Blackjack

I am looking at a new Kimber Stainless Pro Carry & think it`s a really good looking gun and good value at $700.

My only concern is the aluminum frame...especially the feed ramp, anyone with a high round count gun that has opinons on these ?

JimGA

I used to own a Kimber Pro-Carry. I had it for about a year and a half. Total round count wasn't very high at all. It was around 1500 before I sold it. The feed ramp was chewed up, and JHP feeding was inconsistent. I think this problem can be fixed by coating the feedramp with hard chrome or hard anodizing, if it doesn't already come with it from the factory.

I purchased an all-steel Kimber Custom 5" a month ago, and have had absolutely no problems since. I put a little more 1000 rounds through it, and the gun worked flawlessly. Not one single malfunction, failure to fire, failure to extract..nada, zip, nothing. In all 1000 rounds, I squeezed the trigger, the gun went boom, and each case fell far to the right. In addition, the feedramp is unmarred, and in perfect condition. I couldn't be happier. I was considering getting a reliability job done on this, but I thought to myself, "Why mess with something that works perfectly?"

-Jim

JM

I've had a Stainless Pro Carry for about a year. The gun has had about 4,500 full power rounds fired through it, most of it ball. The feed ramp does show some wear from about 200 Speer Gold Dots but, it has had no feeding problems whatsoever. The wear on the feed ramp are very small indentations nothing major.
I would not feed the gun a steady diet of JHPs but, there shouldn't be a problem with occasionally testing out your carry ammo. How much hollow point ammo do you realistically expect to shoot anyhow?

If you do shoot a lot of hollow points, Remington Golden Saber and Remington 185 JHP have a profile very similar to ball. They should not cause much if any wear.

I am a satisfied customer.

Hobbes

I've got a Stainless Pro Carry w/about 400-450 rds through it (mainly ball). Runs real well. Since I wanted a lightweight, corrosion resistent gun to carry, I'm not too worried about the feed ramp. I think the Kimber people say that the Winchester Silvertips are easiest on the Pro Carry's feed ramp. Take care.

_________________
"Quid hoc ad aeternitatem?"

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Hobbes on 2001-05-10 01:03 ]</font>

J Sanders

I recently got a springfield lw compact loaded model. It too has the aluminum frame but is cut for and comes with a ramped barrel. So far the gun has fed and fired like a house afire!
I suppose a gunsmith could fit a ramped barrel in a aluminum framed gun if the feed ramp got too chewed up but I have no experience with this personaly, maybe some of our professional smith's could shed some light on this.
I bought my lw to carry and am gonna shoot the piss out of it,I'm going to change springs frequently and keep it well lubed and if it wears out, well I'll cross that bridge when I get there. JS

Howardk

I also have a Stainless Kimber Pro Carry, but with very few rounds through it. My concern was not only with the feed ramp but also with the slide to frame fit. My understanding is that aluminum frames get sloppier faster than steel frames.

My solution was to fit a new steel frame to the Kimber slide. What I did was buy a $350 Charles Daly stainless model ($350) and fitted it to the Kimber slide. For my heavy shooting I use the steel frame and for carry I use the aluminum one. For me, this eliminated potential feed ramp problems and slide to fit problems. The added weight of the steel frame also makes the gun more comfortable to shoot.

Desert Dog

I had an aluminum framed gun from the Kimber Custom Shop that the ramp was badly mauled within the first thousand rounds. A fair percentage of those rounds were Golden Sabers and I suspect that round may have been a little too sharp for the aluminum ramp.

My solution was to have an aluminum framed gun built with a steel feedramp insert. A gunsmith experienced with doing this could add one to your gun. This would cost less than buying another gun and turning your carry piece into a switch top gun. If maintaining fit on the rails is a big concern, then you might want to investigate Acc-U-rail. My preference is to practice with the same gun, as the one I carry for CCW use.

DD

Hobbes

DD: Did you have any malfunctions as a consequence of the wear on the feedramp? I'm curious as I have an aluminum frame Kimber. Thanks.

Desert Dog

Hobbes,

This is sorta one of those chicken or the egg things. I started getting failures to feed early on and when my plunger tube sheared off the staking posts, I sent the pistol back to the Kimber Custom Shop. When I taked to them, I asked them to also address the FTF problems while the pistol was in the shop. When I got the pistol back, the pistol was feeding perfect, but I noticed the ramp was getting buggered up quickly. It was showing a noticeable amount of wear before the shop visit, but the rapidly growing problem made me suspect that Kimber had polished through the anodizing on the feed ramp. So, I am not completely sure if it was the ammo or the missing anodizing (or a combination of both) that hastened the feed ramp problem. Sorry I don't have a clearer answer for you. My suggestion, would be to contact George at EGW and ask him about putting a steel ramp insert in your Kimber. I don't know what he charges, but it will be reasonable and this will remedy your feed ramp worries.

DD