Kimber Gold Combat RL II

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08-07-2011, 14:07
Bailey Guns

Kimber Gold Combat RL II

So I got a great deal on this pistol. Finally took it out to shoot it today for the first time. It appeared to me to be unfired previously. Even the KimPro coating on the breech face was undisturbed. If this gun has ever been fired it hasn't been much. A mag or two at the most.

All shooting was done at 35 feet, standing offhand. I'd never fired the pistol before shooting the first group with Wolf ammo.

I had a few "Oops" moments...out of practice and too anxious to see where the bullet was going.

All shooting of the various groups with a variety of ammo was done with one magazine...an 8-round Kimber Tac-Mag.

I had two failures to go into battery. These were the only failures. Both were with Winchester HP ammo and both were the last round in the mag. I fired both types of Win HP ammo again with a different mag (a Wilson Combat 7-rounder) and again the last round of each type of ammo failed to go into battery. No other failures.

PHOTOS:

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/7611108d.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/c6e868a8.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/6b294de2.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/b66cb932.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/839aec22.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/78d52a5e.jpg
08-07-2011, 14:28
10x

Very respectable shooting.
Are you going to do anything about the failure to return to battery?
08-07-2011, 14:34
Atrain1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

So I got a great deal on this pistol. Finally took it out to shoot it today for the first time. It appeared to me to be unfired previously. Even the KimPro coating on the breech face was undisturbed. If this gun has ever been fired it hasn't been much. A mag or two at the most.

All shooting was done at 35 feet, standing offhand. I'd never fired the pistol before shooting the first group with Wolf ammo.

I had a few "Oops" moments...out of practice and too anxious to see where the bullet was going.

All shooting of the various groups with a variety of ammo was done with one magazine...an 8-round Kimber Tac-Mag.

I had two failures to go into battery. These were the only failures. Both were with Winchester HP ammo and both were the last round in the mag. I fired both types of Win HP ammo again with a different mag and again the last round of each type of ammo failed to go into battery. No other failures.

PHOTOS:

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/7611108d.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/c6e868a8.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/6b294de2.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/b66cb932.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/839aec22.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/78d52a5e.jpg

Try a new recoil spring I had the same problem with my TCM with the 7 pound break in spring and when I went to the 8 pound problem went away.
08-07-2011, 14:38
Bailey Guns

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10x

Very respectable shooting.
Are you going to do anything about the failure to return to battery?

At this point the only thing I plan to do is shoot it more. I'm thinking the failures were due to the bullet shape of the Win ammo.

After a brief break-in period (maybe 500 rounds or so) I'll try that Win ammo again and see what happens.

On the positive side, it seems (like every other Kimber I've owned) to shoot Wolf ammo just fine. And that's a good thing since it's usually much cheaper than most other brands. I know a lot of people claim the world will pretty much end if you shoot Wolf ammo in your guns but I've put well over 20k rounds of Wolf through various handguns and AR rifles with no issues at all.

I gave my son a Kimber Warrior a few years ago. I'd shot 6 or 7 thousand rounds of Wolf through it and you'd think it was match-grade ammo the way it worked in that Warrior. Granted, it's an exceptional gun. I was hoping this Gold Combat would be up to the same standards.

Time will tell.
08-07-2011, 14:41
Bailey Guns

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atrain1

Try a new recoil spring I had the same problem with my TCM with the 7 pound break in spring and when I went to the 8 pound problem went away.

7 or 8 pound 1911 springs??? Standard is 16 pounds. 18 is recommended by a lot of people.

I don't think this is a recoil spring issue. Ejection is too uniform (and in the correct spot) and it was fine with all other ammo brands. Only the Win was an issue and then only on the last round in the mag.
08-07-2011, 15:03
Atrain1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

7 or 8 pound 1911 springs??? Standard is 16 pounds. 18 is recommended by a lot of people.

I don't think this is a recoil spring issue. Ejection is too uniform (and in the correct spot) and it was fine with all other ammo brands. Only the Win was an issue and then only on the last round in the mag.

Thats if you have a 45, my tcm is not a 45 acp and it has a 7 pound break in spring and a 8 pound spring when the break in is over, I was just using it as an example do to it doing the same thing, I did not see the part about it only doing it on the last round. If it is only on the last round I would then think magazine. Try a Wilson Combat, or Chip McCormick, 1911 pistols seem to really like those mags. And you might want to try the 18 if you dont already have one in it.
08-07-2011, 15:26
Bailey Guns

The second mag I tried was a Wilson. Same thing happened...only with the Win ammo.

I really prefer the KimPro Tac-Mags over all others and in my experience they're the best on the market.

I still think it's just the bullet shape/design.
08-07-2011, 15:42
Robby30-06

I can shoot groups like that but I get powder burns on the paper[Rant1]
08-07-2011, 15:46
Bailey Guns

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robby30-06

I can shoot groups like that but I get powder burns on the paper[Rant1]

That's some funny stuff right there!
08-07-2011, 18:09
Atrain1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

The second mag I tried was a Wilson. Same thing happened...only with the Win ammo.

I really prefer the KimPro Tac-Mags over all others and in my experience they're the best on the market.

I still think it's just the bullet shape/design.

Is it the white box crap?
08-07-2011, 19:16
Bailey Guns

No, not WWB. I did shoot some of that and it worked quite well.

It was Winchester Ranger T-Series and Winchester SXT...both 230gr.

Even more curious, even though there was a failure with the Ranger, it shot the best in terms of accuracy.
08-07-2011, 19:30
Atrain1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

No, not WWB. I did shoot some of that and it worked quite well.

It was Winchester Ranger T-Series and Winchester SXT...both 230gr.

Even more curious, even though there was a failure with the Ranger, it shot the best in terms of accuracy.

That is odd I am not a Kimber fan at all, but man there should be no problem with the sxt. My PT1911 loves the sxt rounds. Maybe your gun is not broken in all the way, also have you made sure it was clean and lubed. It is also weard it is just doing it on the last round. what exactly does it do when you try to go through both mags?
08-07-2011, 19:37
10x

The 7lb - 8lb question--does he mean the magazine spring? A heavier mag spring can sometimes help some problems.

If you were to hand cycle the Winchester ammo, does it feed smoothly, like a "schlep" sound or is it a "ka-chunk" sound/feel. I have dealt with those types of issues before and found some good solutions.

Certain guns just don't like certain ammo. The best solution is to just stay away from it. That is why we test fire the guns.
I agree with Bailey Guns to shoot it some more and see what it does later.
08-07-2011, 19:43
Graves

A 7-8# 'break in spring'??[Eek3]

Bailey, depending on mileage I'd freshen up the mag springs. I have some Tripp's you can try out if you're ever in the mood to come up north to shoot. Them, Wilson's, and CMC's are the only mags I have and they'll feed empties into every one of my 1911's like butta.
08-07-2011, 20:00
Bailey Guns

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graves

A 7-8# 'break in spring'??[Eek3]

Bailey, depending on mileage I'd freshen up the mag springs. I have some Tripp's you can try out if you're ever in the mood to come up north to shoot. Them, Wilson's, and CMC's are the only mags I have and they'll feed empties into every one of my 1911's like butta.

Yeah, I'll be honest. I don't have anything remotely resembling a new 1911 mag. Most of mine are several years old and fairly well used. One of the "failure" mags was a Wilson.

I find it odd, though, that the mags cycled the other stuff OK.

The SXT and the Ranger bullets look almost identical. I really think it's just something with the shape of that particular bullet.

And, like I said earlier, I don't think this gun has been shot more than a mag or two and I'm guessing by the serial number and the fairly dim night sights that it's about 5 - 7 years old.

Thanks for the offer to come shoot. I wouldn't mind that at all.

I don't think it's a serious problem. It's not gonna be a carry gun or anything...just a shootin' gun. And I won't be shooting Ranger or SXT ammo through it much. Mostly Wolf...and that worked just fine.

10x - I didn't try hand-cycling the ammo. But when I initially charged the gun with all ammo brands it was very smooth and sounded like a "sschunk" when feeding the first round. Not the distinct "ka-chunk" sound you're talking about...I know exactly what you mean.
08-07-2011, 20:09
Graves

Well, JHP's all generally have a fatter nose and aren't as smooth to feed as FMJ so you just gotta make sure everything's tip-top for them in these guns. Like you've said, it is newer so I wouldn't be too worried about it for now either. IMO, there's nothing wrong with a 1911 that eats hardball only.
08-07-2011, 21:38
Bailey Guns

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graves

IMO, there's nothing wrong with a 1911 that eats hardball only.

Agreed.
08-11-2011, 07:06
WBAR

Nice pistol and good shooting, Carl. Hope to get up your way soon to see the new shop. WB