Kimber Ultra RCP II .45 ACP

The Kimber Ultra Carry models are the company’s smallest pistols sporting 3 inch barrels.  Now, in my last review I evaluated a three inch barreled 1911 model pistol and was fairly unhappy with it because of two major issues one of which was accuracy; despite the pistol’s excellent sights it was just did not shoot to point of aim for me which is very frustrating.  As you will see I am very pleased with all aspects of the Kimber Custom Shop’s RCP II including the accuracy and that is in spite of the fact that this pistol does not have sights (at least not in the usual sense).   The acronym RCP stands for Refined Carry Pistol and the refinement process involves making this handgun accurate, snag free and easy to carry. 

 In other words Kimber is trying to make this pistol the ultimate concealed carry weapon.  However, being accurate without sights sounds like  a conflicting mission but the Kimber Custom Shop actually manages to pull this off and here’s how they did it:

1.  1. For accuracy they put a match quality barrel on the slide

2.  2. To make it snag free the Custom Shop bobbed the hammer and gave the pistol a complete “carry melt” job.  You will not find a sharp edge anywhere on the pistol.  When most manufacturers engineer a melt job on their pistols they miss the bottom of the grip frame’s backstrap and they miss removing sharp edges from the front and rear sight.  Well, the Custom Shop at Kimber remembered to round off the bottom of the grip frame and they handled the issue of sharp protrusions on the sights by using a “sight trough” running down the top of the slide from front to back.  And guess what…it really works.

The sight trough is not going to win you any bullseye championships but you may be surprised at how it might just increase your time in an IDPA match.  

Let me provide a perspective on how this sighting arrangement offers accuracy and speed.  As a member of NYPD’s stakeout squad officer Jim Cirillo conducted surveillance on the Big Apples most violent criminals; people who were prone to violence and gunplay at a moment’s notice.  Cirillo became a legend coming out on top in over 17 gunfights.  Based upon his vast experience in high stress shootouts Cirillo was always examining ways to improve accuracy and speed because both of those components are equally important to surviving a shootout.   One of his alternative sighting methods involved a fast method of acquiring your target by indexing the silhouette of the rear of your handgun.  Cirillo felt that your conscious mind wasted precious time concentrating on aligning the proper sight picture when your subconscious mind already knew what the silhouette of the of the handgun looks like when it is on target.  


Cirillo’s radical concept flew against the wind of the traditional firearm instructor whose mantra has always been “front sight”, “front sight”, “front sight”.  However I think it is easy to understand that it does take more time because your mind must coordinate with your eyes and actually try to align the front sight with the back sight and then the front sight to the target.  Now in precision bullseye shooting that is what you need to do to get the best score however precision bullseye shooting and real life defensive shootouts have different outcomes; coming in second in a bullseye competition gets your name listed in your club’s newsletter while coming in second in a defensive shootout gets your name listed in your local newspaper’s obituary section. 

After leaving the NYPD Cirillo became a sought after firearms trainer; he instructed federal agents, other law enforcement departments, and eventually civilian shooters.  He began to teach students this method by putting black electrical tape across their rear sight causing them to examine what the silhouette of the rear of the pistol looked like when it was on target versus what it looks like when it strays out of alignment.  The practical concept is really pretty simple.  If you move the pistol up to eye level and the only part of the pistol that you can see is the rear of the pistol then you are properly aligned.  If you can see the top of the slide or any portion of the left or right side of the slide you are out of alignment.  Cirillo found that most of his students shot just as well using his slide indexing method as they did using their sights and some actually shot better. 

I can tell you that I shot the RCP just about as well as any other pistol of the same size.  I can also tell you that not fixating on traditional sight alignment was pretty liberating and allowed me to make quicker follow-up shots.  Now I don’t know if this is a side effect of the Cirillo method or not but the little Kimber RCP rewarded me with tighter groups when I shot it faster.

Specifications

Caliber	Height	Length	Barrel Length	Width	Weight	Capacity	Sights
.45 ACP	4.75”	6.8”	3”	1.15”	25 ounces	7+1	Trough

Kimber Ultra Carry RCP Performance At-A-Glance

Handling	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Fit & Finish	Terrible	Rough	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Sights	None	Too Small	Useable	Good	Excellent
Trigger	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent
Power Scale	.22LR	.380 ACP	9mm	.40 S&W	.45 ACCP
Carry/Concealment	Too Large	Compact	Ultra Compact	Micro Compact	Pocket Pistol
Reliability	Unreliable	Somewhat Reliable	Fair	OK	Completely Reliable
Accuracy	Poor	Fair	Acceptable	Combat	Bullseye

Let’s examine the individual characteristics of the RCP:

Handling	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

1911 style pistol have a reputation of ergonomic comfort and the little RCP follows in this tradition.  While the grip frame is small there is just enough of it for me to hold onto with all three fingers. 

