Beginning the break-in process for new gun

[LarryH]

I took the new Super Carry Pro (SCP) to the range yesterday morning, along with my trusty Pro Carry II (PCII), to begin the break-in process.

Began with one magazine through the PCII, for comparison/calibration purposes, then about three magazines through the new one.

Initial group sizes through the SCP were larger, for unknown reasons, but settled down after a while.

However, the SCP failed to go completely into battery about once per magazine. When it did, I just nudged the back of the slide with my thumb and continued. This occurred with the magazine supplied with the gun (MecGar I think) and several Wilson 47D's (which have not exhibited this behavior before with the other Kimber). Is this likely to go away after the break-in is complete, or should I worry about it?

My first inclination is to let Jim, the gunsmith at The Arms Room (where we purchased the SCP), look at the gun before continuing to shoot it.

At this point, I'm not noticing any real difference between the two guns, other than that.

After about 200 rounds, through the SCP, and two magazines through the PCII, I finished off with 56 rounds through the 9mm STI Guardian -- another sweet shooter.

My hands were tired by that time, and it was starting to get HOT.

Thoughts?

[LarryH]

Thanks, Andy.

[LarryH]

Final resolution.

Had the gun cleaned and checked out at the 200 round point. Problem continued at nearly the same level (one failure to go into battery on each full magazine).

Cleaned and checked out again at the 750 or 800 round point (both checkouts were at the Arms Room). After this one, invested in a box of cartridges and about 15 minutes in their range (very nice facility). Still experienced the same failure rate, plus one stovepipe during those 50 rounds.

Gave the gun back to the gunsmith for another look. He polished some of the innards and put "some grease on the rails". Only charged me for the thirty rounds he fired to test it out this time. One more box of cartridges (this time I brought them from home, since I hadn't been to work yet (work at Federal facility). This time, flawless -- no failures of any kind during six magazines full of rounds (8 rounds each for four magazines, 9 rounds each for two magazines).

I'm guessing what he did the last time is about the same as the "fluff and buff" that some members have previously mentioned. Wish I had Jim do that at the 200 round point.

I was just about ready to offer the gun up for sale if the problem persisted.

[WildBill]

Seems to me that folks are generally in 1 of 2 camps about this issue - those who insist that a firearm be perfectly reliable out-of-the-box, and those who expect a break-in period.

While I would love to have a reliable firearm without having to shoot it to check, I don't trust *any* manufacturer to actually do this right. I'm not willing to compromise my safety by assuming anything when it comes to reliability - especially with a semi-auto - so I always expect to have to break it in myself. It's pretty enjoyable to me and I like learning the pistol's personality anyway.

I am from the first camp - one who expects reliability out-of-the-box. That said, I don't trust any gun that I haven't proven reliable. I don't see anything wrong with your cleaning, cycling, fluff and buff. In fact, it's an excellent idea and I do it myself. But a gun that has repeated or continual problems after shooting a couple of boxes should be sent back to the factory. Maybe some of the disagreement on how long the "break-in cycle" should be.

[MR Redneck]

Before I go shoot any new gun, I clean and lube the mess out of it. My 1911's I work the action and dry fire them several times. Take it apart and wipe the rails down, relube and do it all again for about 100 rounds or more.
Clean and lube it again but dont use much lube this time and go shoot. I dont hardly ever have any problem.

[gigag04]

I'm kinda displeased with Kimber

[WildBill]

I'm kinda displeased with Kimber

I have seriously considered buying a Kimber, but sometimes I don't think that the product lives up to the hype.
For me, I think that it's a matter of perception. Kimber is trying to market their product as a "custom" gun. They are not. They are good quality production guns.

[A-R]

My usual break-in procedure is to take the gun out of the box, load whatever rusted steel case Soviet bulk ammo I found in a ditch somewhere into the magazine, fire until my hands are tired and eyes are watering from all the toxic Soviet powder in the air, then hose off the gun with tap water, load in some premium hollow points and stick it in my holster. This works well for Glocks, not sure about Kimbers though

couldn't resist ... TAM will be along in a moment with a clever retort

[Bart]

A mechanic once told me break-in is more than half way to breaking.

[7075-T7]

Wolff XP recoil spring for the Kimber Pro's. It'll fix the going into battery issue.

http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%20P ... D32/dID413" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It did on mine when I had it.

[WildBill]

Wolff XP recoil spring for the Kimber Pro's. It'll fix the going into battery issue.

http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%20P ... D32/dID413" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It did on mine when I had it.

So Kimber doesn't use Wolf XP recoil springs for the Kimber Pros that they normally sell?

[USA1]

the SCP failed to go completely into battery about once per magazine. When it did, I just nudged the back of the slide with my thumb and continued.

Pretty common on some new Kimbers.
Fluff and buff never hurts, but the above described problem can many
times be cured by simply upgrading to a Wolff XP recoil spring.

For some reason, some Kimber models have recoil springs that seem to be only minimally
adequate enough to return the slide back to battery while chambering a round.
The Wolff spring is longer than the stock spring providing more thrust.

Although I didn't have the previously mentioned problem with mine out
of the box,I know people who did...so changing the spring was the first
modification I made and there is a discernible difference in performance.

Even though you've got your gun running 100%, it wouldn't hurt to switch...it's a cheap upgrade.

[gigag04]

How do they service people feel about changing the springs. Surely this would void the warranty.