Kimber Pro Carry II 9mm: 10-8 Performance Test

Time to test a new gun, while the Dan Wesson is off at NRA getting its photo taken for Rifleman. We’re starting with the Kimber Pro Carry II in 9mm, and like all of test guns it starts with the 10-8 Performance test.

I’ll get it out of the way right up front. The Kimber failed the 10-8 Performance test. There was one failure to eject during the two-hand limp-wristed portion of the test. Ejection was also rather erratic throughout the test and the ensuing training session. Off the top of my head, I’d guess that the extractor should be re-tensioned. However, I’m not going to start docking points for the ejection just quite yet.

Here’s where this gets interesting. Kimber states that their guns have a break-in period. Now, I don’t like break-in periods and I don’t really believe they’re necessary, but because in this case the manufacturer specifically says their gun does have a break in period, after I get 500 rounds down through the gun, I’m going to re-do the 10-8 test. If it passes, I’ll change the failure penalty from -10 to -5. Again, the only reason I’m doing this is specifically because the manufacturer says their guns have a break in period. I think that part of what makes these tests valuable is trying to make them as controlled as possible, and part of that includes following the manufacturer’s recommendations for care and maintenance.

In good news, the gun had no issues feeding Winchester Ranger from Wilson 9mm magazines, and it is also superbly accurate. Head-shots for days with this thing.

After 271 rounds, the Kimber sets on a pending score of 87. -10 for failing the 10-8 Test, and -3 more for additional failures. We’ll see if the break-in period is a real thing and how the gun performs after that.

2 Comments

  1. My Sig 1911 had a break in oo. I think by there design and companies trying to make them fit together tightly, they require a period of time for parts to wear in. On my 1911 I am noticing areas of the frame that are be oming polished with use even though I keep it lubed pretty good. Newer guns seem to be engineered differently.

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