The Kimber Sapphire Ultra II is a 3″ .45 ACP 1911, the slide of which has been coated a shiny blue using physical vapor deposition (PVD).
At SHOT Show one demographic was drawn to the Sapphire Ultra II. You guessed it: women. And how could we not be? A shiny blue 1911? Sign me up!
I’ve never been a big fan of the Ultra. Difficult to control and easy to limp wrist, the Ultra is not a gun suited for novice shooters. While putting the shiny blue coating on it certainly makes it pretty and kind of makes me want one, I wish they could have pimped a cool gun. For example, if they’d put the same coating on a Custom Eclipse II in 10mm I would buy it in a heartbeat, and then I would own the only one because no one else would be that ridiculous.
In all seriousness, opting to put the blue PVD coating on something like Kimber’s new Micro CDP would have made a lot more sense. The .380 pocket guns are already frequently targeted toward the female demographic, and with the success of Sig Sauer’s many P238 models (including the rainbow titanium) it would seem that something like the Sapphire would fit well into the market.
Instead they put the shiny blue PVD coating on a lightweight 3″ .45. While there are plenty of women out there who can handle a firearm such as the Kimber Ultra with extreme skill, these more experienced shooters are less likely to purchase a shiny blue 1911 than inexperienced shooters who have been told .45 ACP has great “stopping power” and that they need a small gun with slim grips because they have small hands. (Hint: Next time get a Glock 34 Cerakoted.)
I appreciate gun companies recognizing women as a target demographic, but I wish they would be smart about it.
Does it look a lot better in person? I suppose being spoiled by old Royal Blue Colts doesn’t help the case for that color.
It’s a brilliant, electric blue. Out of all the guns at SHOT I spent time taking pictures of, this single gun probably took the most. It was very difficult to nail it’s true color in photos, and I still didn’t get it.
I had an Eclipse II in 10mm. Great tool for learning how to clear stovepipes.
I’m not sure I understand your Review the one I saw at the Shot Show was a 9mm not a 45acp and talking with the people at the Kimber Booth, nothing was said about coming out with a 45acp. I Dont see that it would be a difficult gun to shoot in 9mm its about the same size as as my Ruger LC9 and that Shoots just fine.