October 15, 2025 • 42 mins
Kimber Firearms is back with a vengeance. In this exclusive episode of Gun Talk Nation, host Ryan Gresham sits down with Everett Deger from Kimber to explore the brand's evolution, innovation, and resurgence across handguns, rifles, and revolvers.From their iconic 1911s to the groundbreaking 2K11 double-stack, and even a return to legacy rifles, this conversation is a deep dive into Kimber's DNA and future.
Topics include:
Whether you're a lifelong Kimber fan or curious about what they’ve been up to, this is the inside look at one of America’s most recognizable firearm brands you don’t want to miss.
This Gun Talk Nation is brought to you by Hodgdon Powder, NRA, Safariland, EOTECH, and Range Ready Studios.
About Gun Talk Nation
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Nation with Ryan Gresham is a weekly multi-platform podcast that offers a fresh look at all things firearms-related. Featuring notable guests and a lot of laughs. Gun Talk Nation is available as an audio podcast or in video format.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Watch Gun Talk Nation on its new YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Nation 10.15.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Topics include:
- Why Kimber is more than just 1911s
- The origin and innovation behind the 2K11 series
- Details on Kimber’s coatings: DLC, PVD, Cerakote, and KimPro
- The return of Kimber rifles and what to expect
- The sleek CDS9 and its "Classic" carry-ready version
- Kimber revolvers and their standout K6XS
- What’s next at SHOT Show and beyond
Whether you're a lifelong Kimber fan or curious about what they’ve been up to, this is the inside look at one of America’s most recognizable firearm brands you don’t want to miss.
This Gun Talk Nation is brought to you by Hodgdon Powder, NRA, Safariland, EOTECH, and Range Ready Studios.
About Gun Talk Nation
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Nation with Ryan Gresham is a weekly multi-platform podcast that offers a fresh look at all things firearms-related. Featuring notable guests and a lot of laughs. Gun Talk Nation is available as an audio podcast or in video format.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Watch Gun Talk Nation on its new YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Nation 10.15.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is the reason for the double stack nine to
eleven craze right now?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Well, I think, honestly, I've heard from a handful of
folks that it's it's striker fire fatigue.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I'm Ryan Gresham and this this is guntog Nation. Guntog
Nation is brought to you by Kimber, hodgten Nra, Safariland
(00:37):
Eotech and Range Ready. Hey, welcome in to guntalg Nation
today on Gun Talk Nation. A brand that you know,
I guarantee you know, I guarantee that you've seen their
marketing over the years and they've done a lot of
things and have a lot of fan boys, but you
may not have heard from them in a little while,
(00:58):
at least on this show. So it's exciting for me
to have here in the studio. Kimber Firearms Everdegger Welcome
in man.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Any how's it going, dude.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I'm so glad you're here. I mean, we were been
walking around, we were showing us some of the guns.
We've got guns on the table. So if you're listening
to this via podcast, you can go watch it. Go
watch it on you know, all of our video channels
and check it out because you've got the pretty guns
on the table. But I mean it's so true to me.
To me, Kimber is everybody knows Kimber. I mean you guys,
(01:30):
especially when gun magazines were they still exist, but where
they were like the only way you could find out
about stuff Kimber was there on full page ads, on
the back cover and all these things. And it's kind
of this brand. It's been on a journey, wouldn't you say? Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Absolutely so. Last year was Kimber's forty fifth anniversary, which
is kind of ironic a company known for making nineteen
eleven forty five's has been around for forty five years. Yeah,
but a lot of folks don't realize that we actually
started as a rifle company back in the late seventies,
nineteen seventy nine. So it has been quite a bit
of a journey. We've run into a number of really
(02:08):
great folks along the way. Chip McCormick was one of
them who really helped establish our brand for nineteen elevens
and had a lot of really great folks who've been
a part of the brand, who's helped develop the brand.
And to your point, we were everywhere when it came
to print and now we're everywhere when it can be digital.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Sure, I mean, stay with the times. People were learning
about guns, not just on the magazine shelves. But you
mentioned rifles. So I wanted to ask you about it
because I feel like I still hear people talk about
Kimber rifles, and I mean, they were very nice rifles.
(02:47):
But are you guys not doing rifles anymore? Or what's
the story?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
You bet so that there is a terrific history. So
if you go back all the way to the beginning
Jack Warren, who founded the company, which was purchased by
the Edelman family, we'd got our reputations started with twenty
two room fires, and the rifles have been an integral
part of the brand for a number of years. And
what sent Kimber apart kind of in more of modern
(03:13):
times in mainstream, especially in the mid to mid early
two thousands was our mountainous scent line.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So we really created a gun that, like, not unlike
some of our current pistols, was designed by enthusiasts who
were literally working on building a better product for themselves.
The people at Kimber are like, I just want this guy,
well yeah, yeah, I mean, and aren't the best products
come about that way. So at the time years ago,
Kimber's marketing wing was in Montana, so they had a
(03:41):
lot of really tremendous access to some of the most
beautiful hunting country anywhere, and you had different altitudes, You
had a lot of different circumstances, and a lot of
the end users at the time were saying, well, hey,
the rifle needs to be this particular weight, the barrel
has to have this particular contourhere, the action needs to
be fluted. You know, how far can we take it
to make it as lightweight as possible? And the lightweight
(04:05):
Hunter and the mountain Ascent rifles were born.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
So you guys were one of, if not the first
big gun company to be doing those lightweight mountain rifles.
I mean, you had the Ultra Light Arms guys and
some others that kind of specialize in that, but they're
sort of boutique shops and made it very popular and
people going, wait, a rifle can be this lightweight to carry,
(04:29):
especially uphills?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, yeah, I mean one of the sad aspects I
would say misnombers in our entire industry is recoil. You know,
you see it every day where people are putting comps
on pistols to defeat the ominous recoil. Right, And if
you consider the academics and the fundamentals of how you shoot,
you're going to mitigate recoil instinctively. You know, either how
you hold the rifle, how you hold the pistol. And
(04:53):
even if you're going to carve out so much weight,
I mean, guys are going even further now, where the
docks are even shorter and the barrels are down to
about eighteen inches, where it almost looks like it should
be a training tour versus a hunting rifle. I mean,
David Fabian approached me as a writer for guns and
Ammo years ago and he said, hey, what do you
think of this? And he goes to his car and
(05:14):
he pulls out this rifle and it's a Kimber and
I mean, and he's got the holes drilled in the action,
and the scope rings are moved a little bit, and
the barrel is so short, and I mean, and I'm picking,
you know, you pick up rifle, it's like this. But
then David hands me this rifle. It's kind of like that.
I'm like, do you make Christmas?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah? You're ready to like, hold up something that weighs
ten pounds.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, I know what I mean, And you're where's the wait? Yeah, exactly.
I mean. So Kimber really did a great job and
has always done a really good job of kind of
leading some innovation in some categories and then just taking
what other people have done others and kind of advancing that.
So the rifle category at that time, the Mountain Ascent
rifles really kind of tailored in that era of and
(05:55):
it wasn't just rifles that then bled into all kinds
of other areas. You know, lightweight, wicking fabrics. You know,
the days of waxed canvas were really trending out. You know,
your wolves, your canvases, your Bob Allen apparel and things
like that. That was the furniture of the past, right,
and then you see the influx of Sitka. So at
(06:16):
that time Kimber had partnered with Sitka to have matching
patterns and zys optics as far as that was concerned.
So it was very much a system.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You know, well, and now you've become a major handgun
company and perhaps probably thought of as a handgun company
more than the rifles. But I know that some people
listening as that nostalgia and like whatever happened to the
rifle thing? So I mean non for nineteen elevens. I
mean that's probably what people say Kimber handguns. They think
nineteen elevens. But give people a little bit of backstory
(06:48):
because things have been changing in Morphing for you guys
over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You bet, you bet so we have had We've had
a lot of opportunities and we've been very fortunate when
it comes to the way that the customer has continued
to accept and receive the brand. So a lot of
credit goes out to the first folks who were marketing
the brand, Dwight Van Brunt, a legend in the industry
in his own right. It's responsible for a lot of
of the way Kimber came about as far as their perception.
(07:13):
And you know, one of the things that happened was
mister Edelman, the owner of the organization, was approached years
ago and said, hey, you know, if you were able
to take a nineteen eleven and you were able to
customize it the way you would send it off to
gun shops and do this or tweak this or around
this and polish this. You'd sell the crap out of him.
And he had the foresight at the time. You know,
(07:33):
he came from a sporting goods manufacturer or a sporting
good store background. His family owned those in New Jersey.
