Kimber K6S CDP .357 Magnum Snub

Trigger

The double-action-only pull is smooth! Roll the trigger back slowly, and you’ll feel two little clicks before the final stage. It happens early, what revolver-smiths call “pre-timing,” and it’s an indication that this gun will take a helluva lot of wear and tear before it goes out of time. Now comes the final stage of the pull, a short roll until the internal hammer drops and sends a bullet on its way. Averaged pull weight measured 9.61-pounds.

Shooting the K6S

The trigger on the K6S was smooth and controllable, and the author found the elongated trigger guard worked reliably with thickly gloved hands; most small framed revolvers don’t. Trigger reach is short, ideal for smaller hands but allowing too much finger if a shooter with larger hands isn’t careful. The CDP model comes fitted with a set of very attractive, checkered rosewood grips.

Recoil is nothing to worry about with standard pressure .38 Special loads, requires a firm grasp and some skill and experience with .38 Special +P, and is controllable but no fun at all with full power .357 “Mangle-‘em” ammo. As noted above, “kick” is sharp enough to separate the hands when rapid firing Magnums if you aren’t really on your game.

Accuracy

I know it is in vogue for gun writers to test these pocket size guns at fifteen, ten, or even seven yards on the theory that they’re short range weapons, but I still use the 25-yard line for two reasons. One, it is standard now for service handguns, and two, the pocket gun may have to be used for a service gun’s job in self-defense.

Remington-UMC .357 Magnum 125-grain semi-jacketed hollow point is rated for 1,450 feet per second from a four-inch service revolver. Recoil and blast are nasty, but so is destruction on the other end. The five shots went into 2.75” center to center, and the best three were in 1.35”.

A whole lot of folks carry these baby Magnums with lighter-kicking .38 Special +P, and for that we used the Speer 135-grain Gold Dot +P. Its group was wider, 6.05” for five shots. The “best three” cluster hit that with 2.75”.

While still not a whole lot of fun shooting full-power .357 Magnum loads, the heft of the all-steel K6s did contribute to a reduction recoil discomfort and muzzle jump. The Kimber ran flawlessly with a wide assortment of .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo.

The surprise—the shock, really—came with virgin Match 148-grain wadcutter .38 Special from Black Hills. This load cut a C-shaped one-hole group that measured 65/100ths of an inch center to center, too tight to accurately measure the best three within it! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.

Reliability

Reliability was excellent throughout with multiple brands of .38 Special and .357 Magnum. Spent casings never stuck in the chambers. The K6S series offers a potentially life-saving advantage that Kimber, strangely, does not advertise: the elongated trigger guard of the Kimber K6S allowed full trigger-return every time when I tried it with winter gloves.

Bottom line? The Kimber K6S CDP and its combined features and craftsmanship make it worth the buy-in cost, as well as a 2018 On Target Editors’ Choice Award. And when I see a pocket-size snub that can put five shots in 0.65” at 25 yards, as our test Kimber K6S did, well I’m sold. Contact Kimber America; Tel.: (888) 243-4522; Web: www.kimberamerica.com

SECIFICATIONS:

Weight:                      23-oz.

Overall Length:         6.62-inches

Barrel Length:           2-inches

Sights:                        Front and rear night sights

Finish:                        Brushed Stainless/Black DLC

Capacity:                   6 Retail Price:               $1,155