Jay Langston Photo

The hottest trend in firearms over the past four years is the sub-compact semi-auto, and Kimber’s R7 Mako has jumped squarely into the frenzy.

 

This trend really got started when Sig Sauer’s P365 launched, with its sub-4-inch barrel, 4-inch height, 6-inch length and double-stack 9mm capacities. Several companies have followed with their own micro 9s.

Mako Shark

To understand the significance of Kimber naming this new 9mm the “Mako,” a closer look at the finned killer’s stats. The fish species takes its name from the Polynesian Maori language, and its derivation is the generic name of all sharks in several Polynesian languages. Interestingly enough the Shortfin Mako may be considered the champion among all shark species. It is the fastest shark, clocked at nearly 50 miles per hour, it wields the strongest bite at 13,000 Newtons, and they’re big and smart, too. They can grow to more than a ton, and they have the biggest brain-to-body ratio of all sharks. Nice job picking a name, Kimber.

Ain’t No Baby Shark

This Kimber bites with force, too. It snacks on +P 9mm loads with relish and can be counted to put rounds on target.

Something New

The R7 MAKO is Kimber’s first polymer-framed, striker-fired, high-capacity, subcompact handgun. They’ve been building and selling 1911-pattern pistols since 1995. The Mako isn’t Kimber’s first striker-fired pistol. Their EVO series was launched in 2019. EVO pistols are 9mm Para. cal., striker fired, and feature an aluminum frame. These were single-stack 9s, with a 3.16-inch stainless steel match grade barrel with deep crown and carried 7 shots.

Designed to compete with the best, the R7 MAKO is outfitted with today’s most desired features providing superior out-of-the-box performance, according to Kimber experts. The R7 MAKO family comes standard with high contrast TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights, ambidextrous controls, and a flat faced trigger. The optic ready (OR) model comes with its slide milled to accept micro red dot optics.

I’ll Take Mine Plain

I had a choice between a Crimson Trace-wearing Mako or the plain iron-sighted pistol when I began this writing assignment, and it seemed that most writers were going the optic route. Always a contrarian, I opted for the irons.

A Few More Details

A few of the R7 Mako’s stats include a total height of 4.3 inches and 19½ ounces without a magazine. Loaded with a 10-round magazine, the Mako tips the scales at a tad over 25 ounces. Its length is a hair under 6 ¼ inches.

Frame material is polymer plastic that gets a molded stippling treatment. This pistol is “grippy,” and feels good in the hands. Magazine choice also comes into play if you’ve got big hands. Kimber claims to have an 11-round standard magazine, but the magazine only shows a 10-round window. The R7 I received has the standard magazine and a flush-fit 11-rounder. My pinky finger completely hangs off the bottom of the 11-round flush magazine, and the extended magazine is only marginally better. Even though the grip was not ideal for my paws, the stippling did its job and kept the pistol secure while firing. Kimber offers a 13-round extended magazine, and I’ll be picking more of these up soon at $40 a pop.

The R7 is easy to hide under a shirt, with its 1-inch width at the grip. The slide material is stainless steel, with their FNC coating. The barrel measures 3.37 inches and is stainless as well. It’s got a 1:10-inch left-hand twist.

Iron sights are 3-dot TruGlo Tritium Pro Nights sights, and the front ring is high-visibility orange. The rear sights offer twin dots to help center up the rear sight slot in a hurry.

Kimber claims their R7 triggers are set between 5.5- and 6.75 pounds at the factory. The pistol tested dropped the striker at 5 pounds, 2 ounces every time for five measurements.

The author on the range with the Kimber R7 Mako. He found the gun to be a reliable and accurate shooter. Jay Langston Photo

Range Time

Any gun needs to be broken in, so to speak. To give this Kimber a chance to excel I first ran 200 rounds of handloaded 115-grain hardball through it while I plinked at steel. Next came a good scrubbing. Then, it was time to try four 9mm loads to see what the pistol could do at 25 yards from a rest.

I chose four loads; two from Hornady and two from Federal.

Hornady’s first load was their 115-grain jacketed hollow-point, and they performed reasonably well. Aside from one called flyer, 15 rounds stayed inside the 5-ring of an official 15-yard Slow Fire target. The best five-shot group measured 2.87 inches.

Next up was Hornady’s 135-grain +P Critical Defense. This load kept 15 rounds under 3.8 inches, and the best five-shot group measured 2.525 inches.

Federal’s 100-round “practice and defend” package of 9mm consists of 50 147-grain HST and 50 rounds of Syntech coated training rounds. I don’t like finding boxes of half-empty ammo on my shelf, so I didn’t quit shooting groups with the Federal until it was all gone. All 100 rounds stayed inside a 5-inch circle at 25 yards. The HST’s best group measured 2.212 inches, and the Syntech rounds’ best measured 2.354 inches.

After the “long-range” session, I closed the distance to 7 yards and sent a few five-shot groups down range. Every group with every load stayed under 1¼ inches while shooting without a rest. I was impressed.

I am happy to report that the Kimber R7 Mako ran like a sewing machine. I never experienced a failure to feed through 400 rounds fired. Carried in a Desantis holster, the R7 conceals well. I opted for their Mini-Scabbard model, which fits both Optics and Optics-Ready R7 models.

Final Thoughts

One is left to wonder if the R7 Mako will befall its namesake shark’s inability to survive captivity or flourish in today’s concealed carry marketplace. I’m betting on the latter.

