I have a Kimber .380 that jams roughly one in four, has anyone else had a similar experience? Suggestions?

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:36:34 -0500

I have put between 500 and 700 rounds through my Kimber micro carry .380. Since I began firing it, it has jammed about one in four shots. I clean the weapon after every trip, and keep it cased when not in use. I am hesitant to contact the manufacturer because I don't have the first idea what might be causing it. The gun store recommended waiting until I have put 1000 through before acting. Ideas?

Response by RJ (Robert) Kirschner, MBA made Feb 12 at 2016 3:38 PM

RJ (Robert) Kirschner, MBA — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:38:26 -0500

Send it back to the factory.

Response by SPC David S. made Feb 12 at 2016 3:41 PM

SPC David S. — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:41:12 -0500

.380 is know to jam - pay close attention to you hand positions and make sure your not interfering with the slide. As well make sure you are using the recommended ammo. .380's don’t have all that much power to run the slide in the first place so any interference could be the source.

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Feb 12 at 2016 4:15 PM

PO2 Steven Erickson — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:15:32 -0500

No modern firearm should have a "break in period" of 1,000 rounds, PO3 Steven Sherrill. If you're using factory-fresh ammunition for that .380 ACP, it's not the ammo, either. Send it in to the manufacturer right away. And find a new gun store (I apologize for being an ass).

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Feb 12 at 2016 4:17 PM

SGM Erik Marquez — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:17:28 -0500

All new guns need to be detailed cleaned, then lubed, then broke in. Kimber calls for 500 rounds.
I strip, and put my new guns in my sonic tank for 30 min at 25 deg C, dry, lube.
That has always helped with fast, clean break in.
after 500 rounds or so, strip, clean, lube and test fire several mags of your carry ammo. If it has any hiccups its either just a plinking / practice gun or it goes to the gunsmith, and the process starts again.

Response by SGT William Howell made Feb 12 at 2016 4:18 PM

SGT William Howell — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 16:18:27 -0500

Going to call BS on a 1000 rounds. Guns are now manufactured with .001" tolerances there is no "break in time" for modern guns. If they are recommending a break in time it may be time to look for another gun shop as they don't understand what they are selling.

There as several things you can look at to see what is going on. "Jamming" really doesn't help with describing what is going on with the gun.

If you can, describe what is happening. Is the fired shell clearing the chamber? Is the unfired round getting hung up as the slide goes into battery? Also, are you sure your hands are locked firmly when you fire. The stroke of a .380 is very short and they are prone to having some people limp wristing when the gun is fired. I have been in the gun business for a long time and I am sure we can find the cause then make sure that Kimber fixes it. They have a great customer service department, but from what I understand it takes a while to get your gun back.

Save some of the brass so, if needed, it can be sent into the manufacture. DON"T SEND LIVE AMMO! The shippers all get pissed when you do that. You can look at the brass and see if there is anything unusual happening.

Response by SFC Jim Ruether made Feb 12 at 2016 5:34 PM

SFC Jim Ruether — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:34:52 -0500

A concealed carry instructor told me to drop a few rounds out of the magazine to see if that alleviates the problem. Sometimes they say to much spring pressure in the mag forces the rounds up to fast and at the wrong angle to feed properly. A buddy of mine with the same weapon found the rounds fed better with a lighter mag. Good Luck friend.

Response by SFC Jim Ruether made Feb 12 at 2016 5:41 PM

SFC Jim Ruether — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:41:07 -0500

I would send it back as these Kimbers are a quality firearm and if something isn't feeding right it may be a manufacturers defect. If they can't help you maybe you should consider getting your money back and looking at a Sig Sauer or a Springfield Armory model .380?

