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Kimber 1911 22LR Help Please

4K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Nolan 
#1 ·
I recently picked up a Kimber 1911 Super Custom 22 LR pistol and am hoping for some help from those here who have had one.

I love the fit and feel of the pistol and have been very surprised by the accuracy. A good friend was so impressed by mine, that he went to a local shop that still had a new stainless model in stock, and purchased it.

We're both having the same issues.

Whether I use the factory magazine or any of the Pro-Mag magazines that I purchased after getting the pistol, I get malfunctions from time to time.

There is no consistency to them either from the standpoint of the magazine being used, or the number of rounds in the magazine.

When it runs, it's great...but when it doesn't, it's a pain...

These are the issues we're both seeing...

1. The slide seems to run over the next round in the magazine without chambering it.

2. The slide will not go all the way to the rear, thus leaving a fired round to hand up in the ejection port.

3. The slide will pick up the next round in the magazine, but only partially chamber it.

While mine was purchased used, his was new old stock.

The pistols seem to do these things randomly, regardless of the magazine or ammo used.

We've debated replacing magazine springs, recoil springs, polishing the rails, polishing the inside of the magazines or followers...

Has anyone had any of these issues in the past?

If so, how did you fix it?

We haven't reached out to Kimber yet, but I'm not even sure how they would handle it since they no longer offer these for sale.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
Does the slide move freely with the recoil spring and such all out? Sounds like you may have a binding problem somewhere.Maybe the feed lips are bent on the mag and binding..I think the GSG mags may work in a Kimber..They are great mags if they will..They run way better in my Colt 22 Conversion than the original Colts do..

Does the mag seem to seat all the way in? Maybe the magazine catch is wore in the frame, or the the slot in the magazine?? Did Kimber use plastic magazines or the steel?

Look for unusual wear marks inside everything..Good Luck..Hope you get it going soon..
 
#3 · (Edited)
Rolltide:

You must be referring to the Kimber 1911 "Rimfire Super" by your description of its behavior . . . :rolleyes:

I absolutely agree with the points you like about it: handles great and is surprisingly accurate!
So much so, that I picked up a second one. Both were picked up lightly used
at an 'acceptable' price. (As always, acceptable is relative.)

Anyhow, yes they can sometimes be a little 'fussy'. Here's my thoughts . . .

They seem to run better with hotter ammo.

Think high velocity, Mini-Mags, etc.
I've got a supply of old Winchester Super-X that makes them go pretty well.
(I have had the least failures with Mini-Mags though I don't like to make a steady diet of them.
They can be a little rough on other 22 pistols, but the Kimbers seem ok with them. )

They like to be clean.

Who doesn't?

They like a generous application of a quality thin lubricant.

(Yes, this usually aggravates the 'keep it clean' problem, depending on ammo.)

I can get away with CCI SV if the gun is clean and well lubed for at least part of a shooting session.

I can also tell as soon as it starts getting too dirty.

The magazine springs strike me as the weakest springs on any 22 magazine.

They are super easy to load, even without a button to help depress the follower, but . . .

I suspect this choice was to minimize the friction on the slide by the highest round in the magazine,
in a bid to help the gun run on standard velocity ammo.

However, I would bet a stronger spring would make sure the top round is more
reliably presented to the slide as long as the slide is pushed all of the way back.

Don't know if any other 1911-22 style magazine springs are stronger and would fit the mag housing?

I suppose one could experiment with a lighter recoil springs if one could find a source for candidates

So, will running a higher velocity ammo cause the aluminum slide to beat on the
aluminum frame and shorten the guns life?

I haven't seen any warning signs yet, fingers crossed.

I think the thing to do is to keep trying CCI SV every once in a while to see if they will run it after things
are more broken in. If they do, I'll switch to them.

Good luck with yours!

Don
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies!

I neglected to mention the ammo. We've tried Mini-Mags, Eley Force, which is what we use in Steel Challenge, as well as standard velocity ammo.

The issues seem consistent, regardless of ammo.

The Pro Mags function as well as the factory mags, so they don't seem to be an issue.

I think we're going to go down the rabbit hole, one item at a time to see if we can diagnose the issue.

Thanks again!
 
#7 ·
I find it very helpful to polish the chamber on 22 rimfires. I use Flitz on a barrel mop on a short cleaning rod attached to a hand drill. I also changed the hammer spring on my 1911 pistol frames. The factory hammer spring is 23 pounds. I use Wolff 18 pound hammer spring with my AA standard 1911 kit. I built a dedicated RIA 1911 frame and used the 18 pound hammer spring. I used the frame on my RIA 1911 A-1 frame until I built a dedicated frame. I changed the 23 pound spring to a 18 pound spring and have never had a problem igniting centerfire or rimfire ammo with the lighter hammer spring.
 
