Kimber Manufacturing
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kimber Manufacturing is an American company that designs, manufactures, and distributes small arms such as M1911 pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The USA Shooting Team, Marines assigned to Special Operations Command, and the LAPD SWAT team[1] use Kimber pistols.
Contents |
History
Kimber was founded as "Kimber of Oregon" in 1979 by Greg and Jack Warne in the small town of Clackamas, Oregon. Jack Warne moved to Oregon in 1968 after Portland-based Omark Industries purchased the Australian firearms manufacturer, Sporting Arms (or SportCo), he founded in Adelaide, South Australia, following World War II. Even though Jack eventually became president of Omark, he wanted to continue manufacturing, so he founded Kimber with his son, Greg.
Following its founding, Kimber of Oregon, which quickly built a reputation for accurate .22 long rifle caliber rifles, began to expand its product line and eventually acquired a second manufacturing plant in the nearby Colton.
In the late 1980s, the company began to struggle after a private stock offering fell short of covering the costs of developing the M89 Big Game Rifle. In 1989, Kimber of Oregon was sold to Oregon timber baron Bruce Engel, who founded WTD Industries, Inc. Engel had difficulty running Kimber and soon the company sought bankruptcy protection. However, Kimber of Oregon's assets were liquidated.
In 1990, several Kimber employees, including Dan Cooper, left to found Cooper Firearms of Montana.[2]
In the mid-1990s, Greg Warne tried to revive Kimber, but much of Kimber of Oregon's original tooling had ended up in a junkyard north of Portland. Greg soon found a financial backer in Les Edelman, who owned Nationwide Sports Distributors. The two purchased the original tooling and partnered to found Kimber of America. The company grew quickly, but Edelman forced Warne out after acquiring a majority interest in the company.
While Edelman was partnering with Greg Warne, he had also invested in Yonkers-based Jerico Precision Manufacturing, which manufactured hand tools and mechanical components for the defense industry, which was adjusting to cuts in defense spending. Edelman decided to connect Jerico Precision's existing infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities and Kimber's reputation and extensive network of dealers to build a line of M1911-style handguns. He eventually moved Kimber's production line to Jerico's facilities in New York, ending Kimber's presence in Oregon.
On 9 December 2004, a federal grand jury indicted former CFO Denis Shusterman for embezzling $10 million from Kimber Manufacturing and Nationwide Sports Distributors.[3] He was later convicted after pleading guilty, ordered to pay damages and back taxes, and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Ironically, Shusterman had personally flown to Oregon to fire Greg Warne before Edelman moved the company to Yonkers in 1998.
Kimber is planning to expand manufacturing capacity from its 31,500-sq-foot manufacturing facility in Ridgefield, NJ (Aero Molding). A proposal to add more space to its Yonkers site had been approved as a "regionally significant project" but Kimber appears to have withdrawn its application following concerns raised by worried neighbors.
Products
Pistols
Kimber is known for its highly accurate M1911-style pistols, as well as for offering a variety of customization options. Early on, the company introduced the use of metal injection molding for some parts, such as the thumb safety, which makes them more cost-effective to produce. The adoption of CAD and CAM technology were a priority due to the tight dimensions and low tolerances involved in producing firearms that are designed to be both accurate and reliable.[4] In 2005, Kimber manufactured 47,820 production handguns.
.JPG)
Models available include:
- Kimber Custom II Family
- Custom II
- Custom Target II
- Custom TLE II
- Custom TLE II (LG)
- Custom TLE/RL II
- Stainless TLE II
- Stainless TLE/RL II
- Warrior
- Desert Warrior
- Royal II
- Stainless II
- Stainless Target II
- Kimber Gold Match II Family
- Team Match II
- Gold Match II
- Stainless Gold Match II
- Target Match
- Kimber Compact & Pro Carry II Family
- Kimber Eclipse
- Kimber Ultra Carry II
- Kimber Tactical II
- Kimber CDP II
- Kimber Covert II
- Kimber Aegis II
- Kimber Ten II Family
- Kimber Rimfire Family
- Kimber Crimson Carry Family
- Ultra Crimson Carry II
- Pro Crimson Carry II
- Custom Crimson Carry II
- Various custom models
- Kimber Ultra RCP II — a subcompact 1911 from the company's Custom Shop introduced in 2010; features a sighting trough instead of conventional signts
- Kimber Solo — a micro-compact 9mm pistol introduced in 2011.
Rifles
Kimber also makes several long gun models, including shotguns, hunting and tactical rifles. Kimber rifles have a reputation for accuracy and quality.[5] [6] [7][8]
Their basic models are:
- Kimber 17 Mach 2 (discontinued)
- Kimber 22 LR (discontinued)
- Model 84S - Short (unreleased)
- Model 84M - Medium
- Model 84L - Standard
- Model 8400 - Short Magnum
- Model 8400 - Magnum
Shotguns
Kimber has recently started selling side-by-side and over-and-under shotguns.[9]
Less-lethal self-defense products
Less-lethal self-defense tools are also being sold under Kimber's "LifeAct" trademark. LifeActs are highly concentrated irritant high velocity incapacitating less-lethal chemical weapons. One is very economical, where the other costs as much as a quality pistol. The ranges and effectiveness of the two differ. Since these less-lethal weapons are effective at ranges where most handgun and knife encounters occur, they could be used to defend against such attacks. They are also useful for hikers in the wild to discourage aggressive animals. These products, such as the Guardian Angel, are also a suitable self-defense weapon for college students and commuters, especially on campuses that prohibit the concealed carry of firearms.
Kimber firearms in use
A modified version of the "Team Match II" .45 ACP caliber pistol is used by the US Shooting Rapid Fire Pistol Team. In 2002, the LAPD chose a slightly modified and specially marked (marked in "LAPD SWAT CUSTOM II") version of the Custom TLE II as the standard issue for its SWAT unit. Several other law enforcement agencies have approved Kimber firearms for on-duty carry by their patrol and SWAT officers.[10] In 2007 a new pistol designed by the LAPD Special Investigation Section was added to the Kimber's line of M1911-pattern pistols.[11]
References
- ↑ Johnston, Gary Paul "LAPD SWAT - This elite group of lawmen adopts its own version of Kimber's Custom II .45 ACP pistol." shootingtimes.com. Accessed June 27, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-06-27.
- ↑ Cooper Firearms History
- ↑ "Former CFO indicted by grand jury" in BizJournal
- ↑ "Tacoma Police Force Chooses Kimber Pro Carry - Industry News - Bulletin Board" by Russ Thurman in Shooting Industry December 2001
- ↑ Kimber 8400 Rifle Wins “Golden Bullseye Award” from NRA’s American Hunter Magazine as 2004 Rifle of the Year.
- ↑ "Kimber's Model 8400 Goes Long" by Joel Hutchcroft in Shooting Times
- ↑ "Kimber's Delightful Little Varminter: Trim, elegant, accurate and beautifully crafted — the Kimber 84M just may be America's classiest production rifle" by Holt Bodinson in Guns Magazine March 2002
- ↑ Omsted, J. Scott. American Rifleman Review of the Kimber 8400 Standard
- ↑ Shotguns page at the Kimber website
- ↑ "Departments currently issuing Kimber as official firearms" at the Kimber web site
- ↑ Kimber SIS
