We stopped by the Kimber booth at this years SHOT Show to see what new products they had for 2015. One of the stand outs to us is the new Adirondack rifle in .300 Blackout. Check out the photos for some details. The “bell” on the end of the otherwise thin barrel is there so it can be threaded. Suppressed .300 Blackout is where its at and on this bolt action it should be super quiet. The rifle is incredibly compact, and light–the perfect option for those long stalk hunts. The MSRP is $1,768.
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The Adirondack in .300 Blackout, ready for a suppressor.
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Micro in Raptor.
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Other stand out are some new finishes in the Gem Stone line. Check out the Onyx and Saphire. The bright blue sapphire slide with the stainless frame makes for a slick looking Kimber Solo. The Solo Sapphire’s MSRP is $1,291 and the Onyx Ultra II is $1,652.
Kimber has also made some new models of the Micro Pistols. The Raptor style is a standout. I was particularly enamored with the striations on the slide.
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Much of what Kimber is bringing to the market this year is already familiar, but the variations on the themes are visually stunning, and offer some solid ergonomic upgrades.
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The barrel on the Adirondack has a “bell” shape to have room for threads.
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With the cap removed you can see the flat behind the threads to help support a suppressor.
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Solo in Sapphire.
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New for 2015, threaded barrels on the Pro sized 1911s.
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Tall sights ready for a can.
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Slick two tone finish.
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A line up of new Kimbers.
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The Adirondack in the front.
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I wonder if Kimber decided to do this or fix the Solo’s reliability problems first. The Solo is an overpriced, finicky handgun. Certainly not what you want for defensive carry. A Ruger at half the price goes bang every time.
I own a custom shop Kimber M1911 and it by far the best hard ball M1911 I have ever owned, bar none. I began shooting “accurized” M1911’s in 1964…first one was a customized Ithaca made pistol from WWII or Korea. My KImber M1911 consumes multiple types of ammo with the expected smoothness and accuracy. That said, if I could have my dream M1911 updated, it would be for a single stack M1911 with a true de-cocker and double action first shot at about 8-9 lbs pull, then the usual very crisp 5 lb pull of the Kimber I own. If they ever make one I will buy the first one I can get my hands on, so don’t get in my way. I can be like the nice Arab ladies here (who have trained me well :-), on Wednesdays when it is sale day in the local markets…they can throw elbows like Gordie Howe. Until then I am sticking with the FNX-45, the H&K, and a few others, along with my Kimber target gun, … but a updated M1911 would be a delight.
Just another $30,000.00 hammer! Go back to simple and plain functionality. A gun is a tool, nothing more, nothing less! To be taken to the range or out to the brush, or shoved in a drawer beside the bed.
What’s next? Gold embossed magazines? Nice guns! But, too fancy and too expensive for what they are!
Where would Kimber and its ilk be without the genius of John Browning? Until Kimber can create an entirely new pistol platform that takes handguns the next step forward, it is just milking an old sacred cow, costly bells and whistles notwithstanding.
lol this is really your criticism of a company that makes incredible 1911’s ? “oh this company is crap because they didn’t invent their own design”
gimme a break and enjoy the beauty of the 1911.
No argument from me…the M1911 is a work of art, and should be enjoyed for what it is…the best .45 ACP out there in most instances. My other comment covers the only change I’d like to see…but it is not necessary for me to enjoy what I have now. My range mates sometimes make fun of me, the troglodyte, but funny enough, they all want to shoot my Kimber, which they claim “shoots itself.” Not exactly…it simply enables what skill one might have to be emphasized. Yep, I bring 150-200+ plus rounds to the range and about half or more is used up by the “kids.” Are they really convinced that the M1911 Kimber makes me a decent shot? Or just all too used to their pistols with sloppy lagging triggers and ammo fussiness? Please. Just please…I carried a M1911, government issue, in 1968-1971 and used if frequently…crude as those models were, they still performed come hell or high water…usually both.
Cliff, As they say, “beauty is only skin-deep.” The cosmetics industry has made a fortune off such vanity. It is also said “a fool and his money are soon parted.” Truth is, your expensive Browning knock-off with its lizard scales and 500–round break-in won’t perform dramatically better than the Colt 1911 I carry every day. For the purpose for which it was intended, it is hard to improve upon the form and function of Browning’s original 1911 design. If you want to shoot paper, bowling pins or whatever with a gussied-up gun to impress yourself and your buddies that is your choice. I’m not saying the “company is crap,” I’m just saying it is unoriginal and is trading on another man’s genius. Colt has remained true to John Browning’s original design.
