Kimber Custom II Two-Tone 9mm 1911 5" Barrel 3200334

Arrived in fine shape and I just had to stare at it for a minute or two as I wiped off the shipping oil. Immediately I found the slide lock was virtually impossible to release as received, even with jiggling the slide to try to find a sweet spot. I field stripped the gun, cleaned and lubed as recommended with Sage & Braker CLP. This gun is no picnic to strip and reassemble compared to my Stoeger STR-9 which I can do in 90 sec. The directions suck. You get a goofy tool to release the (long!) recoil spring and the barrel through the gun's business end. As expected, the barrel was quite dirty. I lubed, reassembled and worked the slide lock a number of times and it slowly began to loosen up. There is a link pin from the slide release to the slide safety that passes through a tube that also houses a spring and which I also lubed. That did wonders. Perhaps after the lube penetrated that link tube a lot a friction got released. I can now pretty easily release the slide with my right thumb (I am 76 y/o) after sliding in the mag with my left.
I have not fired it yet, but I decided on the Kimber after firing a friend's Custom II .45ACP model. It fit my hand very well and the grip safety is a nice feature that, I think, prevents a limp-wrist shot. The clincher was I eyeballed a 10 yard target with a 5 shot, 3 inch pattern, which I think is good for a .45 cal with a geezer on the grip. I opted for the 9mm primarily for ammo availability (or not) and to share bulk purchases with my 40 y/o single mom daughter for her Stoeger STR-9.