Kimber

You can’t pick up a gun magazine without seeing advertisements for Kimber’s pistols on every third page or so.  They certainly look debonair in print.  In the hand, they feel wonderful, what with  all the judiciously sloped edges and modern touches.  It’s obvious that they place a great priority on the idea of the gun as art.

That’s fine.  There’s certainly a place for that.  Unfortunately, Kimber’s production practices fall woefully short when it comes to the idea of the gun as a functional weapon.

This isn’t a gun that sat in a flooded basement.  It was left in a holster for a couple of weeks.  Notice that the slide and other external parts show no signs of rust.  Despite being marketed as a stainless steel gun, the barrel (as with most of their models) is unprotected white carbon steel.

I’ve seen this issue more times than I can count.  In fact, I’ve seen guns come straight from the factory with rust forming on the barrel hood.  I’ve introduced at least a dozen Kimber owners to the virtues of steel wool and the buffing wheel.

I might be more understanding if these were marketed as purpose-built, specialty target pistols, but Kimber sells them as fighting guns, and they fall short of that mission in several respects.

A defensive arm shouldn’t need a 500-round break-in.  Period.  If that’s the case, then the thing is fitted far too tightly in the first place, and it shouldn’t have left the factory that way.  The feed ramps on aluminum-frame models suffer gouging if you use magazines with staggered followers, which includes the magazines that ship with the guns.

For some reason, they don’t stake the grip screw bushings properly, but they do apply some sort of thread-locker to the screws themselves.  The result?  Removing the grip screws also backs the bushings loose from the frame, and they can’t be separated without stripping the external threads and ruining the bushings.

Still want to spend the money on one despite superior alternatives at the same price point?  Hey, it’s your money.  In that case, here are a few pointers:

• Keep a light coating of Eezox on the barrel hood at all times.  Check weekly for rust, even in a temperate climate.
• Get a spare set of grip screws and bushings.  If the bushings come loose when removing the grip screws, discard them, insert a new set, and have a gunsmith stake them.
• While you’re at it, have him replace the plastic mainspring housing with one made of aluminum.  Yes, I’ve seen these break.
• Use Wilson magazines, or a design with a solid follower, if you have a model with an aluminum frame.
• If you experience premature slide lock, check the slide stop for burrs.  This is a common problem.

Thanks are due to Gedde Wilson for the photographs.  To end things on a more optimistic note, here’s a marvelous shot he took of my Sig P228.

If he keeps up the good work, I may be persuaded to promote him from crony to full-time minion.