The J Frame-size magnum revolver has been the quintessential backup gun for decades. And for a good reason. They’re easy to carry, fast to deploy and pack a heck of a punch. Kimber, known for their mid-market 1911s, got into the wheelgun game a few years ago with their version of the powerful snubby. Unsurprisingly, it met with great success. The demand is still strong. This year, they’ve stepped up the class on a classic with their Kimber K6s DCR (Deluxe Carry Revolver) . . .
Day-um this gun is purdy. Jon Wayne likes ’em short and stout and I think maybe Kimber had me in mind for the Kimber K6s Deluxe Carry Revolver. The all-stainless snubby is satin polished, with a hazy mirror finish on the entire gun. It’s even throughout, like a perfectly polished show car.
The K6s’ logo-adorned rosewood grips are deeply and fully checkered. As they should be. I have no desire for soft rubber grips on a revolver, and certainly not on a magnum caliber snubbie.
Your experience may vary, but mine is born of my own experience with the PAC timer and my J Frame. My times are consistently faster with solid grips, either hardwood or G10, than they are with something spongy like a Hogue rubber grip. The Kimber’s wooden grips hold well in the hand and look great but — there’s a bit of a gap in the top of the backstrap where the grip meets the frame. It’s barely there, but it’s there.
I really dig the heavy full length lug under the Kimber’s barrel. Beyond giving the gun a bit of a bulldog look, it puts some much needed weight near the muzzle. It also smooths out the front from a rounded profile, helping make the gun comfortable for conceal and carry.
The K6s’ cylinder release is large, well positioned and textured. I had no problem reaching it with my firing hand thumb, and I never failed to miss it without looking . It would be hard to really. Reach too far and your thumb will likely slide off the cylinder right down onto the release.
Press the release, swing the cylinder out, hammer the ejector with your support hand, and watch that beautiful brass tumble to the floor. To complete the reload, Kimber includes a single speed-strip with the K6s. It holds the cartridges in tightly and releases them quickly once inserted. Feed the round into the empty cylinder, then pull up on the tab to release it. Repeat until full.
Opening up the gun, I was a bit disappointed. There are tool marks and unpolished metal throughout.
Yes, this is kind of like caring about the polish that goes inside my watch that no one will ever see. But polishing the internals displays an overall commitment to quality that I wish I saw inside the DCR. After all, this is the “deluxe” model.
What surprised and impressed me with the K6s: the sights. First of all, there are sights, plural. The front sight is a large bright red fiber optic front sight that pops out in any light. Not just because it’s bright, but also because it sits a little higher on the frame than most revolvers of this size.
The top of the K6s’ frame is grooved — probably just for style points. More importantly, it ends with a proper ramped rear sight. The rear sight is serrated and flat on the back, with a U shaped notch. It’s drift adjustable for windage.
The whole sight set up works great. As soon as I press the revolver forward that front sight pops right into view. Held steady I see just a bit of my target on either side of the rear window.
The sights are larger than most J Frame sights, and yet they never snagged or got caught when drawn from a holster.
I tried drawing the K6s from my back pocket with and without a holster (unfortunately, people do that). I also brought the revolver to bear from my coat pocket, boot, and belt holsters. Again, the draw was smooth, without any catches or snags.
The trigger is the heart of any double-action-only revolver. Kimber’s K6s’ go-pedal is smooth and just light enough at 10lbs to keep the muzzle still during the cycle –if you do your job with your grip. The shoe itself is a tad bit narrow for my tastes, but its polished curvature works well for the platform.
The trigger feel is a bit different from other revolvers. There are three distinct clicks during the cycle. Under careful, slow fire the first two clicks seem like they’re miles apart. The second and third are not. When you hit that third click, the hammer is falling. After click two, hammer-fall feels inevitable.
Those clicks are there, but I hesitate to call them stops or hang-ups. Yes, I can certainly feel and hear them. But with a smooth pull the trigger travels right through them. Obviously, they’re most notable in slow fire. In fast fire the clicks pretty much disappear into one solid action straight back into the gun.
In .38SPL or .38SPL+P, the K6s is a comfortable shooter. In .357 Magnum, it is not. Not with any commercial load or with any grip.
I shoot almost every day. I’ve been a magnum revolver shooter for about 30 years. I’ve carried a J Frame for 20 of those. I’m used to revolvers. I’m used to recoil. This is something else. This thing hurts. Three cylinders in and the web of my thumb was aching. A full 50 round box of Magtech 158gr JSPs and I was bruised, cut and bleeding on the gun.
