Kahr K9--a Glock for small hands?

D

Don Gwinn

Staff Emeritus
I'm hoping my Glock gets in soon. I chose the model I did because my fiance can use it too if necessary (a G17.)

But although she can use it, she likes everything about it except the grip size. Would a K9 be a good choice for a 9mm handgun with a similar manual of arms to the Glock, but with a more comfy grip than the Glock? In other words, is the Kahr as reliable as the Glock? Accurate? Is the felt recoil softer or at least no worse, since the Kahr is all steel?
Thanks.
 
I have very large hands, do not like the feel of the Glocks, but am very comfortable with my Kahr K9 Elite. It is totally reliable, and very accurate, both with a variety of 9mm ammo.
 
Why not a G19 or G26? How about "because the grip configuration / diameter is the same as a G17", which Don said his fiancee didn't like.

I have an MK40 and a G19. Great guns both; love'em. Wearing the MK right now. The MK has a significantly smaller grip diameter than the Glock, which your fiancee might like. I'm guessing the K9 is slightly smaller than the K or MK40.

Part of my reason for buying the Kahr was the similar manual of arms as Glock, as you mentioned.

BTW, you'll hear some complain about the weight of the Kahrs. Depending on your carry mode, the weight can be a non-issue, and that weight helps soak up the recoil of a small gun firing a hot round. Neither the weight nor the recoil is an issue for me.
 
I love my MK40. I have to agree with everything JimR said. My friend has a Glock31, he added the Hogue hand-all to increase the grip frame width, he like wide grip frames, on guns anyways. Me I love the slimmer grip frame on the MK40, plus I like the extra weight; it feels right in my hand when I shoot it.

I am suprised that Kahr has not had any legal trouble with Glock the Kahr's mechanics to my untrained eye seems to be real close to the Glock. Mine is very accurate, once you master the DAO trigger pull. With its preferred ammo, after I sent it back to Kahr, it has been extrememly reliable.

Do you know anyone with the K9? That is one thing that I wish you could do with guns, it would be nice to test fire guns like you test drive cars.

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Know Yourself, Know Your Weapon, Know Your Enemy; then Know Victory! ---DaHaMac
 
Don,

Held the Glock, G19, G26 etc, etc. and they didn’t feel comfortable in my hand, but I have small hands. The most comfortable Glock was the G19, again, for my hand. The Kahr series seems like it was designed for smaller hands. With the ammunition capacity limited to 10 rounds, the slimmer Kahr grip to me made more sense. Accuracy and reliability?, you can't go wrong with both Glock and Kahr.

Rent both at the range and you be the judge. Shoot what's most comfortable.

Congratulations on your engagement. Best wishes to both of you.

Regards,
Hann
 
Hi Don,
I own the K9, it a very good gun. It has a very smooth trigger, low recoil, and very easily concealable. The only thing bad about it is that it's finicky with ammo. Factory ammo it functions 100%, but with reloads, your're taking a chance; I think the chamber area is too tight. I've owned the Kahr when it first came out, so Kahr might had widen up the chambers on the newer guns, I mention this is because my local range has them for rent and the range reloads are aweful. Hopes this helps.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Don Gwinn:
I'm hoping my Glock gets in soon. I chose the model I did because my fiance can use it too if necessary (a G17.)

But although she can use it, she likes everything about it except the grip size. Would a K9 be a good choice for a 9mm handgun with a similar manual of arms to the Glock, but with a more comfy grip than the Glock? In other words, is the Kahr as reliable as the Glock? Accurate? Is the felt recoil softer or at least no worse, since the Kahr is all steel?
Thanks.[/quote]

If the weight of the K9/MK9 seems heavy check out the P9 its Kahrs' new polymer framed model that has the overall same demensions as the K9.
Robb
 
Bongos,
The first year or so of K9's produced by Kahr were tightly chambered. I had a few stovepipes with handloads at first, so I called Kahr and got the skinney. I sent it to Kahr, they opened up the chamber, lowered and flared the ejection port, smoothed and polished the feedramp and installed a new steel guiderod, all free of charge. Never had a problem since, and like others have said, once you master the trigger on these guns they are sweet shootin' 9s to be sure.
Regards,
SM
 
While she may not like the feel of the Glock - she might also not like the heft of the Kahr. Other option I would suggest is the Steyr M9 or M40.
At SHOT I saw a compact M40 that was just plain sweet. When I mean SWEET - I mean a SWEET alternative to the Glock - who's feel I find repugnant.
I am not sure if the Compact Ms are out yet... check with your local dealers. If I was going to buy a Glock - I would buy the Steyr M40. The sites are gimicky and the safeties are a bit much... but getting past that - it would be a good carry gun.
Dont get me started on that grip angle... Not "right" for me.
 
I would like to claim the mental giant prize, here.

How about seeing if one can rent each and try them??

