Kimber three-gun test: 6,000 rounds and a surprise or two

American Handgunner, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Charles E. Petty

Accuracy

But the thing that truly amazes me is all the shooting had no real effect on accuracy. My experience with match guns is usually there is a small change in accuracy as the parts wear-in and then there is a long steady-state period where nothing changes. The Kimbers arrived that way.

I'm sure that, by now, some are wondering why we didn't do the customary torture test and shoot 5,000 rounds or so through one gun. Obviously we discussed that aspect when planning this story but decided against doing that. Here's why: we learned more this way. A sample of one is never going to give much information about overall reliability or accuracy because it might be the only good--or bad--gun they ever made. At the other end of the spectrum I'm sure some will say we should have fired more rounds. And this is where practical limits start to figure into the picture. My experience suggests that, for the majority of owners, 2,000 rounds may be a lifetime number of shots. Average shooters probably don't shoot 100 rounds a month, some much less. Of course there are those who go through many thousands in a year, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

The original premise of this story was based upon observations of a number of different Kimber models over a period of several years. My view was that overall accuracy had definitely gotten better over time. Reliability had never been much of a concern but it's the combination of the two that really tells the tale. As you will see in the accompanying chart all three pistols gave virtually identical results. The greatest difference--an average of .42"--might be significant, but barely so. Please do not be misled that a 2.45" average the second time around is worse than the initial 2.36". A difference of .09" is meaningless and it could just as well have been reversed.

All the accuracy testing was done under good weather conditions but there was a span of a couple of months between the two shoots. Lord only knows where Mr. Murphy, the neighborhood gremlins or the planets were those days but it is clear that they decided not to mess with me.

THE RESULTS

GUN #1 (K132820)                   Velocity       1          2

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *             783       2.14       1.96
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ               800       3.08       2.23

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *             836       2.43       2.44
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP               835       2.43       1.74

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *        769       2.35       2.47
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match          757       2.15       1.65

GUN #1 (K132820)                      3      Avg. (inches)

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *            2.35       2.15
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ              3.38       2.90

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *            2.26       2.38
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP              2.30       2.16

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *       1.86       2.23
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match         1.55       1.78

* BEFORE:  Trigger: 5 lb 13 oz.          Average Group: 2.25
AFTER:     Trigger: 5 lb. 4 oz.          Average Group: 2.28

GUN #2 (K132855)                   Velocity       1          2

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *             798        2.91       2.37
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ               827        3.24       2.37

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *             844        2.37       2.27
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP               840        1.71       2.27

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *        784        3.11       2.16
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match          772        2.64       2.15

GUN #2 (K132855)                      3      Avg. (inches)

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *            2.22       2.50
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ              3.48       3.03

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *            1.95       2.20
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP              2.24       2.07

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *       1.89       2.39
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match         1.93       2.24

* BEFORE:  Trigger: 5 lb. 3 oz.          Average Group: 2.36
AFTER:     Trigger: 4 lb. 12 oz.         Average Group: 2.45

GUN #3 (K134656)                   Velocity       1          2

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *             796        2.48       2.98
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ               821        2.71       2.54

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *             840        2.30       1.82
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP               838        3.17       2.93

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *        757        2.52       1.55
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match          768        1.78       3.03

GUN #3 (K134656)                      3      Avg. (inches)

Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ *            2.46       2.64
Black Hills 230 gr. FMJ              2.96       2.74

Black Hills 230 gr. JHP *            2.36       2.16
Black Hills 230 gr. JHP              2.35       2.82

Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match *       2.04       2.04
Winchester 185 gr. SWC Match         2.81       2.54

* BEFORE:  Trigger: 5 lb 4 oz.           Average Group: 2.28
AFTER:     Trigger: 4 lb. 4 oz.          Average Group: 2.70

Notes: Accuracy results are 10 shot groups @25 yd. From Ransom Rest.
Velocity is the instrumental average of 30 shots @10 Feet.