Kimber's New 2k11 Target Pistol

The .45 ACP is still king

September 30, 2025 By Patrick Sweeney

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The big complaint about using a pistol in .45 (besides the recoil which is a non-issue if you do it right) is capacity, or rather, the lack thereof. For a lot of shooters, “only” eight shots of .45 ACP just doesn’t seem like enough. So, 36 years ago when the “hi-cap” 2011 platform appeared via Para Ordnance, and a year later through Chip McCormick who offered STI frames, the .45 shooters rejoiced. Just as quickly, we built those early frames (only offered as frames and magazines when they first appeared) into .38 Supers and 40 S&W competition guns.

Kimber has leapt into the double-stack market with their 2K11, and in typical Kimber fashion they passed right over all the less-capable options and have delivered a pistol with everything you need or want on it.

The heart of the 2011 design is the two-piece frame. On top you have the stainless steel rails and fire-control holding section, and below is the magazine-holding section. The original 2011s (and many still today) have the lower frame made out of some sort of reinforced polymer. Well, not Kimber. That part is aluminum. Machined, sculpted, blended to be ergonomic and given a non-slip texture, it is mated with an aluminum mainspring housing. This makes the lower frame even more stout and rigid than the polymer ones, but it does add a tad more weight.

So, that part out of the way, what does the 2K11 have, and why am I testing one in .45? The last part first: because I can. I checked my worklist, and the bulk of what I have been testing has been in 9mm. As in, a ratio of more than ten to one. I needed to get back to the .45, and there’s also the matter of function. If a double-stack works in 9mm, we all yawn, but one that works on .45 is notable. In the single-stack 1911, the opposite used to be the case, but we are now in the 21st century, people have to be reminded. If someone wants to carry a .45, but wants more rounds, this is the way to do it.

Right side view — The Kimber 2K11 has an ambi thumb safety, but right-handed controls for all the rest, as a classic 1911 should. (Photo provided by author.)

The 2K11 stainless slide differs from the traditional in a few ways. First of all, the sights. Out front is a fiber optic blade. The rear sight is an adjustable sight, built into the optics cover plate on the rear of the slide. If you want to go red-dot, you lose the rear sight, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern among a lot of younger shooters. Those of us who remember when sights died on a regular basis are a bit more willing to include a back-up rear sight.

The slide has a modified cut on the front to blend with the frame and its accessory rail, and the Kimber cocking serrations are angular, involved, and work extremely well. In addition, there are through-cuts on the slide at the front cocking serrations to adjust mass and balance. The ejection port is generous, and behind it is an external extractor. Through the ejection port, you can see that the chamber has been fluted. The stainless steel barrel does not use a bushing at the front end, it is machined with a cone to lock up directly to the slide. This requires a revere plug for the recoil spring, and here Kimber has made the plug with an upper boss that fills the gap between the recoil spring tunnel and the barrel tunnel. The muzzle is deeply beveled to protect the crown. One aspect of the 2011 design is that it is easy to make one frame to fit them all, with an integral feed ramp cut. Then, the barrel and its integral ramp can be any caliber needed, with the matching slide. So even though a .45 ACP doesn’t really need a supported chamber, the 2K11 gets one.

Left side view — The Kimber 2K11 is a full-sized .45 with a lot of capacity. And blinding good looks. (Photo provided by author.)

The recoil spring assembly is a clever upgrade from Kimber. Usually, you’ll need a bent paperclip to lock the plug in place on the guide rod during disassembly. Instead, Kimber makes the rod in two pieces, with the join of the two pieces off-center. Once the slide is locked back, grab the front of the rod and rotate it. It will rotate eccentrically, and when you ease the slide forward it will stop on the now off-center front half. A clever approach to avoiding the “Where is the darned paperclip?” problem, and one Kimber has applied for a patent on.

On the frame, the steel portion of the assembly holds the hammer, sear, disconnector, thumb safety and slide stop lever, as well as the accessory rail on the dust cover. The thumb safety is an ambidextrous set, and the grip safety is a hi-ride with speed bump at the bottom. The trigger rides in the lower half of the frame assembly, along with the magazine catch. The trigger is aluminum and has a flat blade.

Trigger shoe — The trigger is PVD coated like the slide and mag funnel. The lower frame is both lifted and sculpted back to provide a better grip. (Photo provided by author.)

