Kimber Camp Guard 10MM: Table Top Review

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Kimber was never a brand that captured my attention until 2017. There were three products added to the Kimber portfolio that made me take notice. 1st the Kimber K6s revolver previously reviewed, the Kimber Super Jagagre 10MM and this Kimber Camp Guard 10 MM. Kimber partnered with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to configure the ideal back country defensive handgun in a high powered cartridge. Proceeds from each purchase will go towards conservation.

Features:
Full Size 1911/Frame
Skeletonized Trigger
Checkered Frame Front
5inch Ramped Barrel
Night Sights
Flat Top Slide with Rounded Edges
Serrated BobTail Mainspring Housing

Some say the Colt Delta Elite saved the 10MM, well Kimber has extended its legacy.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

No, the Delta had just as many problems early on as the Bren did. The Glock 20 saved the 10mm Auto. Still glad to see others jump on the bandwagon with this fantastic cartridge, 30 years after it was pronounced as being "dead."

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

I understand what you are trying to say but after the Bren faded off into the sunset Colt was the next manufacturer to come on board to support the 10MM. But like you said said it was not flawless out of the gate. Had Colt not come along with the Delta I believe the round truly would be dead or at least dormant for a very long time until possibly Glock came along many years later.

 

[WestKentucky]

10mm has a gloriously bad history. Bren-Ten was the first and had numerous issues. Colt was overpriced, and still had issues (breaking frames, unsupported chamber) and in the midst of firearm development around the cartridge, FBI pulled the plug on it in favor of .40s&w leaving only a few PDs and obscure government entities supporting the cartridge and gun development. At this point the cartridge seemed doomed to fail...and floundered about being supported only by a few tiny .gov agencies and those few obscure handgun hunters who didn't go the easy route with a wheel gun. It's easier to say that the handgun hunting genre saved the 10 than glock, but glock certainly re-elevated the round from obscurity back to the fringes of mainstream.

Either way, I love the 10mm, and want to find a good one. The glock doesn't feel good in my hand and very few of the 1911 10mms are what I would call "properly" built (they ain't cheap). It really looks like the Witness Elite or Witness Limited are going to be my options.

 

[jfh]

About 1990, the 10mm Auto was still a popular round even if the handguns it was put into was problematic.

I had started shooting the caliber in 1988 with Springfield Armory 6" Omega and eventually moved over to a Kimber Match Target in 2008 after getting waylaid by a Glock 20 in 1996(?). The following year I got an EAA Elite Match 10 and that is arguably the best chassis for it--although Kimber does it right as well.

Here's the link to a mini-review I did of the two guns:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...i-review-kimber-st-ii-10mm-comparison.331213/

The comments following it include other information that may be useful to those of you considering either gun.

Jim H.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Springfield Omega do you still have it --- SWEET! That wasn't something us mere mortals could get our hands on back in the day.

Agree to disagree on the Glock there were so many reliable platforms long before the Glock -- Springfield Armory, IAI, LAR, Thompson/Center, Glock and Smith & Wesson had many. The point is Colt was first to throw their hats in the ring after the Bren died off.

One thing we all agree on is that we love the 10MM. As far back as I am aware of the Bren Ten is the only pistol I know of to have died off so quickly but yet the cartridge lived on.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

10mm came out in 1983. I was a wee-lad then, just a year old. Quick Google searches confirm Delta Elite came out in 1987, the Glock Model 20 in 1991.

I will yeild to those with more experience on the systems than me, but it is my understanding that it wasn't so much the reliability of the early systems as the durability. If you believe what you read, the Brens and early Deltas had problems rattling themselves apart. The Glock is among the only early designs that didn't develop a reputation for critical parts failures and premature wear. At any rate, I love the 10mm and am always thrilled to see a new 10mm hit the market. Less so when some clueless knuckle-dragger in a gun magazine refuses to test it with any real 10mm ammo.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Delta's were fixed a very long time ago, I know someone with close to 6K rounds through one and still going strong. Though he has taken great care of it. There are a few 10's on the market now capable of handling any of the boutique shop ammo. I am hoping the new Kimbers will be among those. I also have fired a S&W 1006 which belonged to a club member and it was rather tight still. Point is you have many options now along with Glock.

 

[Merle1]

I took a different path - a TC Contender with a 10 barrel & a scope made for a good hunting gun.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Picture Pictures Merle1 love to see it.

 

[tarosean]

10mm came out in 1983. I was a wee-lad then, just a year old. Quick Google searches confirm Delta Elite came out in 1987, the Glock Model 20 in 1991.

10mm was invented in the early 70's wasn't commercially loaded until 1983.
I believe Jeff Cooper was using it in a BHP prior.

You're also leaving out the fact of the FBI adopting the S&W 1076 in 1990. With the civilian 1006's in stores. That alone likely helped the 10mm more than Colt, Glock or the ill fated Bren.
Albeit they were not in service all that long as they were tanks and weighed as much.