#8 ·
I do not think this has anything to do with the problem on your Kimber but will share what mine does not like. It is a single shot jam o matic with Winchester Wildcat HV and I do not know why. It functions flawless with CCI Mini Mag, Blazer, Remington GB, & Bulk Federal HV. It jams with Federal Auto Match about 50% of the time and about the same with any standard velocity. My Kimber unit is mounted on a S&W Target .45 with factory springs. Best of luck in solving your issue!
 
#9 ·
After many rounds downrange the magazine round follower tends to hang up within the magazine body from powder residue buildup. After a good cleaning I have found that application of spray graphite inside and on the follower helps. You can depress the follower down against the spring to check for possible binding. As mentioned the spring is quite weak and it does not take much bind on the follower to experience a problem feeding. I have a little over 3k rounds through mine and can report that the feed ramp will get a slight notch from many rounds and needs to be smoothed out with a dremel and cratex bullet burr to restore full reliability. Also needs lots of lube on the slide as stated; when I got mine used the frame had a very small burr and it slowed the slide just enough to cause misfeeds. By far this gun gets more range time and more rounds through it than any of my other pistols for sure!
 
#13 ·
Hello, I realize this thread is getting older, but I wanted to add my findings so when someone searches, they can possible get some help.
I have 2 Kimber 22 kits, on Kimber frames. Yes they are 45 conversions, but all kimber. I have experienced everything you state. I wasn't sure if the slide was outrunning the magazine, or if it was short stroking. I have thousands of frustrating rounds thru it. Wolff has a more powerful mag spring for the Kimber plastic mag. I haven't tried that yet.. Other mags will work, but create different issues, such as the last round hold open on a GSG mag will eventually peen the aluminum slide by the slide stop catch. I have changed hammer springs to as low as 17 lbs ( yes ignition was still reliable). I have fooled with recoil springs. and also couldn't get them right. I
Have used many different HV ammo types, including CCI MM40, MM36, Fiocci, Federal, , and found Rem Golden Bullets to work the best? Go figure. I have also tried 40g SV ammo with even less luck. I have cleaned it thoroughly, ran it dry, ran it wet. Everything. I have noticed that it is more prone to multiple failures in colder weather than in the warm weather. I have about 3 years into these 2 guns ( not a straight 3 years) I have kept notes of my findings, and I continue to chase my tail. I have called Kimber and did not get any helpful advice. In all fairness to Kimber, I did not send them my guns so I have no idea if they can fix it. I am fairly competent at working on my own guns, and have solved many issues in the past on various makes. I have completely stripped the slides and frames to check for any binding, but none exists. It is currently my least reliable 22 set up.
I, like you, really like the Kimber set up. I like how it comes apart, and I like its function and accuracy when it is running good. Unfortunately, I haven't yet made it run even close to 100%. I have weighed the slide assy. complete and there are heavier 22/1911 platforms out there.
I would like resolve to this as well. If anyone can offer help, we would all appreciate it as this issue is out there. Not every Kimber does this, but enough do to make me wonder.

Thank you and good luck

Rich
 
#14 ·
Do your Kimber conversions run with the GSG magazines? Do you have spacers on the GSG magazines? They are smaller than standard 1911 magazines. If they run, it is very easy to remove the last round hold open tab from the magazines or the conversion slide stop can be modified by grinding down the ledge on the backside of the slide stop.

The hold open tab on the magazine follower can just be sliced off with a razor blade without removing the follower (red square in photo). The hold open ledge on the slide stop has been removed from the top slide stop (red arrow), the bottom slide stop has not been modified.



I've found on several .22lr conversions the barrel may be a loose fit in the frame allowing side to side movement which plays havoc with reliability because sometimes the barrel is aligned with the breach face cutout and the next shot the barrel has moved over slightly to one side and now rounds don't line up with the chamber. Drop just the barrel into the frame and see if there is side to side movement, if so use some aluminum foil tape evenly applied to each side of the barrel foot as temporary shims to hold the barrel centered, although it is possible the barrel may need to be slightly offset to one side to align with the slide breachface. Use an aluminum dummy round to check alignment. Vertical play can also cause reliability issues.

Remove the slide and place a live round under the extractor. A properly fitted extractor will hold a live round to the breachface when the slide is held horizontal and rotated around the bore axis.

Re-assemble the gun with a fired case in the chamber, load a magazine with the dummy rounds and slowly retract the slide to check if the extractor holds the empty case as it passes over the loaded magazine. If the empty case pops off the extractor, the extractor needs work. Entire books have been written about how to do that.

Nolan
 
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