The pretty little gun has a fairly high bore axis. Couple that with a high, sharp turn at the top of the backstrap and the natural point of the firing hand puts the web of your thumb right there at that turn. A proper crossed thumbs double crush grip will anchor your support hand behind this point. Once you pull that trigger and light it off, the light weight gun, driven by a magnum powder charge, drives the top of that backstrap into the hand sharply.
Held like this, I’m taking a visit to pain city. However, the high, double handed crossed thumbs grip you need on this gun is doing its job. Recoil drives the gun in a line back into the hand, with relatively little muzzle rise, considering the cartridge.
Single handed with a full pressure .357 Magnum load, the gun is shootable, but barely, and too slow to recover for follow up shots.
If the recoil is too much for you, you can increase shooting comfort by lowering your grip on the revolver. This will bring that sharp point of the backstrap above the web of your thumb, which helps with the pain of shooting. It’s still uncomfortable, dramatically increases muzzle rise and diminishes overall control. Not worth it.
If you’re going to spend some magnum time on the range with this pocket atom bomb, wear gloves.
Federal Premium’s Micro HST was an excellent performer in the K6s The round achieves higher pressure by setting the hollow point bullet completely back into the casing. The mouth (because a point this hollow doesn’t have a nose) doesn’t protrude from the case at all. Weird looking, but great performing, equaling that of many 9X19mm loads.
This is one of the newer cartridges specifically designed for the J frame revolver. With a tight single-handed grip I could fire the full cylinder of these rounds into a silhouette at seven yards in just a few of seconds.
I put 300 rounds through the gun without issue. The first 100 in .357 Magnum, the last 200 in .38SPL+P. I shot commercial rounds from Magtech, Federal and Hornady and a quite a few of my own reloads of different types and weights.
Not surprisingly, I had no issues with loading, firing, feeding or ejecting at any time. Looking at the forcing cone and the top strap, there doesn’t appear to be any cutting or wear to the revolver. Nor would I expect there to be.
Great sights and a good trigger made for an unexpectedly high level of precision.
The inexpensive but more than adequate Magtech 158gr JSP in .357 Magnum printed consistent 2 ¾” five round groups at 25 yards on average for four groups. The Hornady 135gr Critical Duty .357 Magnum round scored even better, with a 2 1/2” average. Oddly enough, not a single .38SPL round I tried in this gun shot as well as the .357 Magnums. That Federal Premium round that was fast, easy, and plenty powerful, printed 3 3/4” groups, and none of my hand loads did much better.
Although painful to shoot, the .357 Magnum is manageable enough for a single cylinder and accurate even in quick fire. Pulling the target in to 15 yards, I focused on putting a cylinder’s worth of fury into the 9 ring in five seconds or less. Shooting 4” magnum powered groups off hand at this rate is completely doable. My results would certainly be eclipsed by a more competent shooter but man, I don’t care who you are, at that rate of fire, the gun takes meat on both ends.
I applaud Kimber for stepping into a crowded market long dominated by Smith & Wesson. The K6s DCR is much more attractive than most of the pocket magnums on the market, with a trigger any of their competitors would envy. The well thought out sights — something most J Frames overlook entirely — are a big bonus.
I’d carry the Kimber K6s any day, in .38SPL+P, and not feel the tiniest bit under-armed. I could draw and fire the gun quickly, single handed, from any position, and be confident that I would strike my target accurately with every round. Hiking or hunting is the only time I’d likely fill the cylinder with .357 Magnums, and hope I’d never have to use it.
SPECIFICATIONS: Kimber K6s DCR
Calibers: .357 Magnum/.38 Special
Height (inches): 4.46
Weight (ounces) with empty cylinder: 23
Length (inches): 6.62
Width (inches): 1.39
Cylinder capacity: 6
Action: DAO
Frame Material: Stainless steel
Finish: Satin Silver
Barrel Length (inches): 2
Material: Stainless steel
Sights: Fiber optic
Sight Radius (inches): 4.1
Grips: Laminated rosewood
Trigger Factory setting (approx. pounds: – 9.5-10.5)
MSRP: $1,088
Ratings (out of five stars):
Style and Finish * * * * 1/2
The satin sheen of the stainless steel is executed exceptionally well. The grips are a great choice in both color, texture and style. Kimber had to do something other than put “Kimber” on the gun to stand out, and the beauty of the gun does exactly that. That said, if you’re going to call an upmarket revolver Deluxe, it should be deluxe inside and out.
Customization * *
You may want to change the grips, and you could actually change the sights. Don’t change the sights. But pay what it costs to have custom grips made. You’ll thank me.
