Taming The Alpha Handgun

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Kimber’s 1911 And GEMTECH Suppressor Make For A Potent, Low-Decibel Hookup.

I need it to cope with pests on my rural farm. I want to head to the range and leave my hearing protection at home. It is necessary kit should the CIA ever need to send me deep into enemy territory on a covert mission of action and intrigue to rescue a lonely Swedish supermodel. The lamentable truth be known, none of that stuff is real. I wanted the perfect suppressed handgun for the same reasons adventurers challenge Everest, some guy bodged together the first monster truck, and a man once hit a golf ball on the moon. I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Any suppressed handgun system starts with a proper pistol. Of all the many-splendored examples on the market today none carries the storied pedigree of the 1911. Spawned from the fertile mind of the inimitable John Moses Browning more than a century ago, the 1911’s standard for handgun effectiveness persists even now well into the Information Age.

In a sea of contemporary gun manufacturers churning out 1911 handguns, the name Kimber is synonymous with excellence. Exemplifying state of the art quality and legendary reliability, Kimber’s extensive line of around 200 different pistols and rifles are fine examples of the gunmaker’s art. LAPD SWAT fills their holsters with Kimber iron. I picked one gun to tuck under a jacket and another to ride on my thigh. Their 1911 Pro TLE II TFS (Tactical Law Enforcement/Threaded for Suppressor) sports a chopped 4.25-inch barrel and is designed from the ground up to mount a particular sound suppressor. The Warrior SOC TFS (Special Operations Capable Threaded for Suppressor) combines the same suppressor-friendly features with a full-length barrel and slide as well as a distinctive Kimpro II finish. This unique green/tan combination is as cool as Elvis before he got fat.

High-profile Tactical Wedge Tritium sights stand out in the dark and ride high enough to compliment a can. The forward rake of the rear sight also allows you to rack the slide 1-handed on something firm should life really go sideways. Flat mainspring housings adorn both and nice sharp 30 lpi checkering keeps the smaller gun steady when sweaty and rushed. The front of the Warrior SOC grip is left smooth and, unlike the TLE, its safety is bilateral. A railed dust cover on the Warrior SOC mounts a Crimson Trace Rail Master laser sight as standard equipment. The barrels are match grade and the ejection ports sport the obligatory flare. Slides are hand-fitted to the frames to ensure the perfect union of steel on steel. Those inimitable single action triggers are, well, you’ve heard it all before. Crisp, sharp, clean, breaking glass… the traditional descriptors seem inadequate. I’ll just use divine.

The Crimson Trace Rail Master Laser is factory mounted to the rail
machined from the slide on the Warrior. The muzzle nut is installed
to protect the suppressor threads.

An ambidextrous safety is provided along with a well-fitted beavertail
grip safety with “memory pad.” Note the high profile rear sight. High
to see over the mounted suppressor, it doubles as a tool to run the
slide one handed.

In the past couple of decades sound suppressors have emerged from the shadows to become staples within the contemporary American shooting community. The motivations behind this transition are legion. The $200 transfer tax required to own one of these delightful devices, itself an anachronism stemming from the much-publicized gang wars of the 1920’s, has been castrated by inflation such that it no longer stands as such an effective economic impediment. Movies artificially supercharge the sex appeal and there is always the issue of forbidden fruit. When the government tacitly tells us we are not responsible enough to own something then we simply must have them.

In a broad field of suppressor manufacturers Gemtech is a time-proven company with a reputation for innovation and quality. Their cans are used downrange by 007 in a recent James Bond novel I read as well as by some of the planet’s hardest counter-terror operators out here in the Real World. The new Gemtech GM-45 G-core design combines state of the art suppression with easy maintenance, novel architecture, and a reasonable price.

If you are going to invest in a shooting rig incorporating this much raw unfiltered testosterone you’ll need some support gear to do it up right. BLACKHAWK! gear was literally birthed in battle. The founder of this company is a Navy SEAL who started scheming up his own gear when a piece of issue kit failed one evening while he was a traversing an Iraqi minefield in the dark.

