# kimber solo



## Honeybee

My girlfriend just bought a Kimber solo Jan. 18, and to this date we have not been able to shoot without it jamming. The manual will tell you to use only top grade ammo, the high dollar stuff like Custom Hornady 124 gr XTP and yep you guessed it, it fired one round and stayed in the lock back position every round.
I would have expected much better from a name like Kimber. I am going to send this back and will never buy another Kimber, On the flip side we have several Glock's And they never jam or malfunction even with cheap junk ammo. Don't know about you but if my life was on the line I'll take the Glock or H&k or Sig. They can have this Kimber Solo and I wonder If the engineers at Kimber would trust there lives to this Solo? No they probably carry a Glock.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Um, I bet that the real problem is one of shooter technique.

*Possibility One:*
Your thumb is contacting the pistol's slide-lock lever, and pushing upward on it as you fire, or as the gun recoils.
If your thumb, or any finger, contacts the slide lock, it will do its assigned job-even if you don't want it to.
Find a way to grip the gun without contacting the slide lock in any way. This should solve your problem.

*Possibility Two:*
If you are not holding this little gun with a death-grip, your hands and arms are absorbing some of the recoil force that the pistol needs, to operate correctly.
Your grip needs to be ultra-firm, and your arms need to be locked. Do that as well, and your problems will very likely disappear.

It's very easy to blame the gun, but you must also carefully assess your own technique as well.


----------



## TAPnRACK

^ Agree...

The Solo is very finicky ammo wise and you can't "limp wrist" it while shooting.


----------



## DoingOK

You didn't reassemble the gun correctly or it was assemble incorrectly. Retaining spring was most likely missed. Go to the Kimber website and look at the videos under the support section. It'll show you what was missed.
Kimber America | Videos featuring Kimber America Pistols and Rifles

Check out page 37 in the manual:

Step 8 in resembling the gun:

Press slide stop inward until fully seated and
release slide (Figure 21/1d and 2d). Be certain
that the slide stop has picked up the retention
spring located on the frame (Figure 21/3d).
Failure to install the slide stop below the
spring will cause the slide to lock open while
firing.

And for the record....my Solo CDP has been flawless with zero FTF or FTE's.


----------



## Honeybee

Glad you got a good one, she took her's back today to the place she purchased it and they fired it as well with 124gr and 147gr and yep they were in disbelief, however they did manage to get three rounds fired thru it with the 147gr. It's on it's merry way back to Kimber, lets see what they have to say about it. I'll keep you posted.


----------



## 1Avrodguy

*Cleaning and reassembly*



DoingOK said:


> You didn't reassemble the gun correctly or it was assemble incorrectly. Retaining spring was most likely missed. Go to the Kimber website and look at the videos under the support section. It'll show you what was missed.
> Kimber America | Videos featuring Kimber America Pistols and Rifles
> 
> Check out page 37 in the manual:
> 
> Step 8 in resembling the gun:
> 
> Press slide stop inward until fully seated and
> release slide (Figure 21/1d and 2d). Be certain
> that the slide stop has picked up the retention
> spring located on the frame (Figure 21/3d).
> Failure to install the slide stop below the
> spring will cause the slide to lock open while
> firing.
> 
> And for the record....my Solo CDP has been flawless with zero FTF or FTE's.


I recently (finally!!!) received my Solo CDP. First I cleaned and lubed and reassembled it. Then I loaded with the Remington Golden Saber 147 grain. It locked back as unloaded each time. Then I looked closely at the Kimber YouTube on reassembly and saw that I had not locked the pin under the spring. Re-assembled and it has worked flawlessly for 100 rounds using also, Golded Saber 124 grain, Hornady Critical Defense 135 grain and, at half the price, Hornady 135 Training rounds. All worked flawlessly. Just for sniffs and giggles, I tried some 115 grain Remington non-hollow point and it was a case of every other FTE. The more I use the pistol ( with the right ammo), the more I like it.


