I don't know why I didn't think of making the below comparison earlier, but tonight I decided to just do a calibrated Mk1 eyeball comparison between my newfangled (Ok, it's a law enforcement trade-in that I couldn't pass up) Kahr K9 and somewhat older technology Caspian Officer's ACP.
Here goes: Both are considered compact pistols, both are steel framed, solid, both carry very well, feel good in the hand, and both have a capacity of 7+1 rounds. The Caspian is .45 ACP, single action, more expensive (oh boy, was it!), just a smidgen longer in the slide, taller in the grip, and wider in the grips (but not the slide, weird!) than the Kahr. The Kahr is 9mm Parabellum, DAO (but Smooooooth!), has a firing pin safety, was obviously cheaper at $249.00, and slightly smaller in a couple dimensions than the Caspian.
The thing that startled me the most was how similar they were in weight. I need to find a digital scale somewhere to get the exact weights, but just hefting them, I have a hard time telling the difference in mass. I normally carry the Caspian in a Roma Leathers Organizer with handgun compartment, and actually use the organizer on a daily basis. I will swap the Kahr with the Caspian tomorrow, and see if I notice a difference in heft for a while.
Besides the political correctness and liability conscious DAO of the Kahr, which to me is offset by the 9mm chambering, I don't think the Caspian Officer's ACP really gives up much to the Kahr K9. Now, of course, the polymer framed Kahr is out there, but it just didn't feel right, more "Glockish" to my mitts. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement selected the little steel DAO 9mm as an approved secondary, backup, and off-duty gun for their agents.
I would imagine other comparisons are out there to be looked into, but for my own purposes, I can only conclude there's more than one way to skin a cat?
(I'll bet you won't read an article by Jan Libourel that ends like that, now will ya?)
Here goes: Both are considered compact pistols, both are steel framed, solid, both carry very well, feel good in the hand, and both have a capacity of 7+1 rounds. The Caspian is .45 ACP, single action, more expensive (oh boy, was it!), just a smidgen longer in the slide, taller in the grip, and wider in the grips (but not the slide, weird!) than the Kahr. The Kahr is 9mm Parabellum, DAO (but Smooooooth!), has a firing pin safety, was obviously cheaper at $249.00, and slightly smaller in a couple dimensions than the Caspian.
The thing that startled me the most was how similar they were in weight. I need to find a digital scale somewhere to get the exact weights, but just hefting them, I have a hard time telling the difference in mass. I normally carry the Caspian in a Roma Leathers Organizer with handgun compartment, and actually use the organizer on a daily basis. I will swap the Kahr with the Caspian tomorrow, and see if I notice a difference in heft for a while.
Besides the political correctness and liability conscious DAO of the Kahr, which to me is offset by the 9mm chambering, I don't think the Caspian Officer's ACP really gives up much to the Kahr K9. Now, of course, the polymer framed Kahr is out there, but it just didn't feel right, more "Glockish" to my mitts. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement selected the little steel DAO 9mm as an approved secondary, backup, and off-duty gun for their agents.
I would imagine other comparisons are out there to be looked into, but for my own purposes, I can only conclude there's more than one way to skin a cat?
(I'll bet you won't read an article by Jan Libourel that ends like that, now will ya?)