Kimber?

[DoubleJ]

Another thing I'd like to mention - not necessarily about Kimbers, but rather about 1911's in general - magazines make a huge difference, in my experience. A buddy of mine had some Shooting Star mags for his 1911. He told me they're more effective if he just threw the magazines at the perp than using them in his gun. Personally, I only use KimPro Tac-Mags. Others will swear by Wilson Combat. I haven't had first-hand experience with them, but I'm sure they must be great to develop such a reputation.

I had the exact same experience. I don't know what the deal was, but my Shooting Stars would cause a jam at least every 3rd runthrough.
I bought some Kimber KimPro Tac-Mags with the baseplate additions. I have not had one single failure since. It makes me wonder how many times a gun is blamed for a failure that has more to do with the magazine...

I truly believe if you go over the gun before ever going to the range (the aptly named "Fluff & Buff") you won't have any problems. search that term, and you should find some posts (FlintKnapper did a nice explanation) that detail this first time shooting pre-procedure. if nothing else, I'd take a brush to the feed ramp. excellent choice on the Eclipse.
Springfield has a similar model I came so close to buying.... whoooo!
ended up with a Pro CDP from a good friend. best gun ever....

[Carrots]

Furyataurus

I have the HK45c and whilst I've only put 400 rounds through it I really like it. My decision was made by the fact that I wanted to carry it - if you don't then I would go for the fullsize. The grips on both are different, which of course may also make a difference for you. I have small hands and love the grip on the compact. You can get 10 round mags for the compact and so capacity is a non issue, but there is only one light which will work out of the box and without modification for the compact and it isn't a very good one. The fullsize doesn't have that problem. Either way in my limited experience you'd be pleased with either...(although the price on both has shot up a lot since I bought mine in Oct)

[LarryH]

Conventional wisdom is that the full-size are the best (because they are the original design, presumably). The Pro series might be somewhat less reliable (but still good), but the Ultra would be the most problematic because of the redesign necessary to get all the moving parts to work properly in the 3" size.

Based on somewhat limited experience (about 700 or so rounds), my Pro Carry II has worked flawlessly with Wilson Combat magazines. The only true fail-to-feeds I've had (that could not be attributed to "it's past time to clean it") were with the Kimber mag that came with the gun; I don't use that mag any more -- it lies, empty, in my range bag.

[DoubleJ]

but the Ultra would be the most problematic because of the redesign necessary to get all the moving parts to work properly in the 3" size.

on paper, yes, but that hasn't been my experience, nor the experience of a bunch of users (The Annoyed Man will tell ya) with the 3"
I believe that the 3" design has come a long way, and if you use a good recoil spring you should be squared away.

[Bob Landry]

Here are my two. Both are pre-series II. Both are stainless, the Pro Carry is Bob-tailed and both of them now have Dawson Precision [abbreviated profanity deleted] adjustable sights.

[LarryH]

but the Ultra would be the most problematic because of the redesign necessary to get all the moving parts to work properly in the 3" size.

on paper, yes, but that hasn't been my experience, nor the experience of a bunch of users (The Annoyed Man will tell ya) with the 3"
I believe that the 3" design has come a long way, and if you use a good recoil spring you should be squared away.

That's why I quoted "Conventional wisdom". My only experience with an Ultra was borrowing one (CDP) for a weekend to see how I liked it. I was more accurate with my wife's full-size Rock Island. That led to my decision to buy the Pro

[DoubleJ]

That's why I quoted "Conventional wisdom".

agree 100%

I wanna say that I have heard of plenty of these problems way back in the day, but have never seen any with my own two eyes, or heard any reliable first hand accounts.
I like the Pro/Commander size as well. personal opinion for me.

[PUCKER]

I've had my Kimber Compact Aluminum (4" barrel) since '97 or so, it was my first 1911-style pistol. Coming from a Glock 17 (first pistol I purchased) it's a VERY different gun. Every time I pull the trigger it goes BANG!!!! Dirty it goes BANG!!!! Clean it goes BANG!!!! (Same with my Glock) Just my experience. It's a phenomenally accurate pistol, seriously. I have heard (as in read) about some of the newer generation Kimber's having some issues but I don't have any first-hand knowledge of it to back it up (meaning the exact failure, the serial number range, etc.).

[sbb]

I have an SIS and the better half carries a Tactical Pro as her daily carry weapon. We both like our Kimbers. My 5" model is as easy to conceal as the wife's 4" model. Neither of these pistols had issues with target or SD ammunition. Both shoot way better than either of us. I have a few other 1911's in the stable and I enjoy them all. Great platform that quickly becomes a disease for which there is no known cure.

[Locksmith]

No longer valid

[Bunkins]

I bought my Stainless Ultra Compact after shooting a buddies full size Kimber. I love mine, if I ever ended up selling a gun, which I will probably never do, this wont be one that gets sold.

I did however have some problems with mine, failure to feed about every 2 mags.. It was mostly because the slide was getting so full of junk it was very rough to operate. I started using gun grease on it, and it hasn't failed once after that. I prefer grease anyways..

It's very accurate, even at 15 yards, which I didnt think was possible with a 3 inch barrel. My only complaint is the trigger feel, but I'm very picky about my triggers. I haven't done anything about it yet, it's not horrible by any means I could live with it if I didnt feel like messing with it. I'm just one of those guys that likes changing things to suit me better..

The 1 other problem is being aluminum framed, the metal followers in the factory mags will screw up the mag well. It doesn't hurt operation, it just leaves a nasty scar. When I target shoot I just dont fire the last 2 shots. I plan to buy some Kimber Tac mags later as they have skirted followers.

I've handled many handguns, and Kimber is by far my handgun of choice. I have no need to buy another one, but I really want to now I have the urge to buy another Stainless UC, I'd like to have a full size but there is no way I could conceal it with my body type ( 6'3 175lbs ). So I'm not sure what I'd buy, I just know I want another one.

[gemini]

It's the "devel" type follower that causes a little ding mark on the frame
just before the feed ramp. Wolff & Tripp both offer springs and skirted followers
to replace the original. Probably others too. I mainly use ProTac mags but use others
too without worry.

[The Annoyed Man]

My stainless Ultra Carry II has never been "finicky." It is a dead reliable pistol, lightweight, and accurate to boot.

[03Lightningrocks]

So the ultra carry II line seems to be running well right out of the box? I don't want to have to replace springs and what not to get it to function reliably. Reading above, I noticed a few recommended replacement magazines. This doesn't seem to be a big deal. I don't mind if that is the only modification I would need.

I do appreciate the wealth of knowledge expressed so far about the Kimber 1911's. Thanks all.

[Locksmith]

No longer valid