Solo Act: Kimber Solo 9mm 

The doorbell rang at 7:30 in the morning. Luckily, I was already up or the dogs would have dismembered the delivery driver. Once the ritual signature was done, we were all happy: the dogs for having done their jobs, the driver for having escaped unharmed and me for having the new Kimber Solo here at Gun Abuse Central.

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One evolution in carry guns we’ve been seeing of late is that of compact, bigbore pistols. These pistols, which old-school gunners would have seen as backup guns, are now first in line for emergency use.

It is a dance that we old-timers have done so many times that we forget it is a dance: Carry a big gun because, well, it’s a big gun. Then realize that backaches and torn clothing are a high price to pay and switch to a smaller gun, often a too-small one that is difficult to shoot well and doesn’t inspire confidence.

The group of handguns we eventually settle on is well represented by the compact, single-stack 9mm, a performance envelope that offers a lot—a decent supply of ammo, a caliber that you can depend on—in a pistol that is small enough to comfortably carry, yet big enough to actually hold and shoot.

The new Kimber Solo not only delivers all that, it does so with a basketful of new design elements and provides old-timers with a new option to our set-in-stone tastes.