I hope the sapphire finish on the Kimber Solo allows it to function reliably with varied 9mm bullet weights/loads.
Had a Kimber Solo once, for a week,sold it to an unsuspecting fool,went with a Sig p938,shoots anything I put in it
Exactly!! The 938 much better than the Solo in my experience and opinion.
That wss about how long I had mine before trading for my 938. Besides being very finicky, I never could get the last round in the magazine. Even my gumsmith, a big guy with thunder thumbs, could get the last round in.
While the presentation of most of Kimbers 1911’s is beautiful, I really think the company has failed miserably in the way the laser equipped 1911’s are done. The second last picture in this article shows it exactly. To expect people to pay WAY north of $1000. and give them a gun that looks like the laser is taped on with electrical tape. Come on guys, you REALLY can’t engineer side grips who’s controls are hidden?
Kimbers not the only one either, I just resent the attitude of Mfg’s that tell you, “Hey people, buy my wonderful product even though we’ve engineered a design “feature” that looks like crap”
you realize that those laser grips are made by Crimson Trace, and not Kimber right?
besides, who cares what the grip laser looks like when you’re aiming it at an intruder?
fashion before function, i suppose, huh?
Of course Crimson Trace makes them but Kimber specs them. Side squeeze doesn’t have to look like an electrical tape “Make” project.
There are plenty of much lower priced but yet VERY reliable 1911’s that you could use for intruder protection and not care all that much what it looks like, but when you pay a Cadillac price, you expect Cadillac quality in ALL of the details.
I still submit engineering people need to collaborate
Um, why bell the end for threading? Why not just provide a threaded version? And, a non threaded tapered version? Or, just the threaded version, since it is 300 blkout?
Why leave it to the consumer to risk their nice new barrel and suppressor to a possibly misaligned job? Surely, Kimber machines could do the best job possible.
not sure i understand your question? It is threaded with a removable cap. the shoulder gives it a good seat for the suppressor. The cap gives it a nice finished look for those that don’t wish to use a suppressor.
Jeffrey… Just remember, when selling guns to the high-end crowd (think Coach, Louis V, etc) form outweighs function. IF it looks “cute”, they buy. If it looks “cute” and costs a lot, they buy and envy their frineds into buying… The jewel line is exctly the way to get the twitter brain, instagram following, “What’s up with the whomever..” market to buy a gun… Which, I must say, is one of my nightmares… THAT crowd, all plastic and silicone on the brain, carrying a concealable gun… They might want to be a “good guy” but who knows who or what would get shot???!!!
ah yes, more of the “i don’t care for it so it must not be good” commentary. come back when you have something of substance to add.
Don’t get upset because these other people’s opinions are hating on your new Saphire !
You go girl!
When a company’s designers and (mostly these to blame) marketing department bigwigs look to “improve” their product line they comes up with gimmicks instead of genuine machinery genius. Really now, is finishing a handgun’s slide in sapphire the best Kimber can do in being innovative? Reminds of the handgun with the absolutely useless clear side plate so people can watch the action move. Yep, that was a real Dilbert engineering moment, too.
It may not be “mechanical genius” but it is marketing genius since the fastest growing market segment is female shooters. My wife loves her Kimber Sapphire!
bingo! Kimber is being smart by adding SKU’s that appeal to the rapidly growing female segment of the shooting market.
Good on them for recognizing and adapting. shame on Jeffrey Frishckorn for thinking Kimber has to cater only to his needs/idea of innovation.
I have a DPMS AR-15 with 16 inch barrel in 5.56x45mm which I fire occasionally with an 8″ long, 20 oz. Liberty “Torch” suppressor installed. The suppressor does not change the point of impact or the dispersion at 100 yards.
Wonder how adding the weight of a silencer at the end of that barrel will impact the zero? And when it is removed, does the rifle require sighting in once more?
Wonder how adding the weight of a silencer at the end of that barrel will impact the zero? And when it is removed, does the rifle require sighting in once more?
Welcome to about every suppressor ever. Surprise…it has a shift in POI.
I didn’t use to think that the point of aim changed much, but I have an AR that changes drastically with a KAC suppressor on it. Consistantly accurate with or without, just way different POI. Same every time that I wrote down the scope adjustments and you can dial it back in with just a few rounds.
I have a 16 oz suppressor. On the end of a rifle with a thin sporter barrel I get a four inch drop at 100yd. The other rifle it gets used on is a heavy bull barrel, and there is almost no change to point of impact.
“With the cap removed you can see the flat behind the threads to help support a suppressor.”
That is what is commonly referred to as a “shoulder”.
With the cap removed you can see that they machined a shoulder behind the threads to help support a suppressor.