Kimber Solo...I think I'm done

[DFarcher]

Is there anyone here who owns a Solo who believes it is reliable enough to be trusted? The Kimber Solo is #1 on my all time list of pistols I wanted to love but can not. I have owned three, none would run consistently even with recommended ammo. All three were sent to Kimber to be "fixed". The one I own now was made in April of 13 and has been better than the other two but still would only function perfectly with hot FMJ ammo like 124gr NATO. I Just got it back from Kimber with a invoice that said they "polished the barrel" and "adjusted the extractor". It also said they test fired it with 2 different HP rounds, a total of 5 magazines without a malfunction. If I don't get through a couple boxes of ammo without a failure I'm done!

 

[Brandi]

We have a Kimber Solo CDP that's been completely reliable with recommended ammo. It's my sister's gun and shoots so well I'm mad at myself for buying one for myself at the time. The only time it ever gave any problems was during the break in period and when she limp wristed it, the Solo does not suffer a weak wrist. Hers shoots perfectly, sorry yours has been troublesome. I do know they are particular about magazines so if you haven't tried different magazines that may be your problem.

 

[UnSafe]

Sell it off. You'll never have confidence in it, so don't waste any more time or money.
There's a pile of pocket 9's out there and several can be had for what you'd get from selling the solo.

Some pistol/ shooter relationships just weren't meant to be.

The little Kahr CM9 I picked up recently hasn't skipped a beat in the 200+ rounds I've fed it so far. Cheap & effective.

 

[ldp4570]

SIG P239, SIG P225, I don't care for their "micro-guns", this also includes all other manufacture. You can only go so small before you have dimisioning returns to the gun and to the shooter. If I feel the need to carry a small gun, I grab one of my S&W J-frames along with two speedloaders and a speed strip. At least J-frames work.

 

[SoonerP226]

We have a Kimber Solo CDP that's been completely reliable with recommended ammo.

Maybe I've been spoiled by my SIG, which has never failed to feed whatever I've jammed in its magazine--including empty brass, just to see if it would feed--but "reliable with recommended ammo" is not, IMHO, "reliable" at all.

 

[Brandi]

Maybe I've been spoiled by my SIG, which has never failed to feed whatever I've jammed in its magazine--including empty brass, just to see if it would feed--but "reliable with recommended ammo" is not, IMHO, "reliable" at all.

The gun was designed by Kimber not to be a general run of the mill "mini" gun. The Solo feels better, is smaller and lighter and is more accurate than any other gun even close to its size but the trade off to make a precision gun like that is running specific types of ammo. They explain that in the owners manual as well as their advertisement for the gun. So, yes, they are perfectly reliable. They fill a specific niche in the market for higher end guns. It just depends, as a consumer, what you want but if you want the performance the Solo is capable of you have to play by the rules. I've shot her Solo quite a bit and it's by far the best "mini" handgun I've ever shot and I'd happily feed it high octane ammo to get that kind of performance, you judge everything by the same standards.

 

[DFarcher]

The gun was designed by Kimber not to be a general run of the mill "mini" gun. The Solo feels better, is smaller and lighter and is more accurate than any other gun even close to its size but the trade off to make a precision gun like that is running specific types of ammo. They explain that in the owners manual as well as their advertisement for the gun. So, yes, they are perfectly reliable. They fill a specific niche in the market for higher end guns. It just depends, as a consumer, what you want but if you want the performance the Solo is capable of you have to play by the rules. I've shot her Solo quite a bit and it's by far the best "mini" handgun I've ever shot and I'd happily feed it high octane ammo to get that kind of performance, you judge everything by the same standards.

I own many "higher end guns". The one characteristic they all share EXCEPT the Solo is reliability. Many of the Kimber Solos delivered will not function reliably even with the recommended ammo in the hands of VERY experienced shooters. I have owned three, also work in a gun store where we have sold many and the percentage that have to be returned to Kimber is unacceptable. I own A SIG P398, similar in size and weight to the Solo. I have fired 5-6 hundred rounds through it without a single failure to function. That is what I expect, if the Solo would deliver that kind of reliability even with the recommended ammo I would not have a complaint. Here is the best judge of "performance".... near 100% certainty that firearm will go bang more than once. The Solo does not offer that. Its pretty to look at feels great too. But you would be better off with a cheap plastic Keltec PF9, they are much more likely to function properly than any given Kimber Solo.

 

[0311]

Sounds too much like Taurus.

 

[gearys 5600]

When did KIMBER become " High End " ?

 

[JD8]

The gun was designed by Kimber not to be a general run of the mill "mini" gun. The Solo feels better, is smaller and lighter and is more accurate than any other gun even close to its size but the trade off to make a precision gun like that is running specific types of ammo. They explain that in the owners manual as well as their advertisement for the gun. So, yes, they are perfectly reliable. They fill a specific niche in the market for higher end guns. It just depends, as a consumer, what you want but if you want the performance the Solo is capable of you have to play by the rules. I've shot her Solo quite a bit and it's by far the best "mini" handgun I've ever shot and I'd happily feed it high octane ammo to get that kind of performance, you judge everything by the same standards.

Just a few points here. The Kimber doesn't produce anything precision nor high end..... far from. They have a history of dropping the ball on proprietary products. Instead they've learned to slap some cool paint, grips etc on their guns, throw in a cool ubertactical name, and jack up the price. Much like Sig Sauer of the new.

A TRUE SD platform shouldn't be picky and have a bunch of parameters to which it MIGHT be reliable. Kimber dropped the ball on this one, and there's a ton of proof out there from owners. Even when Hickok45 reviewed one, it was picky.