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Stainless Kimber Ultra Carry II

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
Got my first 1911 yesterday, and I am in love! It fits perfectly in my hand, the recoil spring is smoother than any other gun I've ever had, and it's the perfect size to conceal. I can't wait to take this little beauty out to the range!

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Now I just gotta find the perfect holster, maybe add some night sights and swap out the grip safety.:lol:
 

carsontech

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
529
Location
Anderson, SC
Boy, that thing sure is sexy. When your husband isn't around we should go out and shoot it together.

Oh, and post pics of you wearing it. :)
 
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Beretta92FSLady

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
5,264
Location
In My Coffee
I am interested in hearing how the recoil goes in a compact 1911, for you. It is a nice looking sidearm.

Are the tolerances pretty tight?

Shoot the hell out of it!
 

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
We took this little beauty to the range yesterday, and ohmygosh y'all.

I've heard so many people claim that the 1911 platform should only be in the traditional .45 acp, but this gun in 9mm is so much fun to shoot that I bet it would convert even the most die-hard traditionalist. I was a little worried at first that the 3" barrel would make it painful to shoot, but it wasn't, at all. I was also concerned about the grips, but they're the slim rubber, and very comfortable. Definitely still want to try the Hogue wrap around grips, but straight out of the box, this gun is pretty awesome.

It's also incredibly accurate! With almost every gun I've ever shot, I've had issues of shooting low and to the left (whether that's the gun, me, or both, I don't know) but I had zero accuracy issues with this 1911. It's a little tack driver, and super sweet to shoot!

The only issue I did have, was failure to extract the empty casings. Hubby says it was because I was 'limp wristing' it; but I recorded myself shooting, and I wasn't doing it that badly. He shot about 50 rounds without issue, I shot 100, sometimes with issue and sometimes without. Guess I need to learn some techniques to help with that. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

Here's a video of me shooting it, without any FTE's

[video=youtube;zRw7osS1cjA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRw7osS1cjA&feature=plcp&context=C438f7d2VDvjVQa1PpcFOv3l8ep8n8gQzv8f94o5q-PEMfAtE3Hsk%3D[/video]

It's a great size for concealment, and a perfect fit for smaller hands, but also comfortable for larger hands too. There isn't a bad thing I can think of to say about this gun.

I absolutely love this gun, and it's definitely staying in our collection for a long time! Hubby keeps trying to "steal" it away from me, but I keep telling him it ain't gonna happen, haha!
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
If anyone has any suggestions, please share!

One thing I seen was you fumbling with the safety but that'll leave quickly with practice. Also, what does your grip look like? To me (I only get to see the bottom right of it) it looks like you're halfway between the cup and saucer and the combat grip. Are both of your thumbs pointing forward?
 

gunns

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
270
Location
Minnesota
That is one sweet pistol. I looked at the Kimber but was told to stay away from it, guess I will have to revisit that decision.

I hate the term "limp wrist it". You should be able to shoot it any which way without malfunction. That is why I don't care for the Glocks. I have had a few and each would give me intermittent jams. I do tactical shooting and sometimes speed is a concern and I must "limp wrist it". That's BS.

I have an HK USP and Walther PPS that have never malfunctioned.

There is one thing you may try, I also found that some don't lubricate Auto's enough. Especially when they are new, some take a few hundred rounds through them to make them reliable. The HK and Walther I have now never had problems, but my sons Glock continued to malfunction, I lubricated it slightly more then instructed and passed about 300 rounds down it, it now runs very reliably.
 

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
One thing I seen was you fumbling with the safety but that'll leave quickly with practice. Also, what does your grip look like? To me (I only get to see the bottom right of it) it looks like you're halfway between the cup and saucer and the combat grip. Are both of your thumbs pointing forward?

Yeah, it's my first 1911, and my first time really dealing with a safety. Last two guns were a Glock and the Bersa BP9, lol. I do have both my thumbs forward; I sort of wrap my shooting hand around the grip then wrap my support hand around that.

That is one sweet pistol. I looked at the Kimber but was told to stay away from it, guess I will have to revisit that decision.

I hate the term "limp wrist it". You should be able to shoot it any which way without malfunction. That is why I don't care for the Glocks. I have had a few and each would give me intermittent jams. I do tactical shooting and sometimes speed is a concern and I must "limp wrist it". That's BS.

I have an HK USP and Walther PPS that have never malfunctioned.

There is one thing you may try, I also found that some don't lubricate Auto's enough. Especially when they are new, some take a few hundred rounds through them to make them reliable. The HK and Walther I have now never had problems, but my sons Glock continued to malfunction, I lubricated it slightly more then instructed and passed about 300 rounds down it, it now runs very reliably.

Definitely check it out for yourself; it's a hot little gun!

We cleaned it right when we got it, then again a few days later when we took it to the range. We also lubed up the rails beforehand. Maybe I need to lube it up more, but I'm sure my grip could also use some help. I'm not a novice shooter, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be, and I don't get to practice much.
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
Yeah, it's my first 1911, and my first time really dealing with a safety. Last two guns were a Glock and the Bersa BP9, lol. I do have both my thumbs forward; I sort of wrap my shooting hand around the grip then wrap my support hand around that.

I'm not a novice shooter, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be, and I don't get to practice much.

