Category Archives: new gun

Kimber updates the 1911 for 2025 (and keeps it just under $1K)

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Alabama-based Kimber on Friday debuted the Next Generation 1911 series in both 9mm and .45 ACP, and we have one on hand for a closer look.

While in the 1911 biz for generations– my first “nice” 1911 was a Grand Raptor more than 25 years ago– Kimber has made a serious effort to update the design in the past couple of years. We’ve already covered the excellent Kimber 2K11 double stack from the company, and many of the features from that design are appearing in the more traditional Next Gen series. We’ll get into that below.

At launch, the company plans to offer these pistols in four models, all with full-length (Government) sized slides and 5-inch flush-fit deep-crowned stainless steel barrels. They also sport a nice GT match-grade trigger, black walnut grips with a G10 inlay for added texture and a rounded fastback-style heel. External extractors are the norm, as are front and rear slide serrations, ambi safeties, a round commander-style hammer spur, and an optics cut.

Where the differences between the four models lie is in caliber (9mm or 45ACP, shipping with two stainless 9+1 or 7+1 round mags each) and in the finish, with an option for either a two-tone with a Matte KimPro II black slide over a stainless frame, or all-stainless.

Best yet, the MSRP is $999 across the board, allowing for a classic American-made (in a pro-2A state) 1911-series pistol with a much more modern feature set.

Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
The Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
The overall length of our review pistol is a very 1911 standard 8.6 inches from the flush-fit muzzle crown to the extended beavertail sweep. 
Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
Kimber uses forged slides, frames, and barrels with these guns, which give a standard weight of 36.2 ounces, unloaded. 
Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
Taking a look at the inside, the Kimber Next Generation 1911 field strips like standard models, using a GI-style recoil assembly. It was very tight, and Kimber includes a bushing wrench, but we didn’t have to use it. Splitting the difference between the 17-pound recoil spring weight (for more reliability) and the 15-pound weight for smooth shooting/easy recoil, Kimber went with a 16 on the .45ACP. Of note, the 9mm variant uses a 12-pound spring. 
Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
Check out the polishing on the feed ramp and the barrel fitment. We found the barrel to have a rock-hard lock-up when in battery with no wiggle or rattle. 

 

External extractors significantly up the reliability of a pistol without the same iffy tensioning problem that internal extractors have. Staccato’s revised C and HD series have external extractors, as does Kimber’s 2K11. Also, note the greatly lowered and flared ejection port in the image below.

 

Kimber Next Generation 1911 stainless model in .45 ACP.
Kimber’s GT match trigger is advertised as having a break between 4 and 5 pounds. We found our test gun to break right at 4 pounds. 

More in my column at Guns.com. 

Surprises in a G48 sized package

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Glock released the slimline G48 a few years back, and I kind of passed on it, but when equipped with the new Aimpoint COA series enclosed red dot, it has changed my mind.

In all honesty, the G48 was a snoozer for me when it first came out. Don’t get me wrong, I had a chance to shoot one on several occasions, but I never felt a spark.

However, the new COA-equipped model, being optic-ready with decent steel sights, and sold with an installed American Aimpoint enclosed red dot on an interesting direct cut footprint, I felt the spark. Plus, the price point balances out to less than a G48 MOS with an aftermarket Chinese Holosun that uses a plate.

The COA has a wide field of view, and an exceptionally low deck that proves quick to “scoop in” the dot. The A-cut is simple in execution with fewer things to break than in other mounting systems.

The fact that adding Gen 3 S15 mags and a mag release gives you the bump in capacity without losing reliability is a win. We recently visited Shield in Montana and were impressed with their whole program.

When it comes to throwing rocks, the worst thing I can point out on the G48 COA combo is that the footprint and sights are limited to what you get in the box. Currently, there is no other optic that uses the A-cut footprint, and you cannot change out the rear sight for anything else. That may change but for right now you are painted into a corner.

Going past that, I think I may have a new EDC. Let me run some more rounds through it and circle back to you on that.

Yup. Feeling that spark.

Full review in my column at Guns.com.

Mare’s Leg, Updated

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Rossi has trimmed down its R95 Triple Black lever-action rifle into a much more packable pistol variant for 2025.

The company debuted its new R95 Triple Black Pistol, or TBP, to the recent NRA Annual Meeting at Atlanta, and we were able to lay hands on it for a closer look. Much like its rifle-length older brother, the TBP is clad in a black Cerakote-coated finish with matching black furniture. A paracord-wrapped medium loop lever and a top-mounted Picatinny optics rail are also features that are carried over from the original.

Specific to the TBP is its abbreviation, shipping with suppressor-ready 13.25-inch barrels and a pistol grip, allowing the lever-action mare’s leg an overall length of just under two feet. Weight is 5.5 pounds, unloaded. While Rossi had the .357 Magnum variant on hand in Atlanta, the TBP will also be offered in .454 Casull, .45-70 Govt, and .44 Mag for those looking for something a little spicier.

