It seems I like them and have acquired a few over the years...
There’s a Kimber Gold Match II, which shoots better than the Gold Cup I borrowed before I bought the Gold Match. There is a Kimber Ultra Carry that was my primary concealed carry pistol for nearly a decade, and a 4” Kimber CDP II which is my current preferred concealed carry pistol. All of the above are in .45 ACP.
The Ultra Carry has upwards of 20,000 rounds through it and is still very reliable. I have yet to have a malfunction with the 4” CDP II with semi-wad cutters, FMJs or hollow points (185 gr and 230 gr Golden Sabers).
I also have a 9mm Kimber Micro 9 and a .380 ACP Kimber Micro. The trigger pull isn’t impressive on the Micro 9, but it is a very decently sized compact 9mm pistol that has also been extremely reliable. The .380 ACP Micro is small enough to carry in a pocket and relentlessly reliable but the 2.75” barrel is velocity challenged. It puts the 90 gr XTP at the lower limit for expansion even with maximum pressure loads.
I have a Kimber .22LR conversion kit that I’ve fitted to its own JPE made frame (no great claim to quality there, but it’s worked well on the .22). The frame came off a Brolin 1911 in .45 ACP before I converted it to .400 Corbon, and then to .22LR when I got tired of the .400 Corbon beating up the frame. .400 Corbon is no longer on my lists of favorite, or even actively loaded rounds.
Obviously I like Kimber. I also like the Schwartz system, which was developed by Colt just prior to WWII. If it would not have created two different configurations on the verge of a war, it would have been accepted by the US Military and become the standard Colt system in their commercial pistols. Parts breakage is reported now and then but it’s 100% due to operator error in the field strip reassembly process. Way too many shooters take a nice firm grip on the grip frame, depressing the grip safety in the process, and then ram the slide on the frame. That raises the stud for the firing pin safety and the slide impacting it forces it to over power the much greater leverage of the depressed grip safety. Eventually it’ll break after lots of that abuse and ignorant shooters will blame the Schwartz system rather than their own ignorance. Some folks just love to hate on Kimber.
The are three Philippine made firearms in the form of an officer model sized 9mm Citadel 1911, which is a superb pistol for the money, and in fact for two or three times the money and I have no hesitation carrying it as a personal defense weapon.
The second is a Charles Daly 1911, which is decently finished and a very decent shooter. Charles Daly was KBI’s upscale banner and the arms sold under that label in the KBI era were well made, decently finished and a qualitative cut above most of the KBI offerings. There are once again “Charles Daly” 1911s being made but it’s a new company using the Charles Daly name and the pistols are made in Czechoslovakia IIRC.
The third Phillipino is a blow back operated .380 1911ish RIA Baby Rock. The Baby Rock was a surprise as it is accurate and relentlessly reliable. It’s my preferred skinny firearm when I have to dress up and conceal under a dress shirt with jacket off. The extra barrel length helps ensure excellent penetration and expansion with 90 gr XTPs.
I also have Ruger’s version of the Lightweight Commander in 9mm and it is accurate, very reliable and has a very decent trigger. It’s a contender for best bang for the 1911 buck.
Finally I have a Star BM in 9mm. It has a great deal of similarity to the 1911, but in a slightly (and nicely) smaller package as it was designed as a 9mm from the start. It also has some nice refinements for concealed carry such as the bobbed grip frame. I like it a lot. They were available for $200-$250 range a few years ago, so I bought two of them, partly for back up/spare parts if I ever break one (which I doubt) but mostly for eventual gifting purposes. I picked up a third as a trade for a one day old and truly horrific S&W Bodyguard. It was interesting as I bought it during a sales event with S&W reps there. They were still there when I brought it back to trade it in as it was a piece of.
Trash Not exactly what they probably want at a sales event. The Star BM points well, has a decent trigger and all three of mine have proven to be very reliable with 115 and 124 gr FMJ as well as 115 and 124 gr XTPs. If I could find a decent set of night sights for them, they’d be a regular concealed carry pistol.
——-
There are also a few I let get away. I bought a “Service Model” marked A121 Randall Combat Model when they first came out for $387 I sold it a few years later before they became a collectible and before I learned they only made about 1067 of the Combat Model in total and only a few hundred of the early Combat Model pistols marked as Service Models. It was an excellent 1911, and the first truly reliable and durable stainless steel 1911. That variant sells for something north of $3k now. I sold it as it had some bad memories attached. I wish I’d just put it in its box and shoved it out of sight in the back of the gun safe for 25-30 years.
I also had an excellent condition Remington Rand 1911-A1 that I bought when they were cheap and sold again when then were still reasonably cheap.
I sold the Remington-Rand to fund a race gun built on an early Springfield Armory 1911. I sold it a decade or so later to another competitor but I wish I’d kept it. It was an excellent 1911 and still had plenty of life left in it.