Reliability * * * * *
Perfect in all functions. Zero surprises.
Accuracy * * * * *
In a powerhouse round, Kimber’s snubby delivered sub 3″ five-round average groups at 25 yards for any and every round tested. Many were considerably better. Stepping down to the .38SPL it suffered, but given the accuracy of the .357 Magnum rounds, I believe I haven’t found the right .38SPL round.
Overall * * * * 1/2
It’s pretty. It carries very well. It handles exceptionally well. It has a different but great trigger. Reliability wasn’t a surprise but accuracy was. Yes, it’s painful and frankly damaging (to the shooter) to fire in .357 Magnum. Half a star off for rough internals and an imperfect wood-to-metal fit.
I agree with the Article, being a biased old Vet, I have neither the time nor energy to dance a few round with a young guy. Once a life threatening threat registers, at that point Everything is up for grabs because I will Kill the threat. and take my chance with twelve!
So, the main differences between this and the original are the sights, finish, and grips?
The LCR is not made for home protection, or aggressive target shooting beyond 25 yards. It is a well manufactured weapon that is produced for concealed carry, and self defence at minimal distance. For this purpose, it is, in my opinion, one of the finest weapons on the market today. I find that the “stay on target” ability of my LCR is magnificent, to say the least, with 38 special loads. I think that the writer would have shot a much tighter group had he used 38 rounds before shooting in 357. Perhaps he was unintentionally moving with the expectations of the rough ride that the 357s will definitely give. I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I can only tell you that I shoot GREAT groups with my LCR at 15 yards, and I don’t think that shooting at anything any farther than that, would really qualify as self defense where I live. I love my LCR, and carry it every day in the summer, when my 45 would just print too much. I however have different guns for home defense and fun at the range.
Pretty much lose any ballistic advantage with a 2″ barrel. I’ve seen and held Kimber revolvers. Not my thing…
Have been boycotting the “RAP” crap since is was first created to annoy whitie. Many many years of great “black” music existed so how did such bilge “succeed” other than under PT Barnums theory?
That 6.6 pound weight for the 12 bore is appealing. The aluminum receiver is the primary reason I stick with my Mossberg 500. Weight counts when you get older and are chasing the quail thru the thick stuff. I will, on occasion, break out one of my single shots just for the weight savings.
In contrast my Beretta Pintail feels like a brick. One piece steel receiver and barrel.
It’s hard to keep track of who all I’m boycotting. Fortunately, many of them, in whatever field, suck anyway. So, simple avoidance tends to overlap with boycotts.
We rarely watch new movies; we don’t even have cable. So I am far out of the know on who the current celebrities even are.
Way ahead of you Robbie. I even boycott anti-gun gun companies.
My daughter loves her pink camo 7mm08 .
But then she hunts free range deer, on her own by figuring out travel patterns , Identifying or creating funnels, hanging a stand ,hunting the wind , but equally important the thermals .
The reason pink camo is on store shelves is because it sells .The fact that it irritates some makes it appealing to me as well .
I passively boycott most of this stuff, since I don’t listen to a lot of mainstream music, rarely go the movies and don’t watch pro sports.
Hitting celebs in the wallet is an effective message, although Hollywood has not fully absorbed the message sent by Miss Sloan’s Gigli level box office numbers. The NFL may have some clue after 2017.
So it does what a Keltec P11 or a SCCY does?!? Sure I guess…
No…Instead I watched Mark Dice’s take on this “Non-Mensa, Hollyweird, Commie club…”
https://youtu.be/JyOdZUTAUvs
Generally, action beats reaction. You have to wonder how the victim managed to draw his pistol, aim and fire before the guy with the shotgun. Moved to cover? Entered bullet-time?
Enuff with gun control they would be screaming as their getting raped and chopped to pieces because they were too stupid to have a plan of self defense….or they are the type with 24hr armed guards with lots of guns!
They are too stupid to know when they ring 911 they are calling for LOTS of GUNS and Artillery…. not Cops armed with rape whistles to whistle a tune as they are ganged raped and beat to death.
This is what happens when ur too stupid to talk and form a sentence with logic.
Texas has some of the MOST RESTRICTIVE rules for obtaining that LTC. In the 11 criteria listed in the law, it includes paying all your taxes on time. Or else no LTC. Why Texans continue to allow this infringement I have no idea.
http://www.texaschl.us/eligibility.htm
“Day said Hill told Marshall, “I’m not worried about what you have. You have birdshot. I have buckshot.””
And neither one of you apparently had a brain cell between you…
This points to the need for eliminating ALL New York and New York City gun control laws. No more licensing schemes.
