A STANDOUT 1911
allowthecompanyto control
quality,butalsoit cancutdownpro-
ductiontimesinceit isn’trelianton
outsidevendorsto providecritical
components.
Slidesandframesaremilled
fr omforgings,andsmallerparts
are madefrombarstockon CNC
machinery.Thereareno MIMor
polymerpartson theKC9,and
re gardlessof finish,all thegunsare
builtfromstainlesssteel.
BeforeI digtoodeeplyintothe
in ternalsof theKC9,let’sexamine
th e basicexternaldimensions.One
ofthethingsyou noticeimmedi-
atelywhenhandlingthisgunis how
narrowtheslideis. Becauseof the
KC9’s9mmLugerchambering,the
engineersat Ed Brownwereableto
designa slidethatis a full0.06inch
narrowerthanthatof a traditional
19 11.At itswidestpoint,theKC9is
narrowerthanthemilled-offsec-
tionson a KobraCarrywith“carry
cuts”at themuzzleendof theslide.
Thebarrelis fourincheslong,
a quarter-inchshorterthanon
tr aditionalCommander-length
handguns.Theresultof these
decreaseddimensionsis a handgun
th atweighs34 ouncesunloadedand
balancesperfectly.Theseven-top
sl ideis milledso thetopof theslide
pr ofileis actuallya seriesof flats.
Coupledwiththeuniquerearand
fr ontcockingserrations,it’sa cool
look.
TwoprimaryfeaturesallowedEd
Brownto controlproductioncosts
and maintainsucha lowpricepoint
onthishandgun.Oneof themis the
externalextractor.JohnBrown-
ing’s 1911 extractoris a beautiful
th ingwhenproperlyexecuted,but
to be donerightit mustbe fittedby44 HANDGUNSOCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
sk illed hands. Skilled hands add
significant cost, so the decision was
made to adopt the more modern
external extractor on this handgun.
The extractor on the KC9 is CNC
milled from 17-4 stainless steel bar
stock and requires no hand-fitting.
The second cost-saving feature
on the KC9 is the bull barrel, which
does not require a bushing. No
bushing means, once again, no
handwork. Virtually every handgun
designed after the 1911 eliminated
the barrel bushing, so this is hardly
a radical concept.
The stainless steel barrel is fluted
and tapers up to full diameter at
the muzzle, allowing it to lock up
securely on the internal diameter
of the slide. The barrel locks into
battery via a single lug forward of
the chamber, another first for an
Ed Brown pistol. The barrel uses a
traditional 1911 feed ramp arrange-
ment, and the chamber is unsup-
ported, meaning the cartridge is
not completely encased when in
batter y.
The final piece in the puzzle in
terms of streamlining production
and keeping down costs is the front
sight. The sight attaches to the slide
using a TP6 Torx head screw in lieu
of a milled dovetail. This arrange-
ment was chosen because it allows
the end users to decide which sight
suits them best and then fit it with-
out the aid of a gunsmith.
At the time of this writing, Ed
Brown offers six different front
sights: black, green fiber optic, red
fiberoptic,HD XR orange/tritium,
HDXR yellow/tritiumanda gold
bead.My testpistolcameequipped
wi th theTrijiconHD XR orange/
tritiumfrontsight,whichwashighly
vi siblebothdayandnight.
Therearsightis fit intoa dovetail
and securedusinga Torxscrewand
isdrift-adjustableforwindage.The
re arsurfaceis lightlyserrated,and
th e sightis madewitha smallledge
toallowforone-handedrackingof
th e slide.Thenotchis U-shapedso
th e entireringof theHD XR< The cocobolo grips are done in a Labyrinth pattern, and the frontstrap and
mainspring housing get Ed Brown’s Snakeskin treatment, which provides
good control without being too abrasive.WWW.HANDGUNS.COM
ACCURACY RESULTS| ED BROWN KC9
Bullet Muzzle Standard Avg.
9mm Luger Weight (gr.) Velocity (fps) Deviation (fps) Group (in.)
SIG 365 FMJ 115 1,158 21 1.4
Fiocchi FMJ 115 1,141 23 1.9
Super Vel SCHP 115 1,255 11 2.0
Federal Premium Hydra-Shok JHP 124 1,102 15 1.7
Notes: Accuracy results are averages of four five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest. Velocities are averages of
10 shots using a LabRadar chronograph placed adjacent to the muzzle. Abbreviations: FMJ, full metal jacket; JHP, jacketed
hollowpoint; SCHP, solid copper hollowpoint