Custom Kimber Raptor II Journey

[mike12_nguyen]

I first got a Kimber Raptor II by trading my HK USP9 to my buddy. A few weeks later before I got to shoot it I sold it to order my 2nd Ed Brown (a special forces to go with my kobra). I really regretted trading the Raptor but a few weeks ago I got a chance to buy a brand new Raptor II and I jumped on it. What I didn't know is how much work I was about to put into it:

-Factory trigger was 5lbs so I did my own trigger job to 4lbs (sear and hammer was perfect, I just polished the trigger track, trigger and adjusted the sear spring).

-I hate the plastic MSH on Kimbers so I replaced it with an Ed Brown ChainLink II with magwell.

-I hated the bead blast on the top of the frame where it blends into the beavertail grip safety so I used 80 grit glass beads to reblast the frame to match the safety.

-I hated the stock grips so I ordered a set of custom Desert Ironwood Burl grips from Carl's Grips, cost a lot but worth every bit of it. The grips are amazing feel wise and looks, changing angles the wood grains look like they are on fire. www.cwgrips.com, he's a great guy to work with and made my grips exactly the way I wanted, highly recommend him to all.

-I also had to polish the safety plunger lever down as it was preventing reassembly, just a little.

-Bought 6 more wilson combat 47d mags just for her

-Finally brush satin finishes are easily scratchable so I ordered a box of the 3m ultra fine brillo pads to use for refinishing when scratches happen. Even new it had some micro scratches that I buffed out. If anyone needs help with this pm me and I'll tell you how I remove the scratches.

All in all it took about $1800 but I got her to exactly where I want. I guess that's the big difference with my ed brown and nighthawk, I've never touched one part on those. But I am very happy how it turned out.

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[harold63]

Sweet. I'll take two of them.

[TheGhost27]

That's one fine piece you have there! The grips are very tasteful and a significant upgrade over the stock grips IMO. The Ed Brown chainlink MSH is also a great uprgade that really improves the look of the gun.

I had one, but it was the pro (4 inch) version. I loved how it looked, but I found that I favor the full-size 1911's more, so I sold it. You have done some nice modifications to that Raptor and I wonder how much of a difference they have made. I'm not saying they're not good modifications or anything, just wondering about the "before & after"..

Again, nice work and great piece

[mike12_nguyen]

That's one fine piece you have there! The grips are very tasteful and a significant upgrade over the stock grips IMO. The Ed Brown chainlink MSH is also a great uprgade that really improves the look of the gun.

I had one, but it was the pro (4 inch) version. I loved how it looked, but I found that I favor the full-size 1911's more, so I sold it. You have done some nice modifications to that Raptor and I wonder how much of a difference they have made. I'm not saying they're not good modifications or anything, just wondering about the "before & after"..

Again, nice work and great piece

Thanks bro,

The big difference is the trigger pull, it was too heavy and I took all the pre travel out, there was no creep so I didn't have to do anything for that. The beadblasting actually helped me decrease the contrast contrast of the finishes a little more which helps me focus on the sights better.

Unfortunately I'm a mediocre shooter and trigger pull makes a big difference for me so I end up having to do trigger jobs on most of my guns.

[TheGhost27]

Thanks bro,

The big difference is the trigger pull, it was too heavy and I took all the pre travel out, there was no creep so I didn't have to do anything for that. The beadblasting actually helped me decrease the contrast contrast of the finishes a little more which helps me focus on the sights better.

Mine did have a little pre travel in the trigger too. That makes sense regarding the beadblasting, if it helps you focus on the sights more, it's well worth it. I also think it may look a liitle better too. How long did all that work take?

Here's a pic of the Pro Raptor II I had. The only thing I did was swap out the grips for a set of VZ Simonich Gunner grips. If I would have kept it, the Ed Brown MSH would have soon followed.

[mike12_nguyen]

Pure working time was around 3-4hrs

[Lycanthrope]

The guys in this thread likely already know this, but I'd like to speak to the masses before anyone gets ideas.....

Almost all 1911's come with a bit of pretravel or "slack" in the trigger. It doesn't slow the shooting down, but different people have different preferences. What new 1911 guys need to know is that on some guns you need this pretravel or the grip safety won't properly engage unless you file that back a bit as well.

As I said, these guys already know this, but it's not an adjustment you should make without checking some other things along with it.

LycanniceKimberthrope

[mike12_nguyen]

The guys in this thread likely already know this, but I'd like to speak to the masses before anyone gets ideas.....

Almost all 1911's come with a bit of pretravel or "slack" in the trigger. It doesn't slow the shooting down, but different people have different preferences. What new 1911 guys need to know is that on some guns you need this pretravel or the grip safety won't properly engage unless you file that back a bit as well.

As I said, these guys already know this, but it's not an adjustment you should make without checking some other things along with it.

LycanniceKimberthrope

What you say is true. There is a lot that goes into adjusting the trigger mechanism. I prefer very little pre travel and yes I did file a little off the grip safety, I also have a lot of spare parts on hand for when I mess up, I also have the trigger shoe jig for when I get a little to aggressive.

[normanvin]

Nice. Not nuts over the wood grips. Just saying.

[Gun]

... and I took all the pre travel out, ...

Hammer follow is a possible result of too little to no pre travel, along with the half cock not working correctly.