And what he did was he said, you know what,
you're right. And Chip McCormick at the time, who since
passed away, he was a legend in his own right
as far as customizations. They brought him on board and said, again,
you know, you polish this here, you shorten this, here,
(07:54):
you extend a beavertail to prevent any of the ominous
slide bite that would have before. These are the.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Things that people were sending their guns off to gunsmiths
to have done. And I mean, we've seen this in
a lot of different industries. Right, what are people doing
in the aftermarket to customize their thing, their car, their gun,
whatever it may be. And then a big manufacturer says,
we'll just make it where you could buy the gun
(08:20):
like this.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, sure, I mean, and a lot of the folks
who were returning from the Vietnam conflict at the time
in the late seventies early eighties were doing that to
government model nineteen elevens, right, and then they would buy
colts and do the same thing, you know, And it
was not it was it wasn't the firearms manufacturer's job
to prevent to present custom features. And Kimber literally created
(08:42):
that market. So when it comes to the Kimber story,
that is the foundation of what Kimber is and was
was we take a standard product, we customize it, and
we put that into your hand at half of the
price it would take you to go and have that
done somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah, you guys have you are known for pretty guns,
and I mean we all who wouldn't want a pretty gun?
But they stand out and you've been doing it well
for years. We talked a lot about coatings and finishes.
After the break, I want you to give us the
secret behind all this. You bet six Eotech brought out
(09:20):
the smallest three to nine rifle scope I've ever seen,
the super short Voodoo three to nine by thirty two
rifle scope, aircraft grade aluminum, lightweight, durable, measuring just six
point eight inches, fog, water and shock resistant, capped quarter
moa turrets. Second focal plane design has illuminated medical with
(09:40):
ten brightness settings, and it also has an integrated base
compatible with many a cog mounts, so really easy to
mount up and start shooting. Go check it out the
super short Voodoo three to nine rifle scope. You know,
we can all improve on our shooting, and we have
range Ready Studios where we teach people how to shoot
(10:01):
even gooder. Some people say better, I say gooder. Range
Ready Studios dot com. We have pistol classes, we have
rifle classes. We can help you become the best shooter possible.
You'd be safer, more competent, and just better at the range.
So go check it out range Ready Studios dot Com.
The new CDs nine Classic from Kimber offers a more
(10:23):
refined offering of concealed carry pistol. The CDs nine Classic
shares many elements with the traditional CDs nine such as ten,
thirteen and fifteen round magazine capacity. The Classic model features
fully ambi controls and also available in an optics ready configuration.
The CDs nine Classic is a refined and smooth edc
(10:44):
firearm that provides the accuracy you need and the performance
you expect from Kimber. So people know Kimber very pretty
guns in colors flavor. Over the years, there's been a
lot of them Tiffany guns come to mind at some point,
(11:05):
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, we didn't call it a Tiffany, but it was
a bell Air. Was our models a bell Air?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, but I mean, you know, along those lines, and
that wasn't gonna go here. But perhaps a lot of
women own nineteen eleven's because of Kember, I mean from
the past, not picking on like, but it was just
they were just attractive guns.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Sure. No, I mean it's in the DNA for the
brand to create eye catching firearms. Yeah, and we have
done that for decades now. I mean in the last
several years, we've done ultramodels, the three and a half
or the three inch barreled models that were in sapphire,
which is a blue. They've had emerald, which was a green.
(11:45):
There was a rose gold color.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So at the end of the day, you're right.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I mean, ladies were looking for guns that would be
presented as more feminine. Sure, you know. So that opened
up the doorway to a lot of even what you
see on some of the guns in front of you here,
which is a PVD code, which is a physical vapor
deposition which really draws in molecules to change the chemical
structure of the metal and presented with a different tone.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Well, that's what I wanted to talk about, because you
guys use a lot of different types of finishes and coatings.
Talk about each one maybe, like what does it do
for the consumer? How do you choose each one when
you're when you guys are designed the gun.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, certainly so. I mean when it comes to even
some of the legacy models there there is a lot
of PbD or DLC coding. So DLC standing for diamond
like carbon. So it's going to be another baked on material,
not baked but actually chemically coded material that enhances the durability.
So it's not just a spray paint like in terms
of a cryalon as you would think about it, the
(12:42):
PVD the or the DLC. The PVD is going to
be a little bit more fragile, but it's going to
give you that really beautifully enhanced tone. You see that
in the bronze finish of two K eleven.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Here I have to pick this up. Sure, yeah, we've
got the two K eleven, which we're going to get
into all these these new sex the Kimbers that you
guys have been doing. But this is a dl SEASON.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Pbdum slide and then a DLC coded barrel.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Yes, okay, and it adds durability. It does there.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
But one thing to make sure is that it is
not impenetrable, okay, so you know if you drop it
on concrete or if you scuff it against metal, it
will mar the finish. But it's designed to enhance cosmetics
but then also provide a level of durability.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yancha, what about Sarah co do you guys still do that?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
We do? We do so on our pros. You'll see
this model here, this is the Eclipse model. We do
a fully Sara cooded model which is called the Minotaur,
so identical model to this one when it comes to
the two K eleven pro, but it's Sarah coot top
to bottom. And what a lot of folks are familiar
with Sarah code. It is a baked on type finish.
We use our own Sarah coote which we call a
(13:51):
kimpro Finagh, which is a similar similar coding process again baking,
and it's very comparable when it comes to the durability.
But a lot of people are familiar with Saraho right,
and there's a lot more weathering aspects. You know that
you can do to make the gun look a little
bit more seasoned, if you will. That's very trendy, and
that's that's fine. So we do Saraho, the PVD, the DC,
(14:12):
and the Kimbro. So we offer a lot of different options.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
All right, but I'm holding this is really for the
last year for you guys, has been the hotness. It
is what i'd call it twenty eleven. You guys call
it the Kimber two K eleven two K eleven o
KY for Kimber. All right, So double Stack nineteen eleven.
It is so nice. It's so nice, guys. Just it's
(14:38):
what you would expect from a high end you know,
in double stack. Tell me the backstory on.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
This gun, certainly. So a lot of people would say
that this is our first high capacity nineteen eleven. Well
that's not the case, not truely.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
So actually, about about fifteen years ago, Kimber came out
with a model known as the Kimber ten and we
partnered with another industry brand that helped us produce a
polymer frame at that time, and it was available in
forty five automatic and nine milimeters. But to this day,
the team over at Metgar still makes magazines for the Kimbertins.
(15:13):
But at that time, the market just was not as
interested in high capacity nineteen elevens as they are now.
I mean, still very traditional. You know. Block was still
becoming glock at that point, you know, and nineteen elevens
were still kind of accepted as nineteen elevens, and just
it wasn't necessarily catching on. So when we went to
the market here recently, as any brand does and evolves,
(15:35):
you know, we kept carrying It's like, well, I love Camber,
but you don't have any high capacity moms. So when
it came right down to it, our first entry into
that high capacity modern market was our our seven makeo.
That polymer striker fired gun was definitely a step in
the right direction because it gave us the DNA of
being more than just a single stack family.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And I carried that gun for a while. We got
it in for doing some filming, and I was so
impressed with the shootability and the trigger that I was like,
I mean, this is kind of a It was unique
because he's maybe not like when people say what do
you carry and you say, Kimber our seven Mako, Like wait, what,
what's the A lot of people may not be familiar
(16:17):
with it if they're not gun nerds, well sure, but
it's a great shooting gun well.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And that's and honestly, at the at the core of
all of our DNA, from the rifles to the handguns,
is our relentless reliability in our in airent accuracy. So
there's opportunities in the past that we've had to improve,
We've had to overcome some some QC challenges along the way.
We embrace those. We realize that those things took place,
but we've overcome those and all the products that you
(16:41):
see here, you know, these are the fruits of that.
So just released last month, this is our our next
generation for the two K eleven and this is the
two K eleven pro. So in front of me here
I have what is we call our Eclipse model, so
very similar to some of our legacy Eclipse that it
has the polish flats, but it is a remarkably feature
and what a lot of people will say, well, hey, well,
(17:02):
what's the difference between this and a Prodigy or a
Stacado or it's actually quite a bit. So our con
come standard with an external extractor internally on the disconnector
there's a ramp to add to that really smooth action
that you were feeling and you kind of go back
before that. It doesn't overcome, it doesn't have that bump
to overcome when it comes to the disconnector like the
full size model, it has our tooliss guide rod which
(17:23):
we've patented. You roll, you push in on it, and
you cam it over and it captures that recoil Spring's cool.
And then ultimately we have a collaboration with MJD Designs
out of North Carolina and Matt Johnson. He's one of
the only folks in the industry who actually takes these
carbon fiber and kevlar grips and he machines that texture
into the wow yeah, so it's not molded, and then
(17:44):
he does his proprietary maguell So a lot of proprietary
features on the two K eleven's not only the traditional model,
but the pro here. This is what sets these guns
apart from a lot of the competition.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Is the maguel part of the grip or it's an.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Extra it is this is this is an add on.
So that and the same with the traditional I'm calling
it traditional now the two K eleven that's a Stanchen Magwell,
but this is an MJD.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Magwell, gotcha, and obviously everything is optics ready, you know,
do you what do you think what is the reason
for the double stack nine to eleven craze right now? Well?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I think, honestly, I've heard from a handful of folks
that it's it's striker fire fatigue. You know, this is
just so many and nothing against. There are some terrific
aftermarket companies that make really great accessories, but it's been
so ubiquitous for let's face it, twenty five years. This
is twenty twenty five and back before the Tupperware glock
(18:43):
was so synonymous. Now you've got folks who do a
tremendous clone with tremendous features, and maybe it's it's finally
gotten to the point where it matures. I mean, you
and I were speaking earlier about how the two K
eleven and that family has been around for quite a
long time. But I think I think the draw comes
from the fact that when people see these guns, they
can customize them. Yeah, there's a number of aftermarket folks
(19:06):
where now you can take the grip off, you can
add your own grip, you can put whatever optic on there.
