Cobra vs Kimber

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SwampWolf

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For quite a while now I have been researching revolvers chambered in .357 Magnum for use as a self-defense gun for my wife. Things required are that it has to be relatively compact, constructed from s/s, not have a S&W type "trigger lock" capability and have a six shot capacity. The gun has to handle well for her and the da trigger pull be as light and as smooth as possible. I have narrowed our choices down to the Colt and Kimber revolvers.

Our lgs has both revolvers in stock; the Cobra selling for $850.00 and the Kimber (with a $50.00 rebate that expires on the 28th of this month) selling for $780.00. The plan is for my wife to handle each revolver and to test the da trigger pull to see if she has a strong preference for either one way or another.

So, I'm wondering if anyone in the forum has had some experience with either one of these revolvers (or, best case scenario, both of them) that might have some advice or suggestions for us before we commit to one monetarily. Thanks.
 
SwampWolf said:
So, I'm wondering if anyone in the forum has had some experience with either one of these revolvers (or, best case scenario, both of them)
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Yeppers, I do. I liked the DA trigger on the Cobra I tried a lot better than the DA trigger on the Kimber.
However, if your wife is going to handle both, and test the DA triggers on each, I'd go with which one she likes best even if she doesn't have a really "strong preference" for it. But I'm betting she'll like the trigger on the Colt the best.:)
I'm going to have a Colt Cobra myself real soon. My own wife, on the other hand, just doesn't like .357s of any flavor. She carries a j-frame .38 Special most of the time, and a little .380 Glock for "dress-up."
 
From my experience, I'd go with the Kimber. Mine has a much better trigger than everyone of the Cobras I've tried which is at least 5. I'm certainly not doubting .308 Norma that he found a Cobra with a good one, in my experience the Kimber is a much better built gun. But either one would suit the purpose and it is in your and her best interest to see which one she finds the most comfortable. If possible, it would be great to let her fire each one to get an even better opinion, but finding a used pair in a shop would probably be close to impossible. I never see a used Kimber in gun shops and very few in classified ads. I'm starting to see a few used Cobras pop up here and there and a few shops have lowered the price on new ones below MSRP, but they are doing that with almost all brands. Guns sales in my neck of the woods has been extremely slow. Nor sure why unless its the start of vacation season and kids getting out of school etc., but crowds at the local gun shows have been great but no one is buying. Its a buyers market right now for sure
 
I own both and give the slight edge to the Kimber. Some of that is ergonomics/size/weight. If there were more grip options available for the Colt the ergonomics part might change, but the Kimber wins on size and weight for sure. With the Colt, the grip just doesn’t fit me properly and batters my hand while shooting. The Kimber fits me perfectly and is a pleasure to shoot.

I also like the trigger on the Kimber better, particularly the reset. When shooting fast I sometimes short stroke the Colt. That’s just a me thing though.

The Colt has the benefit of a front sight that’s very easy to change. I wish more manufacturers would utilize some sort of method similar to the Colt.

Good luck on your choice. Have you thought of waiting a few months and checking out the new Charter Professional? 7 shots of 32 H&R Magnum in a 22 oz gun certainly sounds interesting. Obviously the Colt and Kimber will have better finishes and probably better triggers, however.
 
I vote Kimber. Mine has a better trigger, better sights is smaller, lighter, with better fit and finish than the Neo-Colts.
The kimber is available with covered trigger DAO or exposed trigger DASA and there are available factory Tritium, fiber optic or plain steel sights.
Kimber comes in 2” or 3” (my choice) flavors with multiple finish and grip choices.
Kimber contains no MIM parts, I don’t know about the colt.
Finally, the 23 oz Kimber is a .357 mag. The 25 oz Colt is .38 Sp only. Unless you go up to the 28 oz King Cobra for .357 mag.
 
Same boat. I am heavily considering getting:

For her - 5 shot 38 Special +P Undercover model in black nitrate.
For me - 6 shot 38 Special +P Police Undercover in stainless.
 
I personally like the design of the Colt better in general, but the concealability of the Kimber is cool.
 
