Kahr: The Reliably Unreliable Brand!

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rc

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I bought a K9 a few years back. One of the magazine followers broke after a couple of magazines full of ammo. It would not go through a single magazine without prematurely locking back on any of the magazines it came with. After chewing through more than 300 rounds for break in it continued to be completely unreliable. After making some adjustments to the slide stop, the gun would shoot through a magazine without jamming but would no longer lock back. So I called Kahr. Sorry, no help there. Since I touched it I would get no help for warranty service. So I bought a new slide stop. But the gun continued to have problems. I polished the chamber and walla it started to function. So I bought some lakeline followers and called it good.

My buddy liked my K9. I warned him they have problems. But he took his chances and bought one. It too had problems. So he sent it back and they said they couldn't fix it and replaced it.

So now we had 2 K9s, both had problems.

Wanting to buy a compact 45, my buddy decided to try a P45. The K9s had to be a fluke right??? Out of the box it would automatically chamber a round by simply inserting a magazine, The gun would not feed rounds reliably from the magazine and would sometimes fail to load a round or would simply lock up so you couldn't depress the slide stop or rack the gun to chamber a round. So back to Kahr it went. They promised it was "fixed". Claimed to have done this, that and the other thing. Promised they had gone through several magazine worth of ammo without a hiccup. Well, we tried the gun today. It was not fixed. It had the same problems he reported to Kahr when it left the first time and it's just as unreliable today after a trip back to the factory as it was the day it left the factory. While we both want to like the P45, it was a complete disappointment. It's really sad that Kahr quality control is so bad and customer service is no better. The basic designs are solid. But they can't seem to put out a gun that works out of the box. Is that really so hard? CZ, Glock, Sig and others do it all the time.
 
My random sample of one CT9 is reliable with full power, or near full power loads. Lighter loads will not fully cycle the slide. However, for me the POA is low (gun shoots high).
 
kahr 1--CW380-cussed the initial break in period- but then blossomed and has run flawlessly ever since. It does not like long OAL cartridges. I knew the gun had tight tolerences and would require a break in, and it paid off huge dividends.

Kahr 2- CM9-has run flawlessly from day one right out of the box.

Kahr 3- CM9 used- gun was in new condition but 4 years old. Gun appeared to be not shot very often and never once cleaned.Tested gun at shop and ran flawlessly. Magazines were not springing out with full force. Replaced the Magazine spring and gun is now a range gun and the other for carry. Runs perfect. Shoot a lot of Wolf Steel case ammo through it.

All are very accurate for me. And the 380 is really shines for soft shooting and fast accurate shooting.
I have about 8 magazines for the CM9. Two have the Gallaway Plus 1 extension. I just placed magguts in two of them and they run great. I always hesitated to buy one because I thought the small size would have high recoil. I was really surprised when I shot one to find them so mild. Planning to get another one later. Cannot figure out which one I want. All have the same trigger which I love. Very well built firearms.

PS I also want one in 45.cal. I would have no hesitation of buying a K9 or any other Kahr.
-I know that Kahr at one time did have some magazine issues but that seems to have been resolved. I have not had those. I did however buy some steel followers from Lakeland.
 
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I have a PM9 that I carried for years. Mine was reliable from the get go as well. I pocket carried it initially, but switched to a clip draw since it was much faster to draw from. Hurricane Irma blew through here a few years back and I sweat all over the PM9 as I was clearing debris and stuff. I didn't think it was an issue as it was a polymer frame and coated stainless slide. When I finally had time to clean it and wipe it down, I found the internals had started rusting, especially in the trigger area. Why make a polymer gun and coated stainless slide if the internals are not going to be rust resistant??? I ended up buying a Glock 43 after that and no longer carry the PM9.
 
I had a K9, MK9, PM9, and PM45. the 9mm guns worked well without issue. I had to spend about as much in ammo as the gun cost to "break it in" before it was reliable. 400 rounds before it would stumble through one 5 round magazine. another 400 rounds before it would fire a 50 round box with a fumble. none of my guns were the econo cheap versions.
 
I also have a MK9 but only carried it for a short time. What is the point of carrying so much weight for just 6 rounds? I carried it in a pocket holster and the frame actually developed some pit rusting even though it is supposedly stainless steel. Thanks, but no thanks.
 
And the beauty of the Kahr Cm9 is small and light weight,affordable, reliable. At only 15.8 oz, and carry 7-8 rounds which is more than enough for my concerns.
 
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My brother bought a CM9. Magazine follower cracked the first time out. Brought it back in (range was part of the same shop where he bought it). They gave him another mag. Minutes later, the same thing happened. Shipped it back to Kahr. Whatever it was, they fixed it and he had no problems since.
 
