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Kimber 1911 10mm *update*

bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
edited October 2003 in General Discussion
I just seen where Kimber is releasing a very limited run of the potent 10mm and I've been wanting a 1911 styled pistol for a while in that caliber. The Colt Delta Elite's keep getting higher it seems. Anyway, I can get a NIB Kimber for about what 10 year old Colt's are going for. I realize the Colt's might have a higher collector's value, but for a shooter is the Kimber really better? Everybody that I talked to seems to think so - what do you guys think? Prices being near equal which would you choose, factory Colt or Kimber?
Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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Comments

  • 4GodandCountry4GodandCountry Member Posts: 3,968
    edited November -1
    I have a Kimber, love it, not so much as a hickup. Accurate, dependable, and of course, purdy. I don't know much about the 10mm though. Another one you may want to check out is the DanWesson Razorback. Its a sweet looking motha.

    "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet."
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  • bigdaddyjuniorbigdaddyjunior Member Posts: 11,233
    edited November -1
    Yep, my Kimber is continuing to grow on me.Once I got it broken in it shoots where I aim and eats anything without fail. That Dan Wesson sure looked like the heat though. Can't see much point in going from 45acp to 10 mm, but to each his own.

    Big Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems
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  • punchiepunchie Member Posts: 2,792 ✭
    edited November -1
    As a shooter, the Kimber is probably the better choice. For long term value and collectability the Colt. Most of the Deltas that have had a lot of use haven't held up as well as I would have liked and are loose as a goose. I think they should have had a shock buffer and a little heavier spring.

    Are Kimber 1911s really as good as billed? IMHO, no. Are they among the best production line 1911s? ABSOLUTELY! I think the series II guns are a step in the wrong direction. The Kimber is a quality gun but I believe MOST of the owners just bought all the hype.

    AN ARMED SOCIETY IS A POLITE SOCIETY
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I did also look at the Dan Wesson's Razorback. Externally there isn't a lot of difference. I was thinking (maybe wrongfully) that the Kimber was a more accurate gun.
    Bigdaddy, there's quite a bit to be gained going from .45 to 10mm. The switch to .40 S&W probably wouldn't be worth the time and effort. However, ballistically the 10mm is equal to the .357 mag and can be hot-loaded up to .41 mag levels. This is a substantial gain over the venerable .45 ACP.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • Mr.PissyPantsMr.PissyPants Member Posts: 3,575
    edited November -1
    I own Pro Carry II and its a real joy to shoot. I've put a ton of rounds through it with out a jam or problem. My next 1911 will probably be a Dan Wesson though, the Patriot series is pretty sweet.

    fb0d9d60.jpg

    Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
    -Benjamin Franklin
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    For those familiar, would you choose the Dan Wessons or the Kimbers (for ~$100 more)?
    Also, I noticed on the Dan Wesson site that they sell 10mm barrels for $150. Do you guys know if they'd drop in ANY 1911 style gun, or just the Dan Wesson models, or would it be exclusively for thier guns already in that caliber?

    Thanks for your opinions...
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • punchiepunchie Member Posts: 2,792 ✭
    edited November -1
    I have had a DW Guardian Duce (Commander) ever since they were introduced. It has been an excellent gun!!! Would I choose it over a comparable Kimber for only $100 more? Maybe. At that time there were no comparable Kimbers. My DW came from the factory with a ribbed slide (ala Gold Cup), Jarvis Match bbl, Caspian extractor, Millete adj sites, etc, etc. The best part is that it shoots as good as the sum of its parts.

    I would think that their 10mm bbl should be a semi-drop in on any 1911. At the minimum minor fitting should be required if you want to get the accuracy and performance of a new bbl. I have serious doubts that the 45 slide and extractor would work well with the 10mm/40 S&W bbl. You can also check out http://www.barsto.com/Colt.html for even more options on calibers.

    I see no reason why you couldn't order one in 40 S&W and by installing a shock buffer, appropriate weight spring and different bbls have one gun in 10mm, 357 Sig and 40 S&W. Oh, did I forget to mention that the DW is a true 70 Series 1911 without the extra crap of a Series 80 Colt or Series II Kimber? Also check the auctions here on GB that are direct from DW. Some good deals now.

    AN ARMED SOCIETY IS A POLITE SOCIETY
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I will check 'em out, thanks punchie... Too many guns, not enough money! [:)]
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • Colt SuperColt Super Member Posts: 31,007 ✭
    edited November -1
    punchie - I have a Springfield Armory 1911 Commander style in 40 S&W. I'd love to make it a 10MM. What would I need to do??

    Barrel (it has no bushing - a conical barrel), recoil spring, shock buff... what mags and where could I get the barrel??
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for your input guys... I am now a proud owner of my first 1911 style pistol, and my first long-awaited Kimber. Best of all it's in my favorite handgun chambering, the 10mm!

