Aegis Elite Pro 9mm Vortex Venom

Accuracy, Ammo

I was happy to find the Kimber Aegis came out of the box sighted in, both iron and glass. The high-riding suppressor-type sights had big white dot inserts, and with center hold using the traditional post-in-notch sight alignment instead of “driving the dot,” the big Kimber tended to shoot exactly where it looked. Whoever mounted the Vortex Venom optic at the factory had centered the red dot right over the front post, bringing the bullets where the shooter wanted them.

Speaking of bullets, 147-gr. subsonic 9mm rounds have been popular in the US and Canada for about 30 years. Remington-UMC’s FMJ 147 delivered a 5-shot group measuring 1.40″ center to center, with the best three in a mere 0.60″. For most of the 9mm’s existence, 124 grains was generally the heaviest available bullet weight. Today the 124 is considered a middleweight for the caliber.

Speer’s +P Gold Dot in that weight is one of the most street-proven loads around, and from the Kimber it planted 5 hits in 1.65″, the best three in 0.45″. The lighter 115 grain is still popular too. Mag-Tech’s top of the line Guardian Gold 115 +P provided a 1.55″ 5-shot group, with a best three in 0.85″. The “best three” measurement when shooting hand-held from a solid bench rest comes very close to what all five are likely to do from a machine rest setup — but a bench rest is a lot easier for most shooters to compare their own gun/ammo choices.

Factory spec’d for a 4- to 5-lb. pull weight, our test sample serial number KF51991 went a bit over this at 5 lbs., 6.7 oz. averaged on a Lyman digital gauge from Brownells. Re-set was short as is usual with 1911s, and the break was clean with little palpable movement after sear release. All in all, a good “street trigger” for a defensive 1911, and as the targets showed, the trigger was certainly no impediment to accurate shooting.