That you see fit. You know, there's a lot of
different color variations and tonal changes, and the younger set
is very interested in making something their own. Yeah, you know,
for sure, that's a big draw.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I think you're right, and I think I mean, there's
been there's been a lot of gun sales in the
past fifteen years. I mean we've had several spikes and
gun sales where it just went like off the charts
and how many polymer pistols, how many? Well ar fifteen's
there's these certain categories that just got bought, block, block bought,
(19:45):
and I like them, you like them, They're great, But
at some point if you start be coming into guns,
you're like, I'm into guns. You've maybe filled that category
and you want something else. The other part is when
they pick up a really nice Nighte eighteen eleven and
maybe your only experiences with polymer Striker fire guns. This
(20:05):
has a completely different feel for shooting, right.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Oh yeah. I mean the reason that the John Browning
designed for the nineteen eleven has been around for so
long is the trigger. And what we've done is we
have created a recipe between the internal dimensions and the
manufacturing capability that we have to produce the best out
of the box production trigger that you can. So if
you're not familiar with how it works, there is a
(20:30):
bow that goes around the magazine and then it engages
the seer and the disconnector in the rear of the gun,
and that straight pullback mechanism doesn't really shift the gun.
You're using the mechanics of your muscles to make sure
that you push that trigger as little as humanly possible.
And I mean there's guys who go out there and
they dial it into several hundred thousands, where the trigger
(20:51):
shoe has to be X number of length, the bow
has to be a specific hardness. I see guys who
will drill holes to cut weight out of the trigger bow.
So I mean, to your point, I liken it to
maybe even owning and becoming familiar with automobiles. And I
think that a lot of people have used that in
our industry, you know, the car industry or the gun industry.
And when they go out and they've they got their
(21:12):
first car and get them for a to B, I'd
say the same thing about some firearms. And then as
they learn more and they become an enthusiast, they become
a little bit more discerning, better gas mileage, better comfort,
quieter cab. You know, gun that has superior trigger egonomics,
superior return to battery. And I know a lot of
young people out there and even a lot of the
older people like myself, when they shoot a gun, they
(21:33):
want to be able to control it. And you see
the ports are remarkably popular in the last several years.
Everybody's porting everything, and that is because people want that
desire to control the firearm, to bring those groups in
tighter and tighter and tight well.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
And another way put that is control a firearm or
not feeling like you're fighting the firearm, right. I mean,
there's you can pick up a gun, and I'm a
pretty decent shooter. I can run most guns pretty well.
But there's a difference between a gun where you're you're shooting,
you're recovering and recoiled, you're getting back on target, you're
re saying the trigger, you're pressing the trigger, your sights
on target, and you're kind of fighting it all along
(22:09):
and it's okay and you're fighting it. And then there
are guns like this two K eleven with the sro
on it, where you have all that whole package together
and you go, I'm not fighting this gun. This is
a dream and you're just going pin ping ping, ping ping,
and you just feel like is this magic? Like, I mean,
(22:30):
the gun's not not flipping in my hand, you know,
because I'm using a red dot with a big window
on it. I could just put that dot on like
you know, a plate rack and just go pink ping ping,
pin ping. It. It just changes the experience. I mean,
it really is. I mean that is a race car
of a gun. I mean you're going from if you're
if you're driving a I don't know, a camera and
(22:50):
then all of a sudden you're driving something where you say, oh,
this is a different experience. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Absolutely, And I mean that is as part of what
our Kimber process was and is again so the fit
and finish. I was talking to a couple of my
colleagues that Kimber is probably the best case scenario in
the industry that is combining the most advanced CNC technological
(23:15):
capabilities with the best of hand fit and finishing. There's
a terrific gun company in Arkansas that says one gun,
one gunsmith, and that holds true for what we do
and when I say that all of our pieces and
parts are manufactured in the United States. It's one hundred
percent American made gun. But then all those components come
to the desk of one person who assembles that gun
(23:38):
and make sure that the fit and finish is pristine.
So we've taken a lot of the guesswork out of
having to stone a hammer or finish an edge and
that sort of thing. So we've made those assemblies more efficient,
which is why you can produce a two K eleven
at a dramatically less cost than say, a comparably equipped
twenty eleven of a higher price point.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It takes a lot of skill for someone to take
all of those parts and pieces and put it together
and make sure that it's running like that two K
eleven would run. Talk about the people who are doing
that at Kimber Sure.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So one of the things that a lot of people
also don't realize is that every gun that you see
on the table there went through over two hundred thousand
rounds of ammunition in the testing process, two hundred thousand.
And we have a threshold where all of these guns
have to before any part piece or anything breaks, pin
moves forward, has to go through a continuous ten thousand
(24:36):
round testing process before it's considered production ready or production validation.
So we go through a developmental phase, developmental validation or
design validation if you will, and then production validation. And
part of the process is the engineer who's in charge
of that project and the project manager. They're saying, you know,
(24:58):
how is this gun returning to battery. The stop motion
and slow motion cameras that'll see how the cartridge is
coming into the battery. If it's losing control out of
the magazine to the magazine feed lips have to be adjusted.
So the process is very, very intense and it's arduous.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Some folks say, well, hey, you can just put a
port on that and send that out the door. You
know that's not the case. So John McCall and then
a number of other engineers within our engineering department were
integral and the overall design of the functionality of the
gun and a lot of the cosmetics that you see
are attributed to Petty Gega, who is our director of
(25:37):
finishing Assembly and then also product developing.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Yea, you were talking about, you know, I mean the
design on these guns. They're so gorgeous, but they have
some unique features like the slide cuts.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
You bet, so that specific colleague mind doesn't want me
to share it, but that design came from a very
personal ornament of jewelry that he shares with his daughter.
And I think that those things are important, especially when
you consider that that's how much of their selves that
they pour into the firearms.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Pull from inspiration from a lot of places.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Well, yeah, I mean it's very I mean, let's face it,
a firearm, like a car again, is a very emotional purchase,
is a very significant purchase. You're trusting your life in
some form or fashion to a firearm. You know, if
you're someone who is an everyday carry user or something
like that, this is a very important purchase. And I
think that, you know, our industry over the last decade
(26:28):
is sadly just kind of been focused on more panic
buying than passionate buying. And the one thing that is very,
very enjoyable working at Kimbers, you have passionate enthusiasts who
want to just go out and enjoy shooting again and
having a good time and saying, hey, I can go
home and take my target and brag to someone that
I controlled the gun well enough to take my group
(26:49):
from out here all the way into here, and that's
been what we've been shooting.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Well, I think that that's what you guys are doing
with these guns that are on the table. I mean,
we have a movement towards guns are shooting is fun
going to the range with your buddies, with your family.
It's just an enjoyable experience. Yes, they can be used
for serious stuff too, but when a gun runs like
(27:13):
you're driving the sports car, that's a fun experience. Oh
very much.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I mean, and nowadays they're the there's the ammunition companies
and Federal and Hornity and Barns. They they are producing
ammunition that's far more accurate than anything in the past.
I mean, you have odrives of bullets and designs themselves
that that that get the absolute best out of the
propellant and the barrel that the cartridge is fired out of.
(27:40):
And then you combine that with your frank proctors of
the world. You're Pat McNamara's, you're a Chris Costa's, anybody
who are who are masters of their craft when it
comes to you know, terrific forearm size and excellent firearm mechanics.
I mean, that's that's half of the battle. Right. You
can have a beautiful gun that shoots really well, but
then you have to master those fundamentals and implement those
(28:02):
implement those fundamentals to get the desired outcome that you want.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I mean, you're saying you can't just buy a fancy
gun and it'll make you a better shooter. Well you can.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
You can buy accuracy to a degree too. Address up
to you.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yes, dang it, we gotta go practice and train. Everybody
listens to this. Here's me just bitch about them all
the time, Like, you gotta get training, you gotta practice.
You know. I can go buy a Steinway Grand piano,
but it's not gonna help my piano playing very much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I love There's the Tom Cruise movie Jack reach Er.
He's talking to Robert Duval and they're getting ready to
shoot some guns and he says, how long has it
been since you've shot? He's like, you worried about my skills?
And he says it is a perishable skill. So yes,
oh wow, marksmanship is a perishable skill.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
With that, I haven't seen that scene. That's great. Uh,
there's been a lot of changes. I mean, we're talking
about these very cool guns that are on the table
in the past couple of years. You go to shows,
you go to in a race show, you got a
shot show, I mean, uh, some of the big public shows.
What do people say when they come into Kimber booth
or what are you? What are they asking about?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Well, believe it or not, And we were alluding it
to it earlier. One of the things I get off
asked most is where's going to be Kimber rifles? So
if it's not that it's normally, Hey, I love my Kimber,
my wife's Kimber, my dad's Kimber, my Kimber. I have
so many Kimbers, and it really is. We're very fortunate
that we have a fan base that has collected Kimbers.
