Kimber Eclipse 10mm - opinions

[Kimber-45]

What is your opinion of this pistol?
Thinking of buying one.

[Mike_Fontenot]

I've had one for 4 or 5 years ... my only 1911 and only semi-auto until very recently. (My recently acquired 1911 is a S&W SW1911-Pro in .45acp, that I shoot .45 Super in).

I think Kimber made ALL the right design choices in the Eclipse, and I think 10mm is vastly superior to .45acp (and also superior to .45 Super).  My only complaint (and a non-trivial one) is that I've had many jams in shooting my Eclipse (always shooting full-spec 10mm).  The current failure rate is fairly low, I think, but I still don't completely trust it ... for the last six months, I've exclusively carried my S&W69 .44mag L-Frame revolver instead, because I trust it, and because the ballistics of the .44mag round are even better than the 10mm.  The SW1911-Pro .45 hasn't had any jams, but I've only shot a hundred or so full-spec .45 Supers so far, so its reliability really hasn't been established yet.

[sqlbullet]

If Kimber floats you boat, nothing wrong with them compared to other 1911's in that price range.

[inv136]

I started out with Colt 1911 pistols for a decade and later learned about Kimbers which are more value for the same dollar (with standard features like match barrel, match trigger, and night sights for the same price of a comparable Colt without these extras). I've had a number of different Kimbers including the Pro Eclipse .45 ACP, Stainless Pro Carry .45 ACP, Custom TLE/RL II 10mm, and Stainless Pro Raptor .45 ACP. I preferred the stainless to the Eclipse because the Eclipse black finish tended to rub off from holster wear.

I've now discovered the Dan Wesson line of 1911 pistols and have sold off all of my Kimbers and have two DW 10mm pistols as well as one Night Hawk Custom 10mm pistol. DW costs a little more than Kimber and Col, but, are head and shoulders above them in quality. And, as mentioned, the 10mm is a much more effective caliber than .45 ACP or .40 S&W, 9mm, .357 magnum, and .38 Super. Ballistics of a full house 10mm is near that of the .41 magnum. And the recoil is very manageable.

[Mike_Fontenot]

One thing that keeps me in the Kimber camp for 10mm is the fact that Kimber is the only maker of 10mm 1911's that has a grip-lever-controlled firing-pin safety.  That's a requirement for me.  (The S&W SW1911-Pro .45 that I bought is (I believe) the only non-10mm 1911 that has a grip-lever-controlled firing-pin safety (besides Kimber)).

[sqlbullet]

If you gotta have one the Swartz style is nice as it doesn't impact the trigger at all.  Another option is to go the Ruger route and use a lightweight firing pin.

[Mike_Fontenot]

If you gotta have one the Swartz style is nice as it doesn't impact the trigger at all.  Another option is to go the Ruger route and use a lightweight firing pin.

The reason the Ruger-type solution doesn't solve the problem for me is that the primary value I place on the firing-pin safety has nothing to do with safety if the gun is dropped.  Its value for me is primarily during handling of the gun, like, for example, when I'm chambering the first round at home, when I must absolutely be sure that the gun doesn't inadvertently discharge ... by gripping the gun completely below the grip lever, I get an extra, independent assurance that the gun won't fire even if there is some other unexpected failure that would otherwise cause a discharge.  That gives me a peace of mind that I otherwise wouldn't have, and it's why the grip-lever-controlled firing-pin safety is an absolute requirement for me.

[14 GT-500]

Well I sure do like my Kimber Eclipse Last year at this time I bought a Colt Delta Elite which I very much enjoy shooting, then about 6 weeks later I found this Kimber Eclipse which I bought. Well right away I was giving me all kinds of problems so I sent it back in to the factory and they had it for 6 or 7 weeks but they sure fixed all my problems that I had.
This year I carried it for Deer Hunting in WI but didn't get a Deer with it,end up shooting one with my 1951 Win 94 30-30.
Anyway there a very fine pistol and yes I would buy another one in a heart beat!!

