Kimber Carbon Compact R7 Review

The Kimber R7 Mako CC. Let’s check it out. Available Here) 

 

Guys, there’s a lot of micronines out on the market and they’re great for concealed carry.

They have a good round capacity with the stack and a half or double stack magazines from 10, 13 to 15 round mag capacity. So Kimber introduced their R7 Mako, which was again, a double stack, little small concealable nine millimeter handgun. And it’s actually Kimber’s first polymer frame striker fire pistol.

They also offer this in a threaded barrel version with a 15 round mag capacity, but now Kimber’s offering their R7 Mako CC for carbon compact. This has a completely redesigned frame. It’s definitely a full size frame handgun, but this is a carbon fiber infused polymer lower, which offers up to 60,000 PSI tensile strength.

And yet there’s a lot of really cool features about the frame that make this very shootable. Magwell threaded barrel, you have optics ready and they offer it in a non-threaded barrel version as well. The small little micronine makes a great concealed carry option, but more for home defense or at the range, more shootability.

The R7 Mako CC gives you a lot of options and there are quite a few differences. Now we want to give a big thank you to Kimber America for sending the R7 Mako CC for this review. All right guys, the Kimber R7 Mako CC, which stands for carbon compact.

Now this is definitely a larger handgun than the original. And we’re going to kind of do some comparisons between it because the frame has been completely redesigned. Also, this is a carbon fiber infused polymer frame.

And so it’s going to give it incredible strength. In fact, it will withstand 60,000 PSI tensile strength. And really that’s going to cut down a lot of the wear that goes on with polymer frames.

If you’ve had a polymer frame pistol for a long time, you’ll notice that there is a little bit of wear that starts to occur just from handling the firearm and definitely from shooting it. And so this is just going to give it a little more strength. And it’s also going to give it a little more rigidity when it comes to the slide to frame fit.

But a lot of the texturing has been beefed up. A lot of the area has been cut back, like in this area where your thumb kind of brings it down into the grip. And so now it’s going to just have a little less texturing here.

But in all the important areas, you have it. Also, as you bring your finger around, that finger right into the trigger guard, it just has a little pad there. And so it’s just going to make it a little more comfortable to shoot.

And yet you’ve got texturing all over it. Beautiful undercut. I mean, they really went high with the undercut.

And before we get too far into it, let’s go ahead and drop our 15 round magazine, check the chamber, and the gun’s empty. Now, one thing that a lot of people mention, because it’s different, is the ejection port. It’s to the side, and so it definitely gives it a different look.

Some people will say like the high point. But one of the things about this kind of configuration, first off, the ejection pattern goes out the side, not at an angle or not hitting you in the face, which there are some guns that do that. But this barrel actually locks up to the top of the slide.

And so that gives it just more strength when it’s lined up and it’s in battery. Also, one thing is when this comes back, there’s the tilt design. It has a eighth of an inch less of a tilt than most of your polymer striker fire pistols.

So it’s going to give you less felt recoil. It’s going to be a little more solid. It has ambidextrous controls, whether it’s the mag release, which is either side, so I can use my trigger finger to drop that magazine, or also the slide stop, and it has a little fence around it.

And then of course, it’s that way on the other side. And that way, when I’m firing it, I’m not going to inadvertently pop it and hit it and drop the slide or hit the magazine release. One thing too, they have included this shelf right here.

And this is a memory shelf, whether it’s to take your finger and put it here after you get it out of the trigger guard, or when you’re bringing your thumb with a two-hand high grip, you can rest it right on that ledge. Now, there are other guns that have this, and some of them do really well. Some of them, you know, your thumb, when you fire it, pops off and you have to readjust it.

I found with this, and it may be because of the way this is set up with the recoil system, is that my thumb rested there and it never came off. And so I really felt like I had a lot of control over the handgun. And this is one thing that is definitely something a lot of guns are coming out with, because it definitely helps mitigate the recoil.

It gives you that one extra point right at the front. And so that way it holds that muzzle down just a little bit more. It does have a three-slot Picatinny rail, and then also the trigger guard has some texturing on the front.

And then right here underneath, which right here at this pad, I thought that was a nice touch as well. So when I’m getting that grip, and then it’s been double undercut. So here it’s undercut, and then here.