I got to handle one at the recent NRAAM in Atlanta.

The side-loading Rossi TBP has a paracord-wrapped medium lever, which splits the difference between big loops and standard rectangular slot-style levers. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The pistols have threaded muzzles with the .357 at NRAAM fitted with a JK Armament can. All four caliber options run a four-round underbarrel magazine tube. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Note the top-mounted Picatinny optics rail. Other features include a cross-bolt manual safety and two sling swivel studs. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

With an overall length of just 23.5 inches, the Rossi TBP line is more easily stowed than a full-length carbine or rifle. (Photos: Rossi)

More after the jump to my column at Guns.com.

Modern Pirate Pistol!

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Rossi has expanded its Brawler series of modern break-action single-shot pistols for the better with new models to include variants in .300 Blackout and 5.56 NATO.

The company in 2023 debuted the $300 Brawler line with a dual-caliber .410 bore/.45 Colt offering outfitted with a single-action trigger and a cross-bolt thumb safety. It’s simple. Just load the chamber, close it, cock the hammer, fire, and reload. Takes about five seconds to figure out.

Now, Rossi has upped the ante and was on hand at the recent NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta with the new Brawlers, each carrying a more serious punch.

The Brawler in 300 BLK runs a 6-groove, 1:8 RH twist, 9-inch barrel and has an overall length of 14 inches. The 5.56 has a 1:7 twist with everything else being the same. Note the threaded barrel. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

While the .45/.410 Brawler has a high blade front sight; the rifle caliber variants only run the integrated top Picatinny rail for optics. (Photo: Rossi)

The possibilities for such a pistol as a trail gun are obvious. Paired with a suppressor, it seems ideally suited as a Form 1 candidate to transform into an SBR running Rossi’s $59 LWC/Tuffy folding pistol grip stock.

Meet the Auto-Loading Israeli Master Key

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One of the interesting new releases on the floor at the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta last week was an entry into the 12-gauge “not a shotgun” category by IWI.

Dubbed the Mafteah – Hebrew for “key” – it is a 12-gauge semi-auto with a 3-inch chamber. However, born sans stock and with an abbreviated 14-inch barrel, it doesn’t meet the federal guidelines to be considered a shotgun, and thus can’t be a short-barreled shotgun, putting it above NFA red tape.

In short (pun intended), it is in the same category of firearm as the Mossberg 590 Shockwave and 990 Aftershock, and the Remington V3 TAC-13 and 870 TAC-14.

“It is said the Key of Solomon could do almost anything, contain anything or anyone, and open any passageway one might need,” notes IWI on the new platform. “This one isn’t quite so magical, but it will do a number on opening doors.”

The IWI Mafteah has an unloaded weight of 5.7 pounds and has a cross-bolt manual safety. The charging handle is reversible. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The cylinder-bore 14-inch barrel is made of 4140 steel. The fixed tubular magazine has a 5+1 capacity in 2.75-inch shells, and 4+1 in 3-inch if you enjoy numbness in your hands.

More in my column at Guns.com.

The return of the PT-58!

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Taurus came to the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta with a curious new (to the U.S. market) double-action/single-action .380 pistol.

The original Model 58 was introduced in 1988 as the 12-shot Model PT-58.

Thus:

Its more modern variant has been popular in Brazil for years and is now available on this side of the equator.

With a layout similar to the iconic Beretta Model 92 (PT 92/99 for Taurus), the handgun sports a 4-inch barrel inside an open slide that has a familiar feel in the hand despite its stubby 7.2-inch overall length. The full-sized grip contains a flush-fit 15-shot double-stack magazine.

The combination gives you a great feel and a decent magazine capacity.

With the sudden resurgence in double-stack .380s such as the Beretta 80X and assorted Turkish-made M84 clones like the MC-14, the time may be right for some more competition in the field.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

Finally, the CZ Shadow 2 Carry

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The CZ Shadow 2 is one of the best guns of the century. Full stop.

The original Shadow line, an all-steel, large-capacity SA/DA pistol, was descended from the CZ 75 SP-01 and used successfully to pull down a first-place production division finish in the 2005 IPSC World Shoot. Given improved sights, a longer barrel, and better ergos, the Shadow 2 debuted in 2016, followed by an optics-ready model in 2020.

Today, it is used by two out of three of the top competitors in IPSC Production and Production Optics divisions, most notably by nine-time IPSC World Champ Eric Grauffe.

With Shadow 2 fans petitioning CZ for a slimmed-down version of the gun, the company introduced the Shadow 2 Compact in 2023, which cut weight with a forged 7075 aluminum frame and a 4-inch barrel. The magazine’s capacity is 15+1 with a flush-fit double-stack mag. Like the standard Shadow 2, the Compact ships with textured aluminum grips and a “butter smooth” trigger pull (single action 3.4 pounds; 10.3 for double action).

We shot the Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Compact side by side while touring the CZ factory at the foothills of the Carpathians in Czechia last year and were thoroughly impressed with how they performed.

