My FFL took possession of his new Kimber Solo Carry today, one of only three examples that rocked-up to the dealer in the last four months. The $725 msrp striker-fired handgun has something of a rep for, uh, not working. The company’s website warns buyers that the pocket nine was “designed to function optimally using premium hollow-point self-defense factory ammunition with bullet weights of 124 or 147 grains.” Kimber specifically recommends Federal Hydra-Shok JHPs and tells owners to run the gun with 24 rounds before they shove it their pocket (or words to that effect). So Steve fed it 24 rounds of 147-grain Federal Hydra-Shok JHPs and shoved it back in the box, after numerous failure-to-fire and failure-to-eject moments . . .
I’ve got my theories (the gun suffered from light primer strikes), but I’m taking the Solo Carry down to my gunsmith for independent evaluation. Meanwhile, my FFL has decided not to give Kimber a second chance. Given that he was looking to replace his EDC (Everyday Carry) Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 with the Solo, who can blame him?
Why exactly is garbage like this leaving their factory?
The once-great Kimber has been relying on their old reputation for years. Sad to see.
My POS P3AT has never, and I mean NEVER, had a FTF, FTE or FTanything. Ball, hollow-point, grenades, whatever. I feed it, it shoots it. Nice job there, Kimber.
+1 My inexpensive P3AT, even with a three state long trigger pull, works with everything.
K.I.S.S…..
Shame that kind of $$$, should account for a de-bugged pistol. The marketers, and sales reps. lead the charge,…..not the shooters, and smiths…
My, I wish. My P3AT fed 100 rounds then took a complete dump with partial extraction jams every mag after that , any ammo. Fluff, buff, clean, shoot, replace extractor, replace barrel and slide, nothing worked.
Still awaiting factory diagnosis and replacement…
I thought only George Lucas could make Solo not fire first.
ROFL! Awesome…
+ 1,000,000,000.00
Just had bourbon and coke out the nose.
You, sir, win my week’s supply of internets.
Well played, sir.
May Lucas’ beard fall out for that first of a series of travesties that he inflicted on the Star Wars movies.
I’m shocked I tell ya, shocked!!! I can’t believe Kimber let such crap out the door, and I own plenty of Kimbers which I love. I’d send that piece of crap back and I wouldn’t want a replacement, just give me back my money please.
Prices are going up and several manufacturers are letting quality go down.
My Kel-Tec P-11 has never failed me. 115gr. to 147gr. feeds them all. Even with a pencil eraser superglued to the grip to stop the trigger travel.
That sounds like a truly presidential solution…
Kimber will learn a valuable lesson from this, just ask Colt about the the 2000 series of pistols. It seems to me that the Q.C. of gun makers has gone downhill of late. In the quest for affordable prices I guess they try to cut where they can. Wait a while and they will include 2 red tipped proof rounds and a target with each gun for “end user final quality testing”. No worries though, it comes with free replacement guarantee.
So you’ve been a Taurus customer?
Dang, I feel bad for your FFL. There aren’t many episodes in life as demoralizing as taking receipt on a new 2nd Amendment lover and not have her perform.
Seems like the quality control at Kimber is as good as it was when I had mine a couple years ago. A 30% percent failure rate and a barrel that rusted three days after I bought it ( I live in the humid city of Phoenix) convinced me that there was more hype to Kimber than shootability.
Not denying any single part of your review except the statement that Phoenix is humid. That’s as far from the mark as it gets my friend. Phoenix is in the middle of the desert in Arizona. Aside from the short-lived monsoons Phoenix enjoys a relative humidity WELL below the national average. I’ve lived in Phoenix for 24 years and have ZERO issues with any of my firearms rusting, even those that don’t get touched for a year. Metro Phoenix is the Mecca for gun collectors wanting a gun-friendly climate as well as those who want their classic car to last forever.
I believe he may have been being sarcastic
Alex is right, I was being sarcastic. Using humor to illustrate a point, as you used capitalization for emphasis. When you say something rusted days after purchase people always say something about exposure to humidity or salt air. I was attempting to negate that argument before it started.
If you really want a gun friendly climate, I recommend Sierra Vista AZ or just about anywhere near the southern AZ border.
No FTF with my Ruger LC9 so far.
What panache’ does the Kimber Solo have that my Ruger LC9 and Taurus 709 are missing?
I paid less for BOTH combined than that Kimber cost.
