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Kimber's Best .45
'The Kimber Gold Combat is among the best all-around 1911 handguns available'
By
Bob Campbell
|
"Best" is a relative term. I think that perhaps the .45 I cover in this report is a little better than the other Kimbers—and Kimber .45s are excellent handguns. I have fired as many 1911s as anyone, including more than 50 for a book about them, and in diverse forms, from GI pistols to the most highly capable custom pistols. I have found some most useful as fishing weights and others worthy of use by special teams and the military. Some are sterling examples of the gunmaker's art. The Kimber Gold Combat happens to be my idea of a combat pistol. I am a practical shooter and most of my pistols are for all-around shooters. This means personal defense, hunting, target shooting and competition may be handled by a single, versatile handgun. The 1911 does over 90 per cent of what I need to accomplish. The rest is accomplished with the .22 and .44 Magnums.
I occasionally deploy a lightweight .45 but for the most part I prefer the Government Model, steel frame, five-inch pistol. I demand reliability above all else. Without reliability we have nothing. Since Colt got it right in 1911 with a grueling test, we would think modern makers should be able to get it right as well. Alas, some shooters have a bad case of tinkitis and like to tinker with their handguns. Some makers have attempted to cheapen the pistol to the point that the price point has taken precedence over quality. When have you been sorry for buying quality? If personal defense is your primary outlook a pistol like the Custom II .45 is all you need. If you like to be all you can be, a pistol like the Gold Combat will challenge your ability. Justifying a price over twice the tariff of a Custom II may be a hard pill to swallow, but the pistol is worth the change. You will not shoot the pistol any better than any other 1911 unless you practice hard and with practice will come the realization that this is a special handgun. I have carried the Kimber during the past few months in a Haugen Handgun Leather (haugenhandleather.com) crossdraw holster. The Wedge was designed by Roy Huntington and this was a good collaboration. The crossdraw is readily accessible when seated or when driving and is much more versatile than a purposely designed driving holster. I like mine very much.
The Kimber Gold Combat features high visibility sights with Meprolight tritium inserts. As such the pistol has a true 24-hour capability. The pistol features an ambidextrous safety and a properly designed beavertail grip safety. The grip safety funnels the hand into the firing grip and spreads recoil about in the palm. For those who occasionally miss fully depressing the grip safety, this is a good design. The Kimber also
features a firing pin lock. When the grip safety is fully depressed the firing
pin lock is deactivated. Other firing pin blocks work on the trigger. The Kimber
firing pin locks works just fine and prevents interference with the trigger action.
Trigger compression
is ideal at a smooth and creep-free five pounds. The pistol tested features nice checkered rosewood grips. The newest Gold Combat pistols feature herringbone micarta. I am certain the new grips give excellent purchase, but I like the rosewood style. A nice touch is a conservative magazine funnel. The magazine guide or chute is not a necessity in a personal defense handgun but it helps in handling the pistol quickly and surely on the range.
During range testing and firing what is now many thousands of rounds of ammunition, the Kimber has proven consistently accurate with any quality .45 ACP load. At last count the pistol has never failed to feed, chamber fire or eject in firing some 3,500 rounds of ammunition. Speed from the holster to an accurate first shot is excellent. Control in all combat drills is excellent. At seven yards the pistol will cut one ragged hole in the target with a full magazine of ammunition. An obligatory test of a handgun is to fire for accuracy at a long 75 feet from a solid bench rest. That is fine as far as it goes, but the pistol's speed and handling inside of 25 yards—rom three to 10 yards—is much more important. The Kimber has excelled in all drills. The checkered front strap and grip offer good adhesion to the hand and the trigger and sights combine for good accuracy. Just the same, the pistol has turned in excellent long-range groups. In some case it is garbage in and garbage out but with quality ammunition the pistol gives good results. With bargain basement, foreign produced and poor quality loads, it is adequate for practice but a skilled hand will notice the difference. Naturally for best economy you need to handload. The pistol is well suited to cast lead bullets at moderate velocity.
A
very interesting load we have tested in the Kimber is the new Black Hills personal
defense load using the Barnes TAC bullet. A 185-grain hollow point at +P velocity,
this loading has demonstrated excellent accuracy potential. The balance of expansion
and penetration is ideal. Recoil is less than that of a 230- grain +P due to the
light weight of the projectile,
but penetration is about the same. Overall, an interesting load with much to recommend.
When all is considered, the Kimber Gold Combat is among the best all-around 1911 handguns available. Take a hard look if you are in the market for a first class handgun without compromise. l Accuracy: five-shot groups at 25 yards Handloads Commercial (I am not a machine rest fan, but I can shoot. I have the impression the Gold Combat is a more accurate handgun than I may hold. As an example several times during the test firing a particular group would be measured and the inner three bullets would be inside of an inch or an inch and a half. The Black Hills 185-grain TAC averaged 1.75 inches for three groups but I have fired a five-shot group of 1.25 inches with this load. Accuracy is relative. I have never owned a machine rest, preferring to stay in touch with reality. Damned if I am not coming to desire one! I will get over it, I am certain) |
