The Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence is a pretty exclusive gun club. Firearm manufacturers, gun magazine writers and editors and some very influential retailers make up the membership of about 400 people. Every year they vote on the best new products, and for 2002 the Academy named the Kimber Eclipse II as their Handgun of the Year.

Kimber uses the best materials as the foundation of every pistol, and Eclipse slides and frames are made from stainless steel. After final machining they are finished in durable matte black oxide, then all flat surfaces are brush-polished. This leaves inset and curved surfaces matte black and gives each pistol the dynamic finish that lends them their name. To further complement the look they are fitted with black small parts and a set of gray/black laminated grips checkered in the classic double diamond pattern.

Some might think they look too good to take to the range or put in a holster, but Eclipse pistols are built to carry and shoot. Beyond all the match grade features found on every Kimber, each Eclipse has a 30 LPI checkered front strap for a more secure grip, a Premium Aluminum Trigger and Meprolight Tritium night sights – all from the Custom Shop.

The Eclipse Pro II comes with a four-inch bushingless barrel, fixed three dot night sights, and is available in .45 ACP. The Eclipse Pro Target II (not pictured) has an adjustable bar/dot night sight system.

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