The announcement came out late Friday. Kimber had a new firearm that was to be debuted at SHOT Show.
A revolver.
Yeah, that news got a little bit of rumor mill going. Was Kimber really breaking into the revolver market? Was this some clever marketing strategy? The ad campaign featured a revolver's cylinder, but nothing else. Just the hint of a completely new direction from the folks from Yonkers.
But it was real. There really has been a new revolver introduced to the shooting public, and it is the Kimber K6s.
Six rounds of .357 Mag. goodness. Stainless steel construction with an empty weight of 23 ounces. Two-inch barrel. Double-action-only trigger with a pull that's smooth and on the lighter side (approximately 9 pounds, we didn't have a scale handy). Dovetail rear sights and a pinned front sights so replacement is possible.
This is pretty much everything a fighting revolver should be.
The proof, though, was in the shooting. Not only was it quite possible to shoot accurately, more importantly it didn't beat the heck out of the shooter's hand. The lightweight, Unobtanium-frame revolvers that weigh under a pound sure are easy to carry, but few people want to shoot them very much.
The K6s was different. I had a chance to put close to a full box of 125-grain .357 Mag. through one of the Media Day test subjects, and I walked away from the event with feeling left in my hand. And even in my fingers. This revolver is quite controllable and, dare we say it, easy to shoot even with full-power loads. I'd wager it will be even more pleasant with .38 Spl., too.
No word on when the K6s will be available, but the MSRP is expected to be $899.