An Evolutionary Revolution

Charles Darwin’s controversial book On the Origin of Species formulates his theory of evolution by natural selection. Did man evolve from the monkey? Was this the start of the evolution revolution? You’re probably asking, “Who the hell is Charles Darwin, Tank? And what’s this got to do with guns?” My response? “Don’t ask me, I’m no anthropologist! But I am more ape-like than most men….”

I bet you do know who John Moses Browning is, and he’s all that really matters in our world, right? So, enough monkeying around, let’s get to the root of the matter. I’m here to tell you about Ed Brown’s new line of guns, the EVO, and how they managed to make a custom 9mm 1911 with custom features for a lower price than their other offerings. Specifically, an MSRP of $1,895. What? Yup, let me reveal how it’s done.

Behind The Curtain

The EVO-KC9 is a 9+1 single-stack 9mm shooter any 1911 fanatic would be proud to carry, shoot or show off. EVO is short for Evolution, and the KC9 — or Kobra Carry-9mm — is the first offering in the new Evolution series.

Many of you are wondering, “How is Ed Brown Products able to produce a gun of this quality at such a reduced price? Surely, they must be cutting corners somewhere, right?” I’ll answer your question, while easing your mind and quashing any doubts with a simple, “ Nope!” I’ll let Mr. Brown explain this one.

“Modern design, fixed configurations, and state-of-the-art manufacturing in small custom batches, allow us to produce this series at a 30 percent lower price point, making it the best value to be found in hand-crafted custom handguns,” he explains.

The Nitty Gritty

The KC9 picks up where the Kobra Carry left off at its inception 20 years ago, when it raised the standards back then of what to expect from high-end custom 1911’s while still being devoted to its roots. The KC9 still includes the top-tier characteristics custom Ed Brown guns are famous for, including the famous Ed Brown Bobtail, stainless steel construction and snakeskin application on the frontstrap and Bobtail mainspring housing.

For 20 years Ed Brown worked on ways he could improve his Kobra Carry and through thorough thought and design as well as a generous helping of blood, sweat and tears, he perfected upon what was once thought of as the perfect packing piece.

The KC9 is optimized for the 9mm cartridge as it carries the same characteristics of the Kobra Carry, only it’s now a slimmed-down version in both size and weight, for optimal concealed carry. The KC9 has all the traditional 1911 controls we all know and love and uses standard 1911 magazines. The pistol is 71/2″ in length and has a height of just a hair over 51/3″. Weight is 34 oz. and width is 0.860″. The slide and frame are matte stainless steel.

Perfected Parts

For evolution to occur, the process involves the improvement, progress or development of something to become better or more adapted to its environment. Following this theme, several parts on the KC9 were completely redesigned, taking advantage of modern thinking to give us an improved design. For instance, the KC9 has a new external extractor providing more consistent and positive extraction of the most stubborn of shell casings.

The HD XR orange-dot front sight is now easier to change with simple tools and has a Trijicon tritium insert for low- or no-light shooting conditions. A smaller ledge rear sight has glare-reducing rear serrations and a large U-notch, that allows plenty of light on either side of the front sight giving a beautiful sight picture. Lastly, the front face of the rear sight is flat, so you can cycle the slide on your belt or boot heel one-handed, if needed.

The 4″ stainless steel bull barrel is fluted for weight reduction and stylish good looks. The highly polished, recessed target crown is flush with the front face of the slide. A flat-wire recoil spring system is used, providing a life span up to 10 times longer than conventional springs. Ed Brown recommends changing it between every 30,000–40,000 rounds.

The new stainless steel slide is thinned substantially and the top 1/3 of it is machined in a stylish faceted, custom cut top. Angled rakish cuts fore and aft are milled into the slide providing functional serrations for slide manipulation — and good looks.

The Commander-style hammer and trigger are skeletonized for weight reduction, speed and again, nifty good looks. The grips are phenolic resin and have a spider web-like labyrinth pattern, which has positive traction for your grip, especially combined with the snakeskin-style finish on the grip front strap and spring housing.

Fair warning, here. Once your fingers wrap themselves around these grips, along with the snakeskin frame, your hand won’t want to let go of it. This pistol simply exudes quality.

Shooting The KC9

The pistol digested all ammo I fed to it, including powder-coated cast bullet handloads I made, hollow points, ball and any other ammo I could dig up.

My cast bullets were radiused flat-nose in design and powder coated. They were sized 0.358″ and loaded over 4.5 grains of Winchester 231 and sparked with Winchester small pistol primers. Loaded this way, it has consistently been a top performer in most 9mm pistols and revolvers in which I’ve shot them.

Factory loads consisted of Black Hills ammo, both HP configuration and having weights of 115 and 124 grain. Lastly, some SIG SAUER 124-gr. V-crown JHP rounded out the selection. Groups with the pistol averaged 1″ to 1.5″ for five shots at 50 feet.

Where It Counts

If you’ve always wanted an Ed Brown Products 1911 but thought they were out of your price range, then definitely give the EVO-KC9 a look. Ed Brown has been producing top-quality 1911’s for more than 30 years, and the Brown family personally supervises all aspects and phases of production for their guns. These are made right. And now, you can get one for an MSRP of $1,895. Sounds good, right?

For more info: www.edbrown.com, Ph: (573) 565-3261

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