The Blackhawk! Serpa holster was recently selected as the standard holster for all US Army and Marine Corps operators carrying handguns. Clever, intuitive, and just about indestructible, Serpa mounts can perch a handgun on your hip, thigh, or plate carrier while leaving the weapon instantly accessible all at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Winchester was building ordnance when George Armstrong Custer was still pondering whether he should make the Army a career. Their line of 1911 ammo is specifically built for this firearm. This premium ammunition is military-grade reliable and employs low-flash powders. Winchester 1911 Jacketed Hollow Point bullets deploy diabolical little razors that expand like a thermonuclear bomb on impact. The 1911 Full Metal Jacket rounds identically mimic the recoil and performance of the premium defensive loads at a lower price for training use.

The front strap is smooth and the forward rail an integral part of the frame machining.

It is my admittedly enviable task to paint for you a word picture of how this ballistic Dream Team performs out here in the real world. These two Kimber 1911 handguns and Gemtech GM-45 suppressors were each designed from the outset to specifically compliment the other. Winchester 1911 ammunition is loaded for this platform and Blackhawk!’s Serpa is sufficiently robust to impress Uncle Sam. There is no better production suppressor/gun combination anywhere on the planet and the practical results at the range reflect this.

The Kimber 1911 TLE and Warrior SOC handguns are cut from big blocks of ordnance steel and do a magnificent job of mitigating recoil, particularly with the cans in place, but they are heavy when compared to contemporary plastic pistols. These guns are more accurate than I am and, so long as I did my part, I could at least threaten a pie plate out to 100 meters. The literally inimitable single-action triggers and match-grade barrels combined with glass-smooth hand-fitted actions wring every bit of accuracy potential out of the platform. Magazine changes in the 1911 set the standard for everything else.

Given the prodigious heft of all the bells and whistles these suppressed guns take all the unpleasantness out of throwing those big honking 230-grain bullets. Recoil with the cans in place is an afterthought and follow up shots are quick and smooth. The standard Double Kimber single-stack magazines carry 8 rounds onboard and come with optional rubber floorplates. taps are veritably sublime.

The combination of so much ordnance steel combined with the suppressor
on the end makes for a fairly heavy package. However, the up side is this
gun utterly tames those big, heavy .45 ACP projectiles. Double taps and
follow up shots are breezy, as Kelley the office manager for Will’s
medical clinic, found. Photo: Sarah Dabbs

Ball ammo from Winchester ran flawlessly through the Kimber Warrior (above) and
shot slightly left of point of aim. In the Commander-size Pro TLE II (below),
the money load was Winchester 230-grain FMJ, although any of the others would
be fine with the sights moved slightly. Photo: Sarah Dabbs

.45 ACP Factory Ammo Performance

Load	Velocity	Group Size
(Brand, Bullet Weight, Type)	(fps)	(inches)
Winchester Bulk 230 FMJ	897	2.74
Winchester 1911 230 JHP	952	2.75
Winchester 1911 230 FMJ	890	1.9
PMC 185 JHP	1,043	5.25
Tulammo Steel-cased 230 FMJ	839	3.4

Notes: Groups the product of 5 shots at 15 yards.
Chronograph screens set at 15 feet from muzzle.
Temperature 85 degrees F with no wind.

The Warrior SOC was incrementally easier on follow up shots than the shorter TLE given its extra inch of barrel and slide but both guns were superb shooters. The TLE packs a bit easier under clothing given its abbreviated geometry. The lightweight G-core can is surprisingly compact and the elevated Meprolight sights do a splendid job even with the suppressor in place. I loved the aggressive grip texture of the G10 grips on the Warrior SOC.

I think the suppressed 1911 TLE and Warrior SOC handguns are the nicest pistols I have ever fired and be assured I do not toss about such superlatives lightly. As expected, there were no mechanical failures during our extensive testing.

Aside from looking awesome, what the holy union of Kimber, Gemtech, Blackhawk, and Winchester really does is enhance training, make these large-caliber handguns easier to run quickly, and retain your capacity to communicate in a gunfight. If you are expecting movie-grade quiet you will be disappointed. That nearly 1/2-inch hole in the end is hard to work around. However, with the cans in place these guns are imminently controllable and will allow you to shoot, move, and communicate unencumbered in a crisis, even indoors.

These guns are top-tier tools designed for professional use. The manual suggests a 400- to 500-round break-in and lists recommended spring changes every 5,000 rounds. Your great grandchildren won’t wear these gun/suppressor rigs out.