(29:29):
I can't tell you how many times we'll go to
the Dallas Safari Club show or other events where they're like,
I've got a dozen of them in my safe, you know.
And there's there's other individuals out there and and I
failed to remember their names, where they happily confidently say
that they have one of everything, and I'm just thinking
that that's more than we've got.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Really.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Oh yeah, So they are out there but no. I
mean a lot of folks are looking forward to and
and at Shot Show this year, we're going to debut
some the return of some legacy rifles, so we'd step
away from some woodstock rifles. We're getting back into that comfortably.
It was a category that we happily say was hibernating,
(30:08):
but has come out of hibernation, so we're going to
step back into those markets as well. It was one
of those opportunities like we did with some of the
other things, where we had a chance to overcome it
and come back into it. And fortunately the leadership is
right and the people who are controlling the product or
right as well, so the timing is good.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
That's a big that's a big one, guys. I mean,
there's gonna be a lot of people excited about that news.
Another category that maybe people don't think of Kimber for immediately,
but when you brought out revolvers, everyone went and shot
it to try it out, to go, ah, let's see
what Kimmers do with this thing, and went, oh wow,
this is a very nice revolver. Talk about the revolvers.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
So the Revolver has been actually a sleeper for the
brand since its introduction I believe it was in twenty
eighteen YEA, and ultimately it was kind of caught off guard,
but it really fit the DNA. So it has what
we call our Kimber non stacking signature trigger. And our
latest introduction in the last few years has been the
K six Excess, so it's designed to go head to
(31:09):
head with other lightweight revolvers. It's a little bit more
it's around four ninety nine five nine nine depending on
where you can find it, but it has an aluminum frame,
it has a stainless steel barrel, but it also has
a six shot cylinder where a lot of the competitors
have a five shot cylinder. Ye So really ideal for
what we call an ankle gun or a backup gun,
and it really You've seen a number of our competitors
(31:31):
do well with their revolver lines in recent years, but
with the revolver category kind of ebbs and flows like
the weather. You know, it's it's good one year and
it's kind of not so good the other year. And
I mean, they're the one thing that I do love
about revolvers is they're reliable. Every time you pull the trigger,
that cylinder rotates and a shot goes down range. I
(31:51):
have one of our K six s's in my safe
right now, and I mean, I'm I'm comfortable with that
in a three fifty seven. You know, I look forward
to what we've got coming out as well, because that's
another category that has kind of been hibernating, and people
have been looking for larger calibers, some optics ready calibers,
and I think, you know, maybe late next year people
(32:11):
will be pleasantly surprised.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Okay, some new stuff coming with that. You know, Hodgden,
they're the gunpowder people. Let's talk about Hodgden's CFE black
or BLK. Actually it's a spherical propellant. It's designed specifically
for the three hundred Blackout cartridge. It also includes their CFE,
their copper fouling eraser ingredient, top accuracy with less barrel
(32:34):
cleaning time. We can all like that. It's also great
for other smaller capacity cartridges like the six eight Remington,
the seven six two x thirty nine Russian cartridge. But
check it out. It's from Hodgden. It's a CFE black
BLK over at Hodgden dot com on an ar. Then
it's time to really learn what it can do. The
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(32:58):
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(33:20):
test yourself and your setup in competition. Find an event
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That's AARC dot NRA dot org, and if you're a
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(33:41):
fast approaching. NRA ARC Safariland's latest upgrade to its award
winning inside the waistband holster the incog X Credura wrapped holster.
This is engineered for low profile, everyday carry that doesn't
compromise on performance. It's available in multi camm black, MULTIICAM
(34:01):
and M eighty one Woodland Camo. Designed for optics ready pistols,
the Clipstrut system adds concealability by pushing the grip of
your fire. I'm closer to the body ideal for appendix
carry under light clothing. It has adjustable retention and cants
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(34:21):
attached to mag caddy that comes standard. It's not just tactical,
it's tailored new from Safari Land, the incog X cordera
wrapped holster. Yeah, I've I've kind of been messing around
with revolver carry, not pocket carry, but because I'm not
really an appendix guy, but that's been like, you know what,
(34:45):
this is an easy way to carry. Maybe it's like
the gun I carry when I'm not carrying. I mean, yeah,
it's I can do. It'll do the trick, but I can.
I think I have more flexibility and the clothes I
wear or whatever. But I'm a little bit I'm sorry, guys,
I'm just a little bit more comfortable with a revolver
in an appendix situation than maybe a Semiauto. That because
(35:07):
I don't usually have guns with thumb safeties and stuff
like that.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
So sure, yeah, I mean when you consider that that
market itself, the old way to carry revolvers was hammered
down on an empty chamber, you know, so if you
add five shots, you ultimately only add four. So I
mean there's an inherent nature to the weight of a
double action, single action revolver that ten to twelve pounds
on the initial pole isn't going to be something that
(35:31):
you do unless it's deliberate.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Yeah, you know, definitely deliberate.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
And I myself, I am not an appendix carry guy,
and I think that those folks who do it's great.
I have a little bit more around my mid section.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
We live a life of abundance.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I do, I do. What can I say? I'm a
fast food fan, So no, I mean there's the revolver
category still has a place because of that. It's designed
to say, hey, look when I pull that out and
I have to action that gun in a specific circumstance,
the trigger pull is going to be very deliberate.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
But smooth. I mean the K six, those guns, it's
not like the old school revolvers where we have this
very to me, it wasn't a very heavy trigger poll.
It was a smooth trigger pole. You've been there for
a while now, I mean, what are some of the
standouts for you that you just like that Maybe people
haven't thought of or you just have a favorite.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Well, sure, I was asked earlier. I mean between the
two K elevens and the next Gen nineteen elevens. I
love our revolvers. I'm a big fan of the two
K eleven. I'm working on kind of customizing one of
my own, and I would have to say that I
was really happy the way the Next Gen nineteen eleven
turned out. But my favorite gun that we've released the
(36:45):
in recent years has been our CDs nine and that
one is kind of fallen into the wayside a little
bit with all of the two K elevens and our
CDs nine, which stands for Covert double Stack nine millimeter,
and it is probably what I would definitely say encompasses
our tagline of what all guns should be so fully ambidextrous.
(37:07):
It has an ambidextra safety and ambidextra slide release. It
has a reversible magazine release, comes in either a ten,
thirteen or fifteen round magazine, has an optic cut and
also has a rail. But then we and that one
on the street is around eight nine nine nine nine
nine depannel where you can get but our latest introduction
is our CDs nine Classic, so you and I before
(37:28):
we got on air, we're talking about kind of some
of the younger set that is wanting a more slick
down version. So the CDs nine Classic is going to
be a lot less expensive, doesn't have an optics installed,
doesn't have a rail. So if you're looking for a
much more concealed gun that's very small, doesn't sacrifice capacity,
the CDs nine Light, it's definitely where you want to go.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Well, and we we were kind of playing with these,
you were giving us the rundown the CDs nine. I mean, again,
for a small, concealed carry type gun, trigger, I mean,
that's gonna be super shootable, has real sights on it,
and I mean it's it's all metal gun. Oh yeah, okay, yeah,
so it feels it just feels like a very shootable gun.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Oh and we've we've seen people One of the things
that a lot of people haven't really been talking about
is the trend away from tritium sites. So between our
two K elevens our next Gen nineteen elevens, none of
those have tritium sites. So the team over at Tag
Precision out of Texas, then it does a really good job.
(38:33):
Their fiberlock front site comes in here and does everything
you need it to do when it comes from what
I would consider a traditional target site. So you have
your your flat rear site and then you have a
red carbon fiber or fiberlock piece up front. So hammer
fired gun.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
This one has a very traditional nineteen eleven style trigger bowl,
so you get that very very very consistent straight wall
and then you get that pull that takes up the
creep and then break gotcha. So it takes the best
features and attributes of our legacy nineteen elevens. Our next
gen nineteen elevens are two K elevens and all of
(39:08):
that same trigger geometry, that legendary John Browning trigger geometry
and incorporates it into our CDs nine family as well.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Thinking about carry guns, do you guys work with Holster
companies when you're bringing out these guns, especially carry guns?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Oh? Yeah, So we've gotten a lot better at that
than we had in the past. We've run into some
struggles with some of our own timing, but with companies
such as Mission First, Tactical, Southern Trapper TXC out of Texas.
There's a number of Holster companies that we partner with
and that are Kimber fans that were Kimber fans back
in the day, and when we've approached them now, they're
(39:44):
even bigger fans. And it is a very telling sign
that appendix carry kind of wins out with a lot
of people wanting more of those holsters. Yeah, the days
of exterior leather are kind of trending down, you know,
but we still have the legacy clients that are out
there that wanta a leather holster, and Southern Trapper does
a great job. And then on the polymer side mission
(40:06):
first Tactical Phobus TXC YUT.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
We partner with quite a few, okay, so they can
get they can get that C nine and get holds
fine holsters for it.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Oh yeah, yeah, we have folsters available on our website.
