Gun Test: The Kimber Ultra Carry II

Kimber can always be counted onfor good looks and good performance. The Ultra Carry II is noexception.

By Jerry Ahern

The Ultra Carry II from Kimber is accomplished with Kimber’s usualattention to detail. Weight of the pistol is 25 ounces, accordingto Kimber’s own stats, putting it at over three quarters of a poundless weight than a full size 1911. The weight factor is important,because in many ways we’re talking about a more compact version ofa Commander size pistol. The Commander, when it was originallyintroduced by Colt, had an aluminum alloy frame.

There was much chest beating about aluminum alloy frames holdingup, but aluminum alloy frames have proven to be quite acceptablefor hard duty with a heavy caliber pistol.

The Kimber Ultra Carry II .45 ismade for concealed carry needs, yet shooting qualities are notcompromised.

Barrel length is where this pistol is quite radical. The barrel isonly three inches long, making it 1-3/4 inches shorter than aCommander and a half-inch shorter than the Detonics CombatMaster.Magazine capacity with the pistol is a full seven rounds, as intraditional 1911 pistols.

Overall length of this pistol is 6.8 inches. The slide is stainlesssteel and the trigger is match grade aluminum. The added length inthe grip in order to accommodate seven rounds allows getting theentire last three fingers on the grip frame.

Danny and I both shot the Kimber Ultra Carry II using Federal 230grain Hydra Shok ammunition. I did my best shooting of the sessionwith the Kimber and this did not surprise me. In my hands, it shotslightly to the left, which is a chronic problem with myshooting.

My group was nice and tight. It should be remembered that I wouldsometimes test fire more than thirty 1911-style automatics in asession, so that even with my lackluster marksmanship, I tend to dobetter with a .45. Danny is also a good hand with a .45 and got abetter group than mine, both of us well within the parameters setfor the test. The pistol was quite pleasant to shoot and perceptionof recoil was not a factor.

Kimber recommends that, with the Ultra Carry models, the recoilspring should be changed every 1800 rounds. I had asked one of mycontacts at Kimber about swapping recoil springs as often asrecommended in their manuals. It was made clear to me, as I hadassumed, that once you hit the magic number of rounds you shouldn’texpect catastrophic spring failure. Instead, Kimber views this as away to ensure there will not be spring failure. That certainlymakes sense.

Sights on the Ultra Carry II are fixed and extremely rugged. Theyare left black and, if this pistol were mine, I would add whitemarkings on the sights to assist my older eyes. The thumb safety issingle sided, but extended, and the grip safety features a beavertail. The beaver tail amply protects the web of the hand. TheKimber Ultra Carry II is a classy looking pistol and performedquite well.

This article is an excerpt fromthe Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed CarryHandguns. Click here toorder your copy.

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