Wild Bunch Pistols, Part II: Kimber Wins Modern Guns Test

In our May 2010 review of pistols suited for Cowboy Action's widely popular new Wild Bunch side match, we noted two different categories of 1911s eligible to compete. There are two SASS classes set forth for 1911 handguns, which roughly correlate to the traditional and modern single-action class.

Below are two views of the Kimber Custom II 45 ACP that we named Our Pick. The Custom II comes stock (left) with rubber grips, which SASS rules for Wild Bunch matches don’t allow. They’ll have to be replaced with wooden stocks, such as the Smith & Alexander panels on our test gun below, approximately $40. Also, prior to testing, we removed the Wilson Combat 1911 checkered front strap ($10 from www.Brownells.com) from the test gun. It’s a 0.006-inch-thin textured piece of steel that slips over the frame and under the grips.