Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP – Superb Lightweight 1911

Description

A full size 1911 that does not feel like one on the belt is a harder thing to build than it sounds. The Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP gets there by hanging a stainless slide on an aluminum frame, which drops roughly seven ounces against an all steel Custom while keeping the five inch barrel, the full length grip and the eight round magazine. The result reads as a duty sized gun that carries like a commander.

Full Size Handling At Carry Weight

The KimPro Gray frame is aluminum with a weight reducing profile, and the slide is stainless in KimPro Black with front serrations. KimPro is a hard applied coating rather than a bluing job, so it holds up to holster wear and does not mind sweat. The grey on black pairing is where the Shadow Ghost name comes from and it is a good deal more subtle in hand than it looks in photographs.

Inside, this is a conventional Series I style 1911 with a beavertail grip safety and a manual thumb safety. The barrel is a match grade stainless barrel with a black match grade bushing, five inches long with a left hand 1 in 16 twist. Match grade means the barrel, bushing and slide are fitted as a set rather than assembled to a tolerance range, which is what produces the accuracy the platform is bought for.

The trigger is a three hole aluminum shoe in black, set at the factory between four and five pounds. That is a touch heavier than a pure target 1911 and about right for a gun that will be carried as well as shot. Full size rubber grips with diamond checkering give a warm, grippy hold that suits a lightweight frame.

Sights, Recoil And What Comes In The Box

Sights are a red fiber optic front sight against a white dot fixed rear. Fiber gathers ambient light and glows, so the front sight jumps out against a dark target in daylight without any battery or tritium involved. Spare fiber inserts ship with the gun, which is worth knowing because fiber rods are the one part on a sight that eventually gets broken.

Recoil deserves an honest word. An aluminum frame 1911 in .45 ACP moves more than a steel one, because there is less mass to absorb the impulse. A 16 pound recoil spring does some of that work and the rubber grips soak up the rest, but anyone coming off a 38 ounce steel Custom will notice the difference. In exchange the gun disappears on a belt over a long day.

The package includes a takedown tool, spare fiber optic sight inserts, CLP, a lock and the manual alongside the eight round magazine. It is a sensible starter kit rather than a range bag full of extras, and the takedown tool in particular matters on a bushing gun.

Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP Specifications

• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Capacity: 8 rounds
• Barrel length: 5 inches, match grade stainless steel
• Barrel twist: 1 in 16 inches, left hand
• Bushing: black match grade
• Overall length: 8.7 inches
• Height: 5.25 inches
• Width: 1.28 inches
• Weight: 31.2 ounces with empty magazine
• Sights: red fiber optic front, white dot fixed rear
• Trigger: three hole aluminum, black, 4 to 5 pound factory setting
• Slide: stainless steel, KimPro Black, front serrations
• Frame: aluminum, KimPro Gray
• Grips: full size rubber with diamond checkering
• Safety: beavertail grip safety and manual thumb safety
• Recoil spring: 16 pounds
• Included: takedown tool, spare fiber optic inserts, CLP, lock and manual

Kimber builds the same Shadow Ghost in 9mm with a nine round magazine and a 14 pound recoil spring, and lists compliant versions for California and Massachusetts under separate part numbers. Check the part number against your state before ordering, because the guns look identical in photographs.

Why Buyers Choose The Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP

Weight is the argument. Steel frame 1911s are a pleasure to shoot and a chore to carry, and most of them end up in a safe rather than on a belt. At 31.2 ounces the Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP sits close to a polymer duty pistol while keeping the trigger, the grip angle and the thumb safety that 1911 shooters actually want.

The finish package is more than cosmetic. KimPro on both the slide and the aluminum frame 1911 build means the wear surfaces are protected rather than painted, and the grey on black scheme hides holster marks better than a polished blue or a bright stainless would.

Match grade fitting on the barrel and bushing is the part buyers underestimate. It is the difference between a 1911 that groups and one that merely works, and it is not something that can be added cheaply after the fact.

Who Should Buy The Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP

This is the right 1911 for a shooter who wants to carry the platform rather than admire it, and for anyone stepping up from a compact who still wants a full length grip and a five inch sight radius. Recoil is sharper than a steel gun, so new shooters may prefer the 9mm version or an all steel Custom. Competitors shooting single stack divisions will also find the Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP a little light for long strings, where mass helps.

Full manufacturer specifications for the Kimber Custom LW Shadow Ghost 45 ACP are published by Kimber on the official product page. Browse more Kimber pistols and 1911s in our handguns category.