For my experiences with medium size man hands. I've shot the Kahrs in 9mm and 40
and the most Glocks except the 10 mm.

Both are easy to use and perfectly fine for self defence guns. Kahr and Glock recoil are easy to manage with some practice as a shooter. Kahrs are easier to carry in IWBs.

Try em both.
 
I have three Kahrs: K9, K40, and MK9. I think the K9 is a great gun for people with small hands. The grip circumference is significantly smaller than a Glocks. The K9 also has light recoil.

The MK9 recoils a bit more than a K9 and it has a stiff recoil spring. Probably too stiff for some women to operate easily.

I've found the K40 to have significantly more recoil than the K9, but a hard grip and a Harrts recoil reducer seem to have tamed that. Also has a relatively stiff recoil spring.

Jared
 
George is absolutely right!!! The compact version from Steyr is called the S series. It is about the size of a 26/27, and unfortunately, not on the streets yet, but expected soon!

Check my review of the full sized cousin, the M, which in Glock speak, is a 19/23.

I have to say that I do like the Glocks, and the Kahrs. We had shopped for a gun for the wife, and test fired a few... She found the K40 to be abusive for her, and the recoil spring was tough for her to cycle, the trigger was pretty tight as well. Glocks felt too big for her hands.

JimR had recomended a MK40, that might be a bit much, although it just feels nice for me, my wife had alot of trouble with the K, limp wristing, etc...

I wanted the same type of "manual of arms" as a Glock for her also... Guess what I found... ;)

Don,seriously consider getting something she would be willing to use. If you can, hit a rental range, and try some stuff out. My wife did like the way the USP Compact shot in 9mm, but again, I was going for the Glock style operation to simplify things for her. I had an opportunity to check out an M9, and
40 by Steyr, and was sold, knowing what SHE was looking for, and bought it for her.

When she finally got it in her hand, and shot it, she was in love. She shot better with this gun out of the box, than she had with others she had put a few hundred rounds through.

The grip just made the difference, and became extremely "pointable"

Hard to say whether you can find one around your locale, but if you can, look into it. When the S series comes available, I will be getting a 40 for me...
 
Whew!

Grip size: It's the bulky thickness of the grip, not the length, that bothers her. Glocks fit me pretty well but not her. I would have gotten something else in the first place, but the Glock is a prize from a raffle. Got to pick the model but it had to be Glock.

Renting: I'd love to, but the only range I've ever been to with rentals is the one near my hometown and all they have for rental is a bunch of glocks, a couple of Rugers and a 1911. I haven't even seen a Kahr at a gunshow; come to think of it, I've never seen a Kahr except catalogs. Part of the reason I'm asking here is that it would take some work to find a Kahr even to hold. Plus I figure I still want to know if they're reliable, accurate, and all the rest, and real owners can best tell me that.

Oh, and weight and reloads aren't issues. I don't reload and we can't carry--I just want to look into a pistol she might actually want to use for fun, rather than feeling like it's some chore.


Does anybody have an E9? Is it just a cheaper finish on the same basic gun, or is there a real drop in quality? If I were going to get a Kahr, that'd be my best bet. The Steyr sounds really cool but is way out of my price range.
 
Key differences:

Trigger pull on glock is the same for every Glock. Trigger pull on Kahrs is pretty loooooonnngggg but smooth.

Weight: Glock light, Kahr heavy.

I had a Kahr E9 but didn't like to carry it due to its weight. Decent for IWB holster carry but the G26 is the cat's meow for a subcompact 9mm.

------------------
The Seattle SharpShooter
 
Sounds like I'll have to try to find somebody with a Kahr.

Here's a weird coincidence--As I was typing this earlier, I had the TV on in the background. It was a syndicated episode of a show called "Working" about a corporate office. The idea is that the boss, the ultimate corporate, backstabbing, chauvinist pig, wants to sleep with the liberal, tree-hugging, socialist temp.
His coworkers helped him out by making a cheat card of issues and his stance on each.
To his chagrin, the card revealed that he favored handgun control, so he took a stainless Kahr K9 out of his pocket and gave it to the secretary to hold.

I didn't like the message but it was still funny.
 
My wife has dainty little hands...
She still LOVES her Springfield V-10 with Rosewood grips.

She still wont let me go shoot it! :(
 
The Elite trigger is a little better on the Kahrs.

Don - you need to take the SO on a vacation to state with nice guns and lots of places with rentals galore.

By the way, have you considered a SW 3913 LS
or 3953 if you want DAO? It's a nice smaller hand gun. I've seen used ones in the mid
$300s.
 
Don, I have an E9. The felt trigger pulls are not as nice as their K models. A bit grittier, to be specific, but nothing that's detrimental to accuracy. They do smooth out considerably with use, though, and the newer stainless frame versions have better triggers than my older blued one. They do not have the "dovetailed" style front sight either. Only a problem if you are a fan of night sights. An excellent gun at a great price, IMHO.
 
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