Kimber Pro Carry II

Have you ever shot a pistol that caused the first words out of your mouth to joyfully be “You’ve got to be kidding me!”? The Pro Carry II from Kimber Mfg. elicited such a response from Allen Christy, contributor at Austin Tactical Firearms. He had been as anxious to try it as I had been to buy one; so with 200 grain hard-ball ammunition in hand, we set out to the range one warm spring afternoon. Rather than shoot at paper targets, we spaced out 10-12 clay pigeons to feel the full force of .45ACP. What the heck? It’s fun to see them explode when you hit them! Taking aim from approximately 15-20 yards, Allen squeezes off three quick shots and was rewarded with three very dead clay pigeons! He sets the safety, looks at me with a large grin, and shouts the aforementioned phrase!

This is similar to my reaction the first time I shot a Kimber-made firearm. A friend of mine owned the Eclipse Ultra Carry and I shot that 3″ barreled wonder better than any other pistol I’d had the opportunity to shoot! All I could do was set it back down on the table in front of me and say, “Wow.” The groups were tight, recoil on the big caliber was more than manageable, and the trigger broke crisply each time. It was quite simply a joy. From that moment on, I’d schemed on how to get one in my own collection. That obsession started over three years ago.

This Christmas, my wonderful wife of 11 years surprised me with the Pro Carry 2. She called me at the office a couple of weeks before Christmas Day and said, “I’m going to tell you something, but you have to be surprised. I’m ordering you a pistol, but I can’t remember exactly what model you wanted.” I felt like Ralphy in A Christmas Story finally getting his Red Rider BB Gun! Unlike Ralphy, my present took another 150 days to arrive. Seems like it isn’t just the AR-15 clones that are flying off the shelf. In the meantime, I spent some time preparing for my new tool by investing in a good concealment holster and some extra magazines. Of course, that only takes so long and a week after the yuletide festivities, I was champing at the bit for the phone call saying it had arrived.

The Kimber Pro Carry II is a 1911-pattern pistol chambered in .45ACP (also available in a 9mm version). She carries a beveled magazine well, aluminum receiver, steel slide, and a 4″ bushingless steel barrel and aluminum trigger, both of which are match grade. The Pro Carry II tips the scales at a scant 28 ounces (empty), so it is meant to be comfortably worn in your favorite holster. The safety is mounted on the left side, so if you’re a southpaw, there will be some mechanics you will have to become accustomed to—of course, it’s the same challenge for any 1911 on the market. Kimber only ships their firearms with a single magazine, so be prepared to spend another $25-$35 on extras. Kimber believes this is something an avid shooter would do anyway, so there is no reason to supply them with more than one. I think this is a bad policy, but certainly not a show stopper if you’re in the market for an excellently crafted pistol. Normally, the 1911 would carry ammunition capacity of 7+1. With today’s advancement in spring and magazine technology, you can increase your on board ammo to 8+1. I’m not certain how long the mag springs will keep their “spring”, but magazines are fairly inexpensive, and the extra round is worth it.

The 1911 has been around for nearly 100 years which is a testament to John Browning’s simple design. While it has undergone some modifications over the years, the heart is still the same and the changes have really improved the accuracy and reliability. Simple changes like the extended beavertail so the operator doesn’t get bit by the slide’s movement. A very popular style gun means aftermarket parts abound should you want or need them. A quick glance through Brownell’s online catalog yielded 812 hits. Parts ranging from armorer’s kits to screws. There should be no worries about finding a replacement widget if yours wears out.

Getting down to brass tacks: how does this pistol shoot? There really are not enough superlatives to describe the experience. This firearm will shoot more accurately than the guy behind the controls. The first 250 rounds, I used the 250 grain Winchester SuperX lead round nose to break in the barrel and fired from ranges of 15-20 yards. This weapon fired where it was pointed, and maintained a 1″ group through the entire range session. A few days later, I wanted to push the envelope. Placing a paper target (standard 25-yd, centerfire pistol target) on the stand, I marched 65 yards to the firing line and fired a string of eight rounds. All eight stayed within the 5-ring; that’s very impressive.

The other exercises were also handled with aplomb. Shooting on the move… no problem. Drawing the weapon from a holster… easy. Successive shots on target… simple. The four inch barrel makes the gun feel like she wants to be pointed at the target! Some weapons make you feel like your behind the eight-ball as you move the muzzle from target to target. The 1911 likes to be pointed quickly—if I can use highly subjective language—and the way Kimber’s Pro Carry limits muzzle flip enhances that feeling on the follow-up shots with multiple targets.

Knowing the single OEM magazine would not be enough, I’d purchased four extra Chip McCormick 8-round Power Mag magazines. These were initially a little “sticky”. One didn’t feed very well and required a little adjustment where the spring and follower touch each other. It seemed the magazine spring was sitting outside of a molded lip on the follower which allowed the bullet to nose dive when it was being stripped by the slide; this would cause the occasional fail-to-feed malfunction. During the firing exercises, changing magazines was a simple task. The magazine release button is large enough to provide solid contact with your finger, but not so large that it interferes with your grip or depressed by the holster. When changing magazines, each one dropped completely from the magazine well and the beveled edge helped guide the fresh magazine home. Keep this in mind when you’re completing a tactical reload. If you’re hand isn’t in place to catch the magazine, you’ll find it has hit the deck and you have live rounds at your feet.

There is one item that will be changed on this pistol. The sights. The OEM sights are simple, no dot, black, notch and post. At night they are impossible to see, and in a combat weapon, this is something that should be considered. For eyes accustomed to lining up 3 dots, you will be disappointed here and it does take some time to get used to it. The sights will likely be replaced with a bar-dot system from MeproLight. The dot on the front post is lined up over the bar on the rear sight. These have Tritium inserts, and if you have never seen these, they provide sufficient illumination so you can figure out where you gun is pointing, and not be distracted by the intensity. They also have no batteries to change as it’s a chemical reaction which causes the glow. This simple $120 upgrade is well worth the price to improve the sight picture.

The Kimber Pro Carry II is an absolutely fantastic firearm. It is easy to conceal, a joy to shoot, and well worth the price. You are getting a match grade pistol and you can tell how much care the artisans at Kimber put into the firearm. If you are considering one, get your order in. The way the current firearms market is acting, you could be waiting for months. In the words of Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I’d highly recommend picking one up.”