Kimber: A Rifle Maker's Idea of a 1911
Kimber's own tagline is What All Guns Should Be. It is a bold thing to roll-mark onto a slide, and Kimber has spent more than forty years earning the right to say it. The company began in 1979 in Clackamas, Oregon, as Kimber of Oregon, building small-bore rifles with a reputation for accuracy. The pistols came later, after a hard stretch and a rebuild, when Kimber pointed a rifle maker's obsession with tolerances at John Browning's 1911. That decision made the brand. Today Kimber designs and builds from its headquarters in Troy, Alabama, and the name has become shorthand for a production 1911 that looks and feels like it came out of a custom shop.
Why do shooters choose one? Fit and finish, first. Kimber slides ride tight, the edges are broken cleanly, and the finishes, whether polished stainless, KimPro Black or Cerakote, are the kind you keep wiping fingerprints off. Then the trigger: short, crisp, and the reason a lot of people fall for the 1911 in the first place. And, more recently, range. If you have not handled a Kimber since the Custom II era, the current catalog will surprise you. Double-stack 1911s built for carry and for competition, an optics-ready striker-fired micro-compact and a featherweight mountain rifle all wear the same roll-mark now.
The Kimber Models We Stock
Our Kimber shelf runs from the classic single-stack 1911 to the newest double-stack builds. Here is who each family is for.
The modern double-stacks
- Kimber 2K11 - Kimber's 2011-style pistol and the flagship of the current catalog: stainless slide and frame, fluted bull barrel and the GT match trigger, in a 5 in Target or 4.25 in Pro, in 9mm or 45 ACP, in finishes from Stainless and Coyote to Royal, Eclipse and Minotaur.
- Kimber DS Warrior - A full-size, optics-ready double-stack 1911 that keeps the traditional bushing barrel and internal extractor, offered in 9mm, 45 ACP, 38 Super and 10mm, with the LS stretching the 10mm to a 6 in barrel.
- Kimber KDS9c - The double-stack 1911 designed from the ground up for concealed carry: a 7075 aluminum frame, a 4.09 in barrel and a slide milled for a red dot.
- Kimber CDS9 - Covert Double Stack: a 3.18 in micro 9mm with a full-melt slide, a flat-faced 1911-style trigger and an optics cut, for the shooter who wants a 1911 in the waistband every single day.
The carry pistols
- Kimber Micro 9 - The single-action micro 1911 with a 3.15 in barrel and the best looks in its class, offered in a long list of trims; we stock the Two Tone, Shadow, Raptor and Sapphire.
- Kimber R7 Mako - Kimber's striker-fired micro-compact, with a 3.92 in barrel, an optics-ready slide and a trigger reviewers keep singling out, for the shooter who wants Kimber quality in a modern striker-fired package.
- Kimber Ultra Carry II - The 3 in, aluminum-framed 45 ACP: a full-house 1911 chopped down for discreet carry, in Stainless or Two-Tone.
The classic single-stacks
- Kimber Next Gen 1911 - Classic proportions with a modern feature list: optics-ready slide, external extractor, sloped disconnector and the GT Performance Trigger, in 5 in 9mm or 45 ACP, plus a 4 in Pro.
- Kimber Custom II and Custom LW - The 5 in 45 ACP that built Kimber's name: the Custom II on a steel frame, the Custom LW on a lightweight alloy frame, including the blacked-out Shadow Ghost.
- Kimber Rampart - A 5 in 9mm with a toolless compensator, slide lightening cuts, HIVIZ sights and OD green Cerakote, for the shooter who wants a flat-shooting single-stack for the range.
The rifle
- Kimber Mountain Ascent - A 7mm Remington Magnum with a 26 in fluted barrel, a detachable brake and Kimber's sub-MOA guarantee, one of the lightest production hunting rifles made, in Peak and Mojave finishes. The rifle for hunters who count ounces.
Kimber at Urban Tactical Firearms
Urban Tactical Firearms is veteran-owned, with stores in Marlton and Jersey City, New Jersey. Visit us at either location, or order online and we ship to FFLs nationwide. Whether it is the 1911 you promised yourself years ago or the 2K11 you keep reading about, this is the page to start on.