If you're like most people on this forum then you won't ever practice too much and you'll never be as good as you want to be. That is what sucks about being a gun enthusiast, no matter how much money you make you never have enough for guns/ammo : )

I figured as much. I shoot a M&P, so I am not saying I would be better at the safety than you are. Like I said though, I only got to see your shooting grip from the bottom right side. From there it looked like your left thumb was pointing straight up. How high of a grip do you have? The closer to straight in line with the bore you hand is and your arm is the better off you are. I do think you need to tilt the gun up and aim with you arms, not your wrist.

I am not trying to talk down to you. You said you're not a novice shooter, but even experts welcome advice. All I have is a short clip of you shooting to judge what you're doing, so I could be way off base.
 

PistolPackingMomma

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
1,884
Location
SC
No, I appreciate any advice. I grew up shooting BB and pellet guns, and started to get back into shooting real firearms right before I got pregnant. Had to take a break for a while, and I've only been shooting about a grand total of 7 times in the past year, and almost every time with a different gun, lol. Makes it hard to develop consistency.

I did have problems with my Glock not lining up straight with my arm, like you said. Most of the reason why I sold it. The Kimber lines up perfectly, but I'm probably not watching that as closely as I should when I'm at the range. I feel like I've got a pretty high grip on it, but it was my first time shooting it, so likely there are improvements that can be made.

And I apologize for the camera angle; I was leaning it against my range bag on the table. Doesn't make for great quality videos to critique my technique, I know. Hopefully we can go again this weekend and my husband can play camera man :D
 

45acpForMe

Newbie
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
2,805
Location
Yorktown, Virginia, USA
For what its worth, Kimber's reputation is to have a tight lockup/fitting such that it impedes reliability (some measureable amount but not necessarily bad unless you are rolling in the mud). There is a trade off between standard military 1911 tolerances which allow it to function on a dirty battle field and a tighter tolerance that improves accuracy but may cause failures/jams if too tight. I wouldn't worry about it at all until you have a couple hundred rounds downrange. 500 is a good number that if after that you are having failures to consider contacting the company to investigate. As the pieces wear together and mesh it should get better. Most guns expect a break in period.

With that said, practice, practice, practice and get good advice from people. Sometimes a specific gun doesn't like a certain type of ammo too so try other manufacturers if you still have problems. One of my 1911's (Para) does not like Blaser ammo for some reason. :-(

The guns is beautiful and I will keep it in mind as my daughters get old enough to carry.

ETA: I read that the Kimber Solo was designed to work with Personal Protection ammo so cheap range ammo can cause FTE/FTB but that was a design tradeoff. Not sure if that applies to your gun.
 
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Breadslinger

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Jan 14, 2012
Messages
14
Location
Nevada
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11B2O

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
94
Location
High Point, NC
I love my Kimber TLE/RL II. Accurate as hell. Only reason I carry my Glock 23 instead of it is that it's extremely picky about ammo. I've already had 1 failure to feed after only about 300 rounds and that was with FMJ ammo. I can't even imagine feeding with JHP. Another thing is the magazine well is so small and tight that even with tons of practice, I still wouldn't be able to do a tactical reload as fast with it as I can with my Glock or M&P.
 

deepdiver

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
5,820
Location
Southeast, Missouri, USA
We have the same sidearm in. 45. While I carry it somewhat regularly, my wife claims it as her's and it is her favorite to shoot. We bought it used from a good friend who bought it NIB. After about 500 rds he had to send it back to Kimber due to recurring FTF/FTE issues. They polished the ramp & throat as I recall and when he got it back it fed and ejected flawlessly. He had a "trigger job" done on it which I put in quotes because all that was done was to polish/smooth everything making an already nice trigger as smooth as anything I have shot. Even @ 25 yds that little 3" Kimber is as accurate as my more expensive full-size Springfield 1911. It has eaten anything we have fed it including lead reloads that made my XD choke.

The only FTF/FTE issues we have had were when my wife was taking her CC class on a cold day, slow-firing with gloves on and the gloves were causing her to limp-wrist because she couldn't keep a good hold on it. She finally got mad, took off the gloves, and slow-fired a mag doing ok qualifying with every rd, but not grouped very well. Then she was so irritated she slapped in the next mag and fired off all 7 rds so quickly some people asked if it were a full auto pistol. All 7 were found in about a 2" group about an inch off center of a B27 target. The instructor declared her qualified. Yeah, I was very proud of her!

ETA: Tru Glo night sights are installed and work quite well in all lighting conditions
 
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deepdiver

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
5,820
Location
Southeast, Missouri, USA
I love my Kimber TLE/RL II. Accurate as hell. Only reason I carry my Glock 23 instead of it is that it's extremely picky about ammo. I've already had 1 failure to feed after only about 300 rounds and that was with FMJ ammo. I can't even imagine feeding with JHP. Another thing is the magazine well is so small and tight that even with tons of practice, I still wouldn't be able to do a tactical reload as fast with it as I can with my Glock or M&P.

Have you tried other mags? The Kimber mags on ours kinda hang sometimes requiring actually stripping out with your finger if doing quick mag changes but Wilson Combat drop clear without any problems even if dirty from a day at the range.
 

11B2O

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
94
Location
High Point, NC
Have you tried other mags? The Kimber mags on ours kinda hang sometimes requiring actually stripping out with your finger if doing quick mag changes but Wilson Combat drop clear without any problems even if dirty from a day at the range.

I don't think it was the magazine. I have seen double feeds before, but this was just straight up failure to feed. I might try and get some wilson combat magazines just be on the safe side. I've heard from others the Kimber ones are garbage.
 
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