To replicate one of the guns used in this article comes in at less than $2,000 including that wretched tax. Hardly chicken feed, it is in line with a high-end black rifle. If you live in a free state and aren’t intimidated by the paperwork, transfer tax and wait times for the can then you too can build up your own ballistic “dream team”. Who knows, maybe there really is a lonely Swedish supermodel out there someplace in dire need of rescuing.

The Gemtech GM-45 suppressor (above) disassembles easily for cleaning.
Add a dollop of petroleum jelly behind the first baffle and the gun is
markedly quieter. Studying the entrails (below) of the Kimber Warrior
SOC and Gemtech GM45 G-Core demonstrates them to be well-executed
precision tools. Fit and finish were perfect. Photos: Sara Dabbs

A Wee Smidgeon o’ Physics

A proper sound suppressor does several things simultaneously. Hot, high-speed gases must be slowed and cooled to minimize muzzle noise while the can itself swallows up muzzle flash. To do so a series of expansion chambers typically forces this violent gas to work itself out before seeing the light of day. The specific architecture of a suppressor’s guts is a combination of science, art, and voodoo in comparable measure. In the case of the G-core, computerized Computational Fluid Dynamics optimized the entrails while a little Finite Element Analysis ensured the monocore design remained swarthy and robust.

The Gemtech G-core GM-45 begins life as a solid cylinder of 7075-T6 Aluminum. Expansion chambers are milled out of the bar such that the suppressor guts are embodied within a single part easily removed for cleaning. The fairly unremarkable outer tube is the part receiving the serial number and necessitates all the paperwork. It just slips onto the monocore from the front and screws in place.

The reciprocating parts of an autoloading handgun are carefully balanced for reliable operation. The G-core is remarkably lightweight, but to ensure reliable operation on a 1911 pistol a sound suppressor of any sort requires a Linear Inertial Decoupler (LID) or Nielsen device. The LID is essentially a compact, spring-loaded piston built into the near end of the can. The LID captures a bit of the energy otherwise lost in those escaping gases and uses it to tap the muzzle end of the pistol backwards with each shot. This extra little boost is sufficient to cycle the slide reliably. The engineering behind the LID is absolutely inspired and this remarkable device ranks right up there with the electric trolling motor, vice grip pliers, Cheez Whiz, and that little red desktop water-sipping bird for pure manly cool points.

Perceived noise is difficult to quantify and pure numbers are frequently not entirely reflective of a shooter’s impressions. Perfect world you’ll shoot a can before you buy it so you can hear how it sounds for yourself. Also, a great deal of a gun’s noise pollution comes from the mechanical noise of the action combined with the bullet striking the target. As the speed of sound through dry air at 68 degrees F is 1,125 feet per second all factory .45 ACP loads will be naturally subsonic.

The Gemtech GM-45 renders a standardized sound reduction of 21 to 23 dB dry. Adding an ablative material like wire-pulling gel or petroleum jelly to the can, commonly referred to as shooting the can “wet,” bumps the overall sound reduction to 32 to 35 dB. By comparison, the hearing protection we commonly use for shooting will provide a noise attenuation of 18 to 32 dB. To muddy the water yet further, the decibel scale we use to measure noise is a logarithmic contrivance so each three increment increase doubles the sound pressure.

Regardless, with a bit of Vaseline stashed behind the 1st baffle these suppressed pistols are remarkably effective. OSHA has set a standard of 140 dB as hearing safe and the GM-45 can get there if you moisten the suppressor guts first. Fired dry the can projects the sound forward and away but will still ring your bell without muffs.
By Will Dabbs, MD
Photos: ROBBIE BARRKMAN

Maker: Kimber
1 Lawton Street, Yonkers, NY 10705
(888) 243-4522
//gunsmagazine.com/company/kimber/

Action type:	Locked Breech, Semi-Autos, Suppressor Ready
Gun:	Warrior SOC (TFS)	Pro TLE II (TFS)
Caliber:	.45 ACP	.45 ACP
Capacity:	7	7
Barrel length:	5.25 inches	4.25 inches
Overall length:	9.19 inches	8.35 inches
Weight:	40 ounces	35 ounces
Finish:	Kimpro II Tan and OD	Matte black
Sights:	Tritium 3-Dot & Crimson Trace Rail Master
Material:	Steel frame & slide	Steel frame & slide
Grips:	G10	Black synthetic, checkered
Price:	$1,738	$1,224