The Solo may have the corrosion resistance of my stainless Taurus 709 (which is better than my LC9), but my LC9 has NEVER had any kind of failure, despite using cheap Russian steel case ammo of varying bullet weights (115, 124, 147, Tula, Wolf, Herters), Winchester White Box, Wal-Mart cheap Federal ball (115) and JHP (124 and 147), Hornady +P JHP (both commercial and law enforcement loads), PMC Starfire 124 JHP, and a variety of other loads, including some decade old 9mm reloads with lead bullets. The only ammo that the Taurus has not liked is WWB 115. Being somewhat restricted (recommended) to fire only expensive “premium” loads, the cost of owning and shooting the SOLO would be MUCH greater than either of my competitive concealed carry weapons.
Based on your experience, unless someone has really deep pockets and a gunsmith on retainer, I cannot see why anyone would want the SOLO with such other superior quality weapons being readily available.
Since utter reliability is an absolute necessity, my $329 Ruger LC9 would be a far superior carry weapon than the SOLO, plus the $400 savings can buy a lot of good leather and practice ammo!
Look at the KIMBER SOLO official website:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/solo
According to KIMBER:
“Power aside, what really sets the Solo apart is quality, dependability and 1911 ergonomics that ensure comfortable shootability regardless of hand size. This all comes together to put Solo performance in a class by itself.”
Your video shows the KIMBER SOLO CARRY:
http://www.kimberamerica.com/solo/solo-carry/solo-carry
“The Solo Carry 9mm establishes a new standard for micro-compact pistol features and performance”
RF: Please keep us informed about your SOLO saga.
TD
Point taken. Text and headline amended.
Report from gunsmith tomorrow.
Click here for my take on the Ruger LC9.
No surprise there…
Kimber’s now famous for building guns that simply refuse to run. As an owner of one such pistol, I laughed when they released the Solo on the world and am not the least bit shocked to learn it’s every bit as reliable as the travesty of a 1911 they had to fix twice and still couldn’t get to run.
These issues with the Solo just confirms my decision to cancel my order & instead purchased a Colt 9mm Defender. My defender eats everything I feed it conceals easily and i s accurate with an easy breakdown. I would only buy a proven gun.
Not only does the Solo only run on premium, but if I’m not mistaken, Kimber wants Solo owners to replace the recoil springs every thousand rounds. Crazy.
Springs wear out; it’s a given. Especially given it’s size, 1,000 rounds is not an unrealistically short lifespan for a spring of that size being asked to do that job. On top of that, springs are generally fairly cheap; If you look at Wolff’s site, you’ll find that most recoil springs go for 8-24 USD. That’s a reasonable expense, especially when you consider that it only occurs ever 1000 rounds.
The cheapest I’ve bought 9mm is Wolf 115-grain steel cased for 170 USD per 1,000 rounds; That breaks down to 8.5 USD per box of 50. Of the ammo I’ve purchased this year in full cases at gun shows, I’ve paid roughly 800 USD for 4,000 rounds of 9mm (1,000 Federal brass, 1,000 Wolf steel, 2,000 PMC brass). For the ammo that Kimber says you should use, you’re looking at roughly double that, even in case lots, as an absolute minimum — likely 3-4 times as much in practice.
So what you’re basically looking at, is a pistol that costs 3-4 times as much to shoot as a properly designed pistol chambered in 9mm. So instead of 1,000 rounds of range ammo costing ~200 USD, it is likely to cost over 600 USD. The killer isn’t the springs, it’s the ammo. Pure and simple.
While I have not yet fired my new Ruger SR9C I did extensive pre-buy research on the Internet from reading numerous professional reviews to seeking out every negative comment or criticism that I could find anywhere by owners. With the exception of a select few, some of whom may not have read their owner’s manual not to repeatedly dry-fire without a magazine in the SR9C resulting in a return to Ruger for repair, owners are mostly very happy with it. Supposedly, this gun has few firing problems if any. Accuracy has been described as very good. The SR9C which is a mid-size pistol can go from 10- to a 17-round mags, and comes with an ergo adjustable back strap on the hand grip, and also an optional finger attachment piece(?) for a better grip when using the 10-round magazine. I paid $420 for it last month. I like how it can go from a good CC piece to a pistol that holds a high capacity magazine. Some who chose not to buy the Ruger have commented that they do not like Ruger’s emphasis on safety features.
