Kimber recently invited me to a media event to tour their new factory in Alabama and learn how their firearms are made. The event did not disappoint. One particular highlight of the event was learning about the new Kimber R7 MAKO CFc.
The Kimber R7 MAKO CFc
I have always had a deep appreciation for American-made products, especially firearms. What Kimber does that impresses me most is keep prices affordable while still achieving quality success. The company also listens to the market, current Kimber customers, and experts in the industry who shoot tens of thousands of rounds a year to make a better product.
While visiting Kimber, no less than a dozen of Kimber’s engineers, designers, R&D team members, and more were asking me for feedback and talking about the future of new products.
One such improved gun is the R7 MAKO Carbon Fiber Compact (CFc) pistol. The original R7 MAKO is Kimber’s first polymer-framed, striker-fired, sub-compact handgun. The upgrades made to the CFc model are significant and worthy of a full review.
Carbon Fiber Frame
Going from a polymer frame to a carbon fiber-infused matrix is the most significant improvement that adds the most value. I think just about every gun owner I know owns at least one (if not a dozen) polymer-framed guns.
The new CFc frame features up to 60,000 PSI tensile strength. What does that mean exactly? It means it is darn tough. In all seriousness, tensile strength is the maximum load something can support without breaking or fracturing. Carbon fiber is also more durable and resistant to environmental factors. However, a material like polymer can suffer under extreme heat or too much stress.
And if you’re wondering, the R7 MAKO Carbon Fiber Compact pistol with the optic installed and outfitted with a threaded barrel is only $129.00 more than the polymer version set up the same way.
The R7 MAKO Undercut
The next feature I have come to enjoy from this pistol is the high undercut on the grip. This cut allows people with larger hands to grip the gun better without a pinky finger dangling off. Before this, an extended magazine base pad was the only way to get all your fingers on the grip.
The higher the grip on the gun, the more control over felt recoil. This upgrade from the original R7 makes a big difference.
Kimber’s Hallmark Side Ejection Port
I love putting a Kimber with its signature side ejection port in the hands of someone who has never shot one. There are usually some looks of confusion followed by excitement over the brass ejection pattern. While this isn’t a new design, it’s worth mentioning.
The ejection port is cut out strictly on the right side of the gun. There isn’t any material taken off the top of the slide. Many people snag their guns on clothing or with gloves while racking the slide in the ejection port area. With Kimber’s design, you have less chance of this happening.
If you’re familiar with shell deflectors on shotguns, such as the ESCORT BTS bullpup-designed shotgun, Kimber’s ejection port acts similarly to direct the spent brass away from your face.
Flared Magwell
Another upgrade from the original R7 MAKO is the flared magwell. As long as it’s subtle, I’m a fan of a flared magwell on a carry gun. The magwell helps guide the magazine into the gun even if you don’t have the magazine at the right angle. This makes for an easier reload, especially when under stress, which you will experience in any self-defense scenario.
The 15-round magazine fits flush with the magwell. However, there are subtle cuts on the side of the magwell if you need to remove a stuck magazine manually.
A Fully Ambidextrous R7 MAKO
The slide lever and magazine release are fully functional on both sides of the R7 MAKO CFc. Guns marketed as ambidextrous usually require the end consumer to fit them to their dominant hand. For example, you typically must remove the magazine release and manually swap it to the other side. None of that is required with this gun.
There are also small cut-out “thumb shelves” on both sides of the frame right behind the accessory rail. When you grip this pistol, the thumb shelf helps create the habit of resting your support hand thumb so that you have the best supporting hand grip possible.
Sights Ready to Carry
How often do you buy a pistol and then have to purchase an optic plate and an optic, install it properly, and hope it co-witnesses with the iron sights? The R7 MAKO Carbon Fiber Compact is available in several options, including non-threaded or optics-ready. But if, like me, you would rather have the gun set up with iron sights and an optic, there is a model for you.
The “OI” model comes with the Holosun 407K already installed. Correspondingly, it has the 3-Dot TruGlo Tritium Pro Night Sights, featuring an orange front ring and white rear rings. And yes, they co-witness. Kimber also sells compatible holsters on their website. So, you can get the holster to match your pistol and be ready to carry.
