Kimber CDS9 Classic: A Quality Defensive Pistol

Kimber's CDS9 Classic is a single-action semiauto carry gun with some serious capacity.

October 07, 2025 By Keith Wood

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To say that double-stack single-action 9mm handguns are popular right now would be a giant understatement. Nearly every major maker, Kimber included, has come out with its own flavor of the 2011 handgun. While there are some great pistols in this category, few could be considered genuinely concealable.

If there’s an open niche in the defensive handgun market, this is it. And Kimber’s CDS9 Classic is a subcompact single-action, double-stack 9mm that is truly suitable for concealed carry.

CDS9 is the acronym for Covert Double Stack 9mm. Let me begin by making it clear that the CDS9 Classic is not a 2011 clone. It shares no parts and few features with the double-stack 1911, but it fills a similar niche.

Does this gun fit in the 1911/2011 category at all? Well, sort of. Yes, it’s a hammer-fired single-action, but the similarities mostly end there. It’s honestly no more 1911 or 2011 than it is Browning Hi Power. Similar capabilities, sure, but it gets there by a different route.

Variants

While there’s no grip safety, there is a thumb safety, so the pistol can be carried cocked and locked. The single-action trigger is a hybrid that shares traits with 1911 and hinged styles. (Photo courtesy of Keith Wood)

Kimber offers a CDS9 Classic and an optic-ready CDS9 Classic (OR); I tested the latter. Although the guns are similar, there are some slight differences that I’ll point out.

The CDS9 Classic (OR) uses an aluminum alloy frame that is blackened via Kimber’s KimPro II finish, while non-optic-ready versions are gray instead of black. The frame itself is short and stubby but is designed around extended magazine base pads that effectively become part of the grip. Not only do these mags allow for a full three-finger grip, they drastically increase the handgun’s capacity.

The frame is high-cut to keep the pistol low in the hand, and an extended beavertail at the rear protects the hand from the hammer and slide. The nylon mainspring housing at the back of the frame is textured for a firm grip, and the raised stippling matches that found on the two grip panels.

The frame’s dust cover is slick. Unlike the original CDS9, the Classic has no accessory rail. There are four integral frame rails to support the slide, two longer sections forward of the magazine well and two short rails to the rear. The frame-mounted ejector sits inside of the rear rail sections.

Trigger, Grip, and Safety

pistol with magazine — Ten- and 15-round magazines with extended base pads were included with the test gun. Production versions will ship with a 13- and a 15-round magazine in non-restrictive states. (Photo courtesy of Keith Wood)

The trigger system is a bit of a hybrid design. The flat-face trigger lever articulates or hinges from the top end like most modern handguns. Internally, though, things operate differently. Behind the trigger pad is a metal trigger bow that surrounds the inside of the magazine well and engages the ignition parts at the rear of the frame, in the style of the 1911.

There is a single-side magazine release with an elongated checkered button that is reversible for left-handed use. There is also an ambidextrous manual thumb safety.

The CDS9 Classic has no grip safety but uses a firing pin safety mechanism that is similar to that found on the Colt Series 80 1911. When the trigger is pressed to the rear, a lever extends upward from the frame. This lever pushes upward on a spring-loaded plunger located next to the disconnector rail on the bottom of the slide.

For those who grew up in a world of striker-fired handguns, a manual safety might feel like an anachronism. While I take no issue with carrying a handgun with a long trigger pull in condition zero (chamber loaded, no safety) that’s not something I’m going to combine with a short and relatively light single-action pull such as the one found on the CDS9. Appendix carry? Give me a manual safety every time.

The CDS9 Classic is built with a stainless steel slide. The (OR) version I tested sported a two-tone finish. On the two-tone (OR) models, the flats of the slide are polished while the remainder of the surfaces are coated with the satin black KimPro II finish. On the non-(OR) Classic, the gray slide matches the frame. There are vertical cocking serrations at the front and rear of the slide, and the gun employs an external extractor.

Sights and Optics

pistol on side with tools — The front sight system is made by TAG Precision. Kimber ships a kit with the gun that includes multiple interchangeable fiber-optic insert options and associated tools. (Photo courtesy of Keith Wood)

The serrated FiberLok front sight used on the (OR) version is made by TAG Precision and features interchangeable fiber optics. My pistol shipped with a red fiber-optic insert installed, with green, red, orange and black inserts included. To change out the inserts, remove the hex screw at the muzzle end of the sight.

The sight blade itself is made from steel and is black nitride finished, and as such it should stand up to hard use. The non-(OR) CDS9 classic is fitted with TruGlo tritium sights.

As the name makes obvious, the CDS9 Classic (OR) is made optic-ready. A cover plate comes installed on the slide, and the serrated black rear sight is integral to that plate. When the plate is removed, you can direct-mount an optic that uses the RMSc footprint. I did not install an optic, instead relying on the high-quality sights for testing.

The CDS9 Classic line features a stainless steel 3.03-inch barrel with an integral feed ramp. There is no barrel bushing. The barrel locks into the slide via a machined flat section forward of the chamber, and the barrel hood fits into a breech face mortise at the rear. There is a slot in the barrel hood that serves as a visual loaded-chamber indicator.

