Kimber has been building the Custom II since 2004, making it one of the longest-running production 1911 models currently available. The spec sheet is straightforward: steel frame and slide, match grade barrel and bushing, 4.5 lb trigger, and a 6.8" sight radius on the 5" barrel. It weighs 38 oz and carries 7 rounds. Nothing about this gun tries to be novel.

What Kimber gets right is barrel quality. The match grade barrel and bushing produce tighter lockup than you typically find at this tier. The Rock Island GI Standard uses a 4140 steel barrel at 39.25 oz total weight, so you get roughly equal heft with better barrel precision from the Custom II. The Sig 1911 Nitron runs a heavier 41.6 oz frame with SIGLITE night sights, an upgrade the Custom II's fixed low-profile irons cannot match in low light.

Kimber built the Custom II for the buyer who wants a well-made 1911 without spending for features they won't use. The first production Kimber 1911 shipped in 1996 from their Clackamas, Oregon facility. Three decades later, the Custom II still runs the same core design philosophy: tight tolerances, match barrel, no unnecessary additions.