Range Report - Kimber Micro 9 CSE

[Acronym Esq]

This thread has been great. I have learned a lot. Thanks to everyone for their comments so far.

I followed the break in period (500 rounds) suggested by Kimber for my Ultra Covert...

The Kimber Micro manual doesn't say anything about a break in period (that's my gun). Looks like you are right, tho. I pulled the manual for the Kimber 1911 (your gun).

Before firing the firearm for the first time, field strip and clean the firearm following proper procedures ... For proper break-in, fire 400-500 rounds of 230 grain (or heavier) full metal jacket, high quality factory-fresh premium personal defense ammunition. Clean and lubricate the firearm after every 100 rounds or after each shooting session, whichever is first, or more often as needed ...

I won't question the correctness of the manual.

FTB - ok, then FTRB. That is pretty common with new semi-autos and *usually* (not always) stems from a rough-ish or tight chamber which slows down the round and/or (oddly-enough) weaker than usual recoil-springs ... Another thing to look at is the shape/tension of the extractor itself - overly-tight and you get feed issues, overly-loose and you get extraction/ejection issues.

Great information on causes.

I played this game with a malfunctioning gun many years ago.

• Get through the break in period.
• Could be the ammo quality.
• Maybe I'm limp wristing.
• Have you run different ammo through it?
• Perhaps it's a bad mag spring.
• Is the extractor clean?
• How about $100 of hollow point?
• Does it fail with other shooters?
• Polish the feed ramp.
• The recoil spring might be weak.

The result was 2 years of wondering if it was my fault, not having a carry gun, the warranty ran out, and pieces started to wear out 'cause I shot the heck out of the gun trouble shooting it.

I can't think of any other consumer product I purchase and endure that nonsense. It's not like I bought this for 10% of the going rate of other guns off the slow boat from China. Actually just the opposite - I got permission from the government to pay retail money to a reputable store for a product made in the USA.

Kimber was very friendly and helpful. They are taking it back for repairs. I'll throw it in the mail on Monday.

This has been a great discussion, and really helped me focus my thoughts.

Acronym 12/2/2016 9:05 PM

[Acronym Esq]

Kimber was very friendly and helpful. They are taking it back for repairs. I'll throw it in the mail on Monday.

I put the new Kimber Micro 9 CSE in the mail on 12/5/16 and got it back 1/23/17 (49 days including shipping). Kimber included a packing list for the work they did.

Extractor adjusted; Barrel, ejector, recoil spring, safety punger & safety plunger spring replaced; Barrel reamed & polished; Tested with 24 rounds

Notable to me is that that the feed ramp is smooth and shiny (much improved) and the recoil spring is stiffer. The wife and I put 200 rounds through it. The gun functioned flawlessly for me, but she had 6 failures to feed. I shot some video of her which reveals that she's doing a good job managing the recoil and keeping her index finger off the slide while it cycles. I can't see if her thumbs are riding the slide, safety, or slide release (wrong filming angle). I suspect she's interfering with the recoil mechanics somehow.

If I ride the safety with my thumb as I would with a larger 1911, the slide bites me. I'm training to wipe the safety off with my thumb and continue down past the safety in one motion.

I'm happy with the work Kimber did, although it took a long time. I think they fixed the mechanical problem which revealed a little user error on my wife's part. The contrasting manual of arms between a glock and small 1911 is just a training issue for my wife and me.

I was finally able to get additional 6 and 7 round magazines, but they are still difficult to find.

Flashbang and Comp-Tac have both told me that they have no plans make holsters for it. The lack of holster support from my preferred companies is a problem.

I really like the way it looks and handles.

Acronym 1/30/2017 12:06 PM