# Thinking about buying Kimber Solo



## donray (Jan 31, 2013)

Thinking about buying a Kimber Solo as a carry gun. Love to hear pros and cons
Thanks


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Check Hickock .45 on youtube. I think he likes the Kahr pm9 better.

GW


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## just for fun (Dec 31, 2006)

donray said:


> Thinking about buying a Kimber Solo as a carry gun. Love to hear pros and cons
> Thanks


When they first came out I thought that it was "one trick pony." It looked like a colt 1903 with a caliber upgrade. LGS had one on display, and it sure was nice. Pricey,but very nice. Then came the stories about FTF. That was when they first hit the market I can't say if that problem has been resolved or not, but my money is still in my pocket!


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## theomann (Oct 15, 2015)

donray said:


> Thinking about buying a Kimber Solo as a carry gun. Love to hear pros and cons
> Thanks


You have no doubt made your decision long ago, but perhaps my comment will help others. I have owned four Solos, and I love them all. However, I have found two areas of concern. First of all, the original eight-round magazine was defective and consistently jammed. However, the newer ones seem to be fine. I have had no trouble with them. Secondly, the Solo is ammo-sensitive. You need to experiment a bit to find out what it likes. I have settled on Federal Hydra-Shok, 135 grain, which seems to be perfect. I carry my Solo with complete confidence.


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## maddog (Dec 10, 2015)

check out the micro carry,,,great gun


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

theomann said:


> You have no doubt made your decision long ago, but perhaps my comment will help others. I have owned four Solos, and I love them all. However, I have found two areas of concern. First of all, the original eight-round magazine was defective and consistently jammed. However, the newer ones seem to be fine. I have had no trouble with them. *Secondly, the Solo is ammo-sensitive.* You need to experiment a bit to find out what it likes. I have settled on Federal Hydra-Shok, 135 grain, which seems to be perfect. I carry my Solo with complete confidence.


I have one and it is for that very reason that I do not carry it on a regular basis if at all. It is however a nicely designed gun, well made, feels good in the hand and because of it's size is excellent for pocket carry. I have no intention of getting rid of it and have had no issues with it as of yet with different types of ammo. That's the key word YET. Remember "Murphy's Law"? There have been just too many people that have had issues with theirs. I would not trust my life to a gun that is ammo sensitive. What I don't like about it is that the black finish is crappy and the barrel rattles around when the slide is retracted. I know that's normal. But still? It's a $700 gun. There are documented complaints about the slide and barrel locking lugs getting hammered or peened. This might be caused by the looseness of the barrel? I really don't know. Regardless of the cause, it has happened. I've only put about 100 rounds through mine and haven't experienced any of those problems. But then again I've only fired a hundred rounds or so with it. Nothing against Kimber, I have a Super Carry Pro, RCP II and a Micro Carry. All nice guns but I think they were too quick to market and sell the Solo without working out the problems. Because of this I could never recommend it.


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## maddog (Dec 10, 2015)

solo definitely ammo sensitive,,heard many stories,,,even kimber acknowledges on their site..


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Reliability is at the top of my list when making a purchase.


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## maddog (Dec 10, 2015)

exactly....


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## just for fun (Dec 31, 2006)

donray said:


> Thinking about buying a Kimber Solo as a carry gun. Love to hear pros and cons
> Thanks


 LGS stopped carrying ALL Kimber products due to the high return rate of the solo gun. As much as I thought I wanted one, it was priced too high for someing that had such a high failure rate!!


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## casurvivor (Jan 23, 2015)

pic said:


> Reliability is at the top of my list when making a purchase.


forget the Solo then, Kahrs too :smt1099


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