And then there's a couple of other brands out there,
without a doubt, very.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Cool, lots of stuff coming for you, guys.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
We are and if you like that CDs nine. I
was telling a telling some other guys that we have
a gun that that's gonna be a going head to
head with here around shot show. We're gonna have a
little bit of a line extension for the CDs nine.
We're gonna have another line extension for our two K
eleven family. We're actually going to have a line extension
for the next gens as well.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Not your not your timber of old I mean, is
that fair to say, I'm not picking on old Gimber,
but no, no, it feels it feels like there's different
things happening there.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Well, very much so. So every company goes through its
ebbs and flows and and and always has opportunities. And
one of the opportunities for us was shortening the product
development life cycle. Okay, so we ended up doing a
lot of testing in the past, which you always want
to do, but there was not always an opportunity to
really shorten the life cycle as far as the development time.
(41:17):
So we've done a much better job of planning out
when we're coming to market with products, what the consumer
would look for next. And we have increased the cadence
and we're still kind of tweaking that some of the
things have been a little too fast here and there.
You got to make sure it's right, you're well and available,
you know. That's probably the biggest thing is that we've
(41:38):
run to some challenges with some availability, but we're working
on that.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
As well.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
But yeah, instead of just you know, one new gun
every four years, now we're looking at a new model
at least every year, if not every eighteen months.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Oh wow, So the next one is going to be
a three klow and everybody, triple stack. You heard it here, first.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Triple stack twenty two.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
You never know, we're gonna get in trouble. Man. Thanks
for being with us.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
That was funny. Ryan's terrific, and thanks for having me.
It's been a great time.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Yeah. So that's it, guys. That's kind of the latest
from Camber. I hope it was enlightening. It was for
me to see all the really new stuff they're doing.
And we will see you next time on gun Dog Nation.
What is the reason for the double stack nine to
eleven craze right now?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Well, I think, honestly, I've heard from a handful of
folks that it's it's striker fire fatigue.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I'm Ryan Gresham and this this is guntog Nation. Guntog
Nation is brought to you by Kimber, hodgten Nra, Safariland
(00:37):
Eotech and Range Ready. Hey, welcome in to guntalg Nation
today on Gun Talk Nation. A brand that you know,
I guarantee you know, I guarantee that you've seen their
marketing over the years and they've done a lot of
things and have a lot of fan boys, but you
may not have heard from them in a little while,
(00:58):
at least on this show. So it's exciting for me
to have here in the studio. Kimber Firearms Everdegger Welcome
in man.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Any how's it going, dude.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I'm so glad you're here. I mean, we were been
walking around, we were showing us some of the guns.
We've got guns on the table. So if you're listening
to this via podcast, you can go watch it. Go
watch it on you know, all of our video channels
and check it out because you've got the pretty guns
on the table. But I mean it's so true to me.
To me, Kimber is everybody knows Kimber. I mean you guys,
(01:30):
especially when gun magazines were they still exist, but where
they were like the only way you could find out
about stuff Kimber was there on full page ads, on
the back cover and all these things. And it's kind
of this brand. It's been on a journey, wouldn't you say? Oh?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Absolutely so. Last year was Kimber's forty fifth anniversary, which
is kind of ironic a company known for making nineteen
eleven forty five's has been around for forty five years. Yeah,
but a lot of folks don't realize that we actually
started as a rifle company back in the late seventies,
nineteen seventy nine. So it has been quite a bit
of a journey. We've run into a number of really
(02:08):
great folks along the way. Chip McCormick was one of
them who really helped establish our brand for nineteen elevens
and had a lot of really great folks who've been
a part of the brand, who's helped develop the brand.
And to your point, we were everywhere when it came
to print and now we're everywhere when it can be digital.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Sure, I mean, stay with the times. People were learning
about guns, not just on the magazine shelves. But you
mentioned rifles. So I wanted to ask you about it
because I feel like I still hear people talk about
Kimber rifles, and I mean, they were very nice rifles.
(02:47):
But are you guys not doing rifles anymore? Or what's
the story?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
You bet so that there is a terrific history. So
if you go back all the way to the beginning
Jack Warren, who founded the company, which was purchased by
the Edelman family, we'd got our reputations started with twenty
two room fires, and the rifles have been an integral
part of the brand for a number of years. And
what sent Kimber apart kind of in more of modern
(03:13):
times in mainstream, especially in the mid to mid early
two thousands was our mountainous scent line.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
So we really created a gun that, like, not unlike
some of our current pistols, was designed by enthusiasts who
were literally working on building a better product for themselves.
The people at Kimber are like, I just want this guy,
well yeah, yeah, I mean, and aren't the best products
come about that way. So at the time years ago,
Kimber's marketing wing was in Montana, so they had a
(03:41):
lot of really tremendous access to some of the most
beautiful hunting country anywhere, and you had different altitudes, You
had a lot of different circumstances, and a lot of
the end users at the time were saying, well, hey,
the rifle needs to be this particular weight, the barrel
has to have this particular contourhere, the action needs to
be fluted. You know, how far can we take it
to make it as lightweight as possible? And the lightweight
(04:05):
Hunter and the mountain Ascent rifles were born.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
So you guys were one of, if not the first
big gun company to be doing those lightweight mountain rifles.
I mean, you had the Ultra Light Arms guys and
some others that kind of specialize in that, but they're
sort of boutique shops and made it very popular and
people going, wait, a rifle can be this lightweight to carry,
(04:29):
especially uphills?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, yeah, I mean one of the sad aspects I
would say misnombers in our entire industry is recoil. You know,
you see it every day where people are putting comps
on pistols to defeat the ominous recoil. Right, And if
you consider the academics and the fundamentals of how you shoot,
you're going to mitigate recoil instinctively. You know, either how
you hold the rifle, how you hold the pistol. And
(04:53):
even if you're going to carve out so much weight,
I mean, guys are going even further now, where the
docks are even shorter and the barrels are down to
about eighteen inches, where it almost looks like it should
be a training tour versus a hunting rifle. I mean,
David Fabian approached me as a writer for guns and
Ammo years ago and he said, hey, what do you
think of this? And he goes to his car and
(05:14):
he pulls out this rifle and it's a Kimber and
I mean, and he's got the holes drilled in the action,
and the scope rings are moved a little bit, and
the barrel is so short, and I mean, and I'm picking,
you know, you pick up rifle, it's like this. But
then David hands me this rifle. It's kind of like that.
I'm like, do you make Christmas?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah? You're ready to like, hold up something that weighs
ten pounds.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, I know what I mean, And you're where's the wait? Yeah, exactly.
I mean. So Kimber really did a great job and
has always done a really good job of kind of
leading some innovation in some categories and then just taking
what other people have done others and kind of advancing that.
So the rifle category at that time, the Mountain Ascent
rifles really kind of tailored in that era of and
(05:55):
it wasn't just rifles that then bled into all kinds
of other areas. You know, lightweight, wicking fabrics. You know,
the days of waxed canvas were really trending out. You know,
your wolves, your canvases, your Bob Allen apparel and things
like that. That was the furniture of the past, right,
and then you see the influx of Sitka. So at
(06:16):
that time Kimber had partnered with Sitka to have matching
patterns and zys optics as far as that was concerned.
So it was very much a system.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
You know, well, and now you've become a major handgun
company and perhaps probably thought of as a handgun company
more than the rifles. But I know that some people
listening as that nostalgia and like whatever happened to the
rifle thing? So I mean non for nineteen elevens. I
mean that's probably what people say Kimber handguns. They think
nineteen elevens. But give people a little bit of backstory
(06:48):
because things have been changing in Morphing for you guys
over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You bet, you bet so we have had We've had
a lot of opportunities and we've been very fortunate when
it comes to the way that the customer has continued
to accept and receive the brand. So a lot of
credit goes out to the first folks who were marketing
the brand, Dwight Van Brunt, a legend in the industry
in his own right. It's responsible for a lot of
of the way Kimber came about as far as their perception.
(07:13):
And you know, one of the things that happened was
mister Edelman, the owner of the organization, was approached years
ago and said, hey, you know, if you were able
to take a nineteen eleven and you were able to
customize it the way you would send it off to
gun shops and do this or tweak this or around
this and polish this. You'd sell the crap out of him.
And he had the foresight at the time. You know,
(07:33):
he came from a sporting goods manufacturer or a sporting
good store background. His family owned those in New Jersey.
And what he did was he said, you know what,
you're right. And Chip McCormick at the time, who since
passed away, he was a legend in his own right
as far as customizations. They brought him on board and said, again,
you know, you polish this here, you shorten this, here,
(07:54):
you extend a beavertail to prevent any of the ominous
slide bite that would have before. These are the.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Things that people were sending their guns off to gunsmiths
to have done. And I mean, we've seen this in
a lot of different industries. Right, what are people doing
in the aftermarket to customize their thing, their car, their gun,
whatever it may be. And then a big manufacturer says,
we'll just make it where you could buy the gun
(08:20):
like this.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, sure, I mean, and a lot of the folks
who were returning from the Vietnam conflict at the time
in the late seventies early eighties were doing that to
government model nineteen elevens, right, and then they would buy
colts and do the same thing, you know, And it
was not it was it wasn't the firearms manufacturer's job
to prevent to present custom features. And Kimber literally created
(08:42):
that market. So when it comes to the Kimber story,
that is the foundation of what Kimber is and was
was we take a standard product, we customize it, and
we put that into your hand at half of the
price it would take you to go and have that
done somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah, you guys have you are known for pretty guns,
and I mean we all who wouldn't want a pretty gun?
