A viewer wanted us to take a look at his Kimber Rapide 1911. So he sent it over as a personal T&E. I believe is it brand new or damn near.
In 1997 or so, I bought my first 1911. It was a Kimber Gold Match. Their top of the line 1911 at the time. This was well before Kimber became what they are today (The good & the bad).
Shot for a few years along with some others, and eventually moved out of the Kimber guns. Primarily because of durability and a lack proper dehorning. In short, I didn’t think it was wise to keep putting money into guns that were never going to be good enough.
Now don’t get that last statement wrong. In the late 1990’s and very early 2000’s, Kimber rocked the 1911 world. All these crazy custom features but at retail prices…and availability. I still say the early Kimber made the custom 1911 market what it is today. Not dissimilar to what the Japanese automakers did to Detroit in the 1980’s.
So…anyway…I haven’t looked at Kimbers seriously in over 20 years. But when this chance came up, I figured why not?! While we aren’t gear reviewers, it’s still a 1911. So this could be fun. For a little bit.
First impressions? Still sharp as a box of used razor blades. Just like 20 years ago. But I gotta say, the curb appeal of the Rapide is straight 10’s from all the judges. It’s a great looking gun. All the extraneous cuts and titanium-nitride finishes are spot on with the tastes of the current generation of buyers (notice I didn’t say shooters 😉).
So I get to shoot it, hopefully not break it, and send it off to be somebody else’s problem when done. So…enjoy Kimber fans. This won’t happen again for a very, very long time.
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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