There’s a Kimber Gold Match II, which shoots better than the Gold Cup I borrowed before I bought the Gold Match. There is a Kimber Ultra Carry that was my primary concealed carry pistol for nearly a decade, and a 4” Kimber CDP II which is my current preferred concealed carry pistol. All of the above are in .45 ACP.
The Ultra Carry has upwards of 20,000 rounds through it and is still very reliable. I have yet to have a malfunction with the 4” CDP II with semi-wad cutters, FMJs or hollow points (185 gr and 230 gr Golden Sabers).
I also have a 9mm Kimber Micro 9 and a .380 ACP Kimber Micro. The trigger pull isn’t impressive on the Micro 9, but it is a very decently sized compact 9mm pistol that has also been extremely reliable. The .380 ACP Micro is small enough to carry in a pocket and relentlessly reliable but the 2.75” barrel is velocity challenged. It puts the 90 gr XTP at the lower limit for expansion even with maximum pressure loads.
I have a Kimber .22LR conversion kit that I’ve fitted to its own JPE made frame (no great claim to quality there, but it’s worked well on the .22). The frame came off a Brolin 1911 in .45 ACP before I converted it to .400 Corbon, and then to .22LR when I got tired of the .400 Corbon beating up the frame. .400 Corbon is no longer on my lists of favorite, or even actively loaded rounds.
Obviously I like Kimber. I also like the Schwartz system, which was developed by Colt just prior to WWII. If it would not have created two different configurations on the verge of a war, it would have been accepted by the US Military and become the standard Colt system in their commercial pistols. Parts breakage is reported now and then but it’s 100% due to operator error in the field strip reassembly process. Way too many shooters take a nice firm grip on the grip frame, depressing the grip safety in the process, and then ram the slide on the frame. That raises the stud for the firing pin safety and the slide impacting it forces it to over power the much greater leverage of the depressed grip safety. Eventually it’ll break after lots of that abuse and ignorant shooters will blame the Schwartz system rather than their own ignorance. Some folks just love to hate on Kimber.
The are three Philippine made firearms in the form of an officer model sized 9mm Citadel 1911, which is a superb pistol for the money, and in fact for two or three times the money and I have no hesitation carrying it as a personal defense weapon.
The second is a Charles Daly 1911, which is decently finished and a very decent shooter. Charles Daly was KBI’s upscale banner and the arms sold under that label in the KBI era were well made, decently finished and a qualitative cut above most of the KBI offerings. There are once again “Charles Daly” 1911s being made but it’s a new company using the Charles Daly name and the pistols are made in Czechoslovakia IIRC.
The third Phillipino is a blow back operated .380 1911ish RIA Baby Rock. The Baby Rock was a surprise as it is accurate and relentlessly reliable. It’s my preferred skinny firearm when I have to dress up and conceal under a dress shirt with jacket off. The extra barrel length helps ensure excellent penetration and expansion with 90 gr XTPs.
I also have Ruger’s version of the Lightweight Commander in 9mm and it is accurate, very reliable and has a very decent trigger. It’s a contender for best bang for the 1911 buck.
Finally I have a Star BM in 9mm. It has a great deal of similarity to the 1911, but in a slightly (and nicely) smaller package as it was designed as a 9mm from the start. It also has some nice refinements for concealed carry such as the bobbed grip frame. I like it a lot. They were available for $200-$250 range a few years ago, so I bought two of them, partly for back up/spare parts if I ever break one (which I doubt) but mostly for eventual gifting purposes. I picked up a third as a trade for a one day old and truly horrific S&W Bodyguard. It was interesting as I bought it during a sales event with S&W reps there. They were still there when I brought it back to trade it in as it was a piece of.
Trash Not exactly what they probably want at a sales event. The Star BM points well, has a decent trigger and all three of mine have proven to be very reliable with 115 and 124 gr FMJ as well as 115 and 124 gr XTPs. If I could find a decent set of night sights for them, they’d be a regular concealed carry pistol.
——-
There are also a few I let get away. I bought a “Service Model” marked A121 Randall Combat Model when they first came out for $387 I sold it a few years later before they became a collectible and before I learned they only made about 1067 of the Combat Model in total and only a few hundred of the early Combat Model pistols marked as Service Models. It was an excellent 1911, and the first truly reliable and durable stainless steel 1911. That variant sells for something north of $3k now. I sold it as it had some bad memories attached. I wish I’d just put it in its box and shoved it out of sight in the back of the gun safe for 25-30 years.
I also had an excellent condition Remington Rand 1911-A1 that I bought when they were cheap and sold again when then were still reasonably cheap.
I sold the Remington-Rand to fund a race gun built on an early Springfield Armory 1911. I sold it a decade or so later to another competitor but I wish I’d kept it. It was an excellent 1911 and still had plenty of life left in it.