And this just helps with your natural point of aim. You have your standard takedown levers that are on a lot of polymer striker fire pistols, a nice high-ride beaver tail right here. So as I’m getting my hand up into the grip, it rides really nice and it just gives me a closer grip to the frame.

And again, it’s just going to allow for more recoil management. So first off, I’m a big fan of the grip, and it does come with three additional back straps. You can take that off.

Now they also include a beveled magwell. This is removable, and so that way when I’m bringing those mags in, it makes it really easy to bring in. And I’ll tell you guys, a lot of competitive shooters use these.

There’s a really good reason why they do, and it makes those mag changes really fast. So now compared to the original, you can see, I mean, there are definitely a lot of different lines. There’s not as much of a cut out here.

It doesn’t go quite as deep, and we don’t have interchangeable back straps. There is no shelf at the front, but man, it’s a lot of texturing on these guns. The R7 Mako just in itself is an excellent handgun.

And again, even this small size with this barrel configuration and the way it rests inside the slide, it’s really nice to shoot. But there are definitely quite a few differences between the two. And this one has been unloaded.

In fact, anything we’re bringing out has been safety checked. Now the original Mako came with a 10-round magazine and a 13-round magazine. And then they came out with the tactical, which had a 10-round magazine, but it could go up to a 15-round.

And this has the sleeve over it, and actually this sleeve will come off, and you can actually use this 15-rounder in your CC model. And so this just gives you a little bit extra grip on the tactical model, and it allows you to have a full-size grip. And you get two 15-round magazines with the handgun.

Guys, I was invited down to Kimber in Troy, Alabama. Went down for a couple of days and had a great range day. Got to really put the R7 Mako through a lot of its paces with the CC model.

And even then, I knew that this was going to be really a big upgrade over the R7 Mako. It just gave you more of a full grip. And to be honest with you, to me, it just kind of came into its own.

One of the things about the original is that it looks a little bit cut off. And that’s just part of being a concealed carry option. But with the full size, it really makes the lines a lot nicer.

But as far as shooting, I mean, there was a lot of guys down there. We were going through thousands of rounds of ammunition, and it just functioned. So I was really excited to get this to do the full review.

And Kimber is getting ready to release a couple of other really cool options coming right up. Now on the original Mako, it did have some palm swells. They are slightly included in the new CC model.

And then of course, you see how it kind of divots down. You also have that, but you have that kind of open area. One thing I did notice that was pretty significant is in the slide, we have deep serrations at the front.

And they’re not so deep, even though these are adequate. But the rear serrations are pretty much the same as the other. Now this has a stainless steel barrel and stainless steel slide.

The barrel is 4.42 inches in length, and that’s because it is threaded. This is a half by 28, so you can put whatever suppressor you want to put on here. We were using one of the Spanish 45s.

Worked extremely well, and we were using 158 grain subsonic ammunition. Had no problems, no issues whatsoever. And then with the sights, which these are TruGlo sights.

They are tritium. This front post does have an orange circle around it, which makes it really nice to see during the day. But then you have the tritium.

And then here at the rear, we have a white outline with tritium. But you have your 407k that is included with this package. And that’s the OI package for optics included.

They do make a model without the optic included and without the threaded barrel. So you have four different configurations actually of this handgun. And we want to give a big thank you to Silencer Central for supplying the suppressor.

This thing is awesome on this handgun. The slide is stainless steel and it is a FNC finish on it, which is ferritic nitro carburizing finish. Gives you a high surface hardness, improves wear resistance, and it puts nitrogen and carbon into the slide.

So it’s very similar to tenifer or to a melanite finish. And so it gives it a very strong finish. And then of course the barrel is the same.

Now the slide is cut for the Holosun 407k. It fits direct mount to the slide. So it gets as low as possible.

There’s no adapter plates. It’s just less fail points. And then with the TruGlo sights, you’re getting a one third co-witness with the sights.

And yet they’re not super high. A lot of times with suppressor height type sights, they get really high. But even with the Vanish 45, these sights work very well with that.

So it gives you a lower profile. And two, everything is snag free on the slide. You can see the bevel cuts here.

