Brothers & Friends….Hope all has been well for each of you. I know I have owed a follow up range report on my SOLO from some time ago….but I think I’ll skip it and just tell ya’ll about today. It’s been a while since I last fired on a civilian range…so needless to say I’ve not been able to play with my pocket friends (ha ha, I know what some of you are thinking
). Anyway, took the Stealth and the SOLO out for some me time this morning. As some may recall, I’ve been shooting a two tone R9S for quite some time and never been disappointed, not even a little bit. I earlier this year acquired a Stealth model and left the CONUS before getting a chance to shoot it. As for the SOLO, I had previously written several reports on it and believe I’ve probably put more rounds through mine then most anyone else has at that time. I previously had good and perhaps great experiences with it when using the recommended premium (expensive) ammo. It did not like, nor desire to feed upon anything less. I then carried the SOLO (up till today) and used both a Galco OWB Stinger and a IWB Summer Comfort. Both holsters wore and carried very well by the way.
So today I pack up some ammo: some Gerogia Arms 124gr FMJ & JHP, some Remington Golden Saber & Home Defense in 124gr, some Winchester PDX in 147gr and finally some very cheap American Eagle 124gr. There was a couple other odds and ends, but that’s the main stuff. I had been carrying the PDX 147gr in the SOLO, so right off, I shot the magazine that had been in the gun. Now, before I get to the good parts, I had just completely disassembled, cleaned and lubed the SOLO a day or two ago….it was clean and lubed….. Third round, FTE..dang I thought. Perhaps an AMMO anomaly? Nope, tried some others rounds through it and got some more. I won’t make it sound worse than it was, but it was enough to disappoint me no matter what AMMO I tried, and correcting this particular malfunction takes a bit of time. In between magazines I allowed a cooling period for the SOLO. During that time, I took the Stealth out of the factory box, checked barrel for obstructions, loaded two mags with 5rd ea of Remington Golden Sabers….just as expected…flawless….no pre lubing, no disassembly prior to firing, just right of the box.
Much longer story short, I had at least 8 FTE with the SOLO over about 150 rounds of premium (Kimber recommended) AMMO. The R9 devoured everything I fed it, everything! I did have two occasions of failure to fire on some 115gr Georgia Arms Canned Heat cheap stuff. But, each time it fired on second attempt by simply pulling the trigger again (another thing ya can’t do with the SOLO). Oh, and can’t forget this part, the SOLO’s upper grip screws on both sides came completely out, fell on the range table and all…never had that happen with the R9…. My R9 did require the normal grip screw tightening after the range, but not even close to losing the screws. I have the upgrade screws from Yankee, but haven’t installed them yet.
When I went to the range, the R9 was in the factory box and the SOLO was on my hip. When I left the range, the SOLO was in its box and the R9 was on my hip. Bottom line…the SOLO was a good attempt by Kimber. It’s a decent gun, but it nor anything else (to include several Khar’s I’ve owned) has even been in the same league as the R9. For those reading this and trying to decide between the two….trust me when I say, spend the extra $$$. Not that much more to pay for a gun that will work every time, with danged near anything ya feed it (from personal experience). And if ya just got to have a SOLO, I have one in two tone with three mags and two nice Galco holsters I’ll make ya a deal on. Not sure what changed in my SOLO except that it’s had more rounds though it now and perhaps the springs are weak….can’t just swap them out like a R9 spring….
A friend also went to the range and fired about 100 rounds of various stuff through her R9S and it worked great…. I also fired my S&W 1911 Pro Series…it was a hoot and not a single issue on 165gr JHP Georgia Arms ammo.
So there ya have it, Life Is Good in Toadville, and there is nothing like being in the free world….
