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Face it: revolvers are one of the most unappreciated platforms in the gun world.
A lot of gun owners see them as antiquated and not worth the time, and they’re missing out.
Revolvers have a place in your gun safe and even in your holster--yes, you can carry a revolver--and we should all have at least one in our collections.
In the world of concealed carry, that means the gun in question needs to be reliable and concealable. That’s where the Kimber K6s comes in and this is why we think you should have one.
It’s more like a quick topical look to make sure we’re all on the same page. Bear with me because we’re going to talk about not-a-Kimber guns for a minute.
Revolvers were less an overnight invention and more the result of decades--centuries, even--of advancements. But if you had to point to a single moment in gun history that did a lot for revolvers it would be the 1830s when Samuel Colt got involved.
There was already a flintlock revolver at the time, one created by Artemis Wheeler and Elisha Collier, but it wasn’t a revolver like you’re thinking. That flintlock revolver was self-priming but not self-rotating.
Samuel Colt had time to get a good look at it during his time traveling by ship to India and England and somehow he figured out how to make it a lot better. It was February 25, 1836, when Colt’s US patent US138/9430X was finally granted, giving us the Colt Paterson, the early version of today’s revolvers.
The Colt Paterson was a big leap forward mostly because the cylinder was indeed self-rotating. Sure, capacity was limited, but the ability to keep firing after the first shot without reloading was a big deal.
For one thing, it meant settlers and soldiers could defend their lives a lot more effectively than before, and for another it meant the gun world at large was moving into the semi-auto realm.
Of course, it wasn’t all guns and roses for Colt. Thanks to the Militia Act of 1806 he was unable to sell his revolvers directly to militias--try to remember militias back then were different and way more common than what we have today--and then-President Van Buren’s 1837 economic crash he just wasn’t selling enough guns to get ahead.
It ended up being wars that helped Colt; the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War happened and required revolvers. Plus, Texas Ranger Samuel Walker placed an order for 1,000 guns to be used fighting Santa Anna when he refused to admit Texas wasn’t part of Mexico (and hadn’t been in a good decade). That’s how we got the Colt Walker, an enforced-chamber, 44-caliber revolver.
Moving on. Decades of changes and improvements may have taken place but revolvers remain a solid, basic platform.
Cock the hammer and press the trigger and the spring propels the hammer forward to strike the firing pin (the exception being guns with integral firing pins in the hammer, meaning the hammer moves forward and its integral firing pin strikes the primer).
Can revolvers fail? Absolutely, it’s just less common than in other platforms. Having an uber-reliable handgun should be enough on its own to convince you to wade into the revolver pool. Just saying.
Kimber K6s Specs
The Kimber K6s DASA is what the company calls the “next evolution” of their revolver line.
If you’re familiar with the original K6s you know it’s a double-action; the K6s keeps the nicely-delivered double-action option while adding in the ability to run the gun single-action.
It’s a win-win situation.
Its three-inch stainless steel barrel with a brushed finish does make this gun a snubby, making it extremely well-suited for use as a carry gun (or backup gun). The K6s DASA is chambered in .357 Magnum so you can run it with those rounds or with the softer-shooting .38 Special.
The gun’s frame is also stainless steel with a brushed finish; the use of steel throughout makes this a more solid gun, a good thing for .357 Magnum. It weighs 25.1 ounces empty.
Other numbers you’re probably at least a little curious about...
The gun has a height of 5.0 inches, length of 7.62 inches, and width of 1.39 inches.
It has a six-round capacity. Features include white three-dot sights, walnut grips with diamond checkering, and the aforementioned DA/SA trigger.
Kimber lists the gun’s trigger as being set within an approximate range so I measured the trigger pull with my Lyman Digital Trigger Gauge. Double-action my K6s DASA has a measured trigger pull weight of 10 pounds, 2 ounces; single-action the gun has a measured trigger pull weight of 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
Range Time
Yes, this is a revolver so it probably comes as no surprise to you guys that it’s eaten all the ammo I’ve thrown at it.
As expected there’s more felt recoil and muzzle rise with the .357 Magnum and the frangible Inceptor rounds have the least felt recoil of any load.
So here’s my problem with a lot of smaller revolvers: grip.
You have to be able to get a good grip on any gun to shoot it well and many snubbies--I would dare to say most snubbies--just don’t let you get one.
