Two questions Is the Pro Raptor II

[MBOFFICER]

Is the Pro Raptor II the same wepon, but a fancy version of the Pro Carry II? Would you consider the Pro Raptor II reliable? I've seen some bad reports on it here. Would like to hear from satisfied owners and your thoughts before committing to a final purchase. Thanks guys......

[Custom-guy]

I do not have a Pro Raptor II but a buddy of mine does, it seems to be a good gun for him he has had some slight FTE problems but he was putting many types of ammo through it to use it up so I don't know if that had anything to with it or not, It has been reliable since. The Raptor has a steel frame rather than the aluminum Pro Carry and yes it is a fancy version of the Pro Carry with nice machine work. What are you wanting the gun for? carry, shooting, looks, all of the above?

[MBOFFICER]

Originally Posted by Custom-guy

The Raptor has a steel frame rather than the aluminum Pro Carry and yes it is a fancy version of the Pro Carry with nice machine work. What are you wanting the gun for? carry, shooting, looks, all of the above?

Mostly Carry, but all of the above...

[Custom-guy]

You may have just found your gun! but personally I would not carry the Raptor for two reasons, 1) steel frame, steel slide. (corrosion prone) 2) The Raptor is to busy for me, looks real good though. I prefer the CDP in the Kimbers for carry, if I can fined a Pro Carry CDP with an internal -ex I would buy it right then for another carry gun. The Raptor to me is show and shoot but that is just my opinion and preference, I would buy one but not to carry.

[plunker]

I don't carry all the time but if thats what you want the gun for then get the lighter models. Tactical, pro carry, or ss compact aluminum (series 1), cdp models.

[Shootalot]

I too was looking at buying the Pro Raptor II to carry concealed. I liked the looks and feel but after checking around I started wondering about the durability of the matte black finish.

Then I saw the full size Raptor II and felt that guns glossy blue finish would wear better than the matte. So, I ordered the Raptor II which ended up being back ordered for 5 weeks.

Then I heard that Kimber was coming out with another Raptor model, the Grand Raptor II with stainless frame and adjustable night sights. So, I canceled the Raptor II and ordered the Grand Raptor instead.

I love the Grand Raptor II and after firing 850 rounds it is completely reliable (had a few failures to feed but no failures to extract).

Then I saw a Kimber Pro CDP II in a local sporting goods store and after closer examination I noticed it had an internal extractor. Whoa, an internal extractor on a NIB 4" barreled Kimber. A week later I broke down (or should I say I broke the wife down) and purchased the Kimber Pro CDP II.

The CDP has been flawless from the beginning. No failures of any kind. The slide is stainless and the frame is aluminum for weight reduction. No corrosion concerns here and I've heard they wear very well in a holster.

I do like the looks of all the Raptors though and would not hesitate to purchase one for carry if that's what you really desire. After break-in it should be quite dependable. In my opionion, one should shoot a new handgun at least 500-600 rounds anyway before carrying the gun for protection.

[col132]

Pro Raptor is a fine gun, basically a Combat Commander. Mine was reliable, even with the despised external extractor, and as reliable as should be expected. I got rid of mine for cosmetic reasons, not functional.

[jlang11]

Originally Posted by col132

Pro Raptor is a fine gun, basically a Combat Commander. Mine was reliable, even with the despised external extractor, and as reliable as should be expected. I got rid of mine for cosmetic reasons, not functional.

What do you mean 'cosmetic reasons'? Just curious, I am thinking about buying one.