My brother has a Ruger SR9C in his possession, and on the whole I am not impressed with it.
Sure it shoots, and does so fairly well, but it just feels cheap. The two big complaints I have with the pistol itself are the safety (too little surface area to use), and the recoil spring assembly.
Before I go further into this, my daily carry pieces are both Springfield XDs, and like every XD I have ever taken down, the recoil spring assembly is all metal, and is very stiff/solid — it only moves perceptibly in the intended axis. Further, both were purchased used, for an average price of ~350 each.
Now back to the Ruger; the recoil spring assembly in the Ruger is not at all like those I can find in my XD pistols; It’s partially plastic, and it wobbles in all kinds of directions it really shouldn’t. When reassembling the pistol, I almost always have to try multiple times to get the recoil assembly to fall into place just right so that the slide will fully cycle (instead of binding on the recoil assembly partway back).
In all, the Ruger SR9C that I have personal experience with does not inspire my confidence; If it is finicky about going together, then how can I trust it not be similarly finicky in the field?
Why is it cool to not use the noun form failure anymore?
‘Failure’ is a negative word and not PC. The new American nanny-police state only wants happy words which will make for a happier community. In the near future, if people continue to use the word ‘failure’ they will be placed into a happy re-education center (we will no longer have unhappy prisons and jails) for a number of happy years where they will become happier. Keep smiling as big sister is always happily watching you 🙂
Actually, it’s more that the word “fail” is used as a sort of verbal rubber-stamp in the parlance of our times. When used in this fashion, it’s almost as if one is grading the actions/performance of others and verbally declaring their failing grade.
I think what Kimber says is all true:
What sets the Solo apart is quality. Yeah, the poor quality.
The solo establishes a new standard for micro-compact pistol blah blah blah. Yeah, a new low standard.
These are powerful and revealing videos. I love my Kimber 1911 and never have had a problem with it. I had a down payment on the Solo and became suspicious when there where no guns beyond the first release. This suggested there was a fault in the design/production of the gun. I gave up and bought a Kahr PM9 diamond black with night sites. I am very impressed with this Kahr. Kimber lost out and the video proves why.
1- It is a Kimber.
2- It is a sub-compact.
3. It is new.
That would be all 3 strikes…
Oh no! How will the Kimber fanboys and gun snobs spin this one!?
Instead of this Kimber paperweight, you could buy a Kel-Tec PF9, a Ruger LC9 and a few hundred rounds of good 9mm hollowpoints. After picking your favorite of the two guns, you could throw the other one in a river, shoot up all the 9mm, and still save money compared to the Kimber.
“Kimber. Imported from New York.”
Never throw a gun in the river; If you’re not going to sell it (or gift it), at least bury it in some kind of weatherproof container, or plaster it into a wall, or SOMETHING. There might come a day when you need it.
The barrel is moving around? Of course it’s moving around! It’s a Browning short recoil action! The only thing I see in these videos is 2 successful shots, with vigorous extraction & ejection, 3 rounds successfully fed, 1 possible light strike, and 2 shooters who are apparently unfamiliar with the second most common handgun action.
I’m not saying the Kimber isn’t a failure of a firearm – I wasn’t impressed with the one I handled – but these videos don’t show it. And the lack of curiosity here is just disappointing. You’re not even going to look at the primer on the unfired round to see how or if it was dented? Even if you do think a Browning short recoil pistol is broken because the barrel is moving, you’re not even going to field strip it and see if there’s anything obviously wrong with the locking lugs and camming surfaces?
If nothing else, it’s more interesting than standing around with your thumb up your nose, going, “Derrr, it dudn’t work.”
My comment about the barrel was misleading. I apologize for that. I’ve removed the remark and the accompanying video.
Yes, I did examine the cartridges for a light primer strike and any other marks. Nada. I’m saving the field stripping for the gunsmith so I can get an expert opinion and video the results.
Interesting. This dovetails with a conversation I had with a gun retailer friend. There are a number of these “problem” handguns, if we can call them that, out on the market these days, especially on the low end but also including some rather expensive pieces. But curiously, the gun makers seem to keep making them and the gun buyers keep buying them, as if the problems didn’t exist.
