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My first Kimber!

4K views 68 replies 17 participants last post by  Bigdog 
#1 ·
Howdy all. Old gun guy here, but first Kimber. I just scored a clean, used Ultra CDP II with a lot of extras. I love 1911s. I'd been searching for a really light, compact 1911 for carry duty. I could never daily carry my full sized 1911. I have a Browning 1911-380 Medallion Pro that's stunningly beautiful, but I was really looking for a little more firepower than the 380 provides. I shopped hard, but somehow just kept finding myself back at the Kimber Ultra lineup. It just ticked all the right boxes for me. I haven't gotten to take it shooting yet, but I don't expect to be disappointed. I also expect I'll make a few mods to it. My gunsmithing skills are pretty good. Mine is a 9mm model. Anyway, I'm sure this forum will prove to be a valuable knowledge base when I start tinkering with my new acquisition.

D Dave
 
#7 ·
Thanks man. You may be right, but at the very least, enhanced sights are usually high on my priority list, being an old guy. The thing I like best about 1911s (besides their beauty), is that you just make one big hole in the target because you just keep hitting the same spot over and over... But you gotta be able to see the sights, day or night. Lots of good options out there. Range report will be forthcoming. I'm very excited. I've already ordered up a custom OWB two-tone leather holster. Can't wait to get that also.

D Dave
 
#4 ·
@Dangerous Dave welcome to the site from Tennessee.

Been a Ultra fanboy since I bought my first one (CDP Ultra .45acp) back in 2013. IMO they need very little "tinkering."
I added green Crimson Trace grips and that's about it.
Air gun Wood Trigger Gun barrel Gun accessory
 
#62 ·
@Dangerous Dave welcome to the site from Tennessee.

Been a Ultra fanboy since I bought my first one (CDP Ultra .45acp) back in 2013. IMO they need very little "tinkering."
I added green Crimson Trace grips and that's about it. View attachment 128601

I just got the same gun and havent had an opportunity shoot it yet. But I was contemplating on TruGlo TFX Pro Sights or the Halosun Solar Green Dot, but if go that route than I would be sending the gun out to get milled. How are the crimson laser sights? I have a glock 43 with the lasermax and love it
 
#36 ·
Picked it up this morning from the FFL. It came with a ton of extras. I got six mags total, three sets of grips, an extra recoil spring assembly of unknown condition or origin, original case and manual. Gonna go shoot it here in a bit.

Kitchen appliance Cuisine Automotive exterior Cooking Gas

Blue Air gun Trigger Wood Gun barrel


Hard to believe those extra-long, genuine Kimber mags are NOT +1. The one with fewer viewing holes will take one more if you push hard, but that seems like begging for a malfunction. It makes a poor pinkie-rest, so what's the point? Anyway, gonna take it to the range after I split a little firewood. Supposed to get below zero here Friday. 🙄 I'll report after trying it out.

D Dave
 
#37 ·
Congrats! Pretty sure thats going to be a factory Kimber recoil spring assembly, looks new but? Never understood adding a magwell to an Ultra but you may like it. Enjoy!
 
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#40 ·
Quick question. Getting ready to head to the range and figured I'd better take it down and do a quick inspection. Who knows when it was last oiled. Pretty clean inside. The spare recoil assembly looks unused with no wear marks. But I notice the one installed has a yellow paint mark at the end of the spring, the spare does not. Anybody know if maybe one of those is factory and the other an aftermarket?
TIA,

D Dave
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#41 ·
Quick question. Getting ready to head to the range and figured I'd better take it down and do a quick inspection. Who knows when it was last oiled. Pretty clean inside. The spare recoil assembly looks unused with no wear marks. But I notice the one installed has a yellow paint mark at the end of the spring, the spare does not. Anybody know if maybe one of those is factory and the other an aftermarket?
TIA,

D Dave View attachment 128648
...the new recoil springs that I just got from Kimber have the yellow paint... ...can't speak to the other one...
 
#43 ·
Thanks for that guys.

Ok, here's the range report. Silly me, I field stripped the gun before going out just to inspect and oil it. I reckon I should have done the same with the mags. 🙄

So first of all, NONE of the six mags that came with it would drop if the slide was locked back. You couldn't even rip them out. Drop the slide and the mags drop free. Mag catch seems fine. Removed the Hogue grips and the magwell flare/extension and the problem disappeared. No problems with the stock grips installed. No witnesses marks on any of the mags to suggest the grip screws were too long. I'm going to do a little more diagnosis on that issue. I actually liked the Hogue grips more than I thought I would, so not giving up on that just yet.

Then, I found several of the mag followers dragging badly, causing some failures to feed, but it was clearly a mag issue, not a gun issue. And it seems they're all just Kimber factory magazines with bumpers attached to the bottoms. Weird. So they all need stripped, cleaned, and oiled.

Overall, the gun is a peach to shoot. Recoil was very mild so follow-up shots were easy. My concerns about the grip safety were totally unfounded. It fits my hand well, so engagement of the grip safety was always positive. The jury is still out on the stock sights for an old guy like me, but in all fairness, my contacts are kinda dirty right now. I'll start there. 🙄 I do think an extended slide release would be a welcome addition. I have one on my full size 1911 and like it, so I may do the same here.

It had no issues feeding either the 115 grain Blazer brass, or the 124 grain +P Speer Gold Dot JHP.

So I reckon I need to service the mags, see if I can sort out the mag ejection issues, maybe order an extended slide release, and go shoot it some more. I think these are all simple issues to resolve.

That's all I've got for now!

D Dave
 
#44 ·
The Hogue grips may have been blocking the mag release button on the back side. Check for clearance.
 
#45 ·
I'm pretty sure I figured it out. It isn't the Hogue grips, it's the magwell flare. It's slotted where it goes around the grip screws and it was too far forward and catching the back of the mag. I'm not exactly sure why it was different between slide forward or slide locked back, but I'm fairly certain that was the problem.

And how about those mags?!? No wonder they were so gunked up, they're a giant PIA to disassemble, clean, and resemble! I've already ordered a big bag of long swabs to clean them out, cuz holding a Q-tip with hemostats is just a pain. Not to mention the disassembly and reassembly. I'm gonna need to grow a third hand.

Anyway, anxious to take it back out to the range, now that I'm pretty sure I've got those few issues sorted out.

Stay tuned!

D Dave
 
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