I bought a Kimber Solo about a month ago so I have been running tests on it the last couple of weeks. I was asked by one of the members here how I liked it so I thought I would post this. I got tired of waiting for the silver vesion to come out so I bought a black framed one when one came up at a somewhat reasonable price.
So far I have put the following brands of ammo through it with 100% reliability: 124 gr and 115 gr Gold Dots, 124gr and 147 gr Hydrashoks, and 115 gr Hornady Critical Defense.
As I stated, no failures of any kind.
On the second trip to the range I took my R9 and my PM9 along to compare accuracy and shoot ability. I used a slow fire off hand format at 30 feet to check accuracy. I really like shooting all three of these guns and they amaze me with their accuracy. In my hands the Kimber was the most accurate followed closely by the Kahr and then the Rohrbaugh. To be fair to the Rohrbbaugh, I am convinced it is as accurate as the other two but they have much better sights for my old eyes to use. All are plenty accurate for the intended use.
Next I moved to a rapid fire test on a sihouette at 21 feet and fired seven rounds as fast as I could accurately. Again the Kimber came in first followed by the Kahr and the Rohrbaugh. I was able to get shots off accurately much faster with the Kimber and Kahr than the Rohrbaugh. This is because I am 62 years old and my grip just isn't what it used to be. I believe 20 years ago iwould be able to handle the Rohrbaugh's recoil much better.
Now the other facts. To get better shoot ability you have to put up with a heavier gun. Here are the weights loaded with 7 rounds of 124 gr Hydrashok:
Solo 20.2 oz, PM9 19.5 oz, R9 18.2 oz
Slide thicknes just behind the muzzle:
Solo .92 in, PM9 .90 in, R9 .83 in
Because the R9 is so much thinner and because of the slide shape, the R9 vitually disappears in my pocket like a .380. I know the other two are there.
Weight of the slide without barrel and recoil springs:
Solo 7.9 oz, PM9 8.4 oz, R9 5.2 oz
This tells me that the slide velocity of the R9 is much higher than the other two leading to a much "snappier" recoil.
Barrel lengths measured from muzzle to the case head of a loaded round put into the chamber.
Solo 2.812 in, PM9 2.955 in, R9 2.900 in
These are somewhat different from the published numbers.
The Solo has large ambidextrous mag release buttons which worried me. With 6 rounds in the mag and the mag fully inserted into the gun, it takes a lot of force to release the mag. Empty the mag drops by its own weight. I do not worry about the mag releasing at all.
I really like the Solo. It points naturally for me, has nice sights, looks very good and has outstanding workmanship and accuracy. I personally prefer the conventional mag release. I have pocket carried it for the past two weeks and it woks fine for me. I can't tell the difference between it and the PM9 when pocket carried. If the 8 round mags were available, that is what I think I would be carrying.
If you can't pocket carry a PM9, you will not be able to pocket the Solo. I urge everyone to try to pocket carry before you say you can't. I have found it takes a couple of hours to get used to, and then you don't know it is there. It still would be a very good IWB choice, but that does not work for me.
If anyone has any questions, I would try to answer them.
