The two malfunctions I experienced with the Kimber Aegis II occurred with the 115-grain Winchester Silvertip loads. In each case the gun failed to feed the last round in the magazine. This didn't occur every time I fired a magazine of the Silvertip ammunition, and it could be that I inadvertently touched the slide stop with my shooting thumb. Winchester Silvertip is good ammo and the Aegis II averaged 3.50-inch groups with it. I would want to do some more testing before I could place blame for those two malfunctions on either the ammunition or the gun.

The Ultra RCP II
The slick little Ultra RCP II in .45 ACP also has an aluminum frame, though this one has had black anodizing applied. By the way, RCP stands for "Refined Carry Pistol." In common with the Kimber Aegis II, the Ultra RCP has a 3-inch barrel with an integral feedramp, a bobbed hammer, and a bobbed thumb safety. Magazine capacity is seven rounds. It also weighs in at 25 ounces.

Like the Aegis, the .45 ACP Ultra RCP II's concealment treatments include a bobbed hammer and thumb safety.

However, the Ultra RCP II has had some innovative concealment treatments added to the mix. The grip safety is a bobbed, concealment type that flares out at the bottom, instead of having the distinctive bump to it. The mainspring housing is smooth and has been rounded at the bottom. The grips are made from thin pieces of black micarta and have three grooves in each panel. The frame's frontstrap has also been given this three-groove treatment.

The most interesting thing about the Kimber Ultra RCP II is the sights--or maybe I should say lack of sights. Instead of the conventional front and rear sights the Ultra RCP has one long groove (Kimber calls it a sighting trough) down its length. The purpose of this sighting arrangement is to minimize the possibility of conventional sights hanging, or dragging, on the pocket lining or concealment clothing.

The most distinctive feature of the Ultra RCP II is its "trough" sight that runs the full length of the slide.

For testing the Kimber Ultra RCP II, I assembled five popular .45 ACP loads. The lightest weight cartridge was the Magtech 165-grain SCHP round, which averaged 1016 fps. The other four .45 loads were all of the conventional 230-grain configuration, including Hornady's FMJ-FP, Winchester's JHP/SXT, Black Hills's JHP, and also Winchester's standard JHP load. Of the four 230-grain .45 loads, the Winchester standard JHP loading gave the highest velocities at 796 fps while the 230-grain Black Hills load gave the best accuracy. At a mere 25 ounces, the Ultra RCP II was surprisingly comfortable to shoot; the felt recoil was not anything to get real concerned about.

I did, however, have trouble getting used to the pistol's unconventional sights. At close range, shooting fast to simulate a combat situation, I was able to keep my shots in about an eight-inch circle, which would certainly take care of most gunfighting scenarios. However, as I moved on back to 25 yards it became increasingly difficult to place my shots with any precision. While it's true that most gunfights occur when the shooters are mere feet from each other, it would be very little consolation if one finds himself engaged at longer range. I think these sights would take some getting used to before they would be effective at much more than 15 yards.

But that's the beauty of the Kimber family of 1911 pistols. Kimber builds guns in all different sizes and with all sorts of different sights so that the customer can choose what suits his particular situation. The business of a sight trough, while not a new concept, is certainly interesting and may be just what some shooters have been searching for.

The lack of conventional sights did not hamper the Ultra RCP's defensive accuracy. The Sheriff kept all shots in the target at close self-defense ranges.

The results of my testing of these two new compact pistols have certainly been in keeping with what I have come to expect from Kimber. The guns are well-made, quality pieces. Having somewhat small hands, I particularly like the thin, concealment grips. I find I have a very positive grip on the gun and can reach the magazine release button without having to shift the pistol in my shooting hand. One thing's for sure, the Aegis II and the Ultra RCP II exemplify the good qualities of a mini 1911.