The lower half of the frame is machined with a checkering pattern on it, and the front strap has been both lifted (up behind the trigger guard) and slimmed back. This provides a groove for your second finger to ride in and allows you to get higher on the frame than you otherwise would, this being a double-stack frame and all. Down at the bottom of the frame, Kimber has installed a custom one-of-a-kind mag well funnel. The funnel has the same cocking serration pattern machined into it, not deeply, but enough to notice. Now, in a double stack pistol, a mag funnel isn’t really a needed thing. The wedge shape of the magazine top makes it a fast reload even without a funnel. And a lot of funnels, coming from the competition need, are so large that trying to wear a pistol with one is like hiding a medical assistance device under your coat. Not so with this one.

In fact, by making it not be a problem at all for everyday carry. One detail to notice is the bottom rear edge of the funnel. Exactly, there isn’t one. Here the mag funnel has been beveled to keep that edge that would otherwise be there from printing. And all the edges have been rounded, to reduce or prevent abrasion of clothes. As a last detail, the slide, trigger and mag well funnel all receive a Coyote PVD finish. The 2K11 comes with three full-sized magazines, each holding 13 rounds. So, if you wanted to wear them all, you’d be packing 40 rounds of .45 ACP of the flavor you favor.

I was prepared for some fun testing and some excellent performance, but the 2K11 outdid even my expectations. Look, a five-inch 1911 is going to wring just about as much velocity out of any .45 ACP load you care to use. Ammunition manufacturers have known how to load the .45 for a 1911 since, well, 1911. And if you want it, the +P loadings do add a useful dollop of speed to whatever bullet you are hurling. This happens at the same time that the known accuracy factors of the 1911 have been understood for as long as the proper loading data has existed. The short answer: lots of power accurately delivered.

I also found that while I had been spending lots of time with 9mm europellet pistols, I had let my supply of the manly cartridge get rather sparse. (Time to re-order.) However, the ones I did have demonstrated the superb .45 ACP accuracy we can count on. In particular, the Hornady XTP bullet 200-grain load shows why the XTP (albeit in 9mm there) is the top choice for those trying to do well at the Bianchi Cup. And the good old 200-grain L-SWC that IPSC was built on proves once again why we all flocked to it back then. My diminishing supply of Black Hills ammo with that bullet produced brag-worthy groups.

This was aided by the brilliant trigger in this 2K11. Kimber specs the trigger pull as being between three and four pounds. Well, this particular one dropped the hammer consistently at three pounds, two ounces. I might feel that that is a bit too light for everyday carry and would look to bump that up to more like three-and-a-half pounds, but to compete with, and to punch groups that make other shooter jealous, boy is it good.

Disassembled 2011 — The Kimber 2K11 comes with three hi-cap magazines and it comes apart much like any other 1911. But with a clever trick. (Photo provided by author.)

When I opened the package to do the paperwork, my first impression was, “Well, this is a bit too much.” You can have the 2K11 in several finishes. There’s the Stainless
Target, which is pretty self-explanatory. Then, there is the base 2K11, done up in Black DLC except for the barrel, which receives a Coyote PVD finish. And then the Target, with two choices here. One is the iron sight version (the one sent here) or you can have yours with a red dot installed. The Target has the slide, trigger and Stan Chen mag well funnel treated to a Coyote PVD finish, while the barrel, upper frame and the small parts black, in a DLC treatment. At first glance, just a little bit bling-y.

Then I tried the trigger. Oh my. Three pounds, two ounces, clean and crisp, and a joy to use. It is a part of the superb accuracy I saw while testing the 2K11, and it made mowing down plate racks easy. Now, all this joy does not come cheap. You get the 2K11, three magazines, extra fiber optic rods to put into your front blade, and an optics adapter plate from C&H Precision for an RMR footprint red-dot sight. If you just have to use some other optic, then Kimber has plates for RMSc, DPP, Acro, and 509T available. All this is a zippered Kimber-logo carry bag.

Accuracy results on targets — Accuracy like this is hard to resist. And not uncommon in a 1911 in .45 ACP. (Photo provided by author.)

Kimber makes sure things are done right. The box that arrived here had a masking tape strip on the end, and written on it was “Demo gun, live FP.” I don’t think there’s a gun writer out there who hasn’t gotten a test gun with a clipped or not-present firing pin in it, which is always a hassle. Kimber made sure it wasn’t a hassle.

To top things off (or to nestle them on your belt), a Falco hybrid OWB holster, made to accommodate the rail, and with a thumb guard to keep the slide and safety off of your shirt would be a perfect daily carry ensemble. The holster is also cut to clear a red-dot optic, should you go that route. Power, accuracy, good looks, utter
reliability and more than enough capacity, what more can you ask for?