Kimber announced the KDS9c this week at the NRA show, so we swung by to check it out! This is what I’d call a hybrid style gun, with what’s effectively a 1911 slide, hammer, and trigger on top of a 7075 aluminum frame that’s very much not 1911-like.

Nicely sculpted and very ergonomic, the frame holds a 15-round magazine. The resulting package is very good-looking and lightweight, and should make for a great carry option for the customer who loves a 1911 trigger (and the KDS9c’s was fantastic), external hammer, and manual safety but wants higher capacity.

The KDS9c is due to start shipping in August. Video and photos below:

 

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52 COMMENTS

  3. It seems every time someone tries a 9mm 1911, reliability goes straight to hell… 🙁

    • Springfield EMP begs to differ. Also available in .40. (But not a double stack.) My 9mm EMP is a joy to shoot, it is accurate, and it has been completely reliable. So yes, it can be done, as long as you start your design from the ground up. Since this new Kimber is not only a double stack but lacks a grip safety as well, I suspect Kimber did also.

    • My Dan Wesson Valor has never had a malfunction as long as I’ve had it, well over a thousand rounds through it now.

  4. Very Nice Looking, how does it perform?…Probably couldn’t piece one together for less. Like the no grip safety backstrap, like the manual safety, barrel, etc. Like the fact the hen pecked finger pointing busse left Kimber and teamed up with biden and the giffords, a match made Gun Control Rot…wonder what busse would say about the spaceman’s failed attempt at a straw purchase?

  5. Why did they make the barrel like that, I would want more meat on a 1911 style gunm barrel not less.
    Sometimes I think the gunm manufacturers are going more for the way it looks then the way it performs. Kinda like a fishing lure.

  7. Looks like it’s 5.7 and not so much 9mm lol. That grip is huge.

    Also, if it needs a mounting plate to house a red dot that’s an instant no go for me. No reason to have a slim slide design when the rest of your gun is huge. It’s disproportionate. It also causes those co-witness/suppressor height irons to be ridiculously tall.

    I suspect they will sell about 10 of these.

  9. It’ll make it more of a “fun challenge” to get the rust out of the recesses, like my buddy’s Stainless II with the, um, mill-finished STEEL barrel. But wait, it’s got a Stainless bushing !! Yee ha !!

    • that was a response to possum… looks like “reply to” only works sporadically now also.

      • The comment about the steel barrels is more or less true… for a whole lot more$ you can get a MatchKimber with a stainless barrel, or for a couple hundred less$ you can get a Ruger (and others) with a stainless barrel.

        • Also, I’d be surprised if DanWesson doesn’t file for patent infringement on their DWX.

    • I wish the stainless version would have gone into production. From what I understand, they’re dropping production of the model when they’re done moving to Georgia.

  12. First, I’ve owned a couple of Kimber 1911s. Still have one that I’ve carried many a weary mile. That said, 9mm 1911s are a blasphemy. Especially a double stack one. I will give a nod to 38 Super in some Latin American countries.

    • Hey Gadsen, I still own the only Kimber I’ve ever had (model 84 in 6PPC), I think the older stuff before the move from Oregon are the only REAL Kimbers.
      Ive also owned “Jeeps” built by at least five different entities and probably wouldnt touch a current “Stellantis” version. Also agree that a 1911in 9mm should be punishable under Federal Law.

        • I saw a restored Scout on the road last year. Had to look twice, but sure as shootin’…

          As for Chrysler products, your friendly neighborhood repair shop owner says run and hide, although a good part of my business comes from fixing them. 4Runners, yes but wash them well with underspray regularly in the winter if you live in a road salt region.

  13. The stainless looks nice but the barrel makes me think ‘blunderbuss hand cannon’. Is it worth the price? For my tastes, a Springfield Emissary would be a better buy.

    • As someone on this site you should know that Springfield betrayed all gun owners – this site broke that news story.

      And Springfield never apologized.

  14. 1.33 inches wide. Carry it at 3 o’clock and it will look like you have a tumor on your hip. Kahr does it in 0.95 inch albeit with half the capacity. Sig’s P365 does it in 1.0 inch.

  17. Hybrid style gun?
    Yeah it seems these days everybody likes using that word a lot because everything is hybrid including half the population.😱

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