Opinons: Kimber Eclipse Custom ll .45-cal 5-in barrel

[AEA]

Well, looks like you won it. Good work!

Congratulations!

Be sure to clean and lube it up good before shooting. Break-in for Kimber's is around 250 rounds as I recall. keep it lubed during those rounds and after that you should be fine.

I would recommend breaking it in with quality FMJ Factory ammo such as Federal. Then once you are happy with the performance of that, run 20 or so rounds of you choice of carry ammo HP thru it to make sure it cycles properly. I recommend Federal HST or Hydra-Shok. With a full steel gun like that you can even step up to a limited diet of +P+ which should wake you up pretty quickly!

[seamusTX]

Thanks.

I forgot to mention that this is for my wife. She depends upon me to do the research.

It will be a range piece, so probably it will be used only with standard FMJ. It won't be carried in a holster or abused.

What's the deal with dry-firing 1911s? Is it OK with snap caps? I've read pros and cons with everyone seeming to know the absolute truth.

I already know not to drop the slide on an empty chamber. I wouldn't do that with any pistol, just because.

- Jim

[AEA]

As far as I know, there is no harm in dry firing a modern 1911 and snap caps should not be required. In my opinion, snap caps are only needed for revolvers that have the firing pins on the hammer.

You are correct about not dropping the slide on an empty chamber and you should also never load a round in thru the ejection port. You should always charge the gun by stripping a round out a quality magazine (normal feeding). Then, if you so desire you can release the mag and top it up with one round again.

I have a feeling that although your wife will enjoy the gun, it may be a bit heavy for her to start with. But, I can almost guarantee that she will not have it very long anyway, because after you shoot it, you will be hooked and begin trying to figure out how to get it away from her!

[seamusTX]

I know it's fairly heavy. The weight of an all-steel weapon really helps stabilize it for more accurate bullseye shooting. I had set that as a priority.

With the cost of ammo these days, we probably are not going to be shooting anything but .22 for hours at a time.

Just for the record, some centerfire pistols are not supposed to be dry-fired. The manual for the Kel-Tec P3AT explicitly says not to do it. It's a question of what stops the firing pin when no primer is present. Some of them chip away at the channel that they run in.

- Jim

[Skiprr]

For your wife?

Shucks. That means you won't decide to give it to me, after all.

Perfectly fine to dry-fire a 1911. I always like to have snap-caps in place, just because. But it won't cause any damage even if the chamber is empty. And if you decide to buy extra mags, my preference is Wilson, 'specially their (newish) Elite version.

Since AEA brought up the insight about the Eclipse's shiny, stainless finish, when you reassemble that guy I'd be particularly careful when seating the slide stop. You have to get the rear portion of the slide stop past the slide stop plunger, which is held in position under tension by the plunger spring. And you have to do it while making sure the slide stop post is lined up with the barrel link. Simple once you do it a few times, but this is probably the most difficult part of reassembling a field-stripped 1911.

The tendency is to come up from the bottom of the slide stop plunger, pushing the beveled rearward portion of the slide stop up under the tip of the plunger. But that inevitably results in scratching the finish on the frame.

I know you're an experienced gunman, and I'm probably preaching to the choir...

[seamusTX]

I know you're an experienced gunman, and I'm probably preaching to the choir...

Not at all. I'm accustomed to SIGs that you can take apart and put together blindfolded.

I'll be verrry careful.

- Jim

[rm9792]

They are referring to the famous "idiot mark". Do a search and you will see pics that can explain better than words. It is probably the biggest single mix-up when reassembling. I am well versed in 1911s and have doen it myself recently, it is easy for the slide stop to slip when your hands are oily. If you get to the Alvin area this weekend shoot me a PM and I will be happy to assist a fellow Kimber owner in learning about his 1911.

[seamusTX]

Thanks again.

It usually takes a week to get something from an online auction delivered. I put the check in the mail this afternoon.

- Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

P.S.: It looks like I won, but I haven't received confirmation yet.

- Jim

So now we all know that your real name is "s*******1".

[WildBill]

P.S.: It looks like I won, but I haven't received confirmation yet.

- Jim

So now we all know that your real name is "s*******1".

I thought the same thing.

[seamusTX]

The purchase went smoothly. It took eight days start to finish, but that's what you get with online auctions.

Everything was as described. The pistol had never been fired or lubed. It came with wood laminate grips and the Alumagrips shown in the photo.

The Alumagrips are sharp in more ways than one. The checkering is literally sharp.

It is a very handsome piece and meets the approval of my dear wife.

But, it is a open end plug at the bushing and the rim of it is very sharp. Trying to push it in with your finger while rotating the bushing is a pain. Best to use a bushing wrench to push it in and rotate the bushing at the same time.

Truer words were never spoken.

Even though I knew exactly what could happen, the recoil spring plug hit the ceiling. It is sharp.

Thus, the barrel bushing wrench is the best bet on this pistol and I do not believe that one comes with the gun.

It came with a wrench made of some composite material.

- Jim

[AEA]

Cool........

You're learning!

Glad you are happy with it. Don't forget the range report and keep it wet while breaking in.

[The Annoyed Man]

You can dry-fire a 1911 to your heart's content; the only thing that's likely to happen (if you dry-fire constantly without snap-caps) is the firing-pin *may* become slightly brittle, it just depends on the quality of the steel. I've always kept a few spare firing-pins on hand anyway - they're cheap enough.

Me Springfield has a titanium firing pin from the factory, so it has been "pre-brittled" as an upgrade.

Doesn't stop me from dry-firing it occasionally.