The Shadow 2 Compact, for all intents and purposes, is just a little brother to the more competition-oriented Shadow 2. It is smaller, lighter, and easier to carry, but retains the DA/SA with a manual safety. As it’s based on a competition gun, there’s no firing pin block plunger system, which can be a pucker factor for some on being drop-safe if carried with a round in the chamber.

With the Shadow 2 Compact’s safety question, folks were gun-shy, pardon the pun, about carrying it, especially concealed.

However, CZ has updated the design in the new Shadow 2 Carry, introduced this week. It retains everything folks loved about the Shadow 2 Compact but deletes the manual safety lever in favor of a simple de-cocking lever while adding a safety notch on the hammer and an automatic firing pin block.

I’ve been testing one that CZ sent me, and I have to admit, it is pretty sweet. I mean, it should be at $1,400…

More in my column at Guns.com.

 

New Springfield Armory Optics-Ready TRP AOS 1911

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Back in the 1990s, the FBI was in the market for a pistol to equip its elite Hostage Rescue Team and regional SWAT teams, and the contract went to Springfield in 1998 for 500 M1911s crafted to very tight specs via meticulous hand fitting in the SA Custom Shop. Shortly after, the Marines ordered a batch of 150 similar pistols for its MEU(SOC) units. The HRT contract gun soon morphed into the Professional Model and eventually the TRP, which has gone on to become legendary over the past couple of decades.

SA’s Professional 1911s

Standard features on today’s top-shelf TRPs– going beyond the careful selection and fitment of components– include front strap checkering at 20 lines per inch, forward slide serrations, sighting plane serrations, the company’s Gen 2 Speed Trigger, a skeletonized hammer, premium sights, a straight mainspring housing, and G10 grips.

New for 2025 are eight optics-ready models, all equipped with an Agency Arms optics sighting system and offered in 9mm- both a first for the TRP. Priced at $1,999 across the board (we told you these were Springfield’s top shelf 1911s), there are full-sized all-steel 5-inch railed models in either black or Coyote Brown and in .45 and 9mm, as well as a lightweight Commander-length (4.25-inch) Carry Contour series in the same calibers and color options.

Springfield sent me a Coyote Commander-length Carry Contour TRP AOS in 9mm in this review; light and optic are not included.

In a nutshell, we found it to look good, feel great, and run like a gazelle. The slide-to-frame fit is legit, and the gun has no slop. The AOS system allows for lots of different optics, and it is great that SA is now making the TRP in a 9mm option, even if some consider such a thing in a 1911 platform to be an abomination.

The only rocks we can find to throw on this one are that the asking price of $1,999 is a bit steep, even in today’s inflated dollars, and that, perhaps a direct mount ACRO footprint would be a bigger hit.

The full review is over in my column at Guns.com.

Royal Regulator: The “Inglis” L9A1 clone

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Tennessee-based SDS Arms, whose umbrella of brands includes Military Armament Corporation (MAC), Tisas, Tokarev, and Spandau, is bringing back the Inglis name to the American market.

At SHOT Show ’24, the company announced the L9A1 clone to include a black Chromate finish and plastic grips as well as three more commercial models: a black Inglis P-35B with walnut grips, the satin nickel Inglis P-35N with black G10 grips, and a color-case hardened Inglis GP-35.

We caught up with Jahred Gamez at the time to check out these new guns, which were “coming soon.”

Now, the Inglis guns are shipping, and we made sure to get a production model to review.

The L9A1 feels like a well-built BHP from the 1980s and mimics what would be marketed at around that time by Browning/FN as the Mk. II series gun. It is close to the T-series guns used by the British Army from 1964 to 2013 but with the benefits of more understated markings and an ambidextrous manual safety lever.

I say toss some beans on toast, grow your mustache out over your top lip, and cue up “God Save the Queen.” The only true Dr. Who was Tom Baker, and I’m not apologizing for it.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

If an HK MP5 and a Colt SMG had a Turkish Baby

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Tennessee-based SDS Arms, whose brands include Military Armament Corporation, Tisas, Inglis, and others, brought a slew of new guns to SHOT Show.

We’ve been covering the company for a while and SDS always has some interesting stuff that you just don’t see everywhere else. Giving us a sneak peek at the 2025 catalog, Jahred Gamez introduced us to the new MAC IX.

SDS introduced the MAC 5 series last year, an MP5-style roller-locked pistol series sans the MP5 price.

The MAC5, in its two variants, as introduced in 2024

For those who prefer direct blowback rather than roller lock, with a more AR feel, the company will be introducing the MAC IX in March (just in time for the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta).

The MAC IX runs an AR-style safety and trigger group. Note the slingshot-style charging T-handle rather than the forward slap-and-go of the MP5. However, it uses MP5 mags, which are increasingly available at better prices than in previous generations.

Note the rear Pic rail for mounting a pistol brace or stock (NFA rules apply).

More in my column at Guns.com.

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