Well, at 23 ounces, the Kimber weighs exactly the same as an S&W 640 Pro, but it's a 6-shot. Hmmm...coincidence? How does that gauntlet taste, Smith & Wesson?
Other than the awkward looks, there are a few features that are puzzling. One is that aggressive slope from the top of the backstrap to the rear sights. With a gentler angle, they would have gained 3/16-1/4" more sight radius at least. But maybe a few fractions of an inch wouldn't make that much practical difference. The other thing that bothers me is the front locking bolt. They were starting with a clean slate, so why didn't they do a crane/yoke front lockup more like an SP101 instead of an old-fashioned locking bolt on the extractor rod? At that price point ($899 MSRP), that would seem to be a no brainer, and they certainly didn't shy away from borrowing the recoil shield styling and cylinder latch from Ruger.
I'm neutral on the recessed chambers. I'm not sure what benefits that feature has these days, and it would seem to make fitting of moonclips more complicated. On the plus side, however, there was no internal lock that I could see.
The bottom line? Wheelguns are still extremely viable, especially in .357 Magnum. How could S&W possibly lose money on cutting an inch and a quarter off the barrel of a Model 66? What's it gonna take, Smith--an updated Colt Magnum Carry?