My friend’s theory is that most buyers never discover the failures. The gun goes straight into a drawer or the owner carries it for a month or two, then gets bored or tired of the hassle and stows it away. So the return rates remain abnormally low and the mfg’ers keep pumping them out. My friend recently dropped one manufacturer of inexpensive, attractive, and troublesome handguns from his stores. He had no trouble moving the merchandise and the complaint rates weren’t particularly bothersome. He just lost his appetite for it.
This makes a lot of sense. People think, “Ooooh, I’m buying a Kimber. It’s gotta be good, right?” And then they never shoot it enough to expose the flaws. How often does the average gun owner even go to the range. Twice a year?
And when they actually do shoot the gun and it burps, they figure, “Well, I haven’t shot it in nine months. It probably needs a lube job.” That masks a lot of crappily made guns.
Magoo, can you name the manufacturer that was dropped?
I thought “inexpensive, attractive, and troublesome” was a good clue — it’s essentially the company’s reputation. TTAG reviewed one of the company’s products recently and it didn’t go well. At all.
I think I now know who you are referring to since my coffee is kicking in. BTW, you and many others here are far more knowledgeable and experienced with guns and the industry than I am.
I’m sorry. It’s what my mother said: “If you can’t say anything nice about someone…” How about this: This country is also home to the Samba de Gafieira, one of the Western Hemisphere’s most entrancing dance forms.
This country is also home to the Samba de Gafieira
Boston?
But my latest copy of American Rifleman says the Kimber Solo is the greatest thing since sliced cheese!?!?!
If they say it then it must be true…Right?
~gag
The NRA using their publications to spread lies and half-truths? Say it ain’t so!
3,000 rounds thru the Glock 26 gen 4. No problems. even when shooting cheap Wolf or Tula ammo. It may not be pretty, but this girl won’t leave me stranded.
The only issue with Wolf ammo that I’ve seen was a 5.56 NATO round that had the primer installed backwards.
Kahr CW9 fellas… $360 out the door…. reliable, accurate and remember for all you OFWG’s “Thin is Sexy”
I own a Kimber Solo Carry. I like the look of it, the small size, and the feel and ergonomics fit me just fine. It is usually quite accurate when I shoot it at 15 Yds and great for accuracy at 7 Yds. I purchased it in March this year. My Solo has been back to Kimber twice within the first 90 days. The first time Kimber replaced the barrel and slide. The second time they replaced the slide release and something else I don’t remember now. Now I have owned it less than 6 months and I’m sending back to Kimber again, The slide will not lock open after the last round. This happens on all 5 magazines using 124 Gr ammo so I’m guessing it is the gun. I really like the gun but can’t trust it for self defense at this time. Not reliable when compared to Glock 26, S&W CS9, CZ 2075, and the Ruger LC9. Even my inexpensive Kel Tec PF9 is more reliable.
I bought this baby around the 1st of Octber. Finally got it out to the range today.
Shot 150 rounds of mixed ammo and had problems at all. Used both mags I have loaded up with 6 rounds, used Winchester 147 gr. JHP, Federal 124 gr. Hydra-shoks and Federal 124 gr. ball ammo. Not one problem.
Gun is easier on recoil then my Ruger LCP and is only slightly weightier in feel. When worn in a DeSantis “Nemisis” holster it carries quite comfortably.
Great gun!
I took my new Solo to the range yesterday to do the 24 round break-in recommended by Kimber. What a disappointment. I first tried 25 rounds of the recommended 124 gr Federal Hyra Shock Home Defense ammo. The gun jammed on EVERY shot (no exaggeration here). The round fired and ejected each time, but the slide jammed trying to send the next round into the chamber.
Since I did not bring along additional premium ammo, I next tried 50 rounds of standard 115 gr Winchester 9 MM Luger. If I remember correctly, only two or three times did the gun chamber the next round without me having to pull the slide back to assist it. I realize this isn’t the recommended ammo, but the results were nontheless disappointing. I would have thought that more than two or three rounds out of 50 would have cycled correctly. I also tried a few cheap Blazer rounds and got the same results.
After paying $700+ for this gun, I would expect some sembance of reliability. It exhibited none at all. It’s a good thing I followed Kimbers recommendation about a break-in period before trusting my life with it as a carry gun. What a major disappointment from this prominent gunmaker.