Shooting the Kimber R7 MAKO CFc
Caldwell’s Orange Peel targets easily stick onto cardboard targets, making zeroing or group-testing ammunition easy. Once shot, the bullet impact is rimmed in white, making it easily visible to see how well a gun shoots.
I tested specific ammunition designed for carry to see if this pistol would shoot different grain-weight bullets and bullet profiles. I also wanted to know if it would group accurately with all of them. All my boxes were checked in terms of performance.
On target, Fiocchi is at the top left, Remington is at the top right, Federal is at the bottom left, and Lehigh is at the bottom right. Each ammunition type had a shot group of about one inch or under. The 90-grain bullet, to no surprise, packs a major punch, running on average 1,387 feet per second out of the gun.
The Holosun 407K optic fits this pistol well. It’s easy to pick up and track the dot as it recoils. Additionally, the co-witness iron sights are beneficial because they glow in the dark. This makes it easy to find your gun and then look through the optic once you go to grip the pistol.
While I didn’t test out the threaded barrel, the R7 MAKO Carbon Fiber Compact does come in a non-threaded or threaded option. The thread pitch is ½x28, and it would pair well with a short suppressor designed with lightweight material such as titanium or 3D-printed.
The threaded barrel is a must-have if you plan to use this gun as a bedside home defense pistol. A suppressor reduces sound, mitigates felt recoil, and reduces muzzle flash in the dark.
ShellShock Hearing and Eye Protection
ShellShock sent me its eyes and ears combo pack, and the hearing protection is now in my Top 3 favorite earmuffs of all time. I rarely wear earmuffs to shoot for several reasons. Usually, the cups are uncomfortable—they interfere with and push on my eyewear, and if I’m shooting a long gun, it’s hard to get a good cheek weld on the gun without breaking the seal of the muff.
With the pair of ShellShock eyes and ears, I didn’t have any of these issues. ShellShock uses PureSeal Gel Pads not just for comfort but also to provide an anti-sweat surface and an acoustic seal. The indentation design on the outer material allows you to maintain a proper cheek weld on long guns.
The temples on the eyewear were thin enough that I didn’t feel the usual pressure from wearing earmuffs. In addition, they are ANSI-rated, which you should always use when shooting guns, especially at steel targets.
Two lenses come with the frames: a clear lens and a smoke tint lens. You can swap lenses in seconds and do it right there on the range if needed. ShellShock makes a good-quality product that I recommend checking out.
Final Thoughts
This gun is worth the value offered. As mentioned several times, it comes in options of non-threaded, threaded, optic ready, and optic installed. I can’t say enough good things about Kimber, and American-made products are always worth it.
For more information, please visit KimberAmerica.com.
Kimber R7 MAKO CFc (Carbon Fiber Compact) TFS + OI Specs
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Barrel | 4.42 inches, 1:10 twist rate, thread pitch 1/2×28 |
| Overall Height | 5.8 inches |
| Overall Length | 7.6 inches |
| Overall Width | 1.16 inches |
| Weight without magazine | 25.8 ounces |
| Sights | Tritium Night Sights with Holosun 407K installed |
| Trigger Pull Weight | 5-7 pounds |
| Controls | Ambidextrous Controls |
| Magwell | Flared Magwell |
| Accessories | Comes with two 15-round magazines and four interchangeable backstraps |
| MSRP | $1,080.00 |
Performance
| LeHigh Defense 90 grain XD | |
| Average Velocity (5 Shot Average using the Garmin Chronograph) in Feet Per Second | 1387 |
| Accuracy (5 Shot Group 15 Yards) in Inches | 0.733 |
| Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 115-grain JHP | |
| Average Velocity (5 Shot Average using the Garmin Chronograph) in Feet Per Second | 1155 |
| Accuracy (5 Shot Group 15 Yards) in Inches | 1.226 |
| Remington 115 grain JHP | |
| Average Velocity (5 Shot Average using the Garmin Chronograph) in Feet Per Second | 1212 |
| Accuracy (5 Shot Group 15 Yards) in Inches | 0.628 |
| Federal Punch 124 grain JHP | |
| Average Velocity (5 Shot Average using the Garmin Chronograph) in Feet Per Second | 1192 |
| Accuracy (5 Shot Group 15 Yards) in Inches | 1.034 |
