Stephen A Camp's report of serious design problems with the slide stop on the P9 has kept me from trying on of them.
True, there was a problem with the slide stop on early P9's, but it was a simple fix. Replace the slide stop lever, and no more problems! I think "serious design problems" was, in retrospect, a bit overzealous an opinion.
I too toiled over the two pistols, finally coming to rest firmly on the Kahr P9. The margin was slim mind you, but the out and out QUALITY of the Kahr won me over.
The Kahr IS slimmer than the Kel-Tec.
IMO, the Kahr P9 (elite trigger) has the SMOOTHEST DAO trigger around! It is without a doubt (opinion imminent) the BEST TRIGGER I have EVER manipulated! I see NO comparison to the Kel-Tec trigger, which was a MONSTER, second in stiffness only to the old AMT DAO backup.
The kel-Tec is shorter than the Kahr. The Kel-Tec holds 3 more rounds than the Kahr. The Kel-Tec is 1/2 the price of a Kahr.
Customer service for BOTH companies is superb. Some KT's shoot right out of the box, some need a couple trips to the factory. Kahr's did have a problem to start out with, but since that one's been corrected, "bad eggs" are few and far between, and most are out of the box shooters.
There, now your decision should be clear as MUD!
For me personally, it was the MUCH better trigger (before you flame me, make sure you're not talking about a K9 you handled
) and more dependable out of box performance that made me fork over twice the price. If I KNEW it would be a shooter, and the trigger was a little lighter, I'd have opted for the P11.
As I sit here, I eagerly await my Kel-Tec P32HC on backorder at the local gunshop