a new Sig P238. Examining the broken ends with a magnifying glass I could see what appeared to be a fault in the metal. I dry fire all my guns that the manufactures say it's OK to do so and have never had a problem.

Image
 
#24 ·
I bought a pack a P238 recoil springs to try. Shot 150 rounds through my Micro yesterday. Functioned flawlessly. I like the P238 spring over the Wolff 11 and 12lb. Kimber seems to have recoil springs back in stock now, so I'm going to pick up a pack of those to see if they are any better than my original flat wire recoil spring. just thought I'd share. The P238 firing pin springs work as well, FWIW. :)
 
#25 ·
Would this make a good sticky????
 
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#28 ·
I get that most people don't want to tinker with there firearms, and most probably shouldn't. I've been working with firearms for almost 20 years and currently work in the industry as well as go to school to finish up my mechanical engineering degree. I sometimes forget that what I find "simple", others do not. I retract my statement.

My only gripe is Kimber takes too long to fix these things.
 
#34 ·
Welcome to the site from Tennessee!

If you get a chance stop by the "New Member" topic and introduce yourself to the membership.
 
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#35 ·
I hadn't noticed this thread. My Micro (380) wasn't reliable out of the box. The slide stop was activating when it shouldn't have.

I first tried different ammunition. That didn't fix it. To address it I ended up filing quite a bit on the slide stop. It is now quite reliable.

I would still like some ideas on the trigger. It isn't terrible; but it isn't good. I know it can be good because my Colt 380 Government has a great trigger and they are essentially the some gun (yes, I have considered putting the Kimber slide on the Colt lower).
 
#37 · (Edited)
Actually, I was just looking at the pistols again. I don't think my thumb is contacting the slide stop after all. I assumed that was what was happening, because the slide is occasionally locking open before the mag is empty. But when I grip the gun, I'm pretty sure I'm keeping my thumb down away from it far enough.

Then I wondered if maybe the bullets are somehow contacting the slide lock on the inside of the slide enough to cause it to engage. With the slide locked open and the mag removed, I felt the inside part of the slide lock on each of my two pistols. On both of them, the slide lock sticks out slightly past the inside wall of the slide. So, maybe, bullets are contacting them?? One other thing I found is that one of the slide locks protrudes further toward the bullet than the other, and that is the pistol that is giving me the most problems. I pulled them both out and looked at them side by side and found that they are made differently.

The black one is the one that protrudes more inside the slide. The silver one is closer to being flush with the inside wall of the slide, but it is still raised a little, compared to the slide wall interior. (I hope that makes sense)

The black one is from a pistol that is a few years old. The silver one is newer. Have they changed the design of these?
 

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#40 ·
I'm running a Sig P290-9-8-X eight round mag in my Micro 9. The stock Sig mag spring is long enough that the 8th round is a bear to get in the mag and there was so much friction on the 8th round that the slide wouldn't reliably go full forward, so that the round was only partially chambering (Win 147gr jhp). Removing two loops from the magazine spring made loading the mag much easier and seems to have resolved the slide chambering problem.
My question is, is there a better way to do this?
Different mag spring, etc.?
 
#44 ·
I replaced the OEM guide rod spring for a flat 21-22 lb springs from Galloway. Ran 50, 124 gr Lawmans through it...flawless. Then ran 18 various self defense loads of different grains through it. It had FTF on the last round. That sucked! The heavier spring seems to help with muzzle flip and seemed to reduce the violence of the action over the 11 LB OEM spring. I just got he gun back from Kimber because the magazine was dropping or falling out. they put a new mag ejection spring in the gun. it's very stiff now but seemed to help. I"m still convinced Kimbers problems is with its's magazines and mag release. So, Ive ordered Sig magazines that will work with minor alterations. any suggestions?
 
#45 · (Edited)
... Sounds like you have a Micro 9, are you sure the 11# spring is stock for a Micro 9??? I believe that is the spec for the .380s??? This is a Micro .380 area but there are several Micro 9 threads wrongly posted here so be sure you're not cross pollinating Micro data? There have been a number of reports of Sig P238 magazines being modified and working fine in Kimber .380s. On the Micro 9 there's a different area for those little beauties and that may be a better place to ask your question about magazine compatibility.
Good luck :)