Kimber Custom CDP Range Report

[Poogsdad]

I took my new Kimber Custom CDP II to the range yesterday.

The range I am a member of is used extensively by local law enforcement personnel and a local Cowboy Action Shooting Club for scenario based and dynamic shooting qualification and competition. Holster Presentations, Controlled Pairs, Full Auto, Walking Fire, and any ammunition that can be loaded in a firearm (including bowling balls fired from a cannon) are permitted here. The range is located in a depression with high ground on all sides. It is possible to safely shoot a 170 degree arc of fire from the front of the firing line under optimal conditions.

I normally use a large open bay used by Cowboy Action Shooters to set up scenarios. There is a large cleared area approximately 60 feet across with engagement ranges out to 600 yards. Behind the firing line there is also a large open area for observers and bystanders as well as to facilitate lateral movement from firing point to firing point when shooting a scenario.

I set up test targets 15 yards from the firing line consisting of white 8” paper plates and old business cards I have left over from a previous life. The paper plates represent the thoracic cavity and the business cards represent the cranio-ocular cavity of a normal man sized target.

As before I brought an assortment of different loads to shoot, including WWB 230 Grain FMJ and JHP, Federal American Eagle 230 FMJ, Winchester 230 Grain SXT and 500 rounds of CCI Blazer 230 Grain FMJ that I got a great deal on.

I loaded seven rounds of CCI Blazer into one of my Wilson Magazines and started my first string. My first string was an accuracy test. Very slow and deliberate, shot two-handed unsupported, as much time as necessary between shots. The weapon was clean and lubed and had never had a round through it previously (except maybe at the factory). I used the Blazer because it is not noted for exceptional accuracy. I felt that if the Custom CDP shot it accurately, it would most likely shoot anything accurately.

My first 6 rounds went into a single ragged hole approximately ¾ of an inch in diameter, 1 inch low and 1 inch left of point of aim. I adjusted my point of aim slightly up and right and placed the seventh round exactly where I wanted it. This Kimber Custom CDP II is without a doubt the most accurate pistol I have ever fired!!!.

I currently have only four full size magazines, two Wilson Combat 47Ds, one Kimber KimPro TacMag, and the OEM magazine that came with the pistol. I loaded all four with CCI Blazer ammunition and proceeded to shoot controlled pairs from the holster as quickly as I could acquire a flash sight picture. I integrated emergency and tactical reloads into the strings and did not stop until I had expended all four magazines. I also moved to my right or left rear with each magazine change and holster presentation. My first rounds downrange were from 15 yards the last were from about 18 yards. At no time did I ever experience a malfunction of any kind.

This is a drill I do regularly with my Ultra Carry and J-Frames and have little difficulty keeping all rounds on the 8 inch paper plates at ranges of five to ten yards. I was able to do the same thing from almost twice that distance with the Kimber Custom CDP!!!.

I next did a set of “Retreating Fire” Drills in which I start at 5 yards, present from the holster and continue to engage the target while shuffling backward with each shot, until the magazine is expended. As this drill is somewhat painful for me because of my knees I normally only retreat 5 to 7 yards before expending a full magazine. I did no better with the Custom CDP, however, it was much easier for me to keep my rounds on the plate as compared to my Ultra Carry and J-Frames. I repeated this with each magazine, starting about 2 to 3 yards further back with each string. I did experience one failure to feed from the KimPro TacMag during these drills.

The accuracy and shootability of the Custom CDP made me feel so confident that I tried some modified “Retreating Fire” Drills in which I retreated diagonally to my left and right rear while engaging the Cranio-Ocular Cavity rather than the Thoracic Cavity. My performance here was somewhat more humbling; however, I was able to keep most of my rounds on the business card. Again, I experienced no malfunctions of any kind.

My final strings of the day were for accuracy testing. I loaded one magazine each with each of the different loads I had brought with me. I set up clean business cards at 15 yards for each load and fired each string very slowly and deliberately, two-handed unsupported, using as much time as necessary between shots. By this time the Custom CDP had fired over 200 rounds of aluminum cased ammunition and had not been cleaned or lubed.

As before the CCI Blazer 230 Grain FMJ impacted about 1 inch left and 1 inch down from point of aim. Group size was about 1 inch from edge to edge.

The WWB 230 Grain FMJ impacted slightly closer to point of aim with a group size of about 1 ¼ inches edge to edge.

The WWB 230 Grain JHP impacted slightly closer to point of aim than it’s FMJ cousins but had a group size of about 1 inch.