The fit of the slide is very tight with very little lateral movement.  Also, the slide moves freely and smoothly with no perceptible hitches. 

As I mentioned above the Kimber Custom Shop went to great lengths to insure that the pistol was rounded, snag free, and as easy to conceal as they could make it.  Because of this it does not have an ambidextrous slide safety.  The slide safety sits on the left side of the pistol and is actually fairly traditional.  The Gander Mountain in Eden Prairie recently took in a Colt 1911 made in 1914 and the abbreviated slide safety lever on the RCP is almost identical to the one that John M. Browning designed on the original 1911 Government Model.  

Fit & Finish	Terrible	Rough	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

The fit and finish of the RCP is excellent.  Now it’s not going to be the prettiest pistol at the range but that is not what it was designed for.  This is a working, defensive pistol.  However, I also realize that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” so if you think that English Bulldogs are beautiful then the RCP will be the apple of your eye.  The aluminum frame of the RCP is given a matte gray Kimpro II finish while the steel slide is produced with the Kimpro II matte black finish.

Sights	None	Too Small	Useable	Good	Excellent

As mentioned earlier…they are excellent for what they are and for what they are intended to do.

Trigger	Terrible	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Excellent

The hallmark of the 1911 is its smooth and easy trigger pull.  Occasionally I will find a bad one but never on a Kimber.  The trigger pull on the RCP averaged 5.9 pounds on my Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Scale.  Some may prefer a lighter pull but I felt that the crisp, smooth pull of the RCP was excellent.

Power Scale	.22LR	.380 ACP	9mm	.40 S&W	.45 ACP/GAP

Anyone who has read much on my blog knows that I am a big believer in the .45 ACP round as a great defensive cartridge which is based on its reputation earned through 100 years of military service.

Carry/Concealment	Too Large	Compact	Ultra Compact	Micro Compact	Pocket Pistol

At 1.15 inches wide, 4.74 inches tall, and 6.8 inches long the RCP is not difficult to conceal in an inside the waist band holster.  I have been carrying mine with a Clip Draw attachment and it slides easily in and out of my waistband.  I have no problem with it moving around and no concern about it falling out.  If my lifestyle was much more active I might want to find an inside the waistband holster that attaches to my belt with an active retention devise but for the current time the Clip Draw suits me well.

Reliability	Unreliable	Somewhat Reliable	Fair	OK	Completely Reliable

Absolutely no break in period was required and the RCP functioned flawlessly as I shot it one handed while moving during tactical drills.  I also fired various defensive rounds through the RCP and she ate them up without any problems whatsoever. 

Accuracy	Poor	Fair	Acceptable	Combat	Bullseye

The accuracy as you will see in the photos below is better than should be expected based upon the sighting system employed. 

Stationary Targets

10 rounds at 21 feet (not bad for a pistol with no traditional sights)

25 rounds at 21 feet

50 rounds at 21 feet rapid fire

50 rounds at 35 feet

50 rounds at 50 feet

22 rounds at 75 feet

Defensive Ammo (all targets fired on at 21 feet)

5 rounds of Speer Gold Dot Hollowpoint 200 grain +P

Federal Hydra Shok 230 grain JHP +P

Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point 185 grain

Remington Golden Sabre 185 grain JHP

Combination of Defensive Loads in Rapid Fire

Tactical Targets (all targets fired while moving in different directions at ranges of 21 to 40 feet).

Low light tactical box drill shooting with strong hand only

Figure 8 drill

Low light reverse movement shot strong hand only

As you can tell I wholeheartedly like and recommend this pistol.  If I were in the military or a police officer and might be expected to use my pistol against combatants further away than 25 yards I would want a pistol with a five inch barrel and the most precise sights that I could find.  However for civilian self defense the Kimber RCP is a fine pistol.  While the magazine capacity of 7 + 1 is somewhat limited by today’s standard of compact double stacked 9mm pistols holding twice as many rounds an extra .45 ACP 7 round single stack magazine.  A spare RCP magazine is fairly thin and easy to slip into your weak side pants pocket.  This will give you 15 rounds of .45 ACP which should get you out of most social engagements.