    Kimber1.jpg

    Kimber2.jpg

    Is there anything I need to know about the 1911 style gun that the manual doesn't cover (incidentally it doesn't even show in the manual that it is available in 10mm)? Do you guys know if it'd likely use other 1911 type mags such as for the Delta Elite?

    Since I haven't shot it yet, all I can say about it right now is "friggin' sa'weet!" It feels great in the hand, better than, er, uh, never mind... [:0]
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • jsergovicjsergovic Member Posts: 5,526
    edited November -1
    Beautiful piece. What kind of ammo will you use for
    1) target
    2) defense


    How did you get it so fast? We have a ten day waiting period.

    p.s. I'm on my way down the hill to pick up my first .45, a Colt 1991 Gov't Stainless.
    I bought out of state (12 days) and had to wait when it got here (10 days).
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Whether a barrel drops in is hardly ever a sure thing -- usually you'll have to ask, and then try it to see if they are right. If you don't like the fit, a trip to the smith may still be needed to smooth out a new barrel in any given situation, regardless of claims made.

    As for the mags, it would be easy enough to try a DE mag in your gun at the next gun show (the mag guy will probably have at least one), or you can shop around a bit. You might find McCormick or some other maker putting out a good alternative. But why not buy more factory originals from Kimber? Seems they'd have more value with the gun, and probably better spring tension too.

    The Delta Elite always got the rap as being the least pleasant 10mm to shoot when the various brands first came out for the 10mm. There were some that wouldn't own a Delta Elite. My feeling is your Kimber is bound to be a much better choice on all counts than the old Colt. Congratulations.

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

    lifepatch.giffortbutton2.gif
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    jsergovic, thanks... No 10 day wait here, it used to be 3 just because they were so slow, but they finally got it all figured out and now it takes 'em something like 10 minutes to approve or deny. At this point this gun will just be for my collection, I doubt it'll be used very much and only then in a way that I won't tear it up (no belt holster wear while trudging through the brush). It won't be for home defense, that task is relegated to my Glock 20 (10mm also). It is tried and true, and I like the added security of 15 rounds in the mag.
    Offeror, Kimber doesn't even acknowledge that they've even made a 10mm (likely because it was supposedly a limited run). I don't know if the factory mags will be hard to find or not.
    I don't know what to think about whether it'll be unpleasant to shoot. I don't think it will. With it's all-steel frame it is more rigid than my Glock 20, but the extra weight should help reduce felt recoil some too.
    I just always wanted a 1911 gun, I've liked Kimber for a long time, and you already know how I feel about the 10mm. [:D] I still haven't forgot about the 10xx series S&W. They are on my list as is Dan Wesson, Colt, Bren Ten, and maybe even a Javelina - all in 10mm of course! I shot my savings for some of my other projects however. It'll be a while before I get anything else unless I sell some.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • jsergovicjsergovic Member Posts: 5,526
    edited November -1
    Well, BBH (bambihunter, my wife likes your tag). I'm typing with my left hand and proudly holding my[/] new gun, a .45 Colt. Ahhh, the smell of fresh factory lubricant, not a mark or blemish on it. Tonight or tomorrow night I'll take it apart and clean it, and shoot it on Saturday. The checkering on the grips is REALLY on the ... checkered side, like deep checkering. You'd have to have a handful of oily mud on your palm, and even then you'd have plenty to grip.

    I might spring $100 for slimmer grips, but I'll probably wait and put the money towards a Para Companion .45. They are REALLY slim in the grip.

    I also plan to keep the Colt cherry; it's easy to avoid serious scratches, but if they happen, well, crap happens.

    Oh, I almost forgot. The case is better than my other ones. There is some padding in it, but I heard black foam has agents which might harm the finish. Well, it's stainless, can't do too much damage. And guaranteed for life. Gotta love it.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    jsergovic, so we both got a new baby huh? [:D]
    Yeah, the Kimber has some relatively deep checkering too and I like the checkering on the backstrap as well. I think it'll be a real nice shooter.
    I might be kicking myself after we move if I can't afford a new gun safe, but right now I'm on cloud 10 (10mm that is)! [:D]
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • shootinfoolshootinfool Member Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    STAY AWAY FROM THE DAN WESSON RAZORBACK. THEY ARE JUNK AND HAVE TO BE SENT BACK NUMEROUS TIMES TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I was in on the early dealings with the Wesson. I had it on order and was promised a gun in Jan. I had ordered it in Dec. I read about 90+% had to be sent back to be fixed. If you don't trust me, go to 1911forum.com and look at the dan wesson listing. Then go to about last jan-may.

    I just hear about the New Kimbers. There is also a comparison btween the Kimber and the wesson on that sight.

    I cancelled my Razorback order and had my two Para Ordnance's converted to 10mm by Bob Hunter of Huntercustoms.com.

    Twenty rounds of 10mm is a boat-load of firepower!

