Category Archives: ccw

So Kimber just went Full Staccato

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Kimber originally started as a rifle brand and pivoted to making M1911-style pistols in 1994, debuting at SHOT ’95. Basic math shows that to be at least a 30-year run in the field. Along the way, they learned a thing or two.

With a new state-of-the-art facility in Troy, Alabama at their fingertips, and a couple of generations of hard-earned tribal knowledge in how to make a 1911, the company is now ready to run in the double-stack/wide-body 1911 game – after a warm-up with the slightly downsized KDS9c – and this week introduced the new 2K11.

Using an aluminum alloy grip module over an SST steel sub-frame, the slide is made of stainless steel, featuring an external extractor, front and rear slide serrations, and a factory optics cut in the RMR footprint. Running TAG Precision FiberLok 2 front sights with a suppressor-height serrated rear sight, under the hood is a beast of a deep crowned, fluted bull barrel.

You’ve also got a great GT aluminum trigger, ambi safety levers, an innovative tool-less guide rod/spring assembly, and common (2011 pattern) magazine compatibility.

I went to Kimber’s facility in Alabama over the summer to try out some early production guns and they ran, and ran, and ran.

My target at the sneak peek event this summer. That’s about 400 rounds just dumped methodically from 15 yards, standing, firing offhand, alternating left and right, often in rapid-fire mag dumps. I promise that Delta isn’t mine.

I’ve also been working on a test gun for evaluation for the past two months and it has done much the same.

My T&E gun, even with fixed sights, continued the trend, delivering boring hits on 3/4 reduced USPSA steel at 15 offhand. Full-sized targets were no problem at 25. Pushing to the 50 and working from a sitting barricade and bag position while applying some concentration in slow fire brought the above. Adding a red dot on this gun is something of a cheat code.

Full review in my column at Guns.com.

Review of the Roscoe

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Much like the long-discontinued Taurus Model 80 and Rossi Model 68, guns now some 30 years out of production, the Heritage Roscoe is a simple and rugged .38 revolver that looks good and doesn’t break the bank.

It has the look and feel of a vintage S&W J-frame but without the cost – and, unlike a classic Smith or Colt Dick, you can take it to the range and beat on it without losing any collector value. Plus, it has some modern features you didn’t find in those guns such as the transfer bar and heavy barrel profile.

The 3-inch variant runs an inch or so longer than a snub gun, giving a longer (4.97-inch) sight radius while wringing more velocity from the ammo used – all while being very concealable.

You can always get one and turn it into a budget Fitz Special, which seems like a great choice if looking for that.

Is it the best .38 for concealed carry or personal defense compared to more modern designs with shrouded hammers, better triggers, options for adding optics, and weight savings via the inclusion of aluminum and polymer? Not even close, but it can still clock in when needed.

It is no slouch in terms of practical accuracy and is rated to run .38 +P on occasion.

It’s nice to see the Heritage time travel with the Roscoe, which is a bit of fresh air, albeit with a twinge of cigar smoke to it.

Talk about an instant classic.

More in my column at Guns.com.

HK Has Entered the Micro 9 Game (7 Years Late?)

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Germany’s Heckler & Koch finally dropped a commercially available micro compact 9mm pistol this week, debuting the thoroughly tested HK CC9 onto the market.

The polymer-framed striker-fired “one and a half stack” 9mm offers flush 10+1 and extended 12+1 capacity magazines, is optics-ready (RMSc/407k footprint) with a tritium front sight and a blacked out, serrated rear sight; and is somewhat modular through the use of interchangeable backstraps.

It is almost the exact same size as the SIG P365 (introduced in Jan. 2018), Springfield Armory Hellcat (Aug. 2019), and March 2021’s Ruger MAX-9 and S&W M&P Shield Plus. Then of course there are the more recent Canik Mete MC9, Taurus GX4, Stoeger STR-9MC, et. al, ad nauseum.

However, HK has a big up by saying they held to the same standards as their full-size duty pistols and tested the micro compact to the NATO AC/225 standards across 750,000 rounds. This meant running it in extreme temperatures, dust, sand, and mud, and “being dropped to simulate real-world conditions,” with the latter part seeming like the company was throwing a little shade at some other pistol makers.

So they may have just taken the time to get it right…

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet Kimber’s New CDS9

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Alabama-based Kimber has doubled the capacity of its well-liked Micro 1911 platform with a new CDS9 line – and I got a sneak peek.

The 9mm Micro 1911 began to appear in 2016, taking a page from the company’s earlier Micro Covert in .380 ACP. Well-liked, hammer-fired, slim, and with a profile that made easy friends with those looking to EDC without printing, these Micro 9s have been well-reviewed.

However, as single-stacks, they were limited in capacity to six or seven rounds.

That’s where the new CDS9 series enters the game, and changes it.

Rebuilt from the frame up with a more modern design that retains what people liked about the old Micro 9s – slim and compact profile, all-metal, hammer-fired – but with more capacity and better ergonomics, the CDS9 looks very familiar.

Stacking a legacy single-stack Micro 9 against a new CDS9. Still slim and trim but with a seriously upgraded capacity. (All photos: Chris Ege)

Kimber’s new CDS9 will initially be offered in two optics-ready models with fully ambidextrous controls, differing from each other by way of a TFS package – an extended threaded barrel. Both have an aluminum alloy frame, stainless-steel slide with a direct-mount RMSc optic footprint, an accessory rail for lights or lasers, and options for double-stack magazines with 10, 13, or 15-round capacities.

Now that’s a handful

More in my column at Guns.com.

