A pair of LS 10's

gnappi · June 18 2021 04:24:20 PM MDT

Today, I received my new addition, a long slide Kimber Stainless Target in 10mm. The range that received it has a free range time deal for all transfers, so I took along my Dan Wesson Bruin (also a longslide) to compare them both.

Well I found out on round one, the Kimber was the victim of a garage "gunsmith" and it wouldn't feed ONE single round of the two factory brands or a reload. Grrr...

So, I dropped a dozen one at a time (I know, I know) in the chamber directly and compared to the DW Bruin it was equally well finished and fit, accuracy and extraction were spot on perfect, and ejection would have dropped them all in a 5 gallon bucket. Ejection landing consistency is my first for a 10mm. The trigger has no creep or overtravel, and breaks cleanly at ~4lb. Nowhere near the sub 3lb of the DW, but also nowhere near the cost. Also as no surprise recoil and blast are substantially less than on shorter barreled 10mm's. I'm not recoil sensitive at all, but it's nice to have my cake and not be beat up eating it too.

I have shot and handled a number of Kimber .45's all were just OK, but over the years I never would buy one. This one is an exceptional departure from every one I've handled or shot.

Neither the Kimber nor the Bruin have the goodies I like (extended slide stop, magwell, ambi safety, FL guide rod or extended mag release) but I'm thinking these may stay as they were made, except aluminum grips on both and I may get a 9x25 barrel at some point for the Kimber as I really do not need two 10mm long slides... or do I? :-)

It took around three hours to straighten out the barrel, and I'm happy the asshat who owned it did not do any permanent damage but, I liked it enough that I'd have re-barreled it in a 9x25 straightaway if it were buggered up sufficiently to make it unusable as a 10.

I found a way to reduce the size on disk...

4949shooter · June 18 2021 05:42:38 PM MDT

Glad you got it straightened out. The long slide Kimbers are nice guns. I owned a Super Jager, which was a great shooter but the ports were too loud for my aging ears.

Enjoy....

gnappi · June 18 2021 07:56:24 PM MDT

Quote from: 4949shooter on June 18 2021 05:42:38 PM MDT
Glad you got it straightened out. The long slide Kimbers are nice guns. I owned a Super Jager, which was a great shooter but the ports were too loud for my aging ears.

Enjoy....

+1 :-)

Ports on .45's I don't mind, but faster bullets with ports can whip up some serious noise. I'm thinking a linear comp may work really well on supers, 9's and 10's.

Vice · June 20 2021 09:55:01 AM MDT

Congrats on your new 6 incher Gary! Glad you got it up and running.

Vice · June 20 2021 10:00:06 AM MDT

Quote from: 4949shooter on June 18 2021 05:42:38 PM MDT
Glad you got it straightened out. The long slide Kimbers are nice guns. I owned a Super Jager, which was a great shooter but the ports were too loud for my aging ears.

Enjoy....

I learned my lesson on ported pistols, ended up with a funky hearing condition and hearing loss. I went through a phase in the 90's and had quite a few. Fortunately, most of them are gone now. You could not give me one of those now.

4949shooter · June 20 2021 06:35:49 PM MDT

Quote from: Vice on June 20 2021 10:00:06 AM MDT
Quote from: 4949shooter on June 18 2021 05:42:38 PM MDT
Glad you got it straightened out. The long slide Kimbers are nice guns. I owned a Super Jager, which was a great shooter but the ports were too loud for my aging ears.

Enjoy....

I learned my lesson on ported pistols, ended up with a funky hearing condition and hearing loss. I went through a phase in the 90's and had quite a few. Fortunately, most of them are gone now. You could not give me one of those now.

Yep exactly.

gnappi · June 21 2021 12:43:30 PM MDT

I got an Email from the dealer who sold me the gun and they swore up and down that the gun was NIB, and had only been touched to enter it into the books and take pix for the ad.

WOW!!! I'd never have believed that a firearm could get out of a manufacturer in such a state. As it is, it's working now, and after a call to Kimber they assured me (no surprise) that I no longer have a warranty :-)

One thing I am certain of, this is my last Kimber.

Markwell · September 18 2021 12:36:23 PM MDT

We too have a DW Bruin, and a few other DWs as well. Considering the build quality of all the DWs we have, and have seen, we can't see why anyone would buy a Kimber. Just sayin'.

gnappi · September 18 2021 01:25:46 PM MDT

" We too have a DW Bruin, and a few other DWs as well. Considering the build quality of all the DWs we have, and have seen, we can't see why anyone would buy a Kimber. Just sayin'."

Ordinarily I'd agree, but there are circumstances I'd buy a pistol with an even worse reputation... The Hardballer and Javelina for instance :-)

Anyway I got it because:

1. It's a longslide
2. It's all stainless steel (I like that a LOT more than the Bruin)
3. Has a ramped barrel.
4. The price was worth diddling with it.

Now that it's sorted out, it's equal in every "measurable" way to my Bruin as far as reliability / function goes... Fit? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm not a shake the gun to see if it rattles fetishist so it doesn't matter. I'm now glad I have it :-)