• Gun Platform: 1911
• Caliber: 9mm/.38 Super (Also comes in .45ACP)
• Sights: 3 dot tritium
• Action: SA; Most, but not all, 1911's are SA
• Barrel Length: 4 inches
• Capacity: 9 round, single-stack magazines
• MSRP: $1194 (I paid ~$1000)

1911 refers to a general pistol design, not a brand. Many firearm companies produce them in a vast array of configurations. Some big names include: Colt (they produced 1911's for the U.S. Army), Springfield Armory, Kimber, STI, Wilson Combat and Smith & Wesson. This basic design has seen many changes (the term "improvements" may be debated) over the years to include: DA models, wider framed double stack models, firing pin block safety, etc. 1911 specimens can be purchased new at a wide range of prices; ~$450 for a base model from a US maker but custom jobs are easy to find for $2000-3000.

Kimber is a big player in the 1911 game and supplies some law enforcement agencies with sidearms. When I spotted this guy at a local gun store I was immediately attracted to it. I like the 1911's but I am a fan of the 9mm cartridge too. At the time I did not know 1911's were made in 9mm. Having heard that Kimber makes a nice pistol and loving the look of the gun I forked over a grand and took it home. I was confident I had a pistol I would cherish for many years to come. Oh how wrong I was.

I had functional issues with this gun from the begining. I would estimate that I fired approximately 3000 rounds from this pistol. I would also guess that of all those loaded magazines there were about 20 emptied with no malfunctions. The two main issues I experienced were FTE resulting in stovepipes and FTF. It was so frustrating. Here I was one thousand dollars in the hole with a gun I could not trust.

I am not a gunsmith. I attempted two fixes easily accomplished by a person with novice to moderate knowledge of firearms. First I tried new magazines. Anyone familiar with the 1911 platform knows that a magazine can make or break the pistol. So I went to Wilson Combat for assistance in that department. This company is well known in 1911 circles for quality pistols and magazines. Wilson Combat did not yet make 9mm 1911 magazines (and to my knowledge they still don't) so I ordered .38 Super magazines as every knowledgable person I spoke to said they would also feed 9mm. This information was correct. Instead of 3-4 malfunctions from a 9-round magazine I got 1-2. I wanted to carry this gun for self defense so this was not acceptable.

My next corrective action was a call to Kimber. I ordered new recoil assemblies and springs. This pistol was set up to shoot both 9mm and .38 Super. Kimber assured me that I needed only to change the barrel and recoil assembly to switch between calibers. If I remember correctly the .38 Super required an 18 pound spring and the 9mm needed a 14 pound spring. After I got these new parts the issues disappeared...for about 250 rounds. Then the familiar stovepipes and FTF's reapperared. At this point I gave up.

I dropped $1000 on this pistol and was not willing to put any more of my hard-earned money into making it work correctly. I ran across a Sig Sauer P220 Equinox at a local gun shop, traded the Kimber + $50 for it and never looked back. I'm sorry but if I put that amount of money into a firearm it better leave the store functioning flawlessly. I know the 1911 was designed for .45ACP but if the gun is sold to the public in another caliber it better work. And .38 Super has been used in 1911's for decades. Well 9mm has too from what I understand. I put more effort into this thing than it deserved.

Now I'll admit this thing was accurate and precise (especially in .38 Super). The bullets went anywhere I wanted them to go...that is when the gun went BANG after I pulled the trigger. I made a lot of big holes in the center of targets with this pistol. I just had to clear too many malfunctions while doing it (in both calibers). And it was not just me. Several friends fired this gun but I was constantly clearing jams for them too. I only put so much time into it because it was so accurate/precise. But if it's not reliable what is the point. I'm not going to keep a 4-figure firearm as a range queen. I need to trust my life to a gun costing that much and this Kimber did not fit the bill. I have eyeballed several Kimbers since owning this one and passed them all over. I just could not trust one of their guns. They cost way too much to try another.

I'll sum up my Kimber experience this way:

• Pros:
• I love the look of the pistol. This is subjective though. As I wrote this my wife looked at the pictures and told me the gun is ugly.
• Man was this thing accurate/precise.
• Cons:
• Reliability was nonexistent. I would beat an attacker with it before trying to shoot them.
• The finish was not durable. The aluminum frame knicked too easily and the finish on the steel slide showed minor scartches easily. My aluminum frame/steel slide Sig Sauer and Beretta pistols seem much more duable.
• Too expensive. All "quality" 1911 pistols suffer from inflated prices in my opinion. My money will go to a Sig or Glock. These offer better reliability for equal or less investment. And I trust them out of the box.
• Verdict: If you are willing to spend the money a Kimber costs just buy a SIG Sauer.

I was reading some forums after I wrote this review and it seems a lot of people experience the same issues I did with Kimber pistols. Search such sites as www.thehighroad.org, www.thefiringline.com, www.glocktalk.com and you should find posts on these problems.

I love Hogue grips and bought these when I bought the gun. I got a lot of crap in the store for putting these on but I shoot better with them. The original grips look much better. These photos were taken merely for insurance purposes; not my best work. I no longer own this pistol so I cannot take better photos.