For the last 5 months or so I have been searching for the perfect ultra compact 9mm handgun. Ever since I got a new job in a corporate environment, I havent been able to carry my S&W 908. It's a fine gun and reasonably concealable, but in a job where I am often moving around, bending over, etc, I couldnt risk the weapon being seen and possibly ending my career. Being able to carry while I'm walking around in my gym shorts definitly seemed like a nice perk to have as well, as there are plenty of times where I just dont feel like wearing a belt all the time.

I know there are solutions in .380, which I dont think I'd feel comfortable with, and I know there's the .38 special revolvers, but ultimately, I wanted to stick with 9mm because with handguns I want a single round.

So the search was on for a while. I've tried the Kahr handguns...they are ok but they feel cheap. A good friend of mine carrys a Kahr MK9, and it's had problems. I also dont like the way it felt in my hands, the same problem I have will all Kahr handguns.

I looked into the Ruger LC9, but I didnt like the way that handgun felt either.

Didnt want a Kel Tec at all.

Wasent impressed with the Sig 290.

Then I found the Kimber Solo.
First thing I noticed is that it feels solid, not cheap. It helps that the whole things is built on an aluminum frame. For a weapon of it's size, it points naturally and it fits in my hand very well. The trigger pull is very smooth. It's DAO, so it's a bit heavy, but it's smooth and feels nice, while all the other offerings felt rather gritty and inconsistent.
It's also very, very small, smaller I think that the LC9, the same size as Kahr's offerings.
It has very good sights for a weapon of it's size.
I did a lot of research on it, and the reactions are mixed. There are reports of this gun running flawlessly, and reports of the gun having problems. But fuck it, in my opinion it's a lot better than anything else I've looked at, so I still wanted one. If I got a bad one, I'd live.

So naturally, I lusted after it. Save up some money. A couple of days ago, I got a promotion and a raise, so I decided that finally it was time to treat myself. These things are damned hard to find, so I thought I was going to have to wait a while, but on a whim I decided to check out my local gun shop (Reds in Austin). Reds usually rapes in handgun prices, but to my surprise they had one left, and they were selling it for 679. Since the gun is going on Gunbroker well over the 780 range in auctions, I told them I'll take it.






Tomorrow I'll take her to the range and I'll report back. Recommended break in period is 24 rounds of nothing that weighs less than 124gr. I have 150 rounds of 124gr Winchester NATO rounds that I'm going to pump through her and see what she does. We'll see then if I got one of the good ones or one of the problematic ones.

Got one today,myself. Runs great,even with bulk 115gr. Gun feels great, points naturally and the sights are outstanding.

Welp, I'm sending this gun back to Kimber to fix the slide not locking back issue. I'll let you guys know in 3 to 5 weeks how it goes when I get my gun back...

sorry for hijak just had a couple of questions .Ive read a few magazine article claiming that you could only run + p ammo thru it ,does seem to be the case .Would you recomend it a buy over the lc9<have shot both to compare ?

Iam looking at this one & the lc9 as well as the new nano .

I got the gun back from Kimber last week, I took it to the range on Friday to see if they fixed it.

They did. The handgun runs flawlessly now. I had a single FTE, but I'm pretty sure that was due to a limp wrist. I was a little worried as I've heard some horror stories with Kimber, but they did take care of me and I cannot complain, especially for a first generation product.




They recommend ammo that is 124 grain and above. In my experience, +P ammo is not needed. I load it with Winchester Ranger 147 JHP rounds, and they have fed through the gun well enough for me to be confident in their reliability.
However, if you use 115 grain rounds, that's where the problems are going to go.

A seven round magazine, and tritium sights would make the SOLO my next purchase.

Congratulations. I have one on my wish list.

I held one of these (Solo Carry) in a semi-local (90 minutes away) shop the other day and almost bought it, $699 NIB.

I'd seen a few threads here with various issues/complaints, and it made me think twice and walk away... now I'm regretting it.

I picked up my new Solo today, gave it some FP-10, and shot it until my fingers got numb from the cold, and my palm was getting sore. I didn't count how many rounds I put through it, but, as a test, I also ran some Federal, 115 grain fmj, and some of my IDPA loads with 125 grain jhp, with 4.2 grains of VV320 behind them.

It shot about 2" low, at 10 yards, and as far as accuracy goes, it didn't really like the 115 fmjs, but, it gobbled everything, without a hitch!

The Solo is a keeper!

I have mine over a year now. runs 100%. waiting and waiting for the extended mags.