Kimber Solo Carry problems
- Thread starter Ocraknife
- Start date
The Solo's problems have been known for some time now, I have had a few chances to pick them up used but have passed on them. I just went with a older S&W 3913NL, it is fairly flat and serves my purposes when I need a small flat semi 9mm. If you are having the same problems when you visit your only two real options are to send it back or sell it. I have a Kimber Pro Carry in 45 that has been flawless so I know they can make a gun that will runs well. Good luck with your problem Kimber.
LockedBreech
New member
Those seem like strange requirements for a SD pistol. I bet Kimber didn't include those items in its advertising of the gun.
They phrase it like it's a premium gun that's too fancy for that low quality junk. Strange that Bill Wilson's even more fancy guns will eat anything, but I digress. From the Solo page:
"USE ONLY RECOMMENDED AMMUNITION
Solo is designed to function optimally using premium hollow-point self-defense factory ammunition with bullet weights of 124 or 147 grains.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
• Federal[emoji768] Hydra-Shok[emoji768] JHP
• Remington[emoji768] Golden Saber[emoji769] HPJ
• Hornady TAP[emoji768] JHP
While other ammunition may perform well, lighter bullets and inconsistent pressures that can be found in lower-quality ammunition may lead to decreased slide cycle time and compromise function."
Subtly blaming "bad" ammo and not absurdly finicky design for a defense pistol.
Sorry OP didn't mean to rag on your gun. I own and love a Beretta PX4 in .40 so I know how that feels.
I bought my Solo used. Early on, I started having problems with FTF, light strikes, etc. When I took the gun apart, I noticed peening on the slide lugs. I contacted Kimber and they sent me shipping label. Kimber ended up replacing the slide, barrel, recoil spring, sear, striker (pretty much the whole top end). They returned the gun (within two weeks) with a test report listing the various rounds successfully tested after the repairs. I confirmed that the gun is functioning properly by putting the next 200 rounds through it without a mishap. I've heard horror stories about Kimber customer service, but I have no complaints in that regard.
Solo CDP Failure to feed issues
I bought a "like new" solo cdp off gunbroker.com. It doesn't seem to want to fire anything. I've read the manual, and this forum extensively, so I blamed myself. I've made sure that the small spring beneath the ejector release is correctly seated. The gun is as clean as a whistle. Looks like it's never been fired. I went to cabelas and bought some Hornaday 124gr XTP JHP thinking that my other 124gr Federals were the issue. No luck. I've been shooting quite awhile but do not consider myself a pro by any means. I'm not "limp-wristing" it, have been careful about loading etc. It just doesn't want to feed ammo.
I read on this forum that another had purchased a used solo and kimber sent him a shipping label and fixed the gun. Is that for real? I love the look and feel of this gun, and it is so easy to carry. I really thought I'd found the perfect carry gun. Right now I can't get it to fire with any regularity. I just feel like I got "taken" and now my choices are expensive repairs or just owning an expensive paper-weight. No way I'm going to foist it off on someone else.
Any suggestions?
I bought a "like new" solo cdp off gunbroker.com. It doesn't seem to want to fire anything. I've read the manual, and this forum extensively, so I blamed myself. I've made sure that the small spring beneath the ejector release is correctly seated. The gun is as clean as a whistle. Looks like it's never been fired. I went to cabelas and bought some Hornaday 124gr XTP JHP thinking that my other 124gr Federals were the issue. No luck. I've been shooting quite awhile but do not consider myself a pro by any means. I'm not "limp-wristing" it, have been careful about loading etc. It just doesn't want to feed ammo.
I read on this forum that another had purchased a used solo and kimber sent him a shipping label and fixed the gun. Is that for real? I love the look and feel of this gun, and it is so easy to carry. I really thought I'd found the perfect carry gun. Right now I can't get it to fire with any regularity. I just feel like I got "taken" and now my choices are expensive repairs or just owning an expensive paper-weight. No way I'm going to foist it off on someone else.
Any suggestions?
larryh1108
New member
I owned a Solo for over 3 years. I put over 2000 rounds thru it.
Yes, it did everything the OP said. I sent it back to Kimber who returned it and said it worked fine. It was the same as when I sent it in. They said it requires the premium ammo to function properly. I didn't accept that. Since I reload, I tried, probably, 20 different recipes to get it to function properly. I was frustrated. I got close to where it would only misfeed once or twice a mag (which was much better).
I then found a finger extension (which I like on all my subcompacts because I have XL hands) and picked one up. The instant I put the extension on my mag the issue went away. I got 100% in the mag with the extension and the usual 1 or 2 misfeeds with the rest of the mags in the same shooting session with the same ammo.
I further analyzed what was happening. I only got 2 fingers on the grip with no extension and 2.5 fingers with the extended mag. That 3rd finger allowed the gun to remain level during recoil and when I had no extension, the muzzle flipped up and some of the recoil was lost to the flip instead of cycling the slide. Yes, weak wristing or a form of it. With the extension, the gun recoiled into my palm and cycled the slide, no extension and the muzzle flipped up instead of back and it short cycled. I've been shooting pistols a long time and never thought I was limp-wristing anything.