[benzslrpee]

umm i'm a rather inexperienced shooter but i bought one just yesterday and took it to the range today to try it out. i would have to say the gun is quite accurate, the grips are...grippy and the slide has a nice tight fit on the frame and it looks damned cool

a couple of things that annoyed me...

the first 150 rounds or so i had 6 failure to extracts. i'm not sure if that's because the pistol wasn't broken in yet or caused by their infamous external extractor. sometimes the case would still be inside the barrel or trapped against the slide/ejector port and the barrel and now i have ding marks already! and its my brand new baby...

then there's the failure to uhh...feed/load? (sorry, not experienced with the technical jargon yet) i would insert a 8 round mag with the slide locked back and try to put the gun in battery...and the bullet would either not slide up the throat/ramp (again...the diagonal thingy in the frame, sorry again with the vocabulary) or go up halfway at a really crazy angle that caused the slide to not be able to close. there was about 5 of these

by the way, i use remington umc's (i think they are ok quality?) and i tried switching mags between kimbers, colts and chip mccormicks...all 8rds...

so after 150rds went through the action started getting smoother, slide was racked easier, the fte's and ftl's numbers decreased...but not by much. between rds 151-450 there was 3 failure to feeds and about 4-5 (lost track) failure to extracts...again i would exchange magazines every time something like that happened hoping it would correct the error but it seems to pop up randomly. i asked the range officer who has one, according to him it smooths out a lot after 1000 shots or so...oh yeah and he recommended me to get wilson mags which he claims cuts the fte's and ftl's down to practically 0 because of their design...guess i'll have to try it out this weekend and see how it works.

i really hope the problems get ironed out because i wanted to gun for a ccw...

[Shootalot]

Benzslrpee,
Did you clean and lube your new baby every 100-150 rounds as Kimber suggests during the initial break-in period? If not that may be part of the reason your failures did not decrease by much.
If you are still having extraction issues your next trip to the range you may want to be sure you have the latest version of the Kimber external extractor. There are some threads on this forum that explain how to tell which extractor you have in your pistol.
I've also heard from various sources that the seven round magazine is more reliable than the eight round. Whether this is true I don't know. What I do know though is I've only used Wilson Combat seven round mags in my new Pro CDP II and have had zero failures in 350 rounds.

[Kruzr]

benzslrpee, be sure you lube the gun WELL before shooting.

Every Saturday, I fix about 3 or 4 guns that are having FTF or FTE problems with a bottle of CLP.

[benzslrpee]

hmm i cleaned and lubed the gun up per manual instructions before i hit the range...however it did not specify that after 150-200 rounds i'd have to do it again. i was under the impression (not sure why...but i think i read somewhere?) that you should put about 400-500 rounds through a new gun before a second cleaning was called for...again i could be/probably am wrong on this.


however thanks for the tips i will definitely bring a bottle of break free next time when i hit the range. just outta curiousity though, am i suppose to do that even after the break in period? cause i have colt government that i put about 350-400 rounds per session with no problems and no relubing. i just clean it before i go and clean it after i'm done...and she's ready to spit fire.

[Kruzr]

Originally Posted by benzslrpee

hmm i cleaned and lubed the gun up per manual instructions before i hit the range...however it did not specify that after 150-200 rounds i'd have to do it again. i was under the impression (not sure why...but i think i read somewhere?) that you should put about 400-500 rounds through a new gun before a second cleaning was called for...again i could be/probably am wrong on this.

During break-in, it's best to oil about every 150 rounds or so. After that, I typically go 300 between oiling or after every session.
There is nothing wrong with the instructions in the manual except they don't define how big a drop is. What I suggest is to run a thin bead of oil the whole length of the tracks in the slide. Run another bead under the rails on the frame. I put a small drop on top of each rail and spread it. I put a very small drop on the disconnector from the top of the frame. I rub oil over the bottom lugs on the barrel and a small drop in each cutout in the slide for the top lugs. I spread a drop over the front of the barrel where it locks up into the bushing and spread another over the barrel hood. I spread oil on the slide stop pin and on both the inside and outside of the bushing. I put a very small drop down both sides of the hammer where it pivots in the frame.
Keep oil out of the chamber area but other than that, it's impossible to overoil a gun, it will just spray oil when you're shooting and get your hands oily if there is way too much.

[BobRowe]

The Kimber Operations Manual that came with my Raptor II states that the pistol should be put through an initial break-in period of 400 to 500 rounds, with cleaning and lubing every 150 rounds during that period.