Kahr quality

I bought the CM45 a little over a month ago. I'm taking the CCW class in March and wanted to have a little time to get used to it. I've taken it to the range 3 times and run about 200 rounds through it with no issues (technically I had one FTE but pretty sure that was due to my being a novice shooter!).

My only initial complaint with the gun was the grip - it was a bit harsh. I bought the rubber Talon grip after trip #1 to the range and installed. At first I didn't think it was going to provide the comfort I wanted but after shooting again I think it'll be fine.

As I said, I'm a novice shooter, but my experience with the CM45 has been nothing but good.
 
My friend's .380 went back to the factory so many times it knew the route by heart...Kahr said shoot it 200 times to break it in...the pistol would never shoot more than once....they finally gave him a different pistol and I believe it runs just fine? "Ya pays yer money and Ya takes yer chances " with most items produced today.
 
My CM9 has about 400 rounds through it. Good trigger, accurate for a gun that small, hides well, and works. Not one failure. Only thing I don't like is that the slide release is required by Kahr to chamber a round. It does not like to be racked. That makes me think it will fail to feed, but it hasn't.

Great point made earlier about small autos and less proficient users. I am sure that gets a lot of guns bad mojo that the maybe do not deserve.
 
I've owned four Kahrs in my time. a K9 and MK9, both were excellent but heavy.
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Yes my K9 is a bit heavy but it's very reliable and accurate. DPX is the ammo of choice for it.

Never had a polymer Kahr run right for long with me, but the steel ones are very good.

Deaf
 
This thread is funny. I was just talking to Venom1956 about this today! I've personally had problems with 2/4 poly Kahr's that I've own or shot. I had no issues with a rented PM9, many issues with a purchased CW9, no issues with a borrowed CW9 (and supposedly none on that gun in general), and finally some cycling issues on used P9.

I own and carry an all-steel K9 2003 Elite Model, and I love it. It is really well made, and I've had no issues in 1,000's of rounds. Venom also owns an T9, which I have fired, which has had no issues to report so far.

My analysis is that some poly Kahrs have problems, and that the all-steel Kahrs are better. Venom1956 would likely still endorse poly Kahrs and will probably buy one. I might try a Gen 2 upper-end poly Kahr because I am a sucker for some of the improvements.
 
Kahr CW9

I carry a Kahr CW9. Hides well. Easy to shoot. Accurate. And above all - reliable. My CW9 has never - ever - jammed. It has gobbled up and spit out every round of ammunition I have ever fed it. And I'm even talking lead semi-wadcutter handloads. Everything. I'd say I have about 1500 rounds through it. Very pleased with it. I'm strongly considering getting another one, for back up, spare parts, whatever.
 
Only thing I don't like is that the slide release is required by Kahr to chamber a round. It does not like to be racked. That makes me think it will fail to feed, but it hasn't.
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The Kahr manual recommends this, but I have never ever had a problem racking the CM9 slide just like I do ever other semi-automatic pistol. If you pull it all the way back and release it, it will chamber a round and go into battery every time.

It's worth noting that the recoil spring it quite heavy on these pistols. I can only assume that Kahr is afraid that users will not fully retract the slide to chamber, and perhaps cause malfunctions.
 
RE racking Kahr's: It appears if you do it with a lot of authority that this is less of an issue, but it is sort of tricky to do. Also, not every Kahr seems to have issues with this, as many people have reported.

My Kahr K9 Elite doesn't give me grief on racking, but I've personally had issues with a CW9 and a P9 that I owned.

Oh, I've had long discussions about this specific issue on tfl. The owner's manual/FAQ from Kahr say that it is because a fully loaded magazine presents the first round at a different angle. One can only assume that this makes fully racking a slide and letting it go without riding it at all more difficult or less tolerant. Kahr recommends downloading if racking is the prefered method of loading your handgun.
 
The Kahr 8 round magazines are problematic. I found that if I download it by one round the reliability increases. I got the impression that something is binding inside of the magazine. IMO stick with the six round magazines.
 
Kahr recommends downloading if racking is the prefered method of loading your handgun.
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Where did you see this recommendation from Kahr? It isn't in the manual, nor can I find it on their website. Please provide the source.

FWIW; I've never had a problem with 8 round mags. I use them in my P9, K9, T9 and TP9.
 
