Kimber Ultra Carry II won’t cycle properly

[Teamless]

I have had eight or nine Kimbers, two of them Stainless Ultra Carry IIs, still own one. Never had anything like that.
But I have had some troubles with smaller semi auto pistols. These days I load all mags to full, let them sit on the shelf loaded.
Lock the slide open, let it sit on the shelf that way. After 2-4 weeks, take to the range and see how it works.
If it is still finicky, repeat. May take the springs a while to take a set.
Worked for several 9mm and .380s.

I know that does not help much if it is his only pistol, but since you have lent him one he should be okay.
Just out of curiosity, did you fire it and experience the same difficulties? It is a light, short barrelled .45, and if he's a first time shooter...may be operator error (limp wristing). Just sayin'...

I did shoot it and had the same issues
I did have 1 or 2 cycle properly out of 2 magazines
BTW, I did neglect to add in my OP that this is a 9MM

As far as limp wristing it, was my first thought watching him
But I grabbed it and made sure I was as high as possible and gripped very strong (too strong honestly) and had same issue

Appreciate the idea of leaving the slide locked open for a while

[Liberty]

A friend of mine had one. Something was scraping the brass (the extractor if I remember right). Check the spent brass see if its scraped or marred. He ended up sending it back to Kimber. They fixed it, but he sold it afterward He would never trust it again. He ended up with a Cheap M & P and was very happy with it.

Kimbers are pretty, but I would trust a Taurus before a Kimber. No gun should need a 700 round break in. Something called an Ultra Carry should not be built to such tolerances that reliability is an issue. I understand that some people have got lucky and have had Kimbers that have run without issues. But these issues with Kimber show up far more often than other more common guns. Just saying that maybe this New York trash should be avoided.

[flechero]

I've had a couple Kimbers and mine all ran. Maybe I was lucky but every 1911 I have ever owned ran just fine without break in. My own opinion is that a gun will run or it won't. A true break in period will only smooth things out, not replace proper fitting. I could see and understand a ftrb on a sharp extractor hook or an early fail to eject on a tight gun with new, heavy springs and weak ammo... but asking someone to run a case of premium SD ammo though a new gun to see if their lack of fitting will "work itself out" is not cool. Heck that's half the cost of the gun or more! Are there exceptions to every rule? Yep, but they are exceptions.

I've never subscribed to the limp wrist theory personally. I've seen a number of videos like this showing a gun held by the thumb and trigger finger only and shot through a full mag w/o issues. Ironically the 1911's go full mags w/o stoppage and the glock in this video fails every shot. Maybe it's the steel frame that provides enough heft to run the gun. ??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsewsolPyBU

[flechero]

BTW, I did neglect to add in my OP that this is a 9MM

Wonder if they put a 45 recoil spring assembly in it by mistake? That would explain everything.

There should be a mark or color somewhere on it to delineate which it is- I'd call kimber before wasting any ammo to see how to tell which it is.

[LTUME1978]

I have only had one Kimber, their Super Carry Pro (4" barrel) in 45 ACP. I had all sorts of issues with it including failure to feed and failure to extract. I would call them and their response was to continue to feed it ammo and it will be fine (with a tone of voice like I was an idiot). At somewhere around 700-800 rounds, I called them and told them to pick that thing up. Once they got it back, I got a call (with a much different tone of voice) stating that there were indeed many issues with the pistol. They offered three options, repair it, replace it with a new one, or refund my money. I took the cash. I have three Springfield's and three Dan Wesson's. They have all been outstanding, especially the Dan Wesson's. I know people that have good Kimbers, that was just not what happened with mine. If you can't get satisfaction with Kimber, you could always take it to Ed Van Den Burg. He most likely can make it work.

[Teamless]

This issue is resolved

A good cleaning - took off what my friend said was very “waxy” type substance
When he brought it to the range again and I moved the slide, I could tell immediately it was significantly easier to maneuver.

Ran through 5 magazines, no issues at all

Thanks for all of the advice and guidance

[Boxerrider]

This issue is resolved

A good cleaning - took off what my friend said was very “waxy” type substance
When he brought it to the range again and I moved the slide, I could tell immediately it was significantly easier to maneuver.

Ran through 5 magazines, no issues at all

Thanks for all of the advice and guidance

Excellent news!
Wife's gun shipped from the factory with grease on the rails. Makes me wonder if this gun sat in the box long enouh for the lubricant component to separate from the wax component? Regardless, glad to hear he got it working.

[Liberty]

A lesson learned. I believe every new gun should be disassembled and cleaned before taking it out to shoot. Cosmoline is nasty stuff and will Gum up. I don't know if Kimber uses that stuff, but I know that Ruger and Beretta do. It's a good idea to inspect the gun for any defects. Last reason is it is a good idea to gain familiarity with the weapon.