But they stand out and you've been doing it well
for years. We talked a lot about coatings and finishes.
After the break, I want you to give us the
secret behind all this. You bet six Eotech brought out
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(09:40):
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The new CDs nine Classic from Kimber offers a more
(10:23):
refined offering of concealed carry pistol. The CDs nine Classic
shares many elements with the traditional CDs nine such as ten,
thirteen and fifteen round magazine capacity. The Classic model features
fully ambi controls and also available in an optics ready configuration.
The CDs nine Classic is a refined and smooth edc
(10:44):
firearm that provides the accuracy you need and the performance
you expect from Kimber. So people know Kimber very pretty
guns in colors flavor. Over the years, there's been a
lot of them Tiffany guns come to mind at some point,
(11:05):
I think.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, we didn't call it a Tiffany, but it was
a bell Air. Was our models a bell Air?
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, but I mean, you know, along those lines, and
that wasn't gonna go here. But perhaps a lot of
women own nineteen eleven's because of Kember, I mean from
the past, not picking on like, but it was just
they were just attractive guns.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Sure. No, I mean it's in the DNA for the
brand to create eye catching firearms. Yeah, and we have
done that for decades now. I mean in the last
several years, we've done ultramodels, the three and a half
or the three inch barreled models that were in sapphire,
which is a blue. They've had emerald, which was a green.
(11:45):
There was a rose gold color.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So at the end of the day, you're right.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I mean, ladies were looking for guns that would be
presented as more feminine. Sure, you know. So that opened
up the doorway to a lot of even what you
see on some of the guns in front of you here,
which is a PVD code, which is a physical vapor
deposition which really draws in molecules to change the chemical
structure of the metal and presented with a different tone.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Well, that's what I wanted to talk about, because you
guys use a lot of different types of finishes and coatings.
Talk about each one maybe, like what does it do
for the consumer? How do you choose each one when
you're when you guys are designed the gun.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, certainly so. I mean when it comes to even
some of the legacy models there there is a lot
of PbD or DLC coding. So DLC standing for diamond
like carbon. So it's going to be another baked on material,
not baked but actually chemically coded material that enhances the durability.
So it's not just a spray paint like in terms
of a cryalon as you would think about it, the
(12:42):
PVD the or the DLC. The PVD is going to
be a little bit more fragile, but it's going to
give you that really beautifully enhanced tone. You see that
in the bronze finish of two K eleven.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Here I have to pick this up. Sure, yeah, we've
got the two K eleven, which we're going to get
into all these these new sex the Kimbers that you
guys have been doing. But this is a dl SEASON.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Pbdum slide and then a DLC coded barrel.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Yes, okay, and it adds durability. It does there.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
But one thing to make sure is that it is
not impenetrable, okay, so you know if you drop it
on concrete or if you scuff it against metal, it
will mar the finish. But it's designed to enhance cosmetics
but then also provide a level of durability.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yancha, what about Sarah co do you guys still do that?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
We do? We do so on our pros. You'll see
this model here, this is the Eclipse model. We do
a fully Sara cooded model which is called the Minotaur,
so identical model to this one when it comes to
the two K eleven pro, but it's Sarah coot top
to bottom. And what a lot of folks are familiar
with Sarah code. It is a baked on type finish.
We use our own Sarah coote which we call a
(13:51):
kimpro Finagh, which is a similar similar coding process again baking,
and it's very comparable when it comes to the durability.
But a lot of people are familiar with Saraho right,
and there's a lot more weathering aspects. You know that
you can do to make the gun look a little
bit more seasoned, if you will. That's very trendy, and
that's that's fine. So we do Saraho, the PVD, the DC,
(14:12):
and the Kimbro. So we offer a lot of different options.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
All right, but I'm holding this is really for the
last year for you guys, has been the hotness. It
is what i'd call it twenty eleven. You guys call
it the Kimber two K eleven two K eleven o
KY for Kimber. All right, So double Stack nineteen eleven.
It is so nice. It's so nice, guys. Just it's
(14:38):
what you would expect from a high end you know,
in double stack. Tell me the backstory on.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
This gun, certainly. So a lot of people would say
that this is our first high capacity nineteen eleven. Well
that's not the case, not truely.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
So actually, about about fifteen years ago, Kimber came out
with a model known as the Kimber ten and we
partnered with another industry brand that helped us produce a
polymer frame at that time, and it was available in
forty five automatic and nine milimeters. But to this day,
the team over at Metgar still makes magazines for the Kimbertins.
(15:13):
But at that time, the market just was not as
interested in high capacity nineteen elevens as they are now.
I mean, still very traditional. You know. Block was still
becoming glock at that point, you know, and nineteen elevens
were still kind of accepted as nineteen elevens, and just
it wasn't necessarily catching on. So when we went to
the market here recently, as any brand does and evolves,
(15:35):
you know, we kept carrying It's like, well, I love Camber,
but you don't have any high capacity moms. So when
it came right down to it, our first entry into
that high capacity modern market was our our seven makeo.
That polymer striker fired gun was definitely a step in
the right direction because it gave us the DNA of
being more than just a single stack family.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
And I carried that gun for a while. We got
it in for doing some filming, and I was so
impressed with the shootability and the trigger that I was like,
I mean, this is kind of a It was unique
because he's maybe not like when people say what do
you carry and you say, Kimber our seven Mako, Like wait, what,
what's the A lot of people may not be familiar
(16:17):
with it if they're not gun nerds, well sure, but
it's a great shooting gun well.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And that's and honestly, at the at the core of
all of our DNA, from the rifles to the handguns,
is our relentless reliability in our in airent accuracy. So
there's opportunities in the past that we've had to improve,
We've had to overcome some some QC challenges along the way.
We embrace those. We realize that those things took place,
but we've overcome those and all the products that you
(16:41):
see here, you know, these are the fruits of that.
So just released last month, this is our our next
generation for the two K eleven and this is the
two K eleven pro. So in front of me here
I have what is we call our Eclipse model, so
very similar to some of our legacy Eclipse that it
has the polish flats, but it is a remarkably feature
and what a lot of people will say, well, hey, well,
(17:02):
what's the difference between this and a Prodigy or a
Stacado or it's actually quite a bit. So our con
come standard with an external extractor internally on the disconnector
there's a ramp to add to that really smooth action
that you were feeling and you kind of go back
before that. It doesn't overcome, it doesn't have that bump
to overcome when it comes to the disconnector like the
full size model, it has our tooliss guide rod which
(17:23):
we've patented. You roll, you push in on it, and
you cam it over and it captures that recoil Spring's cool.
And then ultimately we have a collaboration with MJD Designs
out of North Carolina and Matt Johnson. He's one of
the only folks in the industry who actually takes these
carbon fiber and kevlar grips and he machines that texture
into the wow yeah, so it's not molded, and then
(17:44):
he does his proprietary maguell So a lot of proprietary
features on the two K eleven's not only the traditional model,
but the pro here. This is what sets these guns
apart from a lot of the competition.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Is the maguel part of the grip or it's an.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Extra it is this is this is an add on.
So that and the same with the traditional I'm calling
it traditional now the two K eleven that's a Stanchen Magwell,
but this is an MJD.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Magwell, gotcha, and obviously everything is optics ready, you know,
do you what do you think what is the reason
for the double stack nine to eleven craze right now? Well?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I think, honestly, I've heard from a handful of folks
that it's it's striker fire fatigue. You know, this is
just so many and nothing against. There are some terrific
aftermarket companies that make really great accessories, but it's been
so ubiquitous for let's face it, twenty five years. This
is twenty twenty five and back before the Tupperware glock
(18:43):
was so synonymous. Now you've got folks who do a
tremendous clone with tremendous features, and maybe it's it's finally
gotten to the point where it matures. I mean, you
and I were speaking earlier about how the two K
eleven and that family has been around for quite a
long time. But I think I think the draw comes
from the fact that when people see these guns, they
can customize them. Yeah, there's a number of aftermarket folks
(19:06):
where now you can take the grip off, you can
add your own grip, you can put whatever optic on there.
That you see fit. You know, there's a lot of
different color variations and tonal changes, and the younger set
is very interested in making something their own. Yeah, you know,
for sure, that's a big draw.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I think you're right, and I think I mean, there's
been there's been a lot of gun sales in the
past fifteen years. I mean we've had several spikes and
gun sales where it just went like off the charts
and how many polymer pistols, how many? Well ar fifteen's
there's these certain categories that just got bought, block, block bought,
(19:45):
and I like them, you like them, They're great, But
at some point if you start be coming into guns,
you're like, I'm into guns. You've maybe filled that category
and you want something else. The other part is when
they pick up a really nice Nighte eighteen eleven and
maybe your only experiences with polymer Striker fire guns. This
(20:05):
has a completely different feel for shooting, right.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Oh yeah. I mean the reason that the John Browning
designed for the nineteen eleven has been around for so
long is the trigger. And what we've done is we
have created a recipe between the internal dimensions and the
manufacturing capability that we have to produce the best out
of the box production trigger that you can. So if
you're not familiar with how it works, there is a
(20:30):
bow that goes around the magazine and then it engages
the seer and the disconnector in the rear of the gun,
and that straight pullback mechanism doesn't really shift the gun.
