Kimber K6 DCR

Revolving Credit – Kimber’s K6 DCR Deserves a Serious Look

Photos by Kenda Lenseigne

Kimber first announced their K6 revolver over 18 months ago, filling a very specific gap in the market. Up until that point, the S&W J-frame pretty much held sway in the small revolver department, despite Ruger’s attempt to steal a march with their LCR. What neither could offer, though, was the combination of .357 Magnum power and a six-round cylinder.

Since grabbing everyone’s attention at SHOT Show 2016, Kimber expanded its model offerings to include the Deluxe Carry Revolver, or DCR, you see here. The K6 is rapidly becoming a classic, and this particular variant is the one you want. Here’s why.

Trigger
We all know the two most critical factors when it comes to making hits are sight alignment and trigger control. In handguns of the size most likely to be carried, rather than left in the nightstand, their importance is magnified — a short sight radius doesn’t give you much to aim with, and a small grip doesn’t give much to hang onto as you work the trigger.

Anything that makes one or both of these actions easier is to be welcomed, and, right now, the K6’s double-action-only trigger is the best you can find in a pocket revolver, bar none. S&W K-frames and larger, once they’ve been treated to a spring and action job, are a teensy bit smoother, but the smaller J-frame suffers from grit and stacking that’s more difficult to remove. Out of the box, the K6 kicks its ass handily, and despite Ruger’s commendable efforts, it’s also better than the LCR.

In operation, the user can either pull straight through the point of no return, or use a slight tactile cue as the cylinder locks up, pausing to take a last-second check on the sights before making the stubby barrel bark. In deliberate fire, we found that by using the trigger finger’s first joint on the blade, its tip would make contact with the left grip panel about 1/8 inch before boom time, giving us plenty of warning that things were about to get loud and allowing us to make any corrections needed.

Notchy-Posty Things
The front sight is a big ’ol chunk of steel that’s let into the barrel and pinned in place. It’s not going anywhere. What might go somewhere is the red fiber-optic rod, especially when shooting full house .357 mags, as they have a habit of breaking at the most inopportune time. Still, replacing them is simply a matter of a pocket knife and butane lighter; until then, it’ll gather enough light to drag your eyeball kicking and screaming toward the most important bit of your sight picture.

We initially had reservations about how vertical the K6’s front sight blade was and how it might snag on a cover garment, but after repeatedly trying to get it to foul our pocket lining, we gave up. If you can make it snag, you may want to reconsider just how much lace is in your underoos, because that’s the only fabric we can think of that might cause a problem.

Adding to the front sight’s eye-grabbing nature is a channel running the full length of the topstrap. If you present the weapon slightly muzzle high, ribs on either side act to line up the rear sight before it would otherwise come into view. At the friendly end, a matte black steel rearsight is dovetailed into the frame. It’s drift-adjustable for windage, locked in place with a set screw, and serrated to reduce glare. It’s also tall enough to be useful, its rear edge following the frame’s lines almost seamlessly.

Grips are tailored toward the gun’s use as a very concealable everyday carry piece. Which is to say, they’re slim, smooth in the right places, and grippy where your hand makes contact. Unlike the minimalist grips on original J-frames, these fill the space between frontstrap and trigger guard, so your middle finger doesn’t get crushed in recoil. Having said that, what makes them easy to carry also creates conditions ripe for a flinch from hell. That backstrap doesn’t have any of the broad, cushiony Hogue goodness you’d find on other manufacturers models.

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