Kimber Pro Carry II 100 round challenge

I have a real love/hate relationship with one of the standard tests I do as part of our 1911 tests, and that’s the 100 round challenge. Shooting 100 rounds rapid fire in ~60 seconds isn’t actually that pleasant, but I keep doing it because it keeps revealing interesting data about the guns we test.

In the Kimber’s case, it didn’t really reveal anything I didn’t known. One failure to eject early on in the test, and then a relatively reliable finish. I have noticed that the gun’s function has started to even out now that we’re over 500 rounds. Watching the video, the ejection pattern is more consistent, with fewer cartridges going forward or just dribbling out. I noticed while reviewing some different slow motion footage that the slide occasionally comes forward while the casing is still ejecting, which is what causes the spent cases to sometimes head forward of the gun. This is a further indication to me that the gun’s RSA is too heavy for the slide weight and loads I’m using.

Right now the gun’s at exactly 1,000 rounds. As mentioned previously, once it got over the 500 round mark, I wanted to re-test it on the 10-8 Function test. The reasoning behind this is because again, the manufacturer’s specs call for a 500 round break in period for this gun, and because I want to give these guns a fair shake, I decide to re-test it after 500. If it passed, I would add 5 points to the score; so that instead of losing -10 for failing the 10-8 test, it would only lose 5 for the initial failure during the first 500 rounds.

It passed the test, and quite well. Hornady Critical Defense proved no issue for the gun as it sailed through 50 rounds like it was born to run that protocol. Here’s how the current scoring for the Kimber works out:

  • -10 points for initially failing 10-8 Test
  • -5 points for 5 failures during testing
  • +5 points for passing the 10-8 Re-Test

That puts the gun back up to a solid 90 points on the Gun Nuts 1911 Rating System. With exactly 1,000 rounds to go, I’m interested to see what comes next. Will the gun continue its trend of becoming more reliable as time goes on? Or will some unseen issue pop up? Would you carry a gun that’s experienced 5 malfunctions in 1,000 rounds?

7 Comments

  1. No would not carry a gun that had 5 malfunctions in 1000 rounds.

    To paraphrase something you said, just buy a Glock.

  2. A good question! From a statistical standpoint, 200 MRBS is not what I would want in a carry gun, but the way you describe the change in the gun over the first 500 rounds, plus it passing the 10-8 re-test, I’d carry it with the Wilson/Hornady combo

    But, I would change the recoil spring. And I’d also get a Wilson extractor and ejector fitted by a shop I trusted to make a 9 run. In fairness, I’d probably do that with any of the pistols you’ve revised, with the exception of the Rock and the Wilson.

  3. How often is a person going to be shooting 200 continuos rounds in a self-defense scenario? So, if I shoot 24 today and do the same for the next 9 days, will it still have the malfunction(s)?

  4. I can’t imagine a 200 round gunfight with a handgun. Remember that there are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics, which are a perversion of mathematics.

    We can expect reliability to have dependencies on firing schedule and linrication practices.

    A 2000 MRBS has become industry standard in defensive handguns, and 1911s, even 9mm 1911s, have met and exceeded this standard. I find it fascinating to note the ejection and extraction tendencies of the different 9mm 1911s, and appreciate the tests!

    1. Never mind a little deeper Google turned up “Median Rounds Between Stoppages.”

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