It seems like the 9s and 380 will eventually work after initial problems are worked out, but I'd love to hear from more of the 40 and 45 owners......
 
rc said:
It seems like the 9s and 380 will eventually work after initial problems are worked out, but I'd love to hear from more of the 40 and 45 owners......
Click to expand...
my PM45 was a big disappointment until I spend about $500 in ammo to "break it in". after that expensive and frustrating ammo investment it started to work properly.
 
I wanted to like Kahrs myself because they look good, are made in the USA, and are offered at fair prices, but alas I've heard so many negative things about the guns and the company itself that I would never buy one.

If it weren't bad enough that the guns have a spotty reputation thanks to their mandatory, manufacturer suggested break-in periods and the fact that some of them never work quite right, then you've got all the shadiness surrounding the CEO's parents being cult leaders, whom he apparently has never disowned nor spoken out against.
I can deal with reports of spotty reliability, especially when they come from the echo-chamber that is webforums in which one or two reports of unreliability often get perpetually reposted by folks who either don't like the brand or otherwise just plain love drama, but when there are 100% factual reports of a business owner having criminal familial ties on top of rampant reports of unreliability, that's enough to dissuade me from buying their products.
 
I personally am 0 for 4 with Kahrs, and would not carry one for defense. I have posted before on this subject and don’t feel like going into detail again. But I disagree with the summary above, that the 9s and .380s eventually work their issues out. That was not my experience.

Obviously some are happy with theirs. Just as obviously this brand has more problems than others. Caveat Emptor.
 
Never a problem with my CM9. Has functioned 100% reliably since the first round. Even through the recommended 200 round break in period.
 
I can say my K9 with lakeline followers and stainless steel guide rod is actually pretty good now and I can trust it to work with anything. But my buddy sent in his first K9 because it kept ejecting brass back at him. And because they couldn't fix it, they replaced it and that one was less reliable. It won't work with the lakeline followers.

I want to like Kahr. I really do. But I just don't trust them to put out a gun that runs from the factory.

Now the 9mm CZP01 my buddy bought out of the box was flawless. He decided to sell it because of size so I bought it. He wanted a smaller CCW piece. It's still a flawless shooter and has yet to jam one time. I have an EAA witness in 45. Relatively cheap gun. Runs great.

While I'm not a big glock fan, I never hear of any reliability complaints with them. rc
 
Lol, ya got to love the internet. Khar has been putting out the PM9 now for about 10 yrs, same with the CM9. I can only guess how many millions they have sold. Personally never paid any attention to the complaints or issues on the internet. I did just out of curiosity go to Buds to see what the people were reviewing the CM9 had to say. A 4.6 average Star rating out of 178.
I love breaking down the Kahr, just a lovely well made gun. I like how the 380, actually has steel inserts at the stress points.
The bottom line, if you feel the Kahr is a bad gun fine. Just do not buy one. But to compare a Kahr to a Jenning? Like I said, I love the internet.

178 Reviews. Average Rating: 4.6 of 5 Stars!
5 stars:

79% (139 of 178)
4 stars:

13% (22 of 178)
3 stars:

7% (13 of 178)
2 stars:

0% (1 of 178)
1 star:

1% (3 of 178)
 
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Kahr recently changed the mag followers in the PM9/CM9. 2018?

Wonder why?

Some have issues with extended mags pushing the round out of wack and locking up with a failure to feed.

The 40 Kahrs are know to eat followers. I didn't know that was known until I bought my PM40 when they were 650 dollars. One box, two broken mags. Not atypical.

My CW380 was pure junk that couldn't do most factory boxes.
 
My early stainless K9 has been 100% right out of the box.
I can't even induce stoppages by limp wristing.

The broken Kahr followers was traced to the use of the same barrels used in the all steel gun being used in the polymer guns.......
Under recoil the rear of the barrel feed ramp was impacting the plastic follower and snapping the front of the follower off.

Kahr solves this by machining a small amount of the lower edge of the barrel ramp off. Problem solved.

ALL GUN MAKERS have quality problems with occasional guns.
You hear all about those, seldom any posts about how good a gun is.
Guns are individual items. Because someone got a problem child or a fantastic gun is no indication at all that the one you buy will be great or trouble.
 
My K9 has been my carry gun for years. I can't count how many thousands of rounds I've put through it with no problems of any kind. I have a CW9 that runs flawlessly and an MK 9 that a friend talked me out of that was the same. You are going to have problems with any manufacturer, no matter what the brand. People also seem to post more about problems then they do about good performance no matter what brand.
 
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