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The definitive Kahr poll
- Thread starter wizzamen
- Start date
I have a brushed nickel Kahr K9. It's rock solid and reliable. Well made. Simple design. Really good DAO trigger. Nice looking. It's a bit heavy for it's capacity, however, so I don't carry it much.
I feel that Kahr overall makes good quality guns which are meant to be used. The only question is whether the one you want meets your carry requirements.
I feel that Kahr overall makes good quality guns which are meant to be used. The only question is whether the one you want meets your carry requirements.
I don't trust any mechanical device with my life. Any mechanical device can fail, and will eventually if used long enough.
I trust my own good sense to stay out of unreasonably dangerous situations whenever possible.
That said, I have a CM9 that has been flawless in my operation of it (thousands of rounds of various ammo at this point), and I carry it without a second thought. My general experience is that 9mm Kahrs are very reliable if you avoid the flimsy extended magazines.
I trust my own good sense to stay out of unreasonably dangerous situations whenever possible.
That said, I have a CM9 that has been flawless in my operation of it (thousands of rounds of various ammo at this point), and I carry it without a second thought. My general experience is that 9mm Kahrs are very reliable if you avoid the flimsy extended magazines.
stephen426
New member
I have a MK9 and a PM9.
The MK9 is way too heavy for a small pocket gun. What is worse, the stainless they use on the frame must not be very good quality since mine developed some pit rusting from pocket carrying.
I ended up buying a PM9 which I carried for quite a few years. I added a Crimson Trace Laser to it and am very happy with it. It has been very reliable and is pretty accurate for a subcompact gun. The trigger is a bit long but it is smooth and not too heavy. I did some practical shooting with it (rapid fire drills, retention, etc.) and it functioned flawlessly. I think it is a great carry pistol, but the long trigger makes longer distance shooting harder. I recently switched to a Glock 43.
The MK9 is way too heavy for a small pocket gun. What is worse, the stainless they use on the frame must not be very good quality since mine developed some pit rusting from pocket carrying.
I ended up buying a PM9 which I carried for quite a few years. I added a Crimson Trace Laser to it and am very happy with it. It has been very reliable and is pretty accurate for a subcompact gun. The trigger is a bit long but it is smooth and not too heavy. I did some practical shooting with it (rapid fire drills, retention, etc.) and it functioned flawlessly. I think it is a great carry pistol, but the long trigger makes longer distance shooting harder. I recently switched to a Glock 43.
Safestