Kimber Solo

[gfmun]

I finally got my hands on a Kimber Solo at a local gun shop and I am really disappointed. To me the grip was slippery, the balance was not good, and the thumb safety was not easy to operate and I have small hands. The counter guy was not a fan, saying there were problems with failure to feed because of a design flaw. I knew they had a couple and I was prepared to buy but left empty handed.

Does anybody have one ? If so, how do you feel?

Thanks,
George

[Shoot_First]

I finally got my hands on a Kimber Solo at a local gun shop and I am really disappointed. To me the grip was slippery, the balance was not good, and the thumb safety was not easy to operate and I have small hands. The counter guy was not a fan, saying there were problems with failure to feed because of a design flaw. I knew they had a couple and I was prepared to buy but left empty handed.

Does anybody have one ? If so, how do you feel?

Thanks,
George

Had one and got rid of it for those reasons and more but mainly because it was very unreliable and WAY overpriced for the value received.

[The Annoyed Man]

Gun-Tests Magazine compared the 9mm Solo to the Kahr CW9 in the May 2011 issue. They gave the $747 Solo a "B" grade to the $549 CW9's "A-".

I haven't ever handled or fired a Solo, but my wife'd EDC is a CW9. It is a very good gun for the price.

[jmra]

Gun-Tests Magazine compared the 9mm Solo to the Kahr CW9 in the May 2011 issue. They gave the $747 Solo a "B" grade to the $549 CW9's "A-".

I haven't ever handled or fired a Solo, but my wife'd EDC is a CW9. It is a very good gun for the price.

I picked up a barely used CW9 with 3 mags 100 rds of ammo and a $100 holster from another member for $340.00.
It is now my brother's EDC.

[Teamless]

My wife has a Solo Stainless 9mm and loves it.
I have shot it a few times, and never had any issues with it, other than that it is snappier than my XDs .45.

As long as she likes it, and that means she will carry more, I am happy for her to have it.

[GlockDude26]

I had one and traded it off b/c it was intended for my wife but she could barely rack the slide it was so tight. I even had trouble after a few times as well. It was very snappy and other than being a very good looking gun it just wasn't for us knowing there were much better guns in the same price range. Shortly thereafter another sig P938 made it's way home

[Cedar Park Dad]

Gun-Tests Magazine compared the 9mm Solo to the Kahr CW9 in the May 2011 issue. They gave the $747 Solo a "B" grade to the $549 CW9's "A-".

I haven't ever handled or fired a Solo, but my wife'd EDC is a CW9. It is a very good gun for the price.

An excellent mag in comparison to the glowing articles put out by other magazines.

It looks pretty, but I've not "heard" anyone with one that actually liked it.
Frankly I'd rather get a 938 (high end), Kel tec/Kahr/Ruger/Beretta/S&W Shield/XDM single stack first.
For the record I have an old Kimber Ultra Carry and love it like an old friend.

[Capt Roy]

I have had one since they first came out and have put over 500 rounds through it without a problem. There are several items to remember about a Solo..

One is that there is a spring that must be captured when reassembling the gun.. It is not like a normal 1911..I did not capture it the first time I gave it a good cleaning and I really had a issue. A quick call to the factory and I had it fixed. And yes it is shown in the instructions how to make sure the spring is attached.

The second is to make sure to use the proper ammo. Kimber has a list of ammo that works for the gun.. It will not work properly with WWB 115 grain ammo. It requires 124g quality ammo. I do use my reloads with 124g Montana Gold CMJ with 4.3g of titegroup and have not had a problem. I have seen people shooting wwb and cussing the gun when it didn't function properly..

I use the gun because it fits in the center console of the Corvette just fine..

I do not let my wife carry the Solo as I do feel the slide is hard to rack.. In fact I do not let my wife carry any SA gun. I got her a S&W 442 and that is her carry gun.. All SA's have the potential to jam at any given time.. My wife is a small lady and I don't think she could clear a jam in an emergency situation. She shoots a Springfield stainless 1911 A1 in 9mm every time we go to the range but still struggles with the slide.. With the 442 she just needs to aim and shoot.

Overall I think the Solo is a fine gun, not my favorite, but not the worst I own. Every gun out there has pros and cons. You just need to get what feels good to you.. If it doesn't feel good you won't have any confidence in the gun and probably won't carry it.

[68Charger]

A buddy of mine had one when they first came out. He got rid of it the next week.

It was very picky with ammo. It didn't like various types (grains, brands, etc..). It wasn't at all comfortable to shoot because the frame was very slippery. I had to adjust every other shot to make sure that it would not fall out of my hands. I believe he had to put that skateboard tape grip on it. It was extremely uncomfortable to shoot. The aluminum frame made it extremely lightweight, but it felt like I was shooting a 357 out of a snub nose after I was done with a full mag. I know its a 9mm, but c'mon!