PERFORMANCE

Load/Smallest (ins.)                                      Weight (grains)             Velocity (fps)

Federal HST                                                      147                          992                      2.212

Federal Syntech                                                150                          975                      2.354

Hornady JHP                                                     115                         1,080                   2.870

Hornady Critical Defense                                   135                          980                      2.525

Kimber R7 Mako OR

SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Kimber Manufacturing

Model: R7 Mako

Caliber: 9mm

Height: 4.3 ins.

Weight without magazine: 19.5 ozs.

Length: 6.20 ins.

Magazine capacity: 11 Round Standard Flush, 13 Round Extended

Captured Recoil Spring Assembly

Frame Material: Polymer with serialized steel central block

Finish: Molded Stippling

Width: 1.0 ins. at grip

SLIDE Material: Stainless

Barrel Length 3.37 ins.

Twist rate (left hand): 1:10 Left

Iron Sights: 3-Dot TruGlo Tritium Pro

MSRP: $599

Check out more of Jay Langston’s pistol reviews here: Shootingsavvy.com

Check out Ammo To Go, the ammunition retail sponsor of TTAG gun reviews. Get your bulk and quality ammo for a bargain by visiting their site. 

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19 COMMENTS

  4. All those micros are a bit snappy. I’ve shot several. You want small deal with it🙄

      • “They make some ported versions now.”

        It tames muzzle flip at the expense of some velocity.

        In my opinion, on a really short barrel, you really need all the velocity you can get…

  5. Cheaper then I imagined.
    135gr, 147gr, 150gr, 980,992, 975.
    But 38spl ain’t no good?
    Of course you need a lot of emu capacity with a 9mm, it takes at least two shots to get the job done.
    If I were to buy a Kimber it’d be .45acp.

    • Regrettably, the only real options for “compact” 45 acp right now with respectable capacity are the Glock 30 and the RIA copies of the P10 Warthog.
      Someone really ought to make a double stack subcompact in 45 on the 2011 platform.

      • Getting 2011s in .45 to run is historically a giant PITA. Kind of like single stacks hate .40, double stacks hate .45.

      • S&W m&p 45c aint bad for what it is, specially since it’ll take full size mags too.
        I agree though, the warthog before para was bought out was the .45 to carry.

  6. I’ve owned Kimber firearms for years. Carried their 1911 on duty. Still own one and a Montana in .270 that shoots like a house on fire.
    Funny story. I was at the shop one day filling my patrol car. My LT was doing the same. For some reason he asked about my pistol. He asked if it was on the approved list. (We could choose our duty weapon from an approved list of manufacturers in approved calibers). I said, “No, it’s a Kimber.” He got on my ass. No problem. I have several 1911 pistols manufactured by approved manufacturers that are approved and I always qualified with all of them. Free ammo and I’m paid to shoot it. Why not. Besides, I was the head firearms instructor for the agency. I drove straight home and put the Kimber in the safe and put a fully engraved Colt series 80 with ivory grips in my holster. When I saw him next I asked, “How you like me now?” Thing is, I had to show him how to disassemble his Ruger P 85 so he could clean it. He was fired when he tested positive for cocaine and THC in an a random test. There are pieces of shit in any profession.

    • That’s the kinda story I like.
      Not about the coke but about the ” how you like me now.”
      Sounds like something I would do if I could afford to by a gunm with Happy the Elephant teeth on it, but NO, thanx to the Greatest President America Has or Ever Will Have,Joseph Robinett Biden, all I can afford is shotgunm shells and I can only get them two at a time. I wish that BoogieMan would go back to wrestling and quit hanging around underneath the balcony. And just like Dad said on the coyotes, “They’ll get used to you shooting in the air to scare’m off.”
      Sure nuff, just like them crow cannons in a pecan timber, only the coyotes don’t catch on as quick.

  8. Neat little gun…but didn’t it come out like 3 years ago? This write-up makes it come off as fresh and new.

    I had a Solo about 10 years ago. Cute little thing, very well machined, but if you didn’t hold it juuuuuuust right with the right ammo you’d get a FTF. Traded it off for a G26 and never looked back. Bigger gun but far less finicky with grip and ammo.

    • I unfortunately was part of the Solo experiment as well. What a bill of goods sold on us! Looked great, but then, failure to feed and eject galore. But Kimber stepped up….. and promptly blamed all of us owners for not being man enough to hold it correctly. All of us – all 100% of us. It rivaled Rem’s R51 issues. It went years. Finally, after they quietly disco’d the gun and replaced it with a new model with a different name, and after warranty had expired… Kimber decided to have a fix. At a price of course! I sent mine in. Cant remember what it cost, but whatever, it was fixed and I got it back. Got to put a WHOLE full mag through the gun for the first time since I bought it. Meh…. not great. Didn’t fail, but not a great gun in anyway. Wont sell it – because I wont peddle bad products onto others just to make myself right. I’ve never sold a firearm, its not what collectors do, but this one make me think twice. (note: I dont fault anyone for selling theirs)

      Long story short. Kimber sucks. Wont ever own one again. Will actively encourage others to not own one as well. I own every other brand and collect, but Kimber will not get another dollar. Dont blame your clients

  9. ANY gun that requires “breaking in” and doesn’t function with 100% reliability right out of the box should be considered defective. If you, as many over the years have suggested, believe you need to fire 200-500 rounds before your gun functions flawlessly, you are just enabling manufacturers to alibi an inferior product. If you object to the need for an expensive “break in” just buy a revolver or a Glock and save yourself time and money while sparing yourself the aggravation of owning something that doesn’t work like it should.

  10. Owning a Kimber is how you tell someone you’re a boomer without explicitly saying it out loud.

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