The Federal American Eagle 230 Grain FMJ impacted almost exactly at point of aim with a group size of slightly less than an inch.

As expected, the Winchester Supreme 230 Grain SXT performed the best, with rounds impacting just a hair right of point of aim with a group size of less than ¾ of an inch edge to edge.

My next range session I will focus on accuracy testing with periodic cleaning and lubing between strings at longer ranges.

Thank you all for letting me share this with you, it was a real hoot and my J-frames are beginning to fear that they may lose their status as my preferred CCW carry guns.

[hygyliac]

Very impresive! Not just the performance of the new Kimber but of its owner as well. I envy the fact that you keep acquired skills sharp by having a place to set up solo and can practice various situational drills.

[Poogsdad]

Originally Posted by hygyliac

Very impresive! Not just the performance of the new Kimber but of its owner as well. I envy the fact that you keep acquired skills sharp by having a place to set up solo and can practice various situational drills.

Thank you Sir for the kind words.

I realize I have a good thing up here and wish I could share it with you all down south. One of the advantages of living in a rather rural area without the restrictions required in more urbanized areas.

It does not hurt that I am also a Rangemaster here with full access to the range at any time.

My work schedule does not often allow me the ability to shoot on the weekends with friends anymore. Consequently, I often have the range to myself on weekdays and can get fairly creative.

It goes without saying that if any of you ever make it up my way, I can probably arrange to get the range opened for you.

Thanks,

[spc]

Great Report

It sounds as if your Kimber and you are well tuned to each other. The ragged hole drill at 15 yards is impressive. I hope you enjoy your new firearm as much as I enjoy my Kimbers.

I too do the majority of my training outdoors in the national forest and it is nice to be able to move, double and triple tap and engage multiple targets without the worries of indoor ranges.

spc

[CCWInstructor]

Originally Posted by Poogsdad

I took my new Kimber Custom CDP II to the range yesterday.

This Kimber Custom CDP II is without a doubt the most accurate pistol I have ever fired!!!.[/size][/font]

it was a real hoot and my J-frames are beginning to fear that they may lose their status as my preferred CCW carry guns. [/b][/size][/font]

Hmmm Sir!

A range report is suppose to tell us something we don't know or new.

Hint: Instead of adjusting you aim, move your right trigger finger out 1/64 of a inch. Then pull the trigger very slow. You should hit dead center.

I know you work at a range, just wasn't sure of you knew to try this.

[Poogsdad]

Originally Posted by CCWInstructor

Hmmm Sir!

A range report is suppose to tell us something we don't know or new.

Hint: Instead of adjusting you aim, move your right trigger finger out 1/64 of a inch. Then pull the trigger very slow. You should hit dead center.

I know you work at a range, just wasn't sure of you knew to try this.

Thank you for the feedback, CCWI. You are correct.

Moving the pad of my trigger finger over a little would certainly affect the point of impact. Unfortunately, my hands are rather small and the rosewood grips that come with the CDP do not allow me to get enough finger on the trigger when the weapon is properly indexed coming out of the holster.

Rather than change how the pistol comes out of the holster which, in turn, would change how the sights index as the weapon is presented to the target, I consider adjusting my aiming point an acceptable "Bandaid Fix" until a better solution is implemented.

I had the same issue with the stock grips on the Ultra and replaced them with Wilson Combat Slim Concealed Carry Grips which addressed the issue quite well. I have ordered some for the CDP, but they have not arrived yet.

Thanks again for the feedback, it is spot on as usual.

[Poogsdad]

My new Wilson Combat Slim Concealed Carry Grips arrived yesterday!!!

When I ordered the Concealed Carry Grips, I also ordered some Wilson Combat ETM Magazines and some follower and spring kits for my kimber magazines.

I installed the grips on my Custom CDP last night and noted an immediate improvement in how the weapon feels in my hand, particularly when indexing from the hoster. They are not as attractive as the checkered rosewood grips that came the pistol but they look good none-the-less.

I also replaced the springs and followers in all of the Kimber Magazines I have. In addition to converting the 7 round Kimber Magazine that came with the Custom CDP to 8 rounds, the new springs and followers seemed to make the Kimber Magazines a little easier to load and improved the feeding smoothness across all the magazines. They also fixed a periodic problem I was having with the 8 round Kimber KimPro TacMag failing to lock the slide back on an empty magazine.

