This is a preliminary range report on two 1911 9mms I recently bought. First is a Kimber Stainless LW reverse two-tone. Second is a Rock Island Rock Ultra CCO.
Kimber Stainless LW full size 9mm
The LW stands for light weight. Kimber’s websight specs say it weighs in at slightly under 2lbs. I weighed it on a kitchen scale and is more like 1lb 14oz empty with no magazine (I suppose the magazine would add another 2-3oz).It has a fixed two white dot rear sight with an orange/red fiber optic front sight. Both are dovetailed for easy replacement. Even with my old and failing eyes, I found it very easy to acquire a good sight picture. The model I got has a stainless steel slide with a black alloy frame. As with most magazine fed firearms these days, it only came with one 9-round magazine, which was very hard to load, especially the last two rounds. If I hadn't already had a magazine loader, I would probably have had to get one. In order to preserve the original grips, I replaced them with a set of maple Punisher grips I already had.
At the range:
I only shot one target as I forgot my allen wrench set and couldn't drift punch the rear sight to get it on zero for me (next time I won't forget them). As you can see on the target, accuracy is very good. That is 18 rounds of factory PMC bronze 124gr ball at about 12 yards from a bench rest. I also shot about 50 rounds at an 8” steel plate at 25 yards, hitting the plate about 80-85%. There were no malfunctions.
Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra CCO 9mm/22TCM9R (I will only address the 9mm in this report)
I was kind of apprehensive about getting a Rock Island for my son's everyday carry gun. The CCO stands for Concealed Carry Officer and just means it has an Officer frame with a Commander length slide and barrel. I needed him to upgrade from .380 to 9mm, so I took a chance on the RIA. As it turns out, I was worried for no reason as this gun is a shooter. It has a steel slide and an alloy frame and weighs in at only 1lb 13oz empty with no magazine. It has an adjustable LPA two white dot rear sight and a red/orange front sight. Both are dovetailed for easy replacement, although I can't see why anyone would want to. Sight picture is easily acquired and it can be adjusted to the individual's eyesight.
At the range:
I really wanted to put a lot of rounds through this gun to break it in, as new 1911s are very tight and need to be fired a lot to loosen them up. I put about 150 rounds through it, but the heat was getting to me so I had to stop. After 20 or so rounds to get the gun on target, I shot two targets at about 12 yards, using PMC bronze 124gr ball, 16 rounds from a bench rest on the first and 8 rounds offhand on the second. The rest of the rounds were at an 8” steel plate at 25 yards. Hits were about 85-90%, but I was getting pretty tired by this time, so I blame me, not the gun. I had zero malfunctions.
Kimber Stainless LW full size 9mm
The LW stands for light weight. Kimber’s websight specs say it weighs in at slightly under 2lbs. I weighed it on a kitchen scale and is more like 1lb 14oz empty with no magazine (I suppose the magazine would add another 2-3oz).It has a fixed two white dot rear sight with an orange/red fiber optic front sight. Both are dovetailed for easy replacement. Even with my old and failing eyes, I found it very easy to acquire a good sight picture. The model I got has a stainless steel slide with a black alloy frame. As with most magazine fed firearms these days, it only came with one 9-round magazine, which was very hard to load, especially the last two rounds. If I hadn't already had a magazine loader, I would probably have had to get one. In order to preserve the original grips, I replaced them with a set of maple Punisher grips I already had.
At the range:
I only shot one target as I forgot my allen wrench set and couldn't drift punch the rear sight to get it on zero for me (next time I won't forget them). As you can see on the target, accuracy is very good. That is 18 rounds of factory PMC bronze 124gr ball at about 12 yards from a bench rest. I also shot about 50 rounds at an 8” steel plate at 25 yards, hitting the plate about 80-85%. There were no malfunctions.
Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra CCO 9mm/22TCM9R (I will only address the 9mm in this report)
I was kind of apprehensive about getting a Rock Island for my son's everyday carry gun. The CCO stands for Concealed Carry Officer and just means it has an Officer frame with a Commander length slide and barrel. I needed him to upgrade from .380 to 9mm, so I took a chance on the RIA. As it turns out, I was worried for no reason as this gun is a shooter. It has a steel slide and an alloy frame and weighs in at only 1lb 13oz empty with no magazine. It has an adjustable LPA two white dot rear sight and a red/orange front sight. Both are dovetailed for easy replacement, although I can't see why anyone would want to. Sight picture is easily acquired and it can be adjusted to the individual's eyesight.
At the range:
I really wanted to put a lot of rounds through this gun to break it in, as new 1911s are very tight and need to be fired a lot to loosen them up. I put about 150 rounds through it, but the heat was getting to me so I had to stop. After 20 or so rounds to get the gun on target, I shot two targets at about 12 yards, using PMC bronze 124gr ball, 16 rounds from a bench rest on the first and 8 rounds offhand on the second. The rest of the rounds were at an 8” steel plate at 25 yards. Hits were about 85-90%, but I was getting pretty tired by this time, so I blame me, not the gun. I had zero malfunctions.