Kimber describes the grips of the K6s as “three-finger” grips and it’s accurate, at least for my hands. Try though you may the pinkie of your support hand is going do dangle and, in fact, even your strong-side hand might not quite fit. It all depends on your hand size.
That said, the checkering and width does give you a firm grip on the gun (and it’s comfortable, too). Personally, I like the fact that it doesn’t have finger grooves since those very rarely work with my hands.
This has been a relatively accurate little gun.
It isn’t meant for longer shots so I’ve stuck to under ten yards. Shooting from the bench at seven yards, five-shot groups are consistently under two inches whether .357 Magnum or .38 Special.
Move back to ten yards and you’re looking at closer to three and three-and-a-half inch groups. Of course, no one sits at a bench and sandbags their gun while trying to defend their lives.
Offhand you can still get groups close to two and two-and-half inches without trouble. The sticking point is going to be whether or not you can run that double-action trigger smoothly. If you’re thinking hey, I’m not going to bother running double-action, pump the brakes.
You need to learn to run a double-action trigger.
As factory triggers go the trigger on the K6s is excellent. It’s smooth, consistent, and has a clean, crisp break. Single-action it’s ridiculously easy; double-action it is one of the better out-of-the-box pulls I’ve experienced. No complaints.
Kimber really did nicely designing this gun for concealed carry. It doesn’t have sharp edges; the frame and barrel are beveled and smooth to drastically reduce snagging and cut down on printing, too.
The smoothness of the gun’s frame also improves draw stroke and makes re-holstering slicker as well. Checkering on the cylinder release and hammer makes manipulating them easier, especially if your hands are wet or sweaty (and they’re going to be if you’re using this for self-defense).
A word on recoil: yes, .357 Magnum produces enough muzzle rise and felt recoil to be… let’s go with unpleasant.
It does deliver far more energy than .38 Special so it’s worth finding out if you’re cool with it. Nothing wrong with using .38 Special, though. There’s +P .38 Special to consider, too.
Don’t dismiss the use of .357 Magnum outright, though. Spend time shooting it, get used to it, and try more than one brand of ammo. You might find one that’s accurate and workable for you offhand at close range.
By the Numbers
Reliability: 5/5
It’s a revolver. Sure they can fail but this one hasn’t yet. It’s reliable.
Ergonomics: 3/5
This has both good and bad ergonomics. The grip is large enough to facilitate a good grip but small enough for dangling pinkies which I see as a bit of a bummer. Dangling pinkies never bode well for accuracy. On the other hand it’s a snubby so it is meant to have shorter grips and to be smaller in general, so can you really complain? It is comfortable, so there’s that. Trigger reach is a tiny bit short for me but again, this is a small gun. It is what it is.
Accuracy: 4/5
I’ll go with 4 out of 5 for accuracy because it is accurate at closer distances and that’s what it is designed to do. It gets the job done with no problem whatsoever. If you rapid-fire your groups broaden quite a bit; if you rapid-fire .357 Magnum you’re looking at dinner-plate-sized groups or worse. Take the time to aim. Always.
Customization: 3/5
Options to customize this gun are really limited to swapping out the grips and sights. I would prefer night sights, personally. Yeah you could start messing with the trigger and hammer but I wouldn’t. No reason to do it.
Value: 4/5
For the most part the K6s DASA does outperform its $970 MSRP. Even so it is a steep price for a gun that’s likely going to be used as a BUG (or only at the range). I’m torn on this one because it is a pretty good value but it’s also on the higher end of the spectrum for this specific type of gun.
Overall: 5/5
Conclusion
Kimber did an awesome job with this revolver. Aesthetically it’s appealing and eye-catching. The controls are easy to manipulate, the trigger is beautifully smooth, and the gun feels good in my hands. The biggest downside is the need for speedloaders because they are not easy to find.
Speed strips are okay but not ideal.
Here we come back around to the reason many gun owners dislike revolvers: capacity. I’d use the K6s DASA as my BUG but not as my main carry, not as a general rule, anyway. I fully admit I prefer having more rounds at my disposal from the jump.
Still, this is a great revolver. I totally recommend it, especially if you want just one good revolver in your possession. There are a lot of revolvers out there not worth the expense but this isn’t one of them. It outperforms its price point and delivers for concealed carry. DeSantis has some nice holsters for it.
Have you tried out the Kimber K6? Do you want to? Let us know what you think about this little revolver in the comments below! While you're here, check out the Best CCW Revolvers or move to the semi side with Best Concealed Carry Handguns.
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