Another Carry Gun ... 3" or 4" Slide?

[TBT]

Okay … here is the situation. My wife has reiterated again that she wants to learn use and carry a firearm. She has shot and fallen in love with my Kimber Ultra Carry II. So the deal is this;

I can give her mine and buy another gun for myself to carry, or I can buy another UCII for her to carry and keep mine. I’m a little loath to buy another UCII for the simple reason that I already have one. So … if I were to buy another weapon for concealed carry what should it be?

I would want it to be of the 1911 design. I can’t help it, I’m completely and totally in love with this design. I’m comfortable with it’s function and efficient with it’s applications.

So my question is this … what length slide should I be looking at? From the UCII to the commander length, is the only difference at all the barrel being 1” longer? Is the butt of the gun the same size? If so, all things being equal from a concealment standpoint, I might be inclined to head warnings I have heard regarding the 3” slide and make the jump to the 4”.

What do you guys think?

["DoubleAction"]

TBT; I like the 4", and you can get a Kimber that will put you right on one. The Kimber I sampled had an alloy frame, low mount rear sight, full length guide rod, beavertail, and a full size mag well. Trigger broke at around 4 1/2 lbs on that one, with very good cycling from shot to shot. I do not know how fast follow shots come off with the 3", but the 4" is pretty fast, and very accurate. Try looking and feeling up a 4" before you decide.

[TBT]

DoubleAction said:

TBT; I like the 4", and you can get a Kimber that will put you right on one. The Kimber I sampled had an alloy frame, low mount rear sight, full length guide rod, beavertail, and a full size mag well. Trigger broke at around 4 1/2 lbs on that one, with very good cycling from shot to shot. I do not know how fast follow shots come off with the 3", but the 4" is pretty fast, and very accurate. Try looking and feeling up a 4" before you decide.

DA!

Yeah, I'm definitely going to grope a few before I decide. Wouldn't the full size mag well be a hindrance for concealment? I don't think the extra inch on the barrel will effect things, but I'm worried about the butt of the gun.

[TBT]

By the looks of the Kimber Website, the Ultra and Compact frames are .400 of an inch shorter than the other carry models.

How much of a difference can that make?

["DoubleAction"]

TBT; The Kimber that I sampled was probably the Pro-Carry, which features the full length grip. The shorter grip that your referring to is the equal of Colt's Officer's ACP and Wilson Combat's CQB Compact Models. With the short grip, you will get less bulk under a shirt for concealment, which can contribute alot for someone with a slimmer profile. I know my Officer's and CQB Compact prints alot less at the grip than my full size pistols. Wilson sells seven round magazines for these shorter grips, but if you load it to capacity and try to push it against a closed slide, after chambering a round, there is not enough space in the magazine for the spring to compress any further when the top round presses against the center rail of the closed slide. For all practical purposes, the seven round magazine is a waste of money for carry; Your better off with a six round mag, with six rounds, and one in the chamber, which equals seven.