Pistols. They come in all kinds of sizes and shapes these days. Of course, that’s a good thing from the consumer’s point of view because it gives you options to (hopefully) get exactly what you want in your firearm when you buy it.
But even with all of the various options available for pistols these days, they are (these days, at least) usually polymer (a type of plastic) framed or steel framed. And there are a huge number of great pistols with both of those frame types.
But, maybe, you’re one of those people who just craves the new or the out of the ordinary. Maybe you’re the person who, when you go to a restaurant, orders the exotic meal because you don’t know when you’ll be able to eat that particular type of meat again (or is that just me?).
If that’s you, one manufacturer has just released a variation on their everyday carry microcompact pistol model made out of something a little different: carbon fiber. Adam Borisenko writes,
Firstly, the Kimber [R7 Mako] Carbon Compact gets its name from the new Carbon Fiber Matrix-filled grip housing, a material that is much stronger than typical firearms polymers. While extra durability is always nice, the more noticeable advantages of the new frame are the ergonomic changes. Namely, a forward thumb rest, a high undercut trigger guard and four interchangeable backstraps. The magwell is now flared as well.
Compared to the original Mako, the Carbon Compact pistols also feature slightly longer barrels for a little extra oomph. Of the four available variants, two have 3.9-inch barrels and two have threaded 4.4-inch barrels.
This pistol does come optics ready in all available models, though, you can purchase it with a Holosun 407k already installed.
Now, just to be up front with you and presumably because using carbon fiber instead of polymer in a pistol is so unusual these days, the MSRP on this model is not on the budget end of things.
You can watch a video review of the pistol below.
So, what do you think about the Kimber R7 Mako Carbon Compact? Tell us below.
Years ago, worked with Carbon fiber filled PA6/6 and PC. Back then we were getting 33% Carbon filled PA6/6 to almost equal 1018 CRS properties. Required hot Mold (~250F) and pre drying to about 0.12 – 0.08% moisture levels before molding. Did find that the Flex Modulus was such that properly molded, those Nylon molded parts would keep flexing while the 1018 CRS parts would come apart. The DoD program (Multi Purpose Individual Munition, 57mm rocket) was dropped, and the only trace left is in the old Chuck Norris movie, INVASION USA, where at the end of the movie, Chuck Norris uses the “Scorpion”, which was the name given to the project.