Even here at the top, it’s kind of rounded off. Here at the back, it’s cut. And so this is a very slick slide to be able to pull in and out of holsters.

And it’s just going to be pretty much snag free. Now we say that we’ve got the Holosun on here that actually kind of sticks up. But you can use that actually as serrations to pulling this back.

And honestly the Holosun optics have become one of the best optics out there. I mean for a red dot sight, Holosun is really just dominating the market. And a lot of that has to do with a fairly good price.

And yet they’re just really high quality. Now it does have a flat face trigger and this is their performance carry trigger. We do have the blade safety.

And so this trigger is not going to pull unless you have a full pad on the finger to deactivate the safety. And as we test the trigger pull action, we have just take up right about to here and a really crisp break. Reset right there.

Not a super fast reset, but a very nice trigger. In fact for a polymer striker of our pistol, this is an excellent trigger. Check the trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge from Brownells.

5 pounds, 3 ounces. 5 pounds, .4 ounces. Weight on the R7 Mako CC, 25.93 ounces.

Big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo. All made in the USA. One of the biggest suppliers of ammunition in the country.

Very consistent. We have very few problems if any from Fiocchi ammunition. We’re shooting some standard 115 grain.

We’re also going to be shooting some subsonics and this is 158 grain and we’re going to test that out with a suppressor. And a big thanks to Lula Loaders for keeping us sane while loading these magazines. Well guys, Kimber bringing out their first polymer frame striker for our pistol.

The R7 Mako has just been really very well received. I mean it is a great concealed carry option and now that they’re expanding the line, it’s really kind of bringing this into its own. To me, honestly, this has even better lines.

The way it looks, it’s more proportioned. First time I saw it, I thought that’s what the R7 should look like. You definitely want that smaller size for concealed carry, but this really brings it into a very nice form factor.

Now Kimber is known for their 1911s and they do an incredible job in making 1911s for 45 years. But this is their first polymer frame striker for our pistol. And I’ll tell you guys, this is a very unusual ejection port.

I mean it’s kind of just on the side, it’s not over the top. And that just lends to keeping the brass going in a linear direction instead of coming up over your shoulder or even popping you in the head like a lot of pistols do. But the grip texture is just excellent.

And one thing I found is that little ledge, when I put my thumb on there, it just rests on there. It doesn’t pop off like it does with most of the ledges that are on there. But the carbon fiber infused frame, it just gives you a really solid feel to it.

It’s not soft, like some, but it gives it a very rigid feel. But yet, you know, it’s just very well textured and I love the ergonomics. 15 plus 1 in the magazine and I’ll tell you guys, it shoots extremely well.

Very little muzzle rise and the Holosun 407K, I mean those are excellent optics. And again, you can get that with the version with it or without it, threaded barrel or not, gives you some options there. But overall, this gives you that full size feel and yet it’s a concealable firearm.

It’s a little bigger, obviously, than the original R7, but it gives you more shootability. The grip being a little bit longer, feels your hand. It just allows you to really control the recoil and mitigate recoil.

Guys, Kimber again, known for quality and with the R7, I mean, it’s right there in the Kimber line. And I’m telling you, that brass just shoots across. I mean, it’s just keeps it out of your face, keeps you from being distracted.

So overall, big fan of the Kimber R7 Mako series. All right, for disassembly, we’re going to drop our magazine, check the chamber to make sure it’s empty, point the gun in a safe direction and pull the trigger. First thing you want to do is pull back on your slide about an eighth of an inch and pull down your takedown tabs.

Once they extend, you’re going to let it go and then push it forward and then just pull the slide right off. And then here we have our recoil spring and guide rod system and you can see this larger piece. This is a little different.

And then we have our barrel, which we need to take off our thread protector. Now we can just remove the barrel out from the slide and definitely a very well done barrel. You can see this little hook right here in the top of the barrel hood and it actually fits inside the slide right here at the top.

So that’s just going to give you really solid lock up with your barrel and your slide, which will lend to good accuracy. Here you’ve got your ejector and we’ve got our striker system. A little different than some and then you have these relief cuts right here just to relieve some of the weight.

With the frame, we have our slide rails here and this is part of the locking block and then we have some very small slide rails here at the back. But overall, just a standard polymer frame striker fire system. And guys, that’s all you need to do to field strip.