Kicking around the R7CC

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Kimber, best known to many for its assorted 1911 series pistols, introduced the original R7 Mako in August 2021. A striker-fired 11/13+1 shot micro 9 carry pistol with a polymer frame, it was pitched as an alternative to such handguns as the Taurus GX4, Ruger MAX, SIG P365, S&W Shield Plus, and Springfield Armory Hellcat.

Loaded with a lot of features that some of those competitors lacked, the Mako was optics-ready and had Kimber’s Performance Carry trigger, fully ambidextrous controls, a full wrap-around stippled texturing, and TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights.

I put well over 500 rounds through the original Mako, and it proved so accurate, comfortable, and dependable that I carried it for several months as an EDC.

I logged several hundred hours in the original Kimber R7 in 2021 in a ​​​​​DeSantis Slim-Tuk (#137) Kydex IWB holster that is cut on the top to allow the use of the MRD. Carrying in about a 3-o’clock position, my personal preference, the combo was comfortable and readily accessible, able to get off a just under 2-second par time to first shot on target from concealment. I’m sure I could work that lower with steady practice, even being an old wheezy guy.

Last month, Kimber introduced a more muscular version of the Mako, the new Carbon Compact line. Standard features of the new pistols are a pair of 15-shot magazines, an installed flared magwell, fully ambi surface controls, and three-dot TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights with an orange front ring and white rear rings.

The old Kimber R7 Mako, with its short slide and grip, was snappy but accurate and dependable, leading it to become something of an under-loved micro-9 option. The ergonomics of the new R7 Carbon Compact make it probably the best-feeling grip on a polymer-framed handgun on the market. Kimber knocked it out of the park, especially compared to the inaugural Mako variants.

Plus, while some polymer-framed handguns feel spongy – as if you could squeeze it flat if you tried hard enough – the carbon fiber-infused frame on the Carbon Compact feels rock-solid. This leads to the pistol being easy to control and get back on target.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Did the SIG Fuse fizzle?

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The Fuse, SIG Sauer’s newest P365 gets its name, says the company, as it is the “fusion of capability and concealment.” This is due to still being carry-sized while featuring all the goodies one could want, including a removable magwell, nickel-plated flat-faced trigger, LXG grip module with interchangeable backstraps, optics-ready (RMSc footprint) slide, easily co-witnessing iron sights, and extended 21-round magazines.

All this for well under $800.

I put 1,000 rounds through one in the past couple of months.

Full review in my column at Guns.com.

Up Close with the new CZ P-09C Nocturne

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CZ introduced the double-action/single-action hammer-fired polymer-framed P-09 series around 2013, and it has proved popular with “Czechnologists” ever since. However, an increasingly big drawback over the years is that it, as well as many of CZ’s other handguns, aren’t optics-ready.

About that.

While visiting with CZ during our Euro Trip earlier this year, we had the honor of seeing the updated P-09 series while it was still in pre-production. The best takeaways were a factory optics cut on the slide with co-witnessing iron sights, completely refreshed ergonomics, and backward compatibility with both legacy magazines and CZ’s Kadet subcaliber rimfire kits.

In a nod to the updated ability to carry a red/green dot– which is a superb sight option for low-light/night conditions– the new P-09 ORs would have a new name: the Nocturne.

I’ve been kicking around one of the production models for the past couple of weeks.

More in my column at Guns.com.

For you Mako fans…

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One of the most underrated mico-9s out there has been Kimber’s Mako R7 series.

I extensively tested and reviewed one of the first models over two years and offered it, along with four similar guns, up when my mother-in-law went on a search for a carry gun– and she went R7 after her own range time on the samples.

Now, Kimber has introduced the Carbon Compact variants of the model, based on almost a decade of user comments and feedback.

The new R7 series gets its name due to the redesigned frame constructed with a carbon fiber-infused matrix that delivers superior durability (up to a 60,000 psi tensile strength) compared to standard polymer frames. This frame also gives the ability for a flared magwell and four interchangeable modular backstraps, both features that are big upgrades from legacy R7s. 

Standard features of the new pistols are a pair of 15-shot magazines, an installed flared magwell, fully ambi surface controls, and three-dot TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights with an orange front ring and white rear rings.

I had a chance to check out the Carbon Compact R7s on a trip to Kimber last month and, have to admit, they are pretty sweet.

Expect more on these in the coming days

Calling Mr. Roscoe

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One interesting new (well, rebooted) gun design that I am looking forward to testing this summer is the Heritage Roscoe.

A salute to the old-school pocket revolvers from the days of Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, the cigar-box-worthy .38SPL +P Roscoe looks right out of the mid-20th Century, clad in a deep glossy finish, classic round butt wood grips, fixed sights, and a 5-shot cylinder. Plus, it is available in both 2- and 3-inch models.

Best yet, it has an ask of $350, which should translate to $299-ish at retail.

Heritage, the Taurus subsidiary best known for its affordable single-action rimfire pistols and carbines, has launched the Roscoe line. This comes almost a decade after Taurus sunset its popular Model 85 5-shot small-frame revolver line– upgrading it to the larger 6-shot Model 856– and recalls the company’s history during the old Bangor Punta days (1962-72ish) when it was a sister to S&W and they shared tech.

More in my column at Guns.com.

10mm Go-To Tac Pistol

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FN debuted the 10mm variant of the popular 509 series pistols in early 2023 and I have been testing the 510 Tactical variant for the past year. I mean, what’s not to like about a 22+1 shot suppressor optics-ready 10mm made by one of the biggest names in the firearms industry?

The FN 510 Tactical has a 4.71-inch barrel, which gives the pistol an 8.3-inch overall length, making it very M1911-sized. It is shown with its flush-fit 15+1 capacity magazine inserted.

 

It also ships with an extended 22+1 mag.

A full review after the jump.

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