Kimber KDS9c Full Review: By LK
I paid full price for this Kimber. Pictures on line don't do it justice. Kimber over the years has had some quality issues and my personal experience with them has shown the 1911's need somewhat of a break in period. Kimber used to advertise a 200 or 250 round break in.
My first trip to the range I fired Federal HST's, Speer Golden Sabers and Hornady Critical Defense. I fired all in rapid 2-3 round strings and single shots with no malfunctions. I also fired a variety of 115 gr. and 124 gr. by various manufacturers. The first five rounds at 7 yards resulted in a ragged hole. Next was freestyle at 10, 15 and 20 yards. The groups opened slightly as distance increased as expected, but I was still very pleased. I was already suspecting this gun was capable of groups better than my eyes could deliver. At 25 yards I rested on my range bag on a bench and the group was 2.5 inches. Again, aging eyes. I moved back up to 10 yards and started doing presentations from an OWB holster and shooting controlled pairs. After striker fired pistols , I was enjoying reconnecting with a single action trigger again. I later measured the trigger and got an average 3 lb 1.4 oz. I continued presentations out to 15 yards until I went to reload after round 132. I pushed the mag release and the magazine, and the magazine release fell out. It was an easy fix but I didn't have the right tools with me so this range session was over. I don't fault Kimber for this as it simply could have been a matter of the catch wasn't completely rotated clockwise during installation and under manipulations and recoil it simply locked itself. After I reinstalled it there were no more issues.
On my second range session I continued presentations and various drills out to fifteen yards. Several times upon drawing the pistol from the holster the magazine would fall to the ground. After further review it became obvious the extended magazine release was hitting leather on the holster. Also the spring tension on the magazine release is considerably lighter than a standard 1911. This range session was another 150 rounds, for a combined total of 282 rounds. Zero stoppages of any kind during the two range sessions. Since the magazine release can be reversed, I switched it to the other side. Several sessions of dry practice using my strong hand index finger for the magazine release and I actually became quite comfortable with this. I did reach out to Kimber about the possibility of using the more flush magazine release that's on the Kimber CDS9 and was told they are not interchangeable and that Kimber does not offer a replacement spring with more tension. I honestly feel a spring with more tension would solve the problem
The next range session was with a Vortex Defender CCW red dot optic installed. I zeroed at 25 yards off a rest and had a 1.5" group. This range session consisted of drawing from concealment at the appendix position and a various assortment of drills. Due to a 5 degree temperature and the fact that I now had a sighted in optic, I called it after 83 rounds. At this point the gun had been a daily carry for about a month and was at 365 rounds with ZERO stoppages of any kind so I'm comfortable with doing my first review of it.
When in slide lock there is noticeable rattle when you shake the gun. In all actuality, I feel this contributed to the overall reliability I experienced. The gun comes with a nice quality canvas range bag and I believe this is the first Kimber I've ever purchased that came out of the box with two magazines. Well played Kimber. If you plan on putting an optic on it you'll have to pay $90.00 to $120.00, for the optic plate, depending where you purchase it.
1. APPEARANCE AND BUILD QUALITY
Right out of the box the gun is eye catching and feels good in the hand. It's getting dinged for the magazine release as mentioned above though. I thorough final check should catch items like this, especially on a firearm in this price range.
4 POINTS
2. ACCURACY (Resting 15 yards)
On a rest from 25 yards (which exceeds my standard)
5 POINTS
3. ACCURACY (Standing 7 yards)
First five shots fired from the pistol were at seven yards and created one "ragged" hole.
5 POINTS
4. RELIABILITY
ZERO stoppages in 365 rounds of various hollow points and FMJ's. Both supplied magazines had no malfunction and locked the slide back as expected.
5 POINTS
5. EASE OF MAINTENANCE
This a 1911 style barrel with out a bushing. The disassembly, compared to typical striker fired pistols, is slightly more detailed for newer shooters.
4 POINTS
6. TRIGGER
It's a 1911 with a single action trigger. The pull weight on my sample averaged 3 lb 1.4 oz.
5 POINTS
7. CAPACITY
15
5 POINTS
8. AFFORDABILITY
With most striker fired pistols coming in around the $500 mark, this one is at 2.75 times that, putting out of the price range I feel most people would pay for it.
3 POINTS
CONCLUSION
35 points out of 40 possible equates to a passing score of 88%.
Is this a quality pistol? YES
Is this pistol affordable? YES (Probably a the top of most's price range though) Would I recommend it? If you're willing to pay the price, YES, but at the upper 1300's it's getting close the "Gucci" class.