    I would like to see the Kimber. It is definately peaking my interests.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Shootin' there's pictures of it above (now, my site might have been down when you read this post earlier). So, you're a fan of the 10mm too huh? It's a great cartridge, really unknown by many but hopefully it'll receive a resurgence.
    I hope this gun lives up to its billing because it blew my savings (from the past 6 months, money is tight).
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • 4wheeler4wheeler Member Posts: 3,441
    edited November -1
    One thing wrong with that gun,it does not belong to me!

    flag.gif
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If ya want one ya better hurry, they're supposedly a limited production run. This gun was the money I was saving for my new gun safe. However, I couldn't get it until we moved in the spring, I just hope I can save up enough (again) by then.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • jsergovicjsergovic Member Posts: 5,526
    edited November -1
    BBHunter ~ I don't have the checkered backstrap, but some vertical lines.
    I really want thinner grips.

    The "Colt logo", with three lines of description, were stamped on the slide about .75mm higher on one side than on the other. Just enough to notice it is a tad crooked. I might send the slide in. Might not. Twenty years from now I'll wish I did. As lomg as the new slide fits perfectly. Do they hand fit each unit? I tried returning a table leaf to IKEA once, and it didn't fit. I ended up taking the whole thing back for a new table. I don't want to get that extreme with the Colt.

    Do you read the manual when you get a new gun? It all seems like what I have in my Colt 40S&W 1911 size manual, but a quick skim shows they added a disassembly step they inexplicabaly left out of the older manual.

    Otherwise, I put it back into the wrapper and slide it into the groove in the case, where it shall lay unmolested until the next buyer.

    You have no safe? Bummer if no. I have a Liberty-13. It does the trick for now; it was $600 new + tax. Where are you moving to? I might sell my Liberty if I move and get a larger one. I could sell it in a heartbeat to an LEO here for $500, esp. since Liberty just changed the product line and made the entry safe more expensive.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    After shooting my Glock for so long (since ~1993) the 1911 design feels tiny to me. My wife should like to shoot it better than my Glock. She can shoot it, but it's literally a handful. I know she can handle the recoil of the 10mm (one handed in fact in a 610 S&W), but the fat grips on the Glock made it uncomfortable. Hopefully she'll like the Kimber, but not so much that she wants it. [:D]
    I don't have a safe per se. I have 'em scattered all over the place and my nicer guns are in an aluminium 4 gun tote chained and locked to the floor. This house is old and is starting to fall apart. I think if I rolled a safe across the floor it would collapse. We are just moving somewhere here in the city (oklahoma city). Right now we have 3 acres and are kinda in town, kinda not. When my back flares up my wife can't keep up with the yard and maintanance of this place.
    Yeah, I read the manual. I'll re-read it again before I get ready to tear it down. BTW, I LOVE the trigger on this gun. I MIGHT just be a 1911 convert (never thought all that much about them before). I'll still take my Glock with its magazine capacity that is twice that of the 1911 for home and personal defense.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • PearywPearyw Member Posts: 3,699
    edited November -1
    If you can find any, the Wilson 10 mm mag is the best. Unfortunately, Wilson quit making them.
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  • PRZNCOP110PRZNCOP110 Member Posts: 947 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Looks great!! I looked at the Kimbers a few weeks ago and almost bought a custom 2 but in the end I didnt want to part with the money. After I got the load worked out in the Delta, I carry it at work. You wouldnt beleive how many people ask me if I know that my gun is cocked and is it safe!!! Let me know how it shoots. We didnt get a chance to shoot your Glock so I cant say how they compare as far as felt recoil. I will say the Delta is a handful. It really make me concentrate more on my fundamentals when I shoot it.

    "Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it"
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yeah PRZNCOP, the 10mm's can be a handful (literally) but isn't it nice that you probably are carrying more energy in your holster than all of your co-workers? [:D] That glossy stainless Delta should intimidate any vagrants into submission without having to ever fire it. (is that a good or bad thing?) [;)]
    We'll get together again sometime I sure had fun last trip. It isn't all that far down there (or up here). Dunno when I'll get to shoot this gun, I blew all my savings on the gun, the only ammo I have is loaded in my Glock for defense. I sure don't want to use that.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • PRZNCOP110PRZNCOP110 Member Posts: 947 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    We will have to get together and shoot. I cant find ANY 10mm Factory stuff down here. No one carries it. It is pretty amazing how many talk * when I am in the jail (gun secured in lock box) and then be real respectful when they see me outside the jail with it on my side!!!!!!!

    "Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it"
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think all the places that we went when you came up here carry it.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • jsergovicjsergovic Member Posts: 5,526
    edited November -1
    Well, it isn't a Kimber, but a Colt Double Eagle in 10 mm is on the market.
    http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=12452072
    I'm kinda a Double Eagle buff after getting a Series II copy in 40S&W.
    I'm looking for a nice .45, a 9mm, AND NOW A 10mm!?!

    Trouble is, everybody wants a fortune. And I can't buy it and bring it into the OT.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I never was a fan of the double-action colt semi auto's. Dunno why...
    At least your considering the 10mm! [;)]
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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