Response by SFC Jim Ruether made Feb 12 at 2016 5:47 PM

SFC Jim Ruether — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 17:47:22 -0500

I was the marksmanship Coordinator in my Guard unit and worked closely with the Armorer mostly in 1911 Colts .45ACP and later on with the M9 Beretta 9mm and when there were feed problems it was usually associated with the magazines. Does the firearm shoot ok with one magazine over the other? This could be your problem too. Try a different brand of ammunition too and determine if its the ammo that's causing the feed issue and /or jamming. A concealed carry piece does you no good at all if your trying to rack the slide in a dangerous situation to remove a round that didn't feed right. I am sure Kimber will want to hear about this and they should take care of it.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Feb 12 at 2016 6:32 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 18:32:37 -0500

First thing to do is to have somebody else shoot it, and see if they get the same jams. This will quickly determine if it's the gun or your grip. If it's the gun, call the manufacturer and send it back. If it's the grip, that's easy to fix too.

Response by 1SG David Niles made Feb 12 at 2016 7:30 PM

1SG David Niles — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 19:30:48 -0500

Check the rim of your magazine, check different magazine. Check feed tray for nuts and polish if needed

Response by SFC Maury Gonzalez made Feb 12 at 2016 8:15 PM

SFC Maury Gonzalez — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 20:15:47 -0500

I have a Taurus pt111myself, but you need to read the manual carefully,my 9mm and the manual for my s&w mp15-22 states what ammo brands to use and what to avoid, such as a reloaded bullet

Response by SFC Maury Gonzalez made Feb 12 at 2016 8:20 PM

SFC Maury Gonzalez — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 20:20:05 -0500

Years ago I had a Taurus pt99af, 9mm that didn't like hollow points. I sold it when I got shipped to Korea

Response by Cpl Mark McMiller made Feb 13 at 2016 3:30 AM

Cpl Mark McMiller — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 03:30:20 -0500

Kimber has had a reputation for poor quality control for years. Sounds like the extractor wasn't tuned correctly and you need a new one, which is a easy repair. But first, check to make sure you are grasping the gun tightly each time you fire it; limp-wristing is a known problem with .380's. If that doesn't work, take it back to the gun store and call BS on the 1000 round break in and try to get them to take care of it. If they won't, contact Kimber for warranty service. Don't pay Kimber a dime for shipping since they caused the problem by letting a defective product get past their non-existent quality control. If Kimber gives you any crap, read this and hammer them:

http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/warranty.game.htm

Your new coffee maker quits working three days after you brought it home, your year-old faucet leaks, and your new double-glazed, argon filled, low-e coated, insulated vinyl window fogs up inside the glass every time it rains. You have a warranty claim, so you call the manufacturer's customer service line only to be told that "it's not covered". So you fume, maybe write a complaint on one of those consumer complaint web sites, and buy a new...

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 13 at 2016 4:55 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 04:55:43 -0500

If it is failing to extract the casing the extractor itself is the possible problem. I just had to send my Sig Sauer M11A1 back to Sig for the that exact reason. I only had about two hundred rounds through the weapon. The Sig representative did tell me some are a little finicky when using winchester white box ammo. But I was using Magtech and Blazer. Last time I was at the range it failed to extract 11 of the 30 rounds I fired. Called Sig the very next day. I would suggest trying different ammo and see if you still have the same problem and if so I would be contacting the manufacturer.

Response by Cpl Rc Layne made Feb 14 at 2016 6:32 AM

Cpl Rc Layne — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 06:32:13 -0500

Either crappy ammo, crappy magazine, crappy grip or you got a crappy kimber.

Response by J Golden made Feb 19 at 2020 7:13 AM

J Golden — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 07:13:04 -0500

Grip it tighter, make sure pinky finger on handle too.
I was just about to send mine back.....never able to get through a whole clip w/o jamming, fired prob 200 times.
Knowledgable gunsmith made rec and sure enough, no more jamming because Im griping tighter

Response by Scott Hillstrom made Sep 20 at 2022 11:00 AM

Scott Hillstrom — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 11:00:04 -0400

I had the same issue. Brand new Kimber Micro 380. At least one jam per clip. My buddy, a gun smith, shot four clips without a single jam. I suspected it was how my pinky finger was pushing on the clip. So, I shot about four clips without my right pinky resting (pushing) on the clip. No more jams. I’m researching grips that may help.