ZHIgxNoTGe5s Ratione minus cumque soluta eos. Nemo velit praes
who would go to new york
conservatives arent welcome there
says who
the governor
his exact words:
“conservative Republicans … have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”
yay now we can start putting 16.5″ barrels and rifle stocks on them
So, if all firearms have to be locked up, how does a 14 year-old baby sitter protect him/herself and the children under his/her care when a violent scumbag comes calling?
Think that doesn’t happen? Not only do violent attackers strike when teens are baby sitting, those teen baby sitters have actually used firearms to drive-off their violent attacker and successfully protect the children under their care.
You gots heavy blood loss? Stick your bowie in the fire til its red hot………
If haters aren’t hating, you’re doing it wrong.
Appears like a decent firearm, however, somewhat overwhelming and too substantial a trigger. Would be more intrigued by this in the event that it was a 327 Fed
This gun makes much more sense in the (newer) 3″ barrel length for many reasons, especially when loading it with .357. There is one question I see answered in none of the reviews of the Kimber K6S line, though, viz. what kind of internal drop safety, if any, does it have? Both S&W and Ruger have their firing pin block or transfer bar, even with shrouded hammers. I can’t tell from the photo of the Kimber sans side plate what is at work there. Anyone have that information?
Just looked at 3 of the 3″ K6 revolver the barrel finish was atrocious, many dimples and stutter marks, could not get past that to make a purchase, if the exterior was this shoddy can’t imagine the parts you can’t see. Typical of Kimbers arrogance.
I just purchased this beauty, and as a CCW holder , here in California, this will be my concealed carry weapon…I have been around firearms since I was nine years old, and have experienced everything from 22’s to 454 Casulls….and everything in between..This is one fine revolver, but as has been said, ad nauseam, this gun just plain hurts when shooting any 357 load….period….My first loads were 158 gr Feds…..big mistake!….and on to 125’s and it still hurt , a lot…..I have a Smith model 29 3 inch, non fluted that doesn’t hurt nearly as much, even when putting 240 grains through it…..What this Kimber really liked was Federal Premium 38 ( Plus P) 129 grain Hydra-shok, JHP…….so that is what is going to be used, until if and when I can find something better….And, as has been said…….for hunting, and hiking (I live in Mammoth lakes, Ca, in the Eastern Sierra, where hiking and hunting is a way of life)…I will carry this 2 in with 357’s aboard…..or ….just move up to my Smith Model 65 3 inch stainless….It handles 357’s very well..in fact, my wife shoots it better than I do!…Thanks for such an excellent review….it is spot on accurate…..respectfully. ” Cactus sends”…..Humble Naval Aviator and carrier fighter pilot, Vietnam…….F4 driver, off of Connie and Ranger………………….r/dm
I have the 3in barrel version. There doesn’t seem to be any appreciable difference between .38 +p loads and .357 110 gr hollow points, honestly; they’re both very comfortable to shoot. (158 gr .357 are very hard on the hand, I admit, way too powerful for this relatively small gun.) I haven’t tried 125 gr. .357 loads yet, but I’ve read that they are not only doable but recommended for this size gun for their manageability combined with their superior stopping power. I think I’ll be buying a box soon.
I’ve been pocket-carrying an earlier version of this gun for many months. I moved up from a Taurus 85, an older and decent one, but going to the Kimber was like stepping from an old VW Bug and into a Porsche 911.
Probably the first owner hated shooting .357s from it, because it was barely fired and I saved $200 from the going prices around here. I found it not as bad as the author did, at least for my own .357 mid-power reloads.
For carry, it’s excellent with .38 +p. Hornady Critical defense penetrates and expands well from the Kimber (check the Lucky Gunner ballistics on that). Recoil is negligible too, even after a few cylinders worth. Milder .38s are to me like shooting .22 LR from this handgun, but it has some flash and noise, even then.
Though pocket-carry purists think the rubber grips are bad news, I find they don’t catch on my pants pocket with a good holster. And they reduce recoil more than this model’s pretty wooden grips.
BTW, I’m not a Kimber fanboy. I dig Rugers and older S&W guns. Kimber 1911s are very nice but I’m into working guns, not race-guns. But this thing is a great tool, with a DAO trigger to match. The LCR’s is excellent, too, but I wanted a heavier gun and a 6th round is a nice option. Colt’s new bobbed-hammer Cobra is a good option, too, but it’s more expensive.
Find one if you can to try out. If you like snubbie wheel guns, you’ll enjoy this one. If not, you may be pleasantly surprised.