I too purchased the Kimber Solo and have experienced the same problems, the slide hangs back after one round, the gun failure to chamber on the first round, etc. I returned the gun to Kimber and got it back after 2 wks. I got the gun back after 2 weeks with an explination that they polished the port and changed the spring. I called them direct and was assured that the gun was OK. They told me that they had put several 5 round mags through it and it was fine. Have not fired it just yet, but I am not too sure that I would carry this unreliable weapon for self defense real soon. The gun has to really prove itself to me. Although a little bulky I will continue to carry my “baby” Glock 40 cal.
I may have jumped the gun (pun intended) posting my comment about my new Solo jamming after every round. I decided to clean it to see if I could identify the problem. I think I may have found it, but the weather today precludes me from going back to the range again today to prove it.
While reading the instructions on how to field strip and reassemble the gun, I took a closer look at the warning about making sure the slide top pin “picks up” the retention spring located on the frame – or else the slide will lock open while firing. The retention spring on my Solo was clearly not captured by the slide stop pin. I’m reasoanbly certain that this is my problem.
No gun of this quality should jam on every shot. When the weather clears, I intend to find out.
That’s crazy. I had the exact opposite.
I started with a BG 380, due to the bad word of mouth around this gun. Well, at 60 rounds of Winchester 95gr FMJ through my BRAND NEW BG 380, the firing pin SNAPPED IN HALF. Sent it back to S&W, 4 weeks laters, had my BG 380 back. Firing pin SNAPPED IN HALF…AGAIN. Sent it back to S&W, got it back in 3 weeks this time. Sold it online.
Decided to give Kimber a try. Picked up a Solo STS, took it home, thoroughly cleaned it with Hoppes 9, and relubed with Rem Dri-Lube. Then bought 100 rounds of American Eagle 124gr FMJ, 100 rounds of Winchester Q4318 124gr+P FMJ (yes, +P FMJ), 25 rounds of Gold Dot 147, and 25 rounds of PDX-1 147gr. The Solo shot them all, without fail. Zero jams, FTF, FTE, double feeds, stovepipes. Perfect. Flawless.
One thing I noticed though, is when reassembling, you have to get the slide stop lever installed in a specific fashion. If not, you’ll have FTEs constantly.
Good news about your Solo STS. Keep us informed about how the Kimpro finish holds up. I would have kept my Solo except for the finish. That was the last straw for me. Mine was an early Solo. I am still interested in the STS model but I understand that the stainless color frame has the Kimpro finish.
Will do Chuck. So far looks good, both on the inside and outside of the frame. I have noticed a small scratch below where the slide stop lever installs. I think, as others have said, that it is due to the manner in which you must install the slide stop by pushing in and twisting.
Will update.
Just returned from the range. Fired 50 Winchester 124gr FMJ +P, 50 American Eagle 124gr FMJ, and 50 Blazer Brass 115gr FMJ — all without hiccups.
Accuracy was outstanding during slow fire, and acceptable during failure drills. I’m sure a better shooter could hit better groups.
BG’s showing up on the vid doesn’t mean shit. MAYBE if you had a full on motion picture camera, you could see them. But without crazy zoom, you aren’t going to see a damn thing at that distance.
If we just dump the country, the whole thing turns right back into what it was under the taliban, and every bit of the last ~ten years was completely in vain.
Dont vote democrat AGAIN. Stupid libtards.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
I have about 1500 rounds thru my Kimber Solo. The only failures have been from 115 grain crappy reloads I bought at the range one day. I have tried various defense ammo, as well as my practice stuff being American Eagle 124 grain FMJ.
I have owned Kimber products for years and have recently ran 90 rounds in succession with the SOLO. No issue and no grain disparity. I see it is easy to drag the name of a quality gun down quickly, but in there defense as a loyal customer of Kimber, (and bet my life on it daily) I say you get what you pay for….and like every other gun…can and will fail in time…it is the nature of mechanical operation.
T
Tony, wasn’t my intention to either slam or uphold the Solo – only what I encountered when firing it. I did have failures to eject with 115gr standard pressure ball or JHP, and the company was also correct in their assertion that 124 and 147gr loads would ensure more reliable function. The pistol belonged to a friend of mine, and I had six different manufacturers and load densities available when shooting it. While generally agree with you that Kimber turns out a pretty good product overall, I did not believe that my experience with the Solo, after it had already had its recoil spring system modified when sent out from the factory to my friend, was atypical. They are ammunition sensitive, but probably no more so than any other micro-compact arm with very high slide velocity, a light slide, and heavy springs even though it is a short recoil design. The genre is simply more sensitive than larger arms, is all.