Thanks Again (Reposted from another forum I had it on)

[Doc_Fuller]

I had my Kimber TLE II stolen Mar of 2007 while I was in Iraq. In Mar of 2008 I got a call @ 0530 in the morning from Officer Sasser of the Elizabeth City Police Department asking if I reported a pistol stolen. After a quick “YES”, he stated that the previous night during a DUI stop he recovered my pistol and I should be able to get it back after this dirt bag goes to trial.

The wait started and in May 2009 the turd that had it went to trial and got a whopping six months of probation and my wife was able to pick it up from the PD. ( *Note* I was back in Iraq and my wife had a general power of attorney)

I got an e-mail from the wife and she said” I got the pistol, but damn it is trashed. I am calling Kimber and sending it back to get refinished. Hopefully it will be back before you get home”. It wasn’t, but as you will see later I was not complaining. The fallowing pics were taken by my wife before she sent it out:







That’s right all of that red in those pictures is rust. To say I was mad would be the understatement of the year. My wife and I pride our self’s on the way we maintain our firearms and this thing looked like a disgrace. I called the Kimber Custom Shop shortly after the wife sent it out to see how bad(evpensive) it was going to be to have it fixed.

The first person I spoke to was Dennis and he answered all of my questions with extreme patients mainly due to the 2-3 second lag in the call (got to love our Iraqi phone lines). He assured me that it would be all taken care of and not to worry. When the pistol arrived it went back to the original person that assembled it in 2006. Jay fixed it up and sent it back and this is how it looks now:




To say the least I was blown away by it when it got home! I was even more moved when the wife told me that they charged her for the basic finish and not for the Kim-Pro finish they put on the pistol. The total extent of their generosity hit when I looked at the invoice and found I saved more than just $100 on the standard finish they said they would discount. Jay replaced all of the springs and put a new set of night sites on it. The slide, barrel bushing, and grip screws were replaced too. All of this was done at no cost to me or my wife.

I have no illusions that the fact that I was in the military and was deployed during the theft and the pistol being returned had a lot to do with their being so generous, but it still makes me feel good that there are some American companies willing to stand behind their products even in the most unusual of circumstances. Even though Kimber had no responsibility other than to refinish the pistol as my wife requested they went the extra mile to say “Thanks” to a service man and ensure that my pistol was better than it had left my house 2 years before.

Oh and for those of you that are wondering how it shoots…..

Like a 1911


-Tony

P.S. It took me two years of saving to buy it.

[Bigmant]

Congrats! And you got it back which is a major plus. I've seen so many people post about stuff stolen and it never gets seen again. It looks great.

[JoseyWales]

Congrats on your pistol,

Thank you for your service and your story!

[DArBad]

That's good news, but most especially to you and your wife. And last but not least, to us Kimber fans.

[hawkeye-08]

Glad you got it back, glad you got it taken care of... sometimes surprises are good. Thanks for serving, be safe.

[Jeff in Colorado]

Appreciate your service and very glad to hear this great story. Good on you, Kimber, the police.

[BYJO4]

Glad to hear how well Kimber took care of you pistol. Thanks for serving our country and enjoy shooting the Kimber.

[Rock185]

Doc, glad it was recovered and that Kimber took very good care of you. Just a comment after looking at the "before" pictures. While some good quality guns, stolen or otherwise, are recovered from bad guys, much more often than not, they are maintained about like yours was after it was stolen...

[thearmedrebel]

Nice job Kimber. Good to know there are companies taking care of our service member's needs. Also good you got your gun back and it wasn't used in a serious crime. I have to agree, six months probation is a joke.

Robert

[Doc_Fuller]

Found a few more after I got home:






And a better pic of it and Momma's carry/stay out of my house piece:

[techieguy]

That's a wonderful story about your pistol coming back into your care! Kudos to Kimber for going above and beyond the the customers request!

[crashoverrideplik]

Great story! Enjoy your "new" pistiol.

[Doc_Fuller]

Originally Posted by crashoverrideplik

Great story! Enjoy your "new" pistiol.

Thanks, I have been this weekend I took it out and shot my first 50 reloads through it ! It was nice to beable to "Roll my own"..

[Hellsing76]

Fantastic, and thank you for your dedication, sacrifices and commitments! A HUGE +1 for Kimber and their staff. A HUGE -1 for our justice system (outside of the LEO and their team that recovered your pistol). It is a shame that the assailant would have to have done something "MUCH WORSE" than stealing and DUI (who knows what else that _______ has done and not gotten caught for) to get more than 6 months, of PROBATION, no less! Your piece could have had a much more tragic story behind it and a family out there would be at a greater loss if someone lost their or a loved ones' life in front of this Kimber. Although I am happy about your storry, I am unhappy that our judicial system has gone out the window for the bad guys, and their attorneys....good news is, we're all screwed if this "Change" keeps up, lol.

[mortum]

Great story, Doc_Fuller, and thank you for your service!

[Hake]

Cool story. Glad it worked out in the end!

[Doc_Fuller]

Originally Posted by Hellsing76

Fantastic, and thank you for your dedication, sacrifices and commitments! A HUGE +1 for Kimber and their staff. A HUGE -1 for our justice system (outside of the LEO and their team that recovered your pistol). It is a shame that the assailant would have to have done something "MUCH WORSE" than stealing and DUI (who knows what else that _______ has done and not gotten caught for) to get more than 6 months, of PROBATION, no less! Your piece could have had a much more tragic story behind it and a family out there would be at a greater loss if someone lost their or a loved ones' life in front of this Kimber. Although I am happy about your storry, I am unhappy that our judicial system has gone out the window for the bad guys, and their attorneys....good news is, we're all screwed if this "Change" keeps up, lol.

Tell me about it, my:
Wives laptop
My laptop
Sony PSP
x-box
Sony digital camera
35mm Cannon camera
Bulgarian Ak
Bushmaster AR
HK 94

And my wives poor satin pillow cases- that she could not figure out why they took them until I told her between laughs- were never seen again.

Funny/sad part was my wives Franchi Renance classic and my Bretta shot guns were not touched even though they were the most expensive guns we had and a $4,000 sapphire Dimond tennis bracelet still on her dresser....

[Hellsing76]

Apologies all for the symbolic profanity, I can't stand thieves and once in a while they get me worked up, lol. I'll keep it clean from now on

[LARRY LAMBERT]

Dirtbag should say his thank you prayers that he didn't find you at home and the business end of your Kimber staring him down. Something tells me you would NOT have missed.