----------



## 1Avrodguy

Did they fire it with hollow point? It seems to favor that. Perhaps because the recoil spring is sp strong, because of the short barrel, it needs just the right amount of energy going back to function properly. Maybe it is the price paid for having the smallest 9mm?


----------



## androw

Out of 500+ rounds I've had 3 fte using cheap range ammo like it said not to. If works perfectly with 124 grain brazer brass I just tryed the other stuff to see what it would do. All in all I love my kimber solo


----------



## Roadrunner

*My experience is totally different from others...*



androw said:


> Out of 500+ rounds I've had 3 fte using cheap range ammo like it said not to. If works perfectly with 124 grain brazer brass I just tryed the other stuff to see what it would do. All in all I love my kimber solo


I have had my Kimber Solo LG about 2 months. Due to the ammo shortage I had to start off with 115 grain Independence ammo.

First I cleaned and lubed the gun, then went to the range. Normally, I would have waited for warmer weather, but wanting to know how the Kimber would perform, I had to go... it was cold 28 degrees with about a 20 mph wind. Was even more frustrated because I had to shoot at the 50 FT range... Loaded up five, took my stance and fired 5 shots... all in the six inch orange!!! To make a long story short 100 rounds later all rounds are in an 8" ring with no failure to feed or fire.

#1 amazed at the accuracy
#2 totally happy with the function of the pistol

The next weekend I had found some Lawmen 124 grain shot 23 of them without issue (Now officially broken in according to Kimber) Then followed up with 150 rounds of bagged 115 grain reloads bought from the gun show. still perfect now at 273 rounds!

Saturday, put another 100 of 115 grain Independence through the Solo.

I had heard about limp wristing being a factor... So I grasped it very loosely the only grip being the pressure of the trigger pulling to the web of my hand, three shots three BE with the 3 bullet holes touching at 50 feet ... wow!!! During this round the range officer and 4 fellow shooters took their turns with the Solo.
So with 373 rounds fired there has not been one malfunction of any type!!!

My issue is I am down to my last box of ammo!!! :mrgreen:


----------



## MBT

Bought my wife one of these POC and it jam's all the time! We have shot all types ammo with the same results. it seems the extractor doesn't grab the shell resulting in a jamb. I have a $300 LCP 380 that has never jambed. Would have been nice if it would have shot as good as it looks and feels.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

MBT said:


> Bought my wife one of these POC and it jam's all the time! We have shot all types ammo with the same results. it seems the extractor doesn't grab the shell resulting in a jamb. I have a $300 LCP 380 that has never jambed. Would have been nice if it would have shot as good as it looks and feels.


MBT, you might consider that the fault may lie in your wife's technique.
The fault you describe can frequently be attributed to "limp-wristing" the gun.
Very small pistols require every last ounce of recoil impulse, in order to work properly. If the gun is not gripped very tightly, with rigid arms as well, it will malfunction.
A grip technique that will suit a light-recoiling .380 may not be enough to help a 9mm operate correctly.

Another possibility is that you've not cleaned off the sticky shipping grease from the gun's insides. Any new gun first requires a very thorough cleaning, before being fired.

I suggest letting a very experienced pistol shooter try your Solo, after you've carefully cleaned it, to see if it works differently in his/her hands.


----------



## sbubrick

I will stand up for your wife, although I have never met her. Mine does the same! I have owned firearms since I was a kid, I'm 70. No I don't limp wrist. I have close to 700 rounds through mine and 30% of the time I have FTE's. Have had firearm trainers run a few magazines and they get the same results. Kimber gives excuses not solutions.
I have a Kel-Tec Pf9 that eats everything. Had it almost 10 years never had a problem! Paid less than $300.00 for it, and it goes bang every time. The Solo CDP LG that I purchased last April, cost me close to $1200.00 and has problems one third of the time, go figure............


----------

