Kimber Solo Carry Subcompact Range Report

I finally got to the range to give my Kimber Solo 9mm subcompact a workout. I purchased 500 rounds of 9mm Remington Golden Saber 124 grain ammunition. 1000 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 124 grain FMJ Ammo., and the cheap Russian made Herter 115 grain FMJ.

A couple weeks earlier I had already run a few hundred rounds of 124 Sillier & Bellot  through it. For this range visit I didn’t clean the pistol, just oiled the slide rails and barrel where it touches other metal.

Today I shot 100 rounds of Golden Saber. The little pistol cycled flawlessly. One lesson I had learned previously is to let the slide slam closed when chambering the first round. I was surprised at the sharp recoil of the Golden saber. I had not fired 9mm plus P Ammo before. There is a marked difference in recoil. I didn’t like it much with that little gun. I still have a problem with the small curve of the trigger, and that coupled with the sharp recoil of the plus P Golden saber made the first 50 rounds very uncomfortable to shoot.

I switched to the cheap Herter 9mm 115 grain FMJ ammunition. The recoil seemed much more manageable and the little Kimber Solo handled 50 rounds without a hitch. There was one failure to fire, but that was not the Kimber’s fault. The Herter Ammo uses hard Brendan primers. I cycled the unfired round a second time and it fired. I had a couple other FTF with my other pistols so I’m confident the Kimber Solo is working flawlessly.

I finished up with another 50 rounds of Golden Saber and again the Kimber Solo proved itself.

A major problem I have with the Solo is that I can’t hit anything with it. I think the problem is that I’m firing on the 15 yard target at my range. This is the shortest target available. And my technique most probably needs some attention.

I installed a large rifle target at 15 yards and found that I’m shooting about 8 to 10 inches low and slightly left. Shooting 50 rounds at the target produced a 14 inch wide strip of holes about 5 inches high. There was a large concentration of holes in the center area of this group. I have to try the pistol on a 7 yard range and learn how to shoot it properly. Right now, I’m thinking about trading the Kimber off and just use my Glock 26, or my 9mm CZ 2075 Rami. At least I can hit what I aim at with these pistols.

So for me, the verdict is still out on whether or not I keep the Kimber Solo. It is a beautiful little pistol, I may just keep it to look at.