[spaniel]

My only 10mm is a Kimber Eclipse Custom II.  I installed a 22# (?) recoil spring, higher weight hammer spring, flat-bottom firing pin stop, and metal MSH with magwell before ever shooting it.

It has been a wonderful, incredibly accurate pistol for me.  Reliability has been great, and I fire exclusively full power reloads (I have a 40 if I want to shoot watered down ammo).

I don't carry it a lot because I know it will damage the beautiful finish, and I'd hate to have it taken away if I were forced to use it.  I plan to buy a RIA Commander size for that.

The only pistol I have which is more accurate is a CZ Shadow 9mm which I thoroughly worked over as a dedicated target gun.

[Mike_Fontenot]

My only 10mm is a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. 
[...]
Reliability has been great, and I fire exclusively full power reloads [...].

I wish mine had been that reliable.  What ammo specifically do you shoot in it?

[EchoLimaBravo]

My only 10mm is a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. 
[...]
Reliability has been great, and I fire exclusively full power reloads [...].

I wish mine had been that reliable.  What ammo specifically do you shoot in it?

I doubt it's the ammo causing problems...

[Mike_Fontenot]

My only 10mm is a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. 
[...]
Reliability has been great, and I fire exclusively full power reloads [...].

I wish mine had been that reliable.  What ammo specifically do you shoot in it?

I doubt it's the ammo causing problems...

I think full-spec ammo is more prone to cycling problems than lower-power loads.  Some people carry full-spec but practice with lower-power loads, which isn't a good test of reliability when carrying.  Also, bullet shape and weight can influence cycling reliability ... those are the sort of details that I was hoping to get.

[spaniel]

My only 10mm is a Kimber Eclipse Custom II. 
[...]
Reliability has been great, and I fire exclusively full power reloads [...].

I wish mine had been that reliable.  What ammo specifically do you shoot in it?

I doubt it's the ammo causing problems...

I think full-spec ammo is more prone to cycling problems than lower-power loads.  Some people carry full-spec but practice with lower-power loads, which isn't a good test of reliability when carrying.  Also, bullet shape and weight can influence cycling reliability ... those are the sort of details that I was hoping to get.

I shoot near-max loads of Longshot with 155, 180, and 200gr bullets. XTPs and Missouri Bullet coated lead.  No difference in reliability across that range.

If you experience reliability problems in the 1911 platform with 10mm, I suggest you look into making the hammer spring, recoil spring, and firing pin stop modifications I noted.  All of this helps control the excessive slide velocity of the 10mm.

My brass still enters low Earth orbit...

[inv136]

Before I sold my Kimber Custom TLE/RL II 10mm pistol, I took it to the range along with my Night Hawk Custom Recon Enforcer 10mm and shot both for the first time using Underwood 155 gr JHP 1500 fps ammo. The NHC had no issues and fed 100%. I had one round jam in the Kimber (out of about 20 rounds). I then tried some regular low power 10mm Federal 180 gr JHP 1030 fps which functioned 100% in both the NHC and the Kimber. I sold my Kimber pistols and bought a couple of DW 10mm 1911 pistols which I am in the process of running them with the Underwood ammo which is my carry 10mm ammo. 

[Mike_Fontenot]

If you experience reliability problems in the 1911 platform with 10mm, I suggest you look into making the hammer spring, recoil spring, and firing pin stop modifications I noted.  All of this helps control the excessive slide velocity of the 10mm.

I tried all those things shortly after I bought my Eclipse, but I found that I couldn't get the light trigger-pull that I wanted (about 2.5 lbs) with anything other than a light 18lb hammer spring.  And jamming frequency always seemed to increase with heavier recoil springs ... I used the stock 18.5 lb recoil spring for years (because it seemed more reliable than any other choice), but finally upped it to 20 lb after seeing some battering.  I HAVE been using a flat-bottomed firing-pin stop for years, though.