Review of the Kimber Eclipse Ultra II 45 Auto

Ever since my first meeting with classmates at the Texoma Regional Police Academy back in 1987 I've been told by veteran police and military folks that if I ever shot a 1911 style handgun I'd never want to carry anything else. Of course, I also had a lot of folks tell me how the Glock was the most dependable and well engineered semi-auto on the planet as well, and I did try those due to the proliferation of the "plastic" weapons among my peers, but I just never liked the feel or the crisp snap of the trigger. So I never got around to giving a 1911 a try...until last week.

Even though I left my law enforcement career back in 1996 to pursue a more stressful and dangerous occupation in information technology, I've always felt extremely vulnerable when walking the streets of the DFW cities without a firearm. This feeling was not due to paranoia, it was due to my acute knowledge of just how many bad guys are running loose in public from my past experience as a street cop. So a couple of years ago I obtained my Texas concealed handgun license and I've been toting a Beretta PX4 Storm .40 ever since. But it's a fairly large framed gun and I've always wanted something a little slimmer. After studying up on various compact options I finally decided to give the Kimber Eclipse Ultra II a try. It's not a cheap gun, and by the time I bought extra magazines and my first 100 rounds of practice ammo I had invested well over a grand in my new sidearm. It was a significant gamble...I'd never shot a single action semi-auto before.

I gave my new piece a good cleaning and a fresh application of gun oil and headed to the range carrying four magazines.

My first eight rounds were heart-breaking. The gun misfed after every single shot. I was using the factory Kimber magazine that came with it. Although my hopes were temporarily dashed, I started feeling a little better after I inserted the Wilson Combat magazine and the weapon fed and fired seven rounds flawlessly. It performed just as well with the following two Kimber SS after market mags I'd bought.

I loaded up the original factory mag and found that it functioned a little better, but still caused one misfeed on the last round. I decided that magazine was going in the trash. I burned up the remainder of my hundred practice rounds with the after-market mags and there were zero misfeeds. Every spent casing ejected perfectly and I shot better groups at 25 feet than I ever have in my life. I had no problem at all getting used to the 1911 and I'm a die-hard fan after only 100 rounds.

It's easy to see why the Kimber Eclipse Ultra II is such a nice weapon. Based on a design that has truly stood the test of time (literally over a century!), the hand crafted tolerances result in a smooth action and dependable firing...as long as you dump the lousy factory magazine and spend the extra bucks on some quality after-market clips. For such a large caliber, the Eclipse Ultra II is incredibly compact. It fits nicely in my IWB (inside the waistband) holster and when I'm driving I can't even tell it's there, unlike my Beretta PX4 Storm which chaffed my spare tire and was constantly rubbing against the seat belt strut.

Safety features are well integrated in this pistol. There's a grip safety that disengages the firing pin unless your hand is firmly gripping the gun. The safety lever is perfectly positioned for easy manipulation with your thumb without compromising your grip or aim. The slide release is positioned perfectly for you to release it with your other thumb while gripping the weapon for firing. The polished stainless steel finish of the frame and slide with the contrasting black machined groves which inspired the model's name make it a pleasing gun to look at as well. It's easy to see why all the Kimber owners I've talked to are so enthralled with their weapons.

The guy in the next lane at the range asked me if he could try it out. Lucky for me I could honestly say I was out of ammo. I didn't want him handling my gun judging from the way he was drooling over it.