I am a huge fan of old Colts. I have considered picking both sa/da versions of the guns mentioned. The trigger on the new Colt Cobra is excellent in my opinion. I have not fired a Kimber but I can help looking at it seriously.

I think the new Colt Cobra would be awesome if it was released 15 yrs ago. The Kimber (without trying it out) appears to be where my interest lies. It has got some interesting innovations that everyone here is aware of.

I feel the Kimber maybe the better package.
 
I got the Kimber because I wanted a 3 inch barrel, and at the time Colt didn’t make anything like that. I’ve been very happy with the Kimber. I did prefer the Kimber trigger to the Colt trigger, and the enclosed hammer.
 
Thanks everybody for your thoughts and opinions. A decision has been made but not without some handwringing and second guesses. My wife and I spent an hour or so at our lgs while she handled the two guns in contention for our money and squeezed their triggers (da) repeatedly. I stayed out of her way as she made her comparisons. In the end, she liked the way the Colt handled in her hand best and, especially, how much more she preferred the trigger pull of the King Cobra. She felt the trigger pull on the Colt was noticeably smoother and lighter than the one on the Kimber-and I have to agree.

At any rate, she now owns a King Cobra with the extra bright s/s finish, an exposed hammer spur and a three inch long barrel. We're looking forward to shooting it and, initially at least, I'm considering starting out with .38 Special +p loads having 125 grain jhp bullets.

But the Kimber is surely a very nice revolver...
 
Does anybody know if the HKS model "MK.3-A" speed loader will fit the new Colt King Cobra? Though the revolvers listed this loader is designed to fit includes the King Cobra, I'm pretty sure the original King Cobra is being referenced (and I suspect they very well may be the same). I do know that some models of HKS loaders will fit revolvers not specified . For instance, loaders marked for Smith K-frames are indistinguishable in size when compared to ones marked to fit original Colt Cobra and Agent revolvers.

Thanks all for any advice or recommendations.
 
Can't answer your last question, but I just wish I could find a King Cobra in my area; none of the shops have gotten any in from their distributors. Especially in bright stainless. I really want to see how this revolver compares to my 3" Model 13.

As an aside, I did buy the .38 Cobra last year and the trigger, both DA and SA, is simply phenomenal. Still haven't looked for speed-loaders for it, just using speed-strips.
 
Amazing. Did the rounds of the local gun shops this morning … and found one. Words cannot describe how awesome the trigger on this thing is (seriously, if you've never handled one of these, you'd be amazed)… locks up like the proverbial bank vault, looks great, fit and finish are perfect. Love the weight and the balance, plus the brass bead front sight. Can't wait to shoot it, should tame full-house .357 mags well.

Was gonna get the Kimber 6S one of these days, but when I pulled the trigger on this one (literally), I bought it on the spot. Was in a bit rush after the transaction, so I didn't look for speed-loaders …
zzzKingCobra.jpg
 
Old Dog said:
Can't answer your last question, but I just wish I could find a King Cobra in my area; none of the shops have gotten any in from their distributors. Especially in bright stainless. I really want to see how this revolver compares to my 3" Model 13.

As an aside, I did buy the .38 Cobra last year and the trigger, both DA and SA, is simply phenomenal. Still haven't looked for speed-loaders for it, just using speed-strips.
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None on the websites of any of the gun stores around here either. (Chandler AZ, which is near Phoenix. If anybody knows of a gun store in the general area of Phoenix that has one, please post.)
 
rbernie said:
I got the Kimber because I wanted a 3 inch barrel, and at the time Colt didn’t make anything like that. I’ve been very happy with the Kimber. I did prefer the Kimber trigger to the Colt trigger, and the enclosed hammer.
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What's the weight on the Kimber trigger?
 
I've not measured it but I suspect that it's about 8lbs DA-only, or thereabouts. I liked the quality of the pull - no stacking and the length of pull / reset seemed better than most. As an aside - I have tried to find a reduced-power hammer spring, just to play with it, but have had ZERO luck in finding spring offerings from anyone.
 
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