I have (2) Kahrs and (7) Kel-tecs.
Both Kahrs have had issues.
No issues with the Kel-tecs.
But the Kahrs sure LOOK nicer.
 
Kahr pistols

I have lost count of how many I have had over the years. Had no issues with any of them, except for the very first P9 I ever bought. Could not hit the broad side of a barn with it. Ran close to 800 rounds through it over 2 weekends. Just could not aim the darn thing.

All the rest 0 issues. This includes 2 k9, 1 k40, p9 covert (wish I still had that one), p45, pm45, pm9, cw9, cm9.


I currently carry the cm9 and cw9 most of the time.

Any gun marker will have duds. If you really want to try one, find it and go for it. If we all only bought things that had no bad feed back on the internet the economy would collapse because no one would ever buy anything again.

LOL!

Dan...
 
Carry my CW45 in cool jacket weather, and its little brother CT380 rides in my shorts front pocket during the rest of the year - no problems with either one, except the .380 doesn't like WWB:

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I wish Kahr made a T380. I like the P380 a lot, but it is a bit small for me. I know many would not see a point, but a K9-sized 380 would be great.
 
Kahr's QC is unacceptably poor, especially given the prices they command. The guns do not receive adequate final finishing. It is very common to find burrs and prominent high spots on the slide rails, the barrel, and the frame rails in the dustcover, and the polymer trimming is very sloppy. I've seen several with poorly-milled dovetails (including mine). The original barrel in my Kahr came with a very poorly-cut crown. The mags seem to be welded and crimped by kids failing their sixth-grade shop class.

Except for a little sweet spot between 150 and 275 rounds where everything worked well, my P380 has been a nightmare. Four trips back to the factory and it's still not reliable. The Kahr gunsmiths are either clueless or profoundly disinterested in their work, because the gun usually comes back with at least one of the problems it went in with -- plus an exciting new problem!

Out of the box it had very poor accuracy due to what was an obviously poorly-cut barrel crown. I imagine the ridiculously large burr on the on the left face of the barrel hood could have contributed to inconsistent lockup as well. The gun has been very accurate since the barrel was replaced. That's about the extent of my positive comments for it. Oh, and the trigger is very smooth, and it's quite comfortable to shoot.

Every part in the gun but the stripped-down slide has been replaced at least once. The first frame cracked, and the second had to be replaced because it was "out of spec."

As for all of the problems the gun has had, it would be easier to name the ones it hasn't. At various times, the gun has suffered (1) failures to feed, (2) failures to return to battery, (3) failures to eject, (4) the aforementioned accuracy problem, (5) light primer strikes, (6) a broken mag release, (7) dropped mags with each shot (after the broken mag release was replaced), (8) the slide locking back prematurely, (9) slide not locking back on empty mags, and (10) the aforementioned cracked frame. I've probably left something out. Oh yeah, (11) because of the poorly-milled rear dovetail, my rear sight sits a bit sideways. When the feeding and ejecting problems get (temporarily) solved, then the light strikes and slide lock failures spring up; when that gets fixed, the mag will start dropping with every shot. It's always something like this. My P380 is the whack-a-mole of problem guns.

My warranty expires later this year, so I'm going to see soon if I can harangue Kahr into sending me another shipping label for the gun.
 
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I think the 'problematic Kahr' thing has to be looked at in light of the volume of guns they're selling; with the pricepoint of their CW guns, I can only imagine they're making LOTS of firearms, and that increases the chances you'll hear about a klinker.
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That's not it. Look at the ATF numbers. They don't sell that many guns in comparison to the "big name" companies. They just make a lot of problematic ones.
 
I thought they just added a CT380?
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I am thinking it would be neat to have a T380, not the existing "CT380."

Meaning, a larger P380, not a larger CW380.

Actually, what I'd like is a K380 Elite. Steel frame, K-size, only in 380. That would be one soft, sweet-shooting gun.
 
Kahr's QC is unacceptably poor, especially given the prices they command.
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I got lucky. I bought a Kahr K9 (older, plain black steel model from about 12 years ago), and it has been a reliable little sewing machine since.

The only thing I don't like on it are the sights. The front sight has some sort of a spring that make it move up and down slightly. The rear sight is not cut properly (front the center line, there is more space to the left than to the right).

One of these days, I am going to get it refinished and then have the sights replaced. Then it will be a perfect carry piece for me.
 
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