Kimber .22 1911 style pistol

[Jack Gilbert]

My brother has a Kimber aluminum 1911 which is chambered for .22 LR. The pistol is identical to the .45 in all respects, right down to the barrel link and the barrel bushing and I believe that in true Browning design the barrel drops out of battery when the slide is pulled back. I didn't strip the gun but it looks like a .45 barrel with a .22 hole in it. The magazine is the same outside dimension as the .45 ACP, and the inside is quite generous in dimension which makes the rounds somewhat staggered rather than straight in-line like a Ruger, Browning, Colt, etc.

Here's the problem with the gun. It did not want to strip the 2nd. round off the magazine. Slow manipulation of the slide revealed that the rounds dipped and the slide rode over the rim of the cartridge rather than picking the round up and feeding it into the chamber.

We shot Winchester Super X  thinking that the ammo was the problem. We did not have ejection problems, no smoke stacks, but simply not picking the round up.

We went to Stingers, and the thing seemed to function fine. It seems that high speed ammo tends to cure this problem, perhaps the slide velocity has something to do with it with lower powered ammunition.

As noted, the magazine allows for some slop in the position of the rounds. The spring doesn't seem overly strong in it either.

Nice gun, but I'd like to know if any of you have encountered this with other Kimbers. My Ruger holds the rounds very securely and there is no room for them to roam around in the magazine. Could narrowing the inside of the magazine make a difference or is it something else?

Looking forward to your input.

Jack

[Mikey]

Jack - it sounds like your 1911 prefers higher speed 22s to effectly cycle the action.  What you noted during your slow manipulation of the slide is exactly what you should have seen - the 2nd cartridge is depressed into the magazine but the slide should pick up the rim of the 22 and chamber it if it goes all the way back to full cycle. 

It sounds like the slide is not going all the way to the rear with the slower or lower powered rounds to pick up the next round in the mag.  This happens even with centerfire guns.  If your pistol functions properly with higher speed ammo I would suggest you buy a coouple of bricks of the stuff and shoot the snot outta that 1911 - you are definately not going to hurt the pistol with that ammo...........

You did not say the pistol was having extraction/ejection problems which leads me to think the slide just isn't going full back into battery on the lower powered ammo.  Also, I would leave the magazine alone if she functions properly with the high speed stuff. 

I don't know how much shooting this pistol has been through but it doesn't sound like much, and may need a good breaking in.  Shoot it with the high speed ammo and have fun.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Savage]

Good job trouble shooting Mikey! I bet after a couple bricks of hi speed ammo the gun will function fine with the bulk stuff. If not, then I'd be looking at mag and recoil spring changes. My Ceiner unit I bought for my fullsize Kimber functions flaswlessly with both standard and high velocity ammo. Mine was good to go right from the start. If the magazines weren't so expensive, I'd shoot falling plates with that combo. It is one accurate .22!!!
Savage

[Jack Gilbert]

The .22 has very few rounds through it, so the break-in is a very valid point. Think both of you have hit the nail on the head with this pistol.

Jack

[Darrell Davis]

 Hey there Jacko,

I think I still have a pint jar of Mt. Saint Helen's ash around here someplace.

Take a bit of that and a glob of Criisco mixed up real nice and apply the mix to the rails of said Kimber.

That should slick up the action real quick.

If you don't think that will be fast enough, your brother should still be able to find some of the courser stuff that fell over in his part of the country.

Eather way, this could speed things up and save a lot of money on ammo by cutting down the break in time.

Don't worry if some of the compound embeds itself in the aluminum slide, it won't take long and the thing will be freed up enough to the point where that will be almost like a B&C.

Keep em coming! 

[Jack Gilbert]

Hi, Mr. Davis. I thought I would get some great advice from you on the break in.

The latest "Handloader" has an article on the Kimber .22 conversion kit. It is a drop-in outfit suited for most 1911 .45 ACP pistols of about any make.

They noted that 40 grain high speed ammo, jacketed, would be the most reliable. I noted that the Super X hollow point is only 37 grains so that might explain some of the failure to feeds we had. They said that the bulk pack ammo is great for value but it doesn't cycle the slide reliably.

That Handloader has some good articles in it this month.

Since it is only 40 degrees and raining this morning I haven't gotten anything done outside. Must be about the same at Dreary, hence your penchant for getting on Graybeard. Be sure to check out Hogzilla under the hog hunting section on this website. You'll love it.

Jack

[Lloyd Smale]

The kimber 22s and conversion are a ball to shoot but can be finiky buggers. The instuctions that come with them even state to run copper coated high velocity ammo and they do run much better with it.