Kahr K9....love 'em, hate 'em or ehhhh....

I agree with what others are saying about the gun, though. It is heavy for what it is. IWB a K9 can get pretty heavy, in my opinion. The thickness is just about perfect (with factory or reduced grips), though for a IWB gun. I just bought a Galco Miami Class shoulder holster for my K9 and I think I'll never go back to IWB carry except with smaller, thinner guns... which doesn't leave me many options for IWB.

I'm not sure what people are saying about a break-in period on K9's or that they are tight. I've found neither to be the case. My K9 Elite rattles like a loose 1911. I can see plenty of daylight through mine. They just remind me of metal framed Glocks, honestly.

The double-action-only-esque trigger is good for what it is. It is about as smooth as you'd get on a nice DA revolver. But, most new shooters won't like it or be good at it. It takes some getting used to for sure, but my K9 taught me to revolver shoot in DA, essentially. You get used to staging the trigger. Rapid fire is a bit tricky to stay on target with long and relatively heavy trigger pull.

For me, the quality has been lacking on the plastic Kahr's rather than the steel ones, but who knows? Maybe I've just been lucky with the steel framed Kahrs that I've seen (or unlucky with the plastic ones?).
 
Oh, and I do recommend the Elite. The trigger is definitely nicer. Kahr triggers are all sort of similar and pretty nice in general, other than the long length of pull, they are really smooth.

I'm not sure about the new generation of Kahrs coming out though. Maybe we will see different quality levels.
 
I have an MK9.

I'm very impressed with it. I'd buy a K9 or K40 if I saw a good deal.

It's bafflingly accurate. By all means, it really shouldn't be so accurate. It's TINY. Then you look at the target and there are holes touching.

It's also pleasant enough to shoot for a subcompact 9. I could put a few hundred rounds through it in an afternoon without much difficulty.

The ergonomics are also excellent and it points very well.

I don't mind the trigger. It's not a race gun. A slightly longer pull is fine on a CCW piece. It's super smooth, and stacks right before it breaks. This makes it easy to predict and shoot. It's almost like a two stage trigger.

I'm only a couple hundred rounds in, but I'd say reliability is good to fair. It works perfectly with the 6 round magazine, but tends to lock open prematurely when used with the 7 round magazine.

Although they are great pistols, they are unpopular for a few reasons. They are expensive new, DAO is currently unfashionable, the polymer framed models don't get good reviews and the steel frames are perceived as too heavy.

I think using the DAO label for a pretensioned striker was a mistake. It implies a very heavy true DA pull, which isn't the case at all. I've pulled (admittedly terrible) single action triggers that were longer and harder than the Kahr's trigger.

So, the K9....IMO, Kahr should spend their effort marketing to women.
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Kahr springs are very heavy. My father even has a hard time with them. I wonder if a .380 in a larger frame LC380 style would be a good option.
 
I'm not sure what people are saying about a break-in period on K9's or that they are tight. I've found neither to be the case. My K9 Elite rattles like a loose 1911. I can see plenty of daylight through mine. They just remind me of metal framed Glocks, honestly.
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I agree totally. of my eight Kahrs, none have been what I'd call tight. They all get used at the range. is that break-in? I don't file, fluff, buff or rack 1000 times. I just shoot them.


Kahr should spend their effort marketing to women.
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Kahr did, many years ago, come out with the K9 Lady K, whose main difference was a lighter, 16#, recoil spring. you see them for sale from time to time.
 
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They seem to have focused on every aspect of making a good gun EXCEPT reliability.
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You must have extremely bad luck to have four lemons. I have owned two and shot 3 other ones and I have not had, seen, or heard of any issues (excluding internet forums). I've owned a CW9 and a CM9. I've borrowed the PM9 from a co-worker when I needed a UC with night sights before we were issued Sig P290's at work. Another friend carries a P40 for off-duty.

My CM9 had a couple of failures in the first 4 or 5 magazines. Nothing since, and I've put about 2k rounds through it. My CW9 never had any malfunction, even during break in. I don't practice any kind of crazy maintenance other than I dab a little grease on the slide and make sure everything that could rust has a light coat of CLP on it.
 
Mine was a jamo matic right out of the box and it cost around $900 with night sights. The finish on the gun and sight alinment were good, accuracy good, but it would lock back prematurely or fail to lock. It was picky about ammo and needed a lot of debugging that 200 rounds would not have cleared up. I put a new slide stop in it at my expense because Kahr wouldn't warranty the original defective one I polished. Still had unreliable performance until I polished the chamber. Then it started running pretty reliably. Mine also had one of the mag followers crack on the first or second loading. I do really like the ergonomics of the gun but when they don't run right, all they are is a boat anchor. Now I have installed the solid stainless guide rod and new spring. Seems to be running fine. Not sure if I feel like taking my chances on another kahr however.....
 
My son, who is a county sheriff carried a polymer Kahr as a backup. The rails broke out of the polymer frame. It got sent back to Kahr and they replaced the gun.

Good customer service, but doesn't speak well for the durability of the polymer versions.
 
I've owned one for a long time. While the trigger seemingly has a long pull, it doesn't seem any longer than most stryker fired pistols of today. I totally agree that this is the smoothest trigger pull I have ever owned. I have had perfect scores with this in qualifications for a carry gun which I sometimes do not get with the Dept issued firearms. This is a fine firearm and in my opinion is worth as much or more than the regular K9. It can used used by most guys w/out any issue and obviously would be attractive to a lot of women as well. My wife has RA and can still rack the slide. Stick with the 2,000 rd recommendation for spring replacement and it will be fine for longer than most folks will be around.
 
I might add that my Lady K9 weapon is one the the early issues as opposed to the newer polymer issues and sell for half the price of what I paid. Nice solid metal, heavy for a smaller weapon but definitely helps on the other end with the recoil.
 
After owning a Cw380 and a CM9, I became a believer. Such well built, sweet shooters. The 380 required a little break in. But that was NO problem. Build a gun with tight tolerances, I expected it. After breaking in, the gun as run just fine. A little time spent breaking in the gun has paid off with huge dividen's.
The CM9 ran and has run great right out of the box.
Yes, my next purchase will be another Kahr. Still trying to decide which one. So many nice choices. I would love to have a K9. However, most likely will get something lighter in weight.
 
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Things, experiences and opinions have probably changed over the past three years or so. I know I used to not like the Kahr K9 more than I do now; especially in terms of the trigger pull-somewhat better (smoother and lighter) now than then, imo.
 
I purchased a MK9 years ago, accurate, reliable, excellent trigger but far too heavy for carry in my opinion, I sold it and now carry a CM9 same results as the MK9 but only 15 ounces, perfect little gun, fun too shoot and carry.
 
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