Kimber, a love-’em-or-hate-’em company that cut its teeth making custom 1911s and transitioned into the high-end production semi-auto pistol market, expanded its operation with an announcement at the 2016 SHOT Show Industry Day At The Range to include a compact, six-shot .357 Magnum revolver. Kimber’s selling points for the new gun are its higher capacity than others in its class (competing directly with 5-shot .357 revolvers), magnum caliber, and small size.

TFB got a chance to put the little magnum six-shooter through its paces on the Boulder range, and… Actually, it’s quite nice. The finish on the gun is pleasant, liquid-smooth buff on stainless, which looks easy to clean and very suitable for carry. The gun is small, but heavier, which I feel is a good trade given the caliber. The trigger on the demo guns was very good; I estimated it at about 10-12 pounds, with a smooth pull, no perceptible stacking (in rapid fire, which is the only way I shot the gun), and a clean break. The sights are low profile, but highly visible, contrasting in black against the stainless finish. I even checked out the gun’s lockwork as well as I could without tearing the gun down, and my hawk eyes couldn’t see any casting voids or heavy wear that would suggest a bolt or hand failure was on its way. It should be noted that these guns were receiving a lot of attention, and had many cylinders put through them before I got there.

It’s a Kimber, so what’s the catch? Well, it’s a revolver, and it’s not cheap. MSRP is $899, and the vast majority of folks out there would be better off with a Glock 43 or a Shield and a boatload of ammo to put through them. Now, having said that, it’s not that far off for price versus some of the other premium carry revolvers out there, so some folks reading this may feel I am comparing apples to oranges there.

Thanks to Miles and Edward for their help with the photography.