[Solo9]

I have had my new Solo for a couple of weeks and have taken it to the range twice. So far I am extremely pleased with it. I put my name on a waiting list at my LGS in the early spring and finally about six months later got a call that they were holding one for me.

I brought it home, read the manual, cleaned and lubed it as directed and took her to the range. First time out I fired 20 rds of Speer Gold Dot 147 gr and 14 rds of Hornaday Custom 9mm in 124 gr. There were no FTF or FTE's.

I fired all rounds off hand from 7 yards. The Hornaday rounds grouped better than the Speers.

The second time out I fired 25 rounds of Hornaday Custom 124 gr, 5 rounds at a time. Again there were no FTF or FTEs. I fired all rounds off hand at 7 yards. In each five round group four would be reasonably tight and there would be one flyer which I attribute to operator error. Overall I am very pleased with the pistols performance.

Next time I am going to try Hornaday Critical Defense in 115gr.

Signed, Happy camper!

 

[Chuck43]

Welcome to the forum Solo9, it's refreshing to read a positive range report on the Solo, keep them coming.

 

[Gmountain]

Welcome aboard. I'd like to try one of those someday.

 

[Solo9]

Chuck43 & Gmountain,
Thanks for your comments.

Gmountain - hope you find a Solo soon. You will enjoy it.

 

[sbubrick]

Come to Vegas and try mine! I'm getting 7% - 10% failures!

 

[Warthogge]

Hold Tight

I went to the range yesterday and ran a mixture of 54 rounds of RWS 124gr FMJ, Hornady 135gr Critical Duty, and American Eagle 147gr FMJ Flat Point. I had no FTE or misfeeds.

Since I bought the pistol I have fired it 194 times with one FTE; the second shot. I attribute the failure to a less than firm grip.

I have also run about 32 rounds of 115gr target ammo through it with no failures.

I continue to be perplexed by reports about persistent failures. I can only conclude, assuming the guns that are failing have been reassessed by Kimber for any mechanical deficiencies, that this gun is very grip sensitive.

Lastly, I have said it in other posts and confirmed it yesterday, that although very accurate for such a short barreled pistol, it is not fun to shoot. IMO

 

[sbubrick]

The gun was designed for concealment to get you out of trouble when needed.
Yes it's snappy and creates sore hands if you run a lot through it. Unfortunately mine is not 100 % reliable, thus it's not the carry weapon it's cracked up to be for me.

 

[Solo9]

Warthogge,
Glad to hear that you have had good success with a wide range of ammo. I agree with you on the need to keep your wrist locked when firing. I learned that with a .380 Walther PPK some years ago.

 

[Solo9]

Range Report Update

Finally got back out to the range with my Solo 9 STS this weekend. This time out I fired Hornaday's Critical Defense 115gr and Critical Duty 135gr. All rounds were fired off hand at 7 yards.

Happpy to report there were no FTFs or FTEs!

I continue to be very pleased with the accuracy for such a short barreled 9mm. I have some pictures of targets which I will try to figure out how to post.

I am convinced that for my Solo, the proper ammo and a good firm two-hand hold are the keys to success with this beauty.

Cheers!

 

[sbubrick]

I would stay with 124 or 147gr. as spelled out in the owners manual !

 

[Warthogge]

I would stay with 124 or 147gr. as spelled out in the owners manual !

Do you have a particular reason?

 

[Chuck43]

I would stay with 124 or 147gr. as spelled out in the owners manual !

Do you have a particular reason?

I think the best reason is because that's what Kimber says the gun is designed to function optimally with. I believe a part of the SOLO's bad criticism comes from people that ignore the loads the company recommends they use and expect it to function flawlessly with anything they can load into it.

 

[Solo9]

Gentlemen,
I must have a different edition of the Owners Manual than you do. My manual states that during the break-in period:

"For proper break-in fire 24 rounds of 124 gr. or higher, high quality factory fresh premium personal defense ammunition."

I did that as noted in the opening post. Now I am trying other bullet weights of premium personal defense ammo. As page 18 of my manual also states:

"Kimber recommends high quality, factory fresh premium personal defense ammunition in Solo."

I consider Hornaday Critical Defense, Critical Duty and Custom to meet that definition.

P.S. sbubrick, please turn off the large font bold type. It makes you appear rude.

 

[sbubrick]

I am rude, and proud of it! Also an old fart that can't see small print, so live with it.
Kimber recomends 124gr or 147gr premium ammo only, and no reloads it will void your warranty. I think you will find that the lesser grain of 115 you will start getting failure to eject. So I have been told by Kimber's customer service reps also Kimber's management at the shot show last year....
Continue using what you want but when the gun loosens up, and you start getting FTE's you will know why.
As a side note my Solo is finally on it's way back to Kimber for hopefully some adjustments to the extractor. I was told to expect it back in about 6 to 8 weeks. I am tired of using it as a paper weight.

 

[Chuck43]

P.S. sbubrick, please turn off the large font bold type. It makes you appear rude.

I am rude, and proud of it! Also an old fart that can't see small print, so live with it.

I'm also an old fart (70) and I have the same trouble as sbubrick with the little type. I haven't had anyone complain about the 300+ posts I've made with the larger then standard size font I use.

 

[sbubrick]

Nor have I and I am close to you in posts!

 

[jeffrey55]

I really appreciate the kind of topics you post here.

 

[Solo9]

I really appreciate the kind of topics you post here.

jeffrey55,
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Beanie-Bean]

Hey guys, still breaking mine in, and so far no malfunctions. My brother and I were at the range and found some unaired ammo amongst the brass, and he asked me what to do with it...well, I said "shoot it!"

We were about 30 yds away from the targets, and he hit one of the steel targets we setup on the edges of the paper, and we were both getting a good laugh out of that one! I did the same with a SIG Sauer P220 with a SWC load we found, which had a light primer strike.

It's an accurate little gun, for sure, and so far all if my 124 and 147 gr. loads have worked just fine. I suspect that the one he found on the ground was a 115 gr. FMJ load, as I haven't seen any Federal Champion in either of the prescribed 124/147 gr. weights.

So far, I am liking my STS Solo mire than my original model that I foolishly traded away. This one is a keeper.