Kimber 1911 .45 ACP from very first production run, Clackamas-marked, never loaded or fired, gunwriter provenance, outstanding quality and flawless condition

Extraordinary and unfired Kimber 1911 .45 ACP with gunwriter provenance from the very first production release in 1996. BACKGROUND: Kimber 1911 pistols were initially released in small batches during the Spring and Summer months of 1996. All were marked as being made in Clackamas, Oregon (they were in fact made in Yonkers, New York but shipped in bulk to the Clackamas factory for actual distribution as the Yonkers 07 manufacturing license application was still pending). The serial sequence began with “K” prefix and first 1,000 numbers were reserved for later use, meaning the lowest possible serial number released would have been K001001. Each of these pistols was meticiously inspected and carefully tested for every aspect of function as well as accuracy. Many were also earmarked for gunwriters for testing and photography in support of feature magazine articles and covers. As would be expected, some did not survive the inspection process and those serial numbers were not reissued. All early pistols were identical and marked “Classic Model Custom .45 ACP” on slide right. The subject pistol, serial K001176, was shipped to the Techical Editor of NRA’s The American Rifleman, Bob Hunnicutt. For whatever reason, other pistols forwarded to the NRA were used for all of the NRA’s testing and evaluation, so this one remains untouched and unfired since the day it left Kimber. PROVENANCE: A letter of provenance from Mr. Hunnicutt attests to origin, the unbroken chain of possession and condition. INCLUSIONS: The original factory hard case with serialized end label and secondary date label (4/96), manual and logo bushing wrench are present. CONDITION: New and unfired since factory proof. The price is firm and layaway is available. $3,500 plus shipping.