Purrrrr-teee! I like those guns. I've always wanted a 625 in 45ACP. That Kimber sure looks nice too. What did you have done to it?
I did it myself.
Basically, the only parts on this pistol that are "Kimber" are the frame, slide, barrel, and the trigger. I replaced everything else. I HATE MIM! I wish it would die!
I'm especially happy with the quality of the hammer, sear, and barrel bushing.
The hammer and sear are "Cylinder & Slide"'s "Tactical II." - Rockwell Hardness = 54. I was literally stunned at the "drop-in" fit. I didn't have to stone, or even polish, any of that. The trigger pull is better than a top of the line Wilson 1911. This isn't speculation either, I've compared the two -- even with one in each hand at the same time.
The front bushing is made by "EGW" and is called an ""Angled Bore Bushing." This eliminates barrel "spring back" which is not a good thing in terms of accuracy. I wasn't fond of Kimber's bushing at all. I "miked" all the original parts on the stock Kimber. The bushing was too loose and not heavy duty enough. As I recall, originally, there was .003", at least, in the barrel to bushing fit.
The barrel link was .002" too short, and I could feel some barrel movement during lock-up - a very bad thing as far as I'm concerned. I always wondered why my barrel hood lugs and slide recesses didn't seem to "touch" at all. This was the reason. The barrel link is now a "Wilson" .278" which also happens to be the standard 1911 specification for a barrel link. The movement is gone now.
I'm a fan of variable rate recoil springs. I shoot everything - even my light target reloads, with a 20lb variable from "Wolff" I have 100% reliability with 500 rounds of 200g SWCs - I'd bet it's even higher than that, and the pistol takes less of a beating with this weight of spring.
What else? Well, the plastic main spring housing simply had to go. This gun needs to be work horse. I swapped it out for a "Smith & Alexander" mag well which includes a new MSH. Two potential problems solved with one stone. Of course, this also meant a change in the grips for aesthetic reasons. I swapped the grips for "philippine Mahogany" from Navidex.
As a rapid fire shooter, I'm a believer in Tungsten Carbide guide rods and rod bushings. I can watch my front sight movement better during recoil this way. So I swapped out the stock ones for Tungsten Carbide. This makes the pistol illegal as heck for IDPA, but all I've got to do is swap it back for a match - a 10 second job.
The sights were swapped out for Meprolight Tritium. They are the exact same sights that come on the Gold Match but with the Tritium inserts. This pistol also serves as my main self-defense tool and I'm a believer at being able to shoot well in the dark - in which 90% of all self-defense shootings occur.
The extractor was replaced with a Wilson heavy duty one. The original was, at least, 3-4lbs under spec. I did adjust it, but I never trusted it.
The mag release assembly was MIM, so that got swapped out for a tough one made by "Nowlin." I chose Nowlin because that's what we had on hand at the time, and it very closely resembled the stock one which I liked from a functionality standpoint.
All the stock pins were fine, so they stayed.
The slide stop pin "miked" out at .199" which is fine. I still have the original slide stop -- until I find one that is not MIM. *smiles*
The breech face received a very light polishing, as well as the feed ramp.
The barrel was already excellent.
Kimber's stock, premium trigger is GREAT. It's a keeper.
The Kimber grip safety was not to my liking at all. I'm a fan of the Wilson. It just feels better in my hand. Now, this is not a drop in change. The Kimbers have cut their frames already for a beaver tail, so one has to be REALLY careful in fitting a Wilson to their frame. There isn't much metal to work with.
The Kimber ambi thumb safety, again all MIM, was changed for an Ed Brown. Being left handed, and also carrying concealed often, I did a mix & match thing with the Ed Brown parts. The left side of the thumb safety is the tactical width, while the right side is the wider width. I sold the left over parts to a right handed shooter for his 1911. Clever huh? *laughing*
I think I covered everything? The Kimber does a consistent 3/4" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest with my hand loads. So in a nutshell, my group size shrank by 50% and I've got something much more dependable, accurate, and pleasurable, to shoot. I was fortunate to only pay $700.00 for the Gold Match since it was slightly used, so add another $300 in parts, and some hours fitting things, and I've got something equal to, or better, than a Wilson or Les Baer for the price of a new Kimber. I did make out great - this time around. If I were to do it all over again, I would have just bought a Kimber "Custom," made the same changes to it, and saved a few hundred more.
