I'm new on this forum but had been reading postings on this forum for a while. Had the chance to shoot 114 rounds with the Solo today and was pleasantly surprised that every round fired cycled without FTF or FTE. This is a Sep.2013 production pistol with 50+ rounds through the barrel previously. The internet seems to be riddled with the Solo as a jam-o-matic, but today's range small sampling with a range of standard production ammunition was quite the contrary, maybe Kimber worked out some of the bugs with the Solo.
However, I do need to note that the Solo I used had difficulty chambering hollow point rounds 2 out of the 19 times I rack the slide during the session. Since the Solo is intended as an EDC or BUG, but Kimber's manual warned that the Solo is not safe to carry with a round chambered, I wanted to simulate the necessary racking of the slide should one follows Kimber's "Safe Carrying Condition" instruction. FMJ had no problems chambering on fully loaded 6rd magazine but the HP needed help to chamber, seems to get stuck on the feed ramp. The HP issue may possibly be operator error on my part, however, in a high stress defensive situation, proper racking technique may not always be attainable given the difficulty of most to rack the slide completely due to the stiffness of the recoil springs.
Ammunition shot were as follows:
- 12rd Lawman 125gr FMJ
- 50rd Tula 115gr FMJ
- 25rd Sellier Bellot 115 FMJ
- 15rd Federal Hi Shok115HP
- 12rd Winchester PDX1 +P 124
I was quite surprised that the Solo I shot had no problems with cheap Tula 115gr given the Solo's reputation as being very picky with ammunition. The Sellier Bellot 115FMJ compared to Tula shot like butter, so I did not finish the shooting box. The 115gr FMJ gave me the best groupings of about 9" (25rd SB) and 14" (50rd Tula) @ 15yd probably because of the lower felt recoil. The Winchester +P gave the worst handling @ 15yd probably because of the higher recoil of +P.
Since I have no idea if the Solo is drop safe with a chambered round, I do have some reservations about the Solo with HP as a EDC because of the chambering problems I experienced. However, should I take the POU of a defensive handgun with 9mm FMJ in my hands is better than a firearm left at home, then the Solo could potentially be a very good option if it continues to perform as it did today with FMJ. One work around may be to have top round being FMJ to facilitate racking the side and the remaining 5 rounds being HP.
In any case, just wanted share my impression of the Solo from today's short range session. It'll be interesting to see if this Solo continues to perform after 500rd.
However, I do need to note that the Solo I used had difficulty chambering hollow point rounds 2 out of the 19 times I rack the slide during the session. Since the Solo is intended as an EDC or BUG, but Kimber's manual warned that the Solo is not safe to carry with a round chambered, I wanted to simulate the necessary racking of the slide should one follows Kimber's "Safe Carrying Condition" instruction. FMJ had no problems chambering on fully loaded 6rd magazine but the HP needed help to chamber, seems to get stuck on the feed ramp. The HP issue may possibly be operator error on my part, however, in a high stress defensive situation, proper racking technique may not always be attainable given the difficulty of most to rack the slide completely due to the stiffness of the recoil springs.
Ammunition shot were as follows:
- 12rd Lawman 125gr FMJ
- 50rd Tula 115gr FMJ
- 25rd Sellier Bellot 115 FMJ
- 15rd Federal Hi Shok115HP
- 12rd Winchester PDX1 +P 124
I was quite surprised that the Solo I shot had no problems with cheap Tula 115gr given the Solo's reputation as being very picky with ammunition. The Sellier Bellot 115FMJ compared to Tula shot like butter, so I did not finish the shooting box. The 115gr FMJ gave me the best groupings of about 9" (25rd SB) and 14" (50rd Tula) @ 15yd probably because of the lower felt recoil. The Winchester +P gave the worst handling @ 15yd probably because of the higher recoil of +P.
Since I have no idea if the Solo is drop safe with a chambered round, I do have some reservations about the Solo with HP as a EDC because of the chambering problems I experienced. However, should I take the POU of a defensive handgun with 9mm FMJ in my hands is better than a firearm left at home, then the Solo could potentially be a very good option if it continues to perform as it did today with FMJ. One work around may be to have top round being FMJ to facilitate racking the side and the remaining 5 rounds being HP.
In any case, just wanted share my impression of the Solo from today's short range session. It'll be interesting to see if this Solo continues to perform after 500rd.