For reassembly, we’re going to bring back our barrel, bring it in. You can go ahead and lock it into the slide and then just put on your thread protector. Next, we’re going to take our recoil spring and guide rod system.

Just rest it right there on the ledge of the barrel. Just make sure that it is lined up. Now there’s some small slots in the slide that will correspond with the frame.

And so as we’re going to bring that down on the slide rails and then just bring it back. And that’s all you have to do. It’s very similar, honestly, to the Canik.

The Canik kind of does the same thing. So you don’t pull the slide all the way off the frame. We’re going to check for function and we’re back in business.

And guys, a cleaning kit recommendation would be Otis Technology. They’ve been making cleaning kits for decades and they are the official supplier for the U.S. military for their cleaning supplies. Also, their little tactical kit, which this is a cleaning kit that wraps up.

You do have boar snakes or rip cords in here. And this is something the U.S. military carries in the field. So great little kits.

Also, they own Shooter’s Choice and they have all the different boar solvents and CLP and they are the inventors of the rip cord or your boar snake. So a great way to keep your firearms maintained. And we really appreciate Otis for being one of our channel sponsors.

It comes in a Kimber cardboard box and inside we get a really nice gun case. And then here we just open it up. This is actually made for, you can put three handguns in here.

And so it’s padded and you can divide that out. You’ve got your handgun here in the front compartment. You have spaces for your extra magazines.

And then here at the front, we have our owner’s manual. And we also have the items to work on our 407K from Holosun. And you get your lock.

We also get three additional back straps so you can change out to fit whatever your hand size is. Now as far as price, the Kimber R7 Mako CC without the optic included, without the threaded barrel, retails for $735. If you get the threaded barrel and you get the Holosun 407K, which will be already installed, that’s $1,080.

Now what are some pros and cons with the frame? I mean, this is a very innovative frame. I love the ergonomics, the deep cut, very deep cut here. And of course we have extra back straps to fit it to whatever hand size you have.

I love the forward pads to rest your thumb just to give it better recoil mitigation and adding the two additional accessory rails for the handgun. Flat face trigger is excellent, ambi controls, direct mount optics is a big plus. That just eliminates any kind of fail point.

And it gets the optic closer down to the slide. True glow sights, whether you get the threaded barrel or not, or whether you get the 407K or not. I mean, that’s just one of your options.

The barrel lockup is very unique. And while it’s different and it does remind some people of the high point, it is very purposeful and it’s going to allow that ejection pattern to go out to the side. Plus it gets that barrel lockup to the slide, which is really solid.

And the reduced tilt on the barrel just allows for faster lockup as well. So it’s going to help mitigate recoil. I mean, really shooting this, it’s very soft to shoot, very mild.

The flat face trigger is excellent. As far as cons, I would say the biggest con is just personal preference. If you have something that you like better, that is still very thin, very concealable, and yet shoots like a full size handgun, there are a number of options out there.

So there’s a lot of choices. I mean, this was very reliable, definitely very accurate. And while I might be able to nitpick, I think there’s just not that many cons.

The bore axis is not super low, so that gets it up a little higher. But then when you put your red dot sight on it and those sights, it just allows it to line up. But with the deep undercuts, it helps to bring your hand up closer to the frame.

I mean, one of the things about all the extras, the threaded barrel, the Holosun, and the Magwell, is it brings it up to a larger firearm. You can remove the Magwell, you can shoot it with just irons, and then you can use just a standard barrel, and it’ll get this into a much more sleek configuration. And guys, again, want to give a big thank you to Silencer Central for sending the Banish 45 just to allow me to be able to test the suppressor ready guns out there, any kind of threaded barrel, and just to see how they perform with a suppressor attached.

The R7 Mako has been extremely popular with Kimber, and it’s really cool to see them expand the line to a more full-size type firearm, and yet it is very concealable. But it has a lot of features, threaded barrel, of course, it’s optics ready like the other R7 Makos, but with the longer grip, the Magwell, the redesigned grip itself with the carbon fiber infused material that goes through it that just makes this super strong. This makes a great concealed carry, but also excellent for home defense or just at the range.

And again, a big thank you to Kimber America for sending the R7 Mako CC for this review.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don