Kimber is introducing a revolver

[Buckshot]

You can color me as a big Kimber hater (I have to fix them, after all), but I really hope this one turns out different from other Kimbers because we need good new revolver designs (or at least I WANT them).
I wretched my way thru the Kimber booth at the SHOT show till i found the K6s wall - my 1st impression was that some one beamed back a Detective Special from the year 2116. The action felt like a very well tuned SP101 but the trigger stroke was shorter - my calibrated finger sez 9-10#. The critical distance from grip to trigger feels D frame (which fits avg & larger hands much better than j frames - helps prevent dreaded "Chiefs Special barrel dip" as the gun fires). The butt shape was at once more comfortable & hand filling than an SP, but more concealable. The sight setup is what S&W & Ruger should have started doing 20 years ago. The gun absolutely screams out for a 3" barrel. Its a fugly little turd, but I learned to love the LCR , so I'll grow to love it if they can execute them in production like the samples I felt.

[Totem Polar]

So then, speaking of Grant C, he waxes on about the Kimber on his blog, here:
http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/...s-flashlights/

Some pretty strong words about the quality of this new offering vs. S&W. We will see.

[WDW]

So then, speaking of Grant C, he waxes on about the Kimber on his blog, here:
http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/...s-flashlights/

Some pretty strong words about the quality of this new offering vs. S&W. We will see.

Typical Kimber fluff job. I'm sure they have 10 years worth of American Rifleman full page adds already bought & drawn up. They can say whatever they want, but a company that makes shoddy, inferior products doesn't suddenly overnight stop doing that. I'm 100% confident that this gun, while it looks good, will exhibit the same corrosion, unreliability, & parts breakages that it's fellow Kimberi exhibit after a week or two of use.

[11B10]

Typical Kimber fluff job. I'm sure they have 10 years worth of American Rifleman full page adds already bought & drawn up. They can say whatever they want, but a company that makes shoddy, inferior products doesn't suddenly overnight stop doing that. I'm 100% confident that this gun, while it looks good, will exhibit the same corrosion, unreliability, & parts breakages that it's fellow Kimberi exhibit after a week or two of use.

So - a real stupid question here, my defense being I have zero experience with the Kimber brand. if Kimber has, for years, been producing guns with "corrosion, unreliability, & parts breakages that it's fellow Kimberi exhibit after a week or two of use," how do they justify their high prices? My impression has been they can pretty much sell everything they make - how can that be, if the guns are as bad as you say?

[WDW]

So - a real stupid question here, my defense being I have zero experience with the Kimber brand. if Kimber has, for years, been producing guns with "corrosion, unreliability, & parts breakages that it's fellow Kimberi exhibit after a week or two of use," how do they justify their high prices? My impression has been they can pretty much sell everything they make - how can that be, if the guns are as bad as you say?

Because they look pretty, put out full page color ads in American Rifleman, and they're still riding the coat tails from when they made a decent gun. The Cleti, as they're known, buy them, caress them, then put them in a safe, maybe firing them once or twice. Shoot one extentensively & their true nature shows itself very quickly.

[JHC]

Because they look pretty, put out full page color ads in American Rifleman, and they're still riding the coat tails from when they made a decent gun. The Cleti, as they're known, buy them, caress them, then put them in a safe, maybe firing them once or twice. Shoot one extentensively & their true nature shows itself very quickly.

How awkward was it at a holiday party when a friend I don't see that often tries to wow me that he just bought a Kimber subcompact 1911 that I would just LOVE.

[GardoneVT]

Because they look pretty, put out full page color ads in American Rifleman, and they're still riding the coat tails from when they made a decent gun. The Cleti, as they're known, buy them, caress them, then put them in a safe, maybe firing them once or twice. Shoot one extentensively & their true nature shows itself very quickly.

Exactly. The typical gun owner in America considers 2000 rounds to be an extreme metric. I'd wager most Kimbers sold never get more then 100 rounds per year put down the barrel,including the ones people carry.

On that point;too many folks assume the effectiveness of a handgun for personal defense is attached to its cost. Ergo a $1000 Kimber 3" 1911 must be better then a Glock 19 because the Glock is only $500.00 and how much is your life worth to ya, amirite?

[Stephanie B]

So then, speaking of Grant C, he waxes on about the Kimber on his blog, here:
http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/...s-flashlights/

Some pretty strong words about the quality of this new offering vs. S&W. We will see.

He was rather intimately involved with the design of the Kimber, which suggests to me that he might not exactly be the most objective of observers.

[Stephanie B]

This was the closest I've ever seen The American Rifleman to saying something bad about a Kimber:

I believe that Kimber’s insistence on particular kinds of ammunition will not be acceptable to rank-and-file shooters who are willing to pay a considerable price for a box or two of the premium ammunition, but want to use the bargain basement stuff for training and plinking. Kimber needs to address this situation. Although the pistol I examined worked well, earlier samples were troublesome. Shooters should heed the admonition to break-in their new Kimber and ensure that it functions properly.

[SecondsCount]

This was the closest I've ever seen The American Rifleman to saying something bad about a Kimber:

The Kimber Solo that I shot was a steaming pile. Beautiful gun but it wouldn't make it through a mag without a malfunction both with my reloads and Federal 124 9mm factory.

Can Kimber turn out a good gun this time? Is S&W quality control a standard of excellence? I am leaning toward NO to both answers.