I went to a local gun show today and there was almost nothing vintage that was of interest. One vendor had a Browning Challenger with (1976) on the tag, even though the date codes clearly indicate it is a 1978. It was in excellent condition but was a solid $500 pistol, priced at $799 and his lowest cash price was $750. So much for that.

I did however come across one of Kimber’s Micro 9s with a “mini” compensator (the “MC”) and a set of Tru-glo Pro (the “TP”) tritium sights. It also has a set of Hogue grips and a 7 round magazine with a finger extension rather than the usual 6 round magazine.

It got very mixed reviews over on the Kimber talk forum last spring when it was introduced, mostly along philosophical lines. Some folks objected to a “pocket pistol” being enlarged to something larger than pocket size.

Personally, I regard the Kimber Micro .380 to be pocket sized, but always thought the Kimber Micro 9 was already sized out of that class.

However, I’ve found myself carrying my regular Micro 9 on a regular basis in an IWB holster. It’s not perfect. With the short 3.15” barrel it gives up a bit in terms of terminal ballistics (although 124gr Sig V-crown hollow points still perform acceptably well). It’s also not as capable as a larger compact 9mm, like my CZ 2075 RAMI, in rapid fire due to the snappier recoil and muzzle rise. But it is light, thin, easy to conceal and quite comfortable in all day carry.

I’m not normally a compensator fan, especially on a concealed carry gun, but I’ll give it a try on the range, including shooting from a close in retention position. I don’t normally see any need for a compensator on a 9mm pistol, but if there’s an exception it might be the Kimber Micro 9.

My primary interest in it wasn’t so much the compensator but the threaded barrel, the night sights and the grips, which feeel very good. For disassembly purposes the compensator unscrews from the barrel after loosening a pair of torx screws. Worst case, if I don’t like the compensator, I’ll put a thread protector on the barrel and have a 3.45” barrel that will also host a suppressor.

It also has night sights, the Hogue grips and 7 round magazine, which in my opinion all add to its appeal as a sub compact single stack 9mm pistol for IWB carry. I don’t find the extra length to be excessive for IWB carry and the 7 round finger extension magazine isn’t significantly longer than the regular magazine with its large base pad.