Kimber Pro Carry II 9mm

1911's come in a diverse mix.  There are some of superb quality with prices ranging from $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 and up.  If you have the money you can't go wrong with any of them.  There are a few at the opposite end of the price range for a few hundred dollars to around six hundred dollars.  Some of them are OK, some make good project guns if you want to spend more money on upgrades and some of the value priced 1911s are not worth the money, time or effort you would need to make them reliable and shoot to point of aim.  

This is where Kimber comes in.  Kimber's models start around $800.00 and level off just under three thousand.  They come with most everything you will need so any additions or upgrades are  minimal.  The model being reviewed here is the Kimber Pro Carry II in 9mm.  The price was just a few dollars over $800.00 so this is one of Kimber's entry level pistols.  I have to admit that when this one came into the shop it did not make it to the display case.  I was in the shop buying something else when Kate brought it out with every intention to put it in the 1911 tower.  It looked like a Kimber 9mm Pro Carry that I owned and foolishly traded off several years ago.  When Kate confirmed that it was I immediately staked my claim to it causing Kate to declare that I had "a problem".  She inferred that I was in need of a 12-step program to curb my impulse in accumulating more firearms.  Kate's declaration of this malady has not been limited to this sole occurance.  

The Pro Carry II has a matte black aluminum frame with a steel slide and  4 inch match grade barrel.  It has a height of 5.25 inches, a length of 7.7 inches, and a width of 1.28 inches.  It weighs in at 28 ounces empty, has a set of rubber double diamond grips and a trigger pull between four to five pounds.  The sights are fixed Novak style low profile in plain black both front and back and this is where I decided to make a change.  

I asked a gunsmith to put a red fiber optic sight up front and I requested that he make that red pipe as fat as he could so it could be easily seen by my aging eyes.

The mission was accomplished and I can see the front sight on this Kimber better than any other pistol in my battery. 

I opted to leave the rear sight as it was, just black and serrated.  I have found that I pick up the front sight quicker if there are no distracting dots on the rear sight.  Lining up three dots is no more accurate for me than having just one dot to put on target. It is certainly a smidgen faster to acquire the proper sight picture if you are not trying to put three dots in a row.

The trigger and hammer are of the skeleton variety.

This fine but if they we solid it would not have been a deal breaker for me.  The trigger itself is long which I prefer as it allows for better placement of my trigger finger.  Those with smaller hands however may want to replace it with a shorter trigger.  The Pro Carry II is also devoid of a "memory bump" at the bottom of the beavertail grip safety.  The "memory bump" has become very fashionable on 1911's and is designed to allow more positive contact with the grip safety ensuring proper engagement so that the pistol will fire when gripped.  I am fine with no "member bump" on the pistol as I have never had a problem properly depressing the grip safety when I grip the pistol.

Let's see how she shot!

I first loaded up five rounds and pushed the target out to a scant 15 feet to get acquainted with the pistol.

These were the first five rounds out of the box and with four of the five touching any further "getting acquainted" time was not necessary.

The targets were then pushed out to 21 feet with the following

results:

The target was then moved to 30 feet:

And then to 35 feet:

And finally we rolled the target out of 75 feet:

The pistol shot very well and is probably the second most accurate 9mm in my safe.  The Kimber's weight of 28 ounces tends to negate most of the felt recoil making the Pro Carry II a great pistol for a newer 1911 shooter or one who is more prone to recoil sensitivity.  The overall accuracy and low recoil makes the Pro Carry II one satisfying pistol to shoot and the lower priced 9mm ammunition allows you to make the fun last a little longer!

Overall Kimber makes a great 1911 in the moderate price range.  You don't need to spend thousands to get a great 1911.