All in all, I think it was ridiculous to have to cater to something so picky and unreliable when you're paying a hefty price tag. I say save your pennies and look for what else is out there on the market and invest into something better.

Though, to each their own..

[J Wilson]

It looks pretty, but I've not "heard" anyone with one that actually liked it.

I have one and am pleased with it.I did not buy it to be my primary range gun.If recoil really bothered me I would only shoot .22 short.I also didn't pay anywhere near $747.Since it is a self defence gun,it is gonna hurt the person in front of it more than my hand.Just my 2c

[Cedar Park Dad]

It looks pretty, but I've not "heard" anyone with one that actually liked it.

I have one and am pleased with it.I did not buy it to be my primary range gun.If recoil really bothered me I would only shoot .22 short.I also didn't pay anywhere near $747.Since it is a self defence gun,it is gonna hurt the person in front of it more than my hand.Just my 2c

My M&Pc doesn't hurt my hand at all and I can put three into the A space in one second at 10 feet, and I suck, like BAD.

[J Wilson]

Looks like you made your choice,and I made mine.That is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

[The Annoyed Man]

It looks pretty, but I've not "heard" anyone with one that actually liked it.

I have one and am pleased with it.I did not buy it to be my primary range gun.If recoil really bothered me I would only shoot .22 short.I also didn't pay anywhere near $747.Since it is a self defence gun,it is gonna hurt the person in front of it more than my hand.Just my 2c

My M&Pc doesn't hurt my hand at all and I can put three into the A space in one second at 10 feet, and I suck, like BAD.

My impression of the Solo is this: I want one, but it isn't highest on my list of handgun wants. It IS pretty to look at....there is no denying it. Unlike some, I have no animus against Kimber products. One of my carry guns for a few years was a stainless Kimber Ultra Carry, which I sold to another forum member a couple of years ago. I liked the gun, but I needed to finance another purchase, and it wasn't my only 1911.

But, I do pay attention to Gun-Test's gun tests. (Hyuk!) Since they accept no manufacturer advertising, they are free to write freely about the products they test. Sometimes, their tests reveal significant problems with guns that are not mentioned in other publications. And sometimes their conclusions are merely matters of opinion. For instance, they did not like the Ruger Gunsite Scout all that much......not so much because they found a lot of things wrong with it, but rather because they didn't think it filled the Scout Rifle niche as well as a couple of other choices.....including both a Savage product and the Steyr scout rifle. I begged to differ, and bought a RGS which I am very pleased with.

GT's issues with the Solo were:

1. The size of the grip relative to the hand would not let the magazines drop free when the release was pressed. In their words: "However, the heel of our normal hand, grasping the gun normally, would not permit the magazine to drop freely."
2. Their testing crew, all experienced shooters, all had difficulty retracting the slide far enough to lock it back. They said: "It took lots of muscle to haul the slide back against its recoil spring until the slide stop clicked up into place. That alone will keep a whole lot of people from buying this handgun, we believe. We found a reluctance for the lever to spring upward on its own even when we managed to haul the slide back all the way with an empty magazine in place." They further noted that Kimber recommends replacing the recoil spring every 1,000 rounds. Heck, even my 3" Kimber 1911 had a much longer spring replacement cycle than that. Every 1,000 rounds is unreasonable.
3. The front edge of the magazine bottom actually cut their 3rd finger during firing, causing the finger to bleed. True, in an actual shooting incident, this is not something that will likely be noticed until after the smoke clears, but it will definitely keep some people from practicing with the gun, and that is not desirable.

What I take from all of this is that the Solo is not a good choice of gun for A) the novice shooter, B) someone with tender hands, C) someone who doesn't have the strength to overcome the recoil spring during the manual of arms, or D) someone who doesn't mind having to replace the recoil spring every 1,000 rounds.

GT did like some things about the gun very much, not the least of which was the excellent trigger. The comparison article can be viewed here, but requires a subscription to see the whole thing: http://www.gun-tests.com/issues/23_5/fe ... 878-1.html

I think it is a slick little gun, and it would have been a better choice for James Bond than that puny little Walther of his, but for me it would be more of a collector's item than a practical day in/day out carry gun. But like someone else posted, we make our choices and we live with them. To each his or her own. Just for me personally, I wasn't willing to spend that kind of money for a gun that was going to be anything less than easy to live with. My PM9 and my (recalled) XDS may not be quite as classy in a James Bond sort of way to the Kimber Solo, but I believe they are much easier guns to live with. But again, that's just me personally. YMMV.