The Kimber Custom is an

M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for t ...

style

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single- chamber handgun (pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...

. It is designed, manufactured, and distributed by Kimber Manufacturing, Inc. in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enum ...

Overview

The Custom is made in a variety of styles with different features and finishes. As an M1911 style pistol, it is usually chambered in

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

. It also has been produced in other

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matc ...

s, including .40 S&W,

10mm Auto The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...

, 9mm Luger, and

.38 Super The .38 Super, also known as .38 Super +P, .38 Super Auto, .38 Super Automatic, .38 Super Automatic +P, or 9×23mmSR, is a pistol cartridge that fires a bullet. It was introduced in the late 1920s as a higher pressure loading of the .38 ACP, a ...

. The individual gun's caliber is stamped on top of the barrel and is visible with the slide in battery (fully forward). The Custom is a full-sized model 1911, with a five-inch barrel. The frame and slide are made of steel. The Custom utilizes a single full-length guide rod, necessitating the serrations on the front of the slide for press checks. Although the Custom is considered Kimber's base model, it has a number of features that were formerly found only on customized model 1911s, such as a lowered ejection port, custom

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

, beveled

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combina ...

well, extended thumb safety, and beavertail

grip safety Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes suc ...

. The original Custom model has been superseded by the Custom II. The Custom II has an internal

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed sprin ...

safety. This feature is designed to provide additional assurance that the gun will not fire if dropped, as the firing pin is blocked from striking the chambered cartridge unless the grip safety is depressed.

Custom TLE II

The Kimber Custom TLE II is a model of Kimber Custom. The designation "TLE" stands for "Tactical Law Enforcement". The TLE is identical, except for the markings, to a special model that was designed for use by the

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along t ...

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

. Unlike the standard Custom, it comes with

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

bar-dot night sights and 30 lines per inch frontstrap checkering. The TLE has been manufactured in the following variations: *Custom TLE II, the standard variation and the same as the LAPD SWAT model. *Custom TLE II (LG), with laser grip sights. *Custom TLE/RL II, with an accessory mounting rail. *Stainless TLE II, with a stainless steel finish. *Stainless TLE/RL II, with a stainless steel finish and an accessory mounting rail.

ICQB, Warrior, and Desert Warrior

The Kimber Warrior and Desert Warrior are models that are based on a special version of the Custom that was built for the

United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, s ...

. The MARSOC pistol, known as the Kimber ICQB (Interim Close Quarter Battle) pistol, does not have an internal firing pin block as seen on the rest of the current Kimber Custom models, hence a "II" does not follow the Warrior or Desert Warrior's names. These pistols have an ambidextrous thumb safety, a lanyard loop, an internal extractor, and, in contrast to other Custom models, a standard length recoil spring guide rod to allow easier field stripping without tools. The ICQB pistol is fitted with a screw-on Dawson Precision light rail, Novak LoMount tritium night sights, and brown Simonich Gunner grips. The guns were delivered to MARSOC equipped with SureFire integrated military pistol lights, Gemtech TRL tactical retention lanyards, and Wilson Combat 7- or 8-round magazines. The Warrior and Desert Warrior have a frame-integrated M1913 light rail, Kimber Meprolight tritium night sights, and Kimber's own special grips that are very similar to the Gunner grips in coyote brown. They are delivered with Kimber factory magazines. They are otherwise the same as the ICQB pistols. The Warrior has a matte black KimPro finish and a standard Custom trigger. The Desert Warrior comes in a green-tan KimPro finish that would blend in with desert camouflage, and has a solid trigger.

Other Custom models

Other models of Kimber Custom include the following: *Stainless II, with a frame and slide made of stainless steel, and therefore silver in color instead of matte black. *Custom Target II, with adjustable target sights. *Stainless Target II, with adjustable target sights and a stainless steel frame and slide.Wilson, Jim. "Kimber Stainless Target II .38 Super", ''Shooting Times''
*Royal II, with a polished blue finish and rosewood grips.

Related models

Kimber has also produced several higher-end full-sized model 1911 pistols that are closely based on the Custom, but are not considered part of the Custom line due to their additional features and higher price. These include the following: *Eclipse Custom II, with bi-tone stainless and black finish and night sights. *Tactical Custom II, with gray aluminum frame, black steel slide, night sights, ambidextrous thumb safety, and extended magazine well. *Tactical Entry II, with gray stainless steel frame, black steel slide, night sights, ambidextrous thumb safety, extended magazine well and accessory mounting rail. *Custom CDP II, with black aluminum frame, stainless steel slide, night sights, ambidextrous thumb safety, and "carry melt" rounded edges. *Custom Covert II, with desert camouflage aluminum frame, black steel slide, laser light grips, standard length guide rod, night sights, lanyard loop, and "carry melt" rounded edges. *SIS Custom, with gray finish, flat top slide, standard length guide rod, night sights with cocking shoulder, ambidextrous thumb safety, and "carry melt" rounded edges, and without a firing pin safety. *Custom Crimson Carry II, with aluminum frame, matte black steel slide, and rosewood finish laser grips. *Super Carry Custom, with aluminum frame, matte black steel slide, night sights with cocking shoulder, round heel frame, "carry melt" rounded edges, and without a firing pin safety.

Gallery

Image:Kimber Custom TLE (left).JPG, Kimber Custom TLE II, left side with magazine ejected Image:Kimber Custom TLE II (Slide locked).JPG, Kimber Custom TLE II, slide locked to the rear Image:Kimber Custom TLE (white).JPG, Kimber Custom TLE II, right side with magazine ejected Image:Custom TLE II stripped.JPG, Kimber Custom TLE II, field stripped Image:Kimber-Custom-45.jpg, Kimber Custom Shop Covert ll with green G10 grips

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.kimberamerica.com/products/pistols/custom/, Kimber Custom official website
Kimber Full Size 45ACP Manual
Semi-automatic pistols of the United States 9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols 1911 platform Police weapons Kimber firearms