The overall quality and finish of the ETM Magazines was not appreciably better than the Wilson Combat 47D magazines I already have. The magazine tube is approximatley 1/8th of an inch longer than the 47Ds, however, with the new baseplate they are no longer than a 47D with the standard .350 inch baseplate.

There was a noticable difference in how easily the magazines loaded and how smoothly the follower moved in the magazine tube. The extra 1/8th of inch in tube length also apparently reduced the total spring compression enough when the magazine was fully loaded that a fully loaded magazine seemed to seat much more easily when the slide was forward.

I have been to the range a couple times since my first range report, primarily to put some more rounds through the gun and work on trigger control.

I also put some rounds downrange from a supported firing position at a target 25 yards distant. Considering how well I was grouping at 15 yards, I was a little disappointed with my performance, as I was not able to consistently shoot a group tighter than about 3 inches. I did shoot a couple 2 inch groups but my average group size hovered around 3 to 3 1/2 inches for all strings fired.

I went to the range today and set up some practice targets at 15 yards identical to my first range report. I also fired the same drills I fire on on my first range report, however, I did more lateral than rearward movement between hoster presentations and magazine changes.

As expected the new Slim Concealed Carry Grips did cause my point of impact to shift slightly because I now had more finger on trigger when the weapon was properly indexed. Without exception, point of impact was now much closer to point of aim with all loads fired.

I had no difficulty placing all rounds in the center of the thoracic cavity or cranio-ocular cavity. I was surprised, however, that many of my groups seemed to have opened up slightly, 1/2 to 1 inch or so. I attribute this to my being excited and not taking as much time as I should have between shots.

I had no malfunctions of any kind and all of the magazines performed flawlessly, regardless of the load being used. .

All-in-all a great day at the range shooting some great pistols that are far more accurate and better performing than their owner.

I know I have not said anything that is surprising to any of you who shoot a Kimber but I appreciate your letting me share this with you.

I also recommend aquiring some Wilson Combat Spring and Follower Kits for any of you who have trashed or put aside the Kimber Magazines that originally came with your pistols. They are a relatively cheap fix that works well.

Thanks again for letting me share!!!

[hygyliac]

Thanks for the A.A.R.
This type of information will be stored for future reference when I need to refit my gear.

[sealbeach]

Originally Posted by hygyliac

Thanks for the A.A.R.
This type of information will be stored for future reference when I need to refit my gear.

Well when you write a range report, you had better be sure to slip in the phrase "cranio-ocular cavity of a normal man sized target."

[ChrisG]

Very nice RR!!! I'm quite envious of your range.

[Poogsdad]

Originally Posted by ChrisG

Very nice RR!!! I'm quite envious of your range.

Thank you.

The Range we use is actually owned by a Timber Company. It is located in an undeveloped area off Highway 299 approximately 12 miles from Highway 101.

We are open to Simpson Range Association Members Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Range Masters, however, are issued a key to the range and have access at any time.

If you are ever up in my area, consider this an open invitation. I'd love to show it to you.

Thanks again,

[ChrisG]

Originally Posted by Poogsdad

Thank you.

The Range we use is actually owned by a Timber Company. It is located in an undeveloped area off Highway 299 approximately 12 miles from Highway 101.

We are open to Simpson Range Association Members Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Range Masters, however, are issued a key to the range and have access at any time.

If you are ever up in my area, consider this an open invitation. I'd love to show it to you.

Thanks again,

Thank you very much, I will definitely take you up on that. Hey guys!!! ROAD TRIP!!!

[Poogsdad]

Many of you have commented on how lucky I am to have access to such a good facility for shooting and training.

I wanted to share my range with you in the following slide show:

Slideshow of My Range - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

We are not very high tech. We are, however, very safe and highly motivated to do things right. The Chief Rangemaster runs a tight ship.

Thanks and enjoy!!!

[sealbeach]

Originally Posted by Poogsdad

Many of you have commented on how lucky I am to have access to such a good facility for shooting and training.

I wanted to share my range with you in the following slide show:

Slideshow of My Range - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

We are not very high tech. We are, however, very safe and highly motivated to do things right. The Chief Rangemaster runs a tight ship.

Thanks and enjoy!!!

Thank you for sharing, looks like a great range, bit fancier than Burro Canyon--we don't have one of them new-fangled restroom buildings! Beautiful forested country up there too, very nice. I like your captions, "Conference Center and Deli" LOL! good!

[1buba]

That's a BEAUTIFUL place.

I love the weather vane over the ladies room. LOL