Kimber Ultra Ten Ii

American Handgunner, May, 2001 by Cameron Hopkins

Bullish On Bul

There were, by 2000, seven versions of the Bul/Kimber pistol. Enter number six in 2001. It's by far the best version-- a small, compact, lightweight .45 ACP-- with a dedicated 10-round magazine to tuck into a bobbed grip frame. Atop rides a short, matte, stainless slide incorporating a bushingless 3" bull barrel. The slide is identical to that of the Stainless Ultra Carry in the single-stack line. McCormick fixed sights and a dovetail front sight complete the package.

Hidden from both sight and feel is the new firing pin safety that Kimber will be incorporating on all of its handguns in 2001. Unlike the spring-plunger Series 80 safety on a Colt, the Kimber system does not affect trigger pull. All Kimbers with the new firing pin safety will have a "II" appended to their name, hence the designation Ultra Ten II.

The frame is marked "Kimber, Yonkers, N.Y.," and the metal insert accommodates the gun's serial number. The frame insert is machined at Kimber's state-of-the-art factory in upstate New York and then shipped to Bul's factory in Israel, where the inserts are molded into the plastic frames.

The Ultra Ten II incorporates an aluminum frame insert. This shaves an impressive 4 ozs. of weight from the bantamweight pistol, which only tips the scales at 24 ozs. empty, with the mag. This is 1 oz. less than a single-stack equivalent, the Stainless Ultra Compact, even though the Ultra Ten holds 10 rounds.

"While our full-size Polymer Models have a frame insert machined from solid stainless steel, the Ultra Ten II frame insert is machined from 7075-T7 aluminum," explained Kimber's vice president of marketing, Dwight Van Brunt.

"This aluminum is the same material we use on all our aluminum-frame pistols, and is the hardest and strongest aluminum available. We tested this material in standard frames, like the Ultra CDP, to 20,000 actual rounds of .45 ACP and could not find any meaningful evidence of wear. This aluminum also machines to and holds the same tight tolerances we demand from steel."

An interesting feature is a dished-out area of the frame where it meets the stainless beavertail. This allows the hand to reach as high on the gun as possible, the better to align the forearm with the bore for maximum recoil control.

"Note that circumference of grip is just .200" greater than a single-stack," Van Brunt pointed out. "At the same time, the extra width distributes recoil more evenly."

The port-side thumb safety is extended for a more positive thumb shelf to anchor the strong hand's opposing digit. The slide stop is checkered and the hammer is a Commander-style with an elongated oval hole.

The slide's cocking serrations are widely spaced, like the Gold Cup before Colt discontinued it. The trigger is a McCormick lightweight match unit. The recoil spring is the Seecamp system of a captive double spring.

"We use the dual-captured, low-effort recoil spring design. One of the advantages here is that manual slide cycling is relatively easy. Women like this feature," Van Brunt noted.