You're using the mechanics of your muscles to make sure
that you push that trigger as little as humanly possible.
And I mean there's guys who go out there and
they dial it into several hundred thousands, where the trigger
(20:51):
shoe has to be X number of length, the bow
has to be a specific hardness. I see guys who
will drill holes to cut weight out of the trigger bow.
So I mean, to your point, I liken it to
maybe even owning and becoming familiar with automobiles. And I
think that a lot of people have used that in
our industry, you know, the car industry or the gun industry.
And when they go out and they've they got their
(21:12):
first car and get them for a to B, I'd
say the same thing about some firearms. And then as
they learn more and they become an enthusiast, they become
a little bit more discerning, better gas mileage, better comfort,
quieter cab. You know, gun that has superior trigger egonomics,
superior return to battery. And I know a lot of
young people out there and even a lot of the
older people like myself, when they shoot a gun, they
(21:33):
want to be able to control it. And you see
the ports are remarkably popular in the last several years.
Everybody's porting everything, and that is because people want that
desire to control the firearm, to bring those groups in
tighter and tighter and tight well.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
And another way put that is control a firearm or
not feeling like you're fighting the firearm, right. I mean,
there's you can pick up a gun, and I'm a
pretty decent shooter. I can run most guns pretty well.
But there's a difference between a gun where you're you're shooting,
you're recovering and recoiled, you're getting back on target, you're
re saying the trigger, you're pressing the trigger, your sights
on target, and you're kind of fighting it all along
(22:09):
and it's okay and you're fighting it. And then there
are guns like this two K eleven with the sro
on it, where you have all that whole package together
and you go, I'm not fighting this gun. This is
a dream and you're just going pin ping ping, ping ping,
and you just feel like is this magic? Like, I mean,
(22:30):
the gun's not not flipping in my hand, you know,
because I'm using a red dot with a big window
on it. I could just put that dot on like
you know, a plate rack and just go pink ping ping,
pin ping. It. It just changes the experience. I mean,
it really is. I mean that is a race car
of a gun. I mean you're going from if you're
if you're driving a I don't know, a camera and
(22:50):
then all of a sudden you're driving something where you say, oh,
this is a different experience. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Absolutely, And I mean that is as part of what
our Kimber process was and is again so the fit
and finish. I was talking to a couple of my
colleagues that Kimber is probably the best case scenario in
the industry that is combining the most advanced CNC technological
(23:15):
capabilities with the best of hand fit and finishing. There's
a terrific gun company in Arkansas that says one gun,
one gunsmith, and that holds true for what we do
and when I say that all of our pieces and
parts are manufactured in the United States. It's one hundred
percent American made gun. But then all those components come
to the desk of one person who assembles that gun
(23:38):
and make sure that the fit and finish is pristine.
So we've taken a lot of the guesswork out of
having to stone a hammer or finish an edge and
that sort of thing. So we've made those assemblies more efficient,
which is why you can produce a two K eleven
at a dramatically less cost than say, a comparably equipped
twenty eleven of a higher price point.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It takes a lot of skill for someone to take
all of those parts and pieces and put it together
and make sure that it's running like that two K
eleven would run. Talk about the people who are doing
that at Kimber Sure.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
So one of the things that a lot of people
also don't realize is that every gun that you see
on the table there went through over two hundred thousand
rounds of ammunition in the testing process, two hundred thousand.
And we have a threshold where all of these guns
have to before any part piece or anything breaks, pin
moves forward, has to go through a continuous ten thousand
(24:36):
round testing process before it's considered production ready or production validation.
So we go through a developmental phase, developmental validation or
design validation if you will, and then production validation. And
part of the process is the engineer who's in charge
of that project and the project manager. They're saying, you know,
(24:58):
how is this gun returning to battery. The stop motion
and slow motion cameras that'll see how the cartridge is
coming into the battery. If it's losing control out of
the magazine to the magazine feed lips have to be adjusted.
So the process is very, very intense and it's arduous.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Some folks say, well, hey, you can just put a
port on that and send that out the door. You
know that's not the case. So John McCall and then
a number of other engineers within our engineering department were
integral and the overall design of the functionality of the
gun and a lot of the cosmetics that you see
are attributed to Petty Gega, who is our director of
(25:37):
finishing Assembly and then also product developing.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Yea, you were talking about, you know, I mean the
design on these guns. They're so gorgeous, but they have
some unique features like the slide cuts.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
You bet, so that specific colleague mind doesn't want me
to share it, but that design came from a very
personal ornament of jewelry that he shares with his daughter.
And I think that those things are important, especially when
you consider that that's how much of their selves that
they pour into the firearms.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Pull from inspiration from a lot of places.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Well, yeah, I mean it's very I mean, let's face it,
a firearm, like a car again, is a very emotional purchase,
is a very significant purchase. You're trusting your life in
some form or fashion to a firearm. You know, if
you're someone who is an everyday carry user or something
like that, this is a very important purchase. And I
think that, you know, our industry over the last decade
(26:28):
is sadly just kind of been focused on more panic
buying than passionate buying. And the one thing that is very,
very enjoyable working at Kimbers, you have passionate enthusiasts who
want to just go out and enjoy shooting again and
having a good time and saying, hey, I can go
home and take my target and brag to someone that
I controlled the gun well enough to take my group
(26:49):
from out here all the way into here, and that's
been what we've been shooting.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Well, I think that that's what you guys are doing
with these guns that are on the table. I mean,
we have a movement towards guns are shooting is fun
going to the range with your buddies, with your family.
It's just an enjoyable experience. Yes, they can be used
for serious stuff too, but when a gun runs like
(27:13):
you're driving the sports car, that's a fun experience. Oh
very much.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I mean, and nowadays they're the there's the ammunition companies
and Federal and Hornity and Barns. They they are producing
ammunition that's far more accurate than anything in the past.
I mean, you have odrives of bullets and designs themselves
that that that get the absolute best out of the
propellant and the barrel that the cartridge is fired out of.
(27:40):
And then you combine that with your frank proctors of
the world. You're Pat McNamara's, you're a Chris Costa's, anybody
who are who are masters of their craft when it
comes to you know, terrific forearm size and excellent firearm mechanics.
I mean, that's that's half of the battle. Right. You
can have a beautiful gun that shoots really well, but
then you have to master those fundamentals and implement those
(28:02):
implement those fundamentals to get the desired outcome that you want.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
I mean, you're saying you can't just buy a fancy
gun and it'll make you a better shooter. Well you can.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
You can buy accuracy to a degree too. Address up
to you.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yes, dang it, we gotta go practice and train. Everybody
listens to this. Here's me just bitch about them all
the time, Like, you gotta get training, you gotta practice.
You know. I can go buy a Steinway Grand piano,
but it's not gonna help my piano playing very much. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I love There's the Tom Cruise movie Jack reach Er.
He's talking to Robert Duval and they're getting ready to
shoot some guns and he says, how long has it
been since you've shot? He's like, you worried about my skills?
And he says it is a perishable skill. So yes,
oh wow, marksmanship is a perishable skill.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
With that, I haven't seen that scene. That's great. Uh,
there's been a lot of changes. I mean, we're talking
about these very cool guns that are on the table
in the past couple of years. You go to shows,
you go to in a race show, you got a
shot show, I mean, uh, some of the big public shows.
What do people say when they come into Kimber booth
or what are you? What are they asking about?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Well, believe it or not, And we were alluding it
to it earlier. One of the things I get off
asked most is where's going to be Kimber rifles? So
if it's not that it's normally, Hey, I love my Kimber,
my wife's Kimber, my dad's Kimber, my Kimber. I have
so many Kimbers, and it really is. We're very fortunate
that we have a fan base that has collected Kimbers.
(29:29):
I can't tell you how many times we'll go to
the Dallas Safari Club show or other events where they're like,
I've got a dozen of them in my safe, you know.
And there's there's other individuals out there and and I
failed to remember their names, where they happily confidently say
that they have one of everything, and I'm just thinking
that that's more than we've got.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Really.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Oh yeah, So they are out there but no. I
mean a lot of folks are looking forward to and
and at Shot Show this year, we're going to debut
some the return of some legacy rifles, so we'd step
away from some woodstock rifles. We're getting back into that comfortably.
It was a category that we happily say was hibernating,
(30:08):
but has come out of hibernation, so we're going to
step back into those markets as well. It was one
of those opportunities like we did with some of the
other things, where we had a chance to overcome it
and come back into it. And fortunately the leadership is
right and the people who are controlling the product or
right as well, so the timing is good.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
That's a big that's a big one, guys. I mean,
there's gonna be a lot of people excited about that news.
