I agree with you about the slide being very tight and hard to cycle manually. I noticed the same tendency to shoot a little low and left also. But with practice that goes away. I had shoulder and bicep surgery on my right arm ( I'm right handed ) last year. And have a partial disability now, and I no longer have the strength I once had. So it's tough for me to rack the slide on my Kahrs a lot of the time. At the range I shoot them enough to be proficient. When the mag is empty the slide locks back, so loading each time is easy. I too love the looks of my MK9 an K40, I think Kahrs are sexy looking guns. For most of my target shooting I shoot my 1911 45s, that is also why I put the bobtail commander on layaway. In about 2 weeks or so I should have it. They are my fun shooting range guns, as I'm sure your Kimber is. I have holsters for them and can carry if desired. Let us know how the H&K shoots.......