[Vintage_Goat]

Hello Fellow Kimber Aficionados! I've been searching for the "best" pocket 9mm semi-auto for several months now! I love my little CCW J-Frame, but I think it's time to up-grade!

Anyway, after checking out a CZ RAMI, a Kahr PM9, a Walther PPS, a SIG P290RS, a S&W M&P Shield, a Springfield XD9 SC, and a Ruger LC9, I became interested in Kimber's SOLO ...

I have yet to find one locally (or, for that matter, on the web), but that's okay since I prefer the DC version and it'll be a few months before it's available.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on Kimber's svelte black beauty? IMHO, it's at the top of the micro-9mm pyramid! ...

 

[Nellybelle]

I called every dealer in southern Indiana trying to find one for my wife last week. Some dealers told me they hadn't seen any since last fall. I finally found a dealer who said he thinks he may have gotten one in that day I called. After checking he said yes he got two in. I asked him to hold one for me and I drove immediately over 300 miles round trip to pick it up. When i got to his shop he said he was mistaken and he received four from Kimber. Two stainless & two with the black matte and stainless finish. I bought a stainless.

They are picky about what they like to be fed. I finally found some Winchester PDX 124gr JHP that will work in them. The only problem I have had is after loading six in the magazine it doesn't want to feed the first one when I slingshot the slide. I am going to wait a couple of weeks after the mags have set loaded and see if the spring tension improves in the mags to make loading easier. Then I intend to run about 100 rounds through the thing and see if it works better. The first 24 shots with 124 JHP worked fine when I only loaded five in the magazine. They are right when they say the 115 fmj wont work. I can testify to that. Good luck. I carried it around the last couple of days and it rides very well. Going to be a great little gun after the bugs are worked out. May be pilot error also to some degree.
When I load a full mag (6) the last cartridge just doesn't sit upright in the mag. This causes the slide not to pick it up and chamber it. Maybe when the mag spring tension eases some it will be flawless. If not I will carry 5 in the mag until a remedy is found. I am NOT an expert at all so don't take anything I say as correct advice. This is just my layman observation.

 

[Vintage_Goat]

I called every dealer in southern Indiana trying to find one for my wife last week. Some dealers told me they hadn't seen any since last fall. I finally found a dealer who said he thinks he may have gotten one in that day I called. After checking he said yes he got two in. I asked him to hold one for me and I drove immediately over 300 miles round trip to pick it up. When i got to his shop he said he was mistaken and he received four from Kimber. Two stainless & two with the black matte and stainless finish. I bought a stainless.

Thank you for the kind reply. I'm glad you were able to acquire a SOLO!

BTW, the amount of research and/or visits I've made to to my LG Shops have been ... well ... to put it mildly ... Cuh-raZy! FWIW, I STILL have some concerns about the reports of rust on the barrels of a few SOLO's, but, living here in the Southwest, I doubt that will be an issue for me!

Regardless, I remain somewhat ambivalent about the fact that the barrel on the Kimber SOLO is CNC-machined from a stainless steel billet; i.e., I prefer hammer-forged ... which is why I keep pondering Kahr's PM9! Unfortunately, the results from performing a Google Search for "Kahr crack" is, to say the least, also extremely disconcerting.

For now, I'll avoid detailing the issues I found with the other guns I mentioned in my OP - suffice it to say that I just wish these 'mouse gun' manufactures would lengthen their test cycles, ramp up their QC/QC, and STOP trying to out-do one another! IMHO, the market is now saturated and it'll be at least two years before we see who comes out on top.

 

[dustyjacket]

I walked into the LGS yesterday, just to chat. The owner walked over and cut open a carboard box he had just received.

he pulled out 2 white boxes, opened one, pulled out a Solo, racked the slide and handed it to me.

This followed me home:

Took it to the range this morning. I tried all these to see if I could get it to work with no issues:

124gr Gold Dots (not +P)
124gr NATO FMJ (kinda hot)
147gr Silvertips
147gr JHP subsonic Federal/SEAL
147gr FMJ subsonic American Eagle

All worked flawlessly. Not a single issue.

Going back tomorrow to exercise it some more.

If I could only get some magazines, I would be changing my carry gun from my J-frame to the Solo.