Another category that maybe people don't think of Kimber for immediately,
but when you brought out revolvers, everyone went and shot
it to try it out, to go, ah, let's see
what Kimmers do with this thing, and went, oh wow,
this is a very nice revolver. Talk about the revolvers.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
So the Revolver has been actually a sleeper for the
brand since its introduction I believe it was in twenty
eighteen YEA, and ultimately it was kind of caught off guard,
but it really fit the DNA. So it has what
we call our Kimber non stacking signature trigger. And our
latest introduction in the last few years has been the
K six Excess, so it's designed to go head to
(31:09):
head with other lightweight revolvers. It's a little bit more
it's around four ninety nine five nine nine depending on
where you can find it, but it has an aluminum frame,
it has a stainless steel barrel, but it also has
a six shot cylinder where a lot of the competitors
have a five shot cylinder. Ye So really ideal for
what we call an ankle gun or a backup gun,
and it really You've seen a number of our competitors
(31:31):
do well with their revolver lines in recent years, but
with the revolver category kind of ebbs and flows like
the weather. You know, it's it's good one year and
it's kind of not so good the other year. And
I mean, they're the one thing that I do love
about revolvers is they're reliable. Every time you pull the trigger,
that cylinder rotates and a shot goes down range. I
(31:51):
have one of our K six s's in my safe
right now, and I mean, I'm I'm comfortable with that
in a three fifty seven. You know, I look forward
to what we've got coming out as well, because that's
another category that has kind of been hibernating, and people
have been looking for larger calibers, some optics ready calibers,
and I think, you know, maybe late next year people
(32:11):
will be pleasantly surprised.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Okay, some new stuff coming with that. You know, Hodgden,
they're the gunpowder people. Let's talk about Hodgden's CFE black
or BLK. Actually it's a spherical propellant. It's designed specifically
for the three hundred Blackout cartridge. It also includes their CFE,
their copper fouling eraser ingredient, top accuracy with less barrel
(32:34):
cleaning time. We can all like that. It's also great
for other smaller capacity cartridges like the six eight Remington,
the seven six two x thirty nine Russian cartridge. But
check it out. It's from Hodgden. It's a CFE black
BLK over at Hodgden dot com on an ar. Then
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(34:01):
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attached to mag caddy that comes standard. It's not just tactical,
it's tailored new from Safari Land, the incog X cordera
wrapped holster. Yeah, I've I've kind of been messing around
with revolver carry, not pocket carry, but because I'm not
really an appendix guy, but that's been like, you know what,
(34:45):
this is an easy way to carry. Maybe it's like
the gun I carry when I'm not carrying. I mean, yeah,
it's I can do. It'll do the trick, but I can.
I think I have more flexibility and the clothes I
wear or whatever. But I'm a little bit I'm sorry, guys,
I'm just a little bit more comfortable with a revolver
in an appendix situation than maybe a Semiauto. That because
(35:07):
I don't usually have guns with thumb safeties and stuff
like that.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
So sure, yeah, I mean when you consider that that
market itself, the old way to carry revolvers was hammered
down on an empty chamber, you know, so if you
add five shots, you ultimately only add four. So I
mean there's an inherent nature to the weight of a
double action, single action revolver that ten to twelve pounds
on the initial pole isn't going to be something that
(35:31):
you do unless it's deliberate.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Yeah, you know, definitely deliberate.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
And I myself, I am not an appendix carry guy,
and I think that those folks who do it's great.
I have a little bit more around my mid section.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
We live a life of abundance.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I do, I do. What can I say? I'm a
fast food fan, So no, I mean there's the revolver
category still has a place because of that. It's designed
to say, hey, look when I pull that out and
I have to action that gun in a specific circumstance,
the trigger pull is going to be very deliberate.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
But smooth. I mean the K six, those guns, it's
not like the old school revolvers where we have this
very to me, it wasn't a very heavy trigger poll.
It was a smooth trigger pole. You've been there for
a while now, I mean, what are some of the
standouts for you that you just like that Maybe people
haven't thought of or you just have a favorite.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Well, sure, I was asked earlier. I mean between the
two K elevens and the next Gen nineteen elevens. I
love our revolvers. I'm a big fan of the two
K eleven. I'm working on kind of customizing one of
my own, and I would have to say that I
was really happy the way the Next Gen nineteen eleven
turned out. But my favorite gun that we've released the
(36:45):
in recent years has been our CDs nine and that
one is kind of fallen into the wayside a little
bit with all of the two K elevens and our
CDs nine, which stands for Covert double Stack nine millimeter,
and it is probably what I would definitely say encompasses
our tagline of what all guns should be so fully ambidextrous.
(37:07):
It has an ambidextra safety and ambidextra slide release. It
has a reversible magazine release, comes in either a ten,
thirteen or fifteen round magazine, has an optic cut and
also has a rail. But then we and that one
on the street is around eight nine nine nine nine
nine depannel where you can get but our latest introduction
is our CDs nine Classic, so you and I before
(37:28):
we got on air, we're talking about kind of some
of the younger set that is wanting a more slick
down version. So the CDs nine Classic is going to
be a lot less expensive, doesn't have an optics installed,
doesn't have a rail. So if you're looking for a
much more concealed gun that's very small, doesn't sacrifice capacity,
the CDs nine Light, it's definitely where you want to go.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Well, and we we were kind of playing with these,
you were giving us the rundown the CDs nine. I mean, again,
for a small, concealed carry type gun, trigger, I mean,
that's gonna be super shootable, has real sights on it,
and I mean it's it's all metal gun. Oh yeah, okay, yeah,
so it feels it just feels like a very shootable gun.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Oh and we've we've seen people One of the things
that a lot of people haven't really been talking about
is the trend away from tritium sites. So between our
two K elevens our next Gen nineteen elevens, none of
those have tritium sites. So the team over at Tag
Precision out of Texas, then it does a really good job.
(38:33):
Their fiberlock front site comes in here and does everything
you need it to do when it comes from what
I would consider a traditional target site. So you have
your your flat rear site and then you have a
red carbon fiber or fiberlock piece up front. So hammer
fired gun.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
This one has a very traditional nineteen eleven style trigger bowl,
so you get that very very very consistent straight wall
and then you get that pull that takes up the
creep and then break gotcha. So it takes the best
features and attributes of our legacy nineteen elevens. Our next
gen nineteen elevens are two K elevens and all of
(39:08):
that same trigger geometry, that legendary John Browning trigger geometry
and incorporates it into our CDs nine family as well.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Thinking about carry guns, do you guys work with Holster
companies when you're bringing out these guns, especially carry guns?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Oh? Yeah, So we've gotten a lot better at that
than we had in the past. We've run into some
struggles with some of our own timing, but with companies
such as Mission First, Tactical, Southern Trapper TXC out of Texas.
There's a number of Holster companies that we partner with
and that are Kimber fans that were Kimber fans back
in the day, and when we've approached them now, they're
(39:44):
even bigger fans. And it is a very telling sign
that appendix carry kind of wins out with a lot
of people wanting more of those holsters. Yeah, the days
of exterior leather are kind of trending down, you know,
but we still have the legacy clients that are out
there that wanta a leather holster, and Southern Trapper does
a great job. And then on the polymer side mission
(40:06):
first Tactical Phobus TXC YUT.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
We partner with quite a few, okay, so they can
get they can get that C nine and get holds
fine holsters for it.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Oh yeah, yeah, we have folsters available on our website.
And then there's a couple of other brands out there,
without a doubt, very.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Cool, lots of stuff coming for you, guys.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
We are and if you like that CDs nine. I
was telling a telling some other guys that we have
a gun that that's gonna be a going head to
head with here around shot show. We're gonna have a
little bit of a line extension for the CDs nine.
We're gonna have another line extension for our two K
eleven family. We're actually going to have a line extension
for the next gens as well.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Not your not your timber of old I mean, is
that fair to say, I'm not picking on old Gimber,
but no, no, it feels it feels like there's different
things happening there.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
Well, very much so. So every company goes through its
ebbs and flows and and and always has opportunities. And
one of the opportunities for us was shortening the product
development life cycle. Okay, so we ended up doing a
lot of testing in the past, which you always want
to do, but there was not always an opportunity to
really shorten the life cycle as far as the development time.
(41:17):
So we've done a much better job of planning out
when we're coming to market with products, what the consumer
would look for next. And we have increased the cadence
and we're still kind of tweaking that some of the
things have been a little too fast here and there.
You got to make sure it's right, you're well and available,
you know. That's probably the biggest thing is that we've
(41:38):
run to some challenges with some availability, but we're working
on that.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
As well.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
But yeah, instead of just you know, one new gun
every four years, now we're looking at a new model
at least every year, if not every eighteen months.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Oh wow, So the next one is going to be
a three klow and everybody, triple stack. You heard it here, first.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Triple stack twenty two.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
You never know, we're gonna get in trouble. Man. Thanks
for being with us.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
That was funny. Ryan's terrific, and thanks for having me.
It's been a great time.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
Yeah. So that's it, guys. That's kind of the latest
from Camber. I hope it was enlightening. It was for
me to see all the really new stuff they're doing.
And we will see you next time on gun Dog Nation.
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