Kimber Pro Carry For Sale

Impact Guns has a used Kimber Pro Carry up for sale for $620. This is a Series 1 pistol, no firing pin safety. In other words, one of the good ones. The price is only twenty bucks more than I paid for mine. I do not know how many they have.

The Pro Carry is an exceptional off the rack 1911. It is a favorite carry gun of many. The lightweight frame makes it a breeze to pack, while the fullsize grip makes it easy to shoot and allows for full capacity magazines. If you have been searching for a Series 1 Kimber to carry, this one is your meat.

Read more about the Pro Carry here and here.

Scratch that.... They are Series II guns...

Ugly Gun Sunday

Here we have the infamous green Kimber modified for Leprechaun concealed pimp carry. The poor bugger has melted down his gold to make some hideously vulgar grips for it.

Kimber Pro Carry: Range Report

Every person that owns a recently manufactured 1911 style pistol owes Kimber a debt of gratitude. That may seem a strange statement coming from a fellow who eschews Yonkers for Hartford, but it is true. Kimber almost singlehandedly revitalized old slabsides during the wondernine revolution of the 1990s. With the introduction of the Kimber Custom in 1996, 1911 aficionados could finally purchase the pistol they had previously paid their gunsmiths to build for them. Nice triggers, match grade accuracy, decent sights, and a beavertail grip safety was standard as was the extended thumb safety. Kimber quickly rose to the forefront of the 1911 scene, and they held that position firmly until they decided in 2001 to place a firing pin safety and an external extractor on their re-vamped pistols. Until that time, Colt, and other 1911 manufacturers were put on notice. If they did not supply what shooters wanted, the shooters could go elsewhere for less money and effort. As a result, Springfield, and even Colt began to listen to their customer's wishes.

When I found a Series One Kimber that was designed for carry, in a pawn shop at a good price, I found it irresistible. There were things about the pistol that I did not like, but the addition of night sights coupled with very little apparent use made it a deal to me. I purchased the pistol and took it home for a going through. I was not surprised to find the pistol devoid of lubricant. Many people barely lubricate their firearms. There were metal injection molded (MIM) parts in the pistol. Some folks are concerned about MIM parts, but today, they are a fact of life in a production gun. I cleaned and lubricated the Kimber Pro Carry, and I tuned up the trigger. Even though the plastic mainspring housing is a functional non-issue, I swapped it out for an aluminum one from Smith & Wesson. I reinstalled the original slide stop, as the previous owner had stuck an extended one on the gun. I screwed on some cocobolo grips, smacked in a Wilson 47D magazine, and I was off to the range.

45 caliber slugs exit the Pro Carry's four inch bushingless barrel. A captured recoil assembly controls the forged steel slide. The Kimber Pro Carry has a steel slide and an aluminum frame. Lightweight Kimber frames are machined from solid blocks of 7075-T7 aluminum, supposedly the hardest and strongest available. Lightweight Kimbers have been factory tested for up to 20,000 rounds without showing any appreciable wear. After shooting and toting my scandium framed SW1911, I was ready for another lightweight carry gun.

I loaded two rounds in a magazine to start off with. Then I ran a full magazine through the pistol. I shot a magazine sideways, upside down, I let the pistol flip around. I blasted off two magazines as fast as I could. It never failed to feed and function. Recoil would best be described as snappy. The lightweight frame of the SW1911PD made it a breeze to shoot. The lightweight frame of the Commander sized Pro Carry made it a bit tougher to manage. The pistol was not uncontrollable, but you knew the pistol you were shooting was not a Government Model. The trigger was crisp with no creep, and very little take-up. Pull was about four pounds.

I put some index cards out at 10 and 15 yards, and swapped the grips back to rubber. With aimed fire, I found the Pro carry shot a little low for me, although it was consistent. It grouped well. By compensating for elevation, I could nail what I wanted. I have to wonder if the Tru Glo sights atop its slide were meant for the longer Government Model.

As I continued to pound lead out of the handgun, the BreakFree and Tetra grease I had lubricated it with began to seep out of the pin holes and slide rails. That is good. I just wipe it off and keep shooting. All in all, at this range trip, I shot 270 rounds of Winchester White Box, Fiocchi, Federal HydraShoks, and a trusted friend's reloads. The pistol consumed it all with methodical glee, never failing to go bang. The trigger never changed. It stayed sweet and consistent from the first shot to the last.

It was easy for me, a Colt kind of guy, to see why so many people like Kimber firearms. The Pro Carry was accurate, and reliable. It was a fine pistol that came in the box ready to do its job as a carry gun. After another 250 trouble free rounds, it will have earned its place in my carry gun rotation.

Syd's Thoughts on the Kimber Pro Carry

Pawn Shop Circuit: #497

Because of the new year and new deductibles on health care insurance, my case load was light today. I left the hospital early, and drove over to Neil's pawn shop. I could tell Neil was glad to see me, he looked up from his newspaper when I came through the door. He had an unusual supply of paintball guns in his case. That was a new one for me. In addition to the splatter toys, he had an air soft gun, a worn out cowboy gun, and a Glock. The case was so full of tacticality that I almost missed another black pistol at the bottom.

Neil must have seen the spark on my frontal lobe as my gaze fell on a Kimber. He put his paper down and got up to pull the pistol out for me. I opened the chamber, confirmed it was unloaded and began my 1911 checklist. Everything looked OK, but I wasn't pleased at all with the cheapo extended slide stop. The magazine follower would not raise it to engage the slide. It was a Pro Carry, a Series 1 Kimber....No firing pin safety and the extractor was inside the slide. The trigger was nice, and the pistol did not appear to have been used much. The sights had been changed out for Tru Glo replacements. I wondered if the rubber front strap covering concealed that awful Kimber checkering. That ugly Good Year thing would have to go. The rear of the slide was emblazoned with a NRA emblem on each side that proclaimed the pistol to be #497 of 750.

I asked if I could field strip the gun. It had a bushingless bull barrel, so I questioned Neil whether a box came with the pistol. He nodded and dug a plastic Kimber case from underneath the counter. Inside I found not only the documents and takedown tool, but also the original slide stop. I removed the slide and had a look. The pistol was dry as mummy crap. The frame was lightweight, probably aluminum, I thought. The mainspring housing was plastic. The interior of the gun showed no wear. I reassembled the pistol slowly as I calculated what it would take make it carry worthy. Nothing really, assuming it was reliable. Take off the finger groove rubber, and put 500 trouble free rounds down range through it.

I turned over the tag. $649. I asked Neil if he could go $550. He countered with $600. Deal.