Kimber Solo Range Report

[MP9NewMexico]

Picked up my new Solo STS from a local FFL today. Took her home, cleaned and lubed and her, then headed to the range.


I started my practice session with 100 rounds of Winchester Q4318 124gr FMJ. The Solo ate all rounds, with one FTF which actually looked to be a dud round. There was a primer dent, but no fire. The other 99 rounds shot just fine, and accuracy was good. Next up, I used 50 American Eagle 124gr FMJ. Same story, the Solo fired 50/50 with no problems. Accuracy was good. I then proceeded to test my carry ammo through the gun. I shot 25 rounds of Speer Gold Dot, both 124r and 147gr through with no issues. Accuracy was spot-on at 10 yards. Overall, my groups were about 3-4" at 10 yards. I am a relatively new shooter, and I think that as my skills improve, so wil the groups; a range officer shot 10 shots at 10 yards, all either bulls-eyes or very close, so I know it's me. Reliability, aside from the single FTF, was 100%. No jams, double feeds, FTEs, no issues of any sort. Recoil on the little gun wasn't too bad either. My other gun is an XD40 and I would say the Kimber had less felt recoil. My hand did start to get a little sore at about round 150, but I think that's to be expected from a small gun shooting high-power loads.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my Solo so far. Only time will tell how it holds up, but if the first 200 rounds of mixed ammo are any indication, I think this should be a great gun.

As a side note, I did break the gun down to clean it after firing the Winchester stuff. My hand was starting to sting and I wanted a break. That ammo is FILTHY. The inside of my gun was COVERED in black soot. When I cleaned the gun once I got home, at which point it would have had 50 Am Eagles, and 50 Gold Dots, it was nowhere near as dirty. Just a thought.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[TJK68]

Congrats, I just added my range report fo my SOLO as well with excellant results from the little pistol myself. I hope it serves you well.

[cj]

Please keep reporting in. I love the idea and design of the solo, but am concerned by their denial about problems while report after report indicate issues once more than a few hundred rounds have been fired. I haven't looked much at reports for more recent versions, so hopefully updates here will help!

[MP9NewMexico]

Roger that. I'll keep this thread alive.

[Elk Hunter]

Good to hear, I should be at the range right now instead of responding to this thread.

[MP9NewMexico]

Haha! Then get out there!
And where in CO are you? I grew up in Durango

[RH45]

I bought my Solo a little over a month ago, and maybe ran 5-600 rounds through it so far. I added a Crimson Trace laser grip, and it seems to be the gun I grab the most, for concealed carry.
Now if Kimber would ever come out with the 8 round magazines, that they said were going to be available a year ago......

[gasmitty]

As a side note, I did break the gun down to clean it after firing the Winchester stuff. My hand was starting to sting and I wanted a break. That ammo is FILTHY. The inside of my gun was COVERED in black soot. When I cleaned the gun once I got home, at which point it would have had 50 Am Eagles, and 50 Gold Dots, it was nowhere near as dirty. Just a thought.

Most of the generic ball ammo (Win white box, UMC, American Eagle) is built to a price point and it can be counted on the go bang and be reasonably accurate, but none of it is known for clean burning. The Gold Dots, at 75 cents a round, have premium powder that burns cleaner than the generic stuff and which usually produces less muzzle flash. My own experience suggests that the AE stuff is a tad cleaner than the Win white box

[wishooter]

How does the trigger on the Solo compare to the PM9/CM9 Kahr?

[tclance]

Some nice words for the Solo for a change?

[loosehead]

Congrats on the new Solo! Did you order it or does someone have them in stock down there?

[MP9NewMexico]

Wishooter:
Haven't shot the PM9 or CM9, so really can't comment.

TClance:
So far, so good. I am finding it just a TAD too heavy for pocket carry, but otherwise, no negatives whatsoever.

Loosehead:
Randomly stopped into Calibers to shoot my XD40 and they had one in their display case, so I bought it XD