Recoil System

disassembled pistol — Disassembling the CDS9 series requires a small tool such as a punch or pen. The dual-spring recoil system is rated for 10,000 rounds. (Photo courtesy of Keith Wood)

Two magazines were included with the test sample, both with stamped steel bodies and blue polymer followers. The dual-column mags taper to a single cartridge width at the top. Both magazines are fitted with large polymer base pads that, when installed, become part of the grip.

The shorter magazine holds 10 rounds while the other holds 15 thanks to a slightly extended base. I’m told that production guns will actually ship with a 13-and a 15-round magazine, but the 10-round magazine is available for restrictive states.

The recoil system is a dual-spring setup. A smaller recoil spring guide rod rides inside a larger cylindrical guide. A captive coil spring sits between the two recoil spring guides. A larger flat recoil spring fits around the fatter guide and can be removed for cleaning.

There is an L-shaped tab at the back of the recoil assembly that locks into the lower lug of the barrel. It must be installed in the correct position, but the slide will not fit on the frame if it’s done incorrectly so there’s no danger of making a mistake during reassembly. This recoil system is rated for 10,000 rounds, according to Kimber.

Testing Accuracy

accuracy results chart — (Accuracy results provided by the author)

Disassembly of the CDS9 Classic (OR) is slightly out of the ordinary, so it is worth a mention. After making sure the pistol is unloaded, retract the slide until the half-moon notch aligns with the tab on the left slide stop. With the slide held in this position, use a small object such as a punch or even a pen to press on the center of the right slide-stop pin. When everything is aligned correctly, this will force the left slide stop out of position. The stop can then be removed, which allows the slide to come off the frame. At that point, the recoil system and barrel can be removed.

I tested the CDS9 Classic with four factory loads ranging from 115 to 147 grains. Accuracy was excellent across the board. Both 115-grain loads shot right at the point of aim at 15 yards, while the 135- and 147-grain rounds impacted roughly two inches high at that distance.

One might expect snappy recoil from such a compact handgun, but perhaps thanks to the full-size grip, that was not the case. Reliability was 100 percent with the CCI Blaser and Hornady ammunition. But I did experience one malfunction with the Fiocchi 147-grain load when the slide failed to go fully into battery while feeding the cartridge from the magazine. I bumped the slide and got back to shooting.

The final load I tried was Wilson Combat’s Signature Training load with Berry’s 135-grain hollow-base flatnose bullets. The flatnose profile was totally incompatible with the feed ramp of the CDS9 Classic and would not chamber reliably—hence it is not included in the accompanying accuracy chart. With the barrel removed, the cartridges would drop right in, so it was not a matter of a tight chamber or headspacing, just an issue of bullet shape. As with any handgun, it is best to find the ammo that works and stick with it.

Development

I’ve spent some time with Kimber’s engineering team in their state-of-the-art facility in Troy, Alabama, so I’ve seen the lengths they go to when developing a new handgun. Many high-tech machines, from ultra-high-speed cameras to automated coordinate measuring devices are used to ensure that standards of quality control are met. There is a great deal of capability squeezed into this small handgun, evidence of long hours spent by those design engineers.

Thanks to the proliferation of 1911-and 2011-style handguns these days, an entirely new generation of enthusiasts have discovered the shootability of single-action handguns. Not everyone is going to commit to carrying a handgun as large as a 1911 or 2011, though, which often leads to an individual using a single-action on the range while carrying a compact striker-fired handgun for self-defense.

I often find myself in this very position. One solution would be a handgun such as the CDS9 Classic (OR) that combines the shootability of a single-action with the safety of being able to carry cocked and locked, and the high capacity and concealability of a modern striker-fired handgun. For many of us, this truly is the best of both worlds.

Rather than creating another subcompact pistol built on the 1911’s operating system, Kimber developed a handgun that maintains key attributes of that design but in a package engineered from the ground up to function at this size.

Kimber CDS9 Classic (OR) Specs

Type: single-action semiautomatic
Caliber: 9mm Luger
Capacity: 10- and 15-round mags supplied (as tested; 13 and 15 for production guns)
Barrel: 3.03 in.
OAL/Height/Weight: 6.2/5.0/1.1 in
Weight: 20.8 oz.
Construction: KimPro II-finished steel slide, aluminum frame
Grips: textured nylon
Sights: black steel rear, TAG Precision fiber-optic front; slide cut for optics on RMSc footprint
Trigger: hinged single action, 5 lb. pull (measured)
Safeties: ambidextrous manual thumb, firing pin
MSRP: $864
Manufacturer: Kimber, KimberAmerica.com

Keith Wood

Keith Wood is a New York Times bestselling writer, and Co-Author of UNAFRAID: Staring Down Terror as a Navy SEAL and Single Dad. Keith is an avid shooter, handloader, gun collector, and custom gunmaker and has been hunting big game and upland birds for three decades. Keith has been an outdoor writer since 2007 and has penned hundreds of articles for various publications. He is the Field Editor of Guns & Ammo and a regular contributor to Hunting, Rifleshooter, and Handguns. He's also an attorney and government affairs professional. He holds a BA in Political Science from Stetson University and a JD from The Florida State University College of Law. A native of Florida, he and his family reside in Alabama.

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