So, knowing this I really concentrated on keeping my wrist locked while firing the Solo with no mag extension. I did get where I could run 2 or 3 mags before it misfed but that was the answer. I was able to run the cheapo 115gr ammo as well as everything in between when I used the finger extension. It was also close to 100% with no extension but close didn't cut it for me. Each extension was about $30 so it's not a cheap fix but it did fix the issue. No matter how strong you are or how manly you are, you can limp-wrist some sub-compact handguns.
If you don't find a cure then you cannot depend on it to perform 100% in a life-or-death situation. I was comfortable with it with the extension but never carried it because I was not 100% confident all the time knowing it was prone to failure if you didn't grip it 100% correctly.
I've read that many people have had no issues with the Solo at all. They probably got a gun that was tuned perfectly or just know how to hold the sub-compact models properly. I am envious of them because the Solo was and is a great gun. I've owned the LCP since the week they came out and have over 3000 rounds thru it without a single hiccup so not all small handguns run the same.
link for the extension:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kimber-Solo...491775?hash=item35f89fd7ff:g:Jz0AAOSw3xJVbyVi
Yes, it did everything the OP said. I sent it back to Kimber who returned it and said it worked fine. It was the same as when I sent it in. They said it requires the premium ammo to function properly. I didn't accept that. Since I reload, I tried, probably, 20 different recipes to get it to function properly. I was frustrated. I got close to where it would only misfeed once or twice a mag (which was much better).
I then found a finger extension (which I like on all my subcompacts because I have XL hands) and picked one up. The instant I put the extension on my mag the issue went away. I got 100% in the mag with the extension and the usual 1 or 2 misfeeds with the rest of the mags in the same shooting session with the same ammo.
I further analyzed what was happening. I only got 2 fingers on the grip with no extension and 2.5 fingers with the extended mag. That 3rd finger allowed the gun to remain level during recoil and when I had no extension, the muzzle flipped up and some of the recoil was lost to the flip instead of cycling the slide. Yes, weak wristing or a form of it. With the extension, the gun recoiled into my palm and cycled the slide, no extension and the muzzle flipped up instead of back and it short cycled. I've been shooting pistols a long time and never thought I was limp-wristing anything.
So, knowing this I really concentrated on keeping my wrist locked while firing the Solo with no mag extension. I did get where I could run 2 or 3 mags before it misfed but that was the answer. I was able to run the cheapo 115gr ammo as well as everything in between when I used the finger extension. It was also close to 100% with no extension but close didn't cut it for me. Each extension was about $30 so it's not a cheap fix but it did fix the issue. No matter how strong you are or how manly you are, you can limp-wrist some sub-compact handguns.
If you don't find a cure then you cannot depend on it to perform 100% in a life-or-death situation. I was comfortable with it with the extension but never carried it because I was not 100% confident all the time knowing it was prone to failure if you didn't grip it 100% correctly.
I've read that many people have had no issues with the Solo at all. They probably got a gun that was tuned perfectly or just know how to hold the sub-compact models properly. I am envious of them because the Solo was and is a great gun. I've owned the LCP since the week they came out and have over 3000 rounds thru it without a single hiccup so not all small handguns run the same.
link for the extension:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kimber-Solo...491775?hash=item35f89fd7ff:g:Jz0AAOSw3xJVbyVi
Paid a premium price for a SD pistol. "Fitted" so well that it requires "premium" ammunition to function correctly, but, "only after you've shot 300 rounds of "premium" ammunition" through it, hoping against hope that it'll sort itself out.
If some of Kimber's extensive advertising budget was spent instead on Quality Control, many of these horror stories would go away. As it is, I view their products as superbly photographed Taurus at twice the price...and the customer service appears to be identical.
A self defense gun needs to work at 100% reliability, right out of the box...that's why we buy defensive weapons. Anything short of that is unacceptable, and should be viewed that way by the folks that built them. With target guns, a little break in, is fine...a box or two at the most, but beyond that, we're talking about company with little regard for its customers, but an over zealous regards for its own bottom line.
Good luck with the gun, OP, and in spite of the above, I sincerely hope you get it fixed by Kimber. They certainly owe you that. Rod
If some of Kimber's extensive advertising budget was spent instead on Quality Control, many of these horror stories would go away. As it is, I view their products as superbly photographed Taurus at twice the price...and the customer service appears to be identical.
A self defense gun needs to work at 100% reliability, right out of the box...that's why we buy defensive weapons. Anything short of that is unacceptable, and should be viewed that way by the folks that built them. With target guns, a little break in, is fine...a box or two at the most, but beyond that, we're talking about company with little regard for its customers, but an over zealous regards for its own bottom line.
Good luck with the gun, OP, and in spite of the above, I sincerely hope you get it fixed by Kimber. They certainly owe you that. Rod
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LockedBreech
New member
Couldn't agree more. The Solo is a very pretty gun, but if you blacked out the brand name and price point and just looked at the overall reliability on paper you'd think we were talking about some $99 Saturday Night Special.