I'm nearing 14 months with one on order at my LGS.  I'd not heard a sighting of a new one anywhere in ~1 year until 3 weeks ago, when a buddy handled one in a store in Memphis.  The logistics of obtaining it were problematic so I decided to wait on my order (non-refundable deposit).  Frankly I figured that if they were starting to show up in stores where people had not ordered them, mine on order should show up shortly.  So far, no dice.

Anyone else seen one in a store lately?  This is to be both my first 1911 and my first 10mm.  I loaded up some ammo for it a year ago.   

GunBroker has 6 or 8 of them listed I see.

spaniel, Lets start by saying hello and welcome to the forum.    Did you personally order the Kimber yourself or did the LGS do it for you?  In other words who placed the order directly with Kimber?  Is it possible the LGS is stalling you?  I surely hope you were dealing with Kimber directly with your (non-refundable deposit)...I hope your LGS guy is on the up and up with you!

The Kimbers are very nice guns in 10mm, much better guns and chamber support than the Colt DE's.
Good luck getting things sorted out!  Hey if you get a few coins ahead get yourself a Glock 29 to start testing & enjoying the handloads.

Best regards!

Welcome to the forum spaniel!

Since there's no doubt brand new Kimber Eclipse Custom II handguns currently exist, my thought is your LGS guy should only be holding your deposit as non-refundable for up to some specified amount of time.  I mean what;  If because he's incompetent and it takes a decade to get one for you, that's okay?  It sounds to me like Kimber knows nothing about it, as I can't believe they couldn't have filled that order within a year's time.

If it was me, I would at least put in a call to Kimber and find out what their feelings on the situation are.  They would probably have as good of advice for you as anyone.  I mean, we're not talking about some one off custom gun for multiple thousands of dollars.  We're talking about a regular production piece.

Have you been in touch with the LGS guy lately?  If so, what is he saying about it?

Kimber Customer Service = (888)243-4522  Monday-Friday 9am-7pm Eastern Time

One of my main shops (Ed's gun shop in Vass, NC) had one come in Tuesday. www.edsgunshop.com

The store has always done right by me, I have been doing business there for years.  I checked in ~4 months ago and they confirmed that they had placed the order with Kimber.  I was not aware a non-FFL could directly place an order with Kimber.

I'll make a stop by there this week now that I'm seeing more people confirm they are seeing them around.  For months, there were none to be found that I could see.  It may be a "production" gun but most manufacturers make such things in runs, and with a low-volume item like this that may mean once per year.  I've seen where other people had this particular model on order up to a year before receiving.

I'ld still call Kimber, tell them the situation, and ask when the next production run will be or what they say in general.

It sounds like others are receiving new models of the same gun and have been.  Therefore in my mind I'ld still be calling Kimber to find out there thoughts just as far as a basic timeline.  Your LGS guy could do it too and should easily be able to figure out a basic time frame you should be expecting wait, but, it doesn't sound like he wants to take the time.  If that's the case, there's no reason you can't question Kimber yourself.

Don't get me wrong, my intention isn't to make some huge deal out of anything.  Only that I'm pointing out you do have options toward nailing down, at the very least, a loose time frame.

Quote from: REDLINE on July 28 2013 10:33:38 AM MDT
I'ld still call Kimber, tell them the situation, and ask when the next production run will be or what they say in general.

It sounds like others are receiving new models of the same gun and have been.  Therefore in my mind I'ld still be calling Kimber to find out there thoughts just as far as a basic timeline.  Your LGS guy could do it too and should easily be able to figure out a basic time frame you should be expecting wait, but, it doesn't sound like her wants to take the time.  If that's the case, there's no reason you can't question Kimber yourself.

Don't get me wrong, my intention isn't to make some huge deal out of anything.  Only that I'm pointing out you do have options toward nailing down, at the very least, a loose time frame.

I agree.  I'm talking to the shop tomorrow if possible, either they will call Kimber or I will.  I think I've been patient. 

If you end up not getting a Kimber may I suggest you have a look at the Dan Wesson Razorback. I know I was at a gunshow last week and ran into an armorer that works on a lot of 1911's and he handed me a bag of parts. I said what are these and he said broken kimber mim made parts. DW's have no mim parts, they use Ed brown and egw tool steel machined parts. I guess you could always put better parts in it though if something does go bad. I just thought I'd mention this to you.

Im surprised Kimber is still in NY.

Quote from: spaniel on July 28 2013 04:02:41 PM MDTI think I've been patient. 

After an honest 14 months or so of waiting, I feel you've been more than patient.  IMO, for 10mm Auto, that gun is worth holding out for, being  that it utilizes an extra heavy barrel with top notch chamber support that has no major problems handling the hottest 10mm loads.

Good Luck on getting it sooner than later!

The moral of the story is, don't order a Kimber. 

(that is different from saying don't buy a Kimber)

I was told by someone that stores receive more or less random allocations and don't know what is going to show up in their store.  This store indicates that this is not true, they order and will eventually receive those orders 6-12 months in the future, with no idea what is going to show up when.  So they indicate that my order went in line behind every dealer who ordered that particular item as normal stock, which explains why they are now showing up in stores but my order has not arrived yet.  They also indicated that this particularly rare model is probably only made once per year.

They are going to call in and check for me when the people they normally talk to at Kimber are there.  I was told they did not expect to get me more than a rough estimate of when they were going to produce that model again (looks like they are/did from them coming in stock in places).

Since when I ordered there were really none around I could find, I was led (by some) to believe that placing an order would get me ahead.  Apparently all it did was mean that I guaranteed that...eventually...one would show up in my particular store.  I also felt more comfortable (if I had to order) doing so with a store I trusted.  In retrospect I would have been better off just waiting for them to come in stock somewhere and do an FFL transfer.  If I buy another Kimber that is certainly what I would do.

I sure hope the gun is worth the wait!  For reference, I was told ~9mo when I ordered it.

Man, I feel your pain. All I can say is, sometimes the waiting is worth it. You have to trust me on that one. With that said, I have never owned nor fired a kimber anything. I did like Bart Skeltons article on the stainless target II though. Almost made me buy one........hmmmm

That really does hurt the consumer who tries to deal with a local gun store.

But I can't really fault Kimber.  It sounds as if they process the in the order received.  It just sucks that there were so many in line in front of you.

It would also be nice if there were some way  Kimber of differentiate between those orders that were for waiting customers versus 'stocking' orders.

Quote from: sqlbullet on July 30 2013 01:40:22 PM MDT
That really does hurt the consumer who tries to deal with a local gun store.

But I can't really fault Kimber.  It sounds as if they process the in the order received.  It just sucks that there were so many in line in front of you.

It would also be nice if there were some way  Kimber of differentiate between those orders that were for waiting customers versus 'stocking' orders.

Yes, this is bad for the LGS.  Part of the reason I did it this way was because I trusted them more than an internet deal, and they have done right by me in the past so I wanted them to get the full sale and not just the FFL.

I have no problem with Kimber processing orders in the order they were received.  However, it is a poor business model to accept orders you will not be able to fulfill for more than a year, with no communication with the customer as to when you will be able to fill them.  This is why when gun supplies started getting bought out last year, many companies stopped taking backorders.

I guess Kimber figures people want their guns so much it doesn't matter...but these things have a way of coming back to get companies that think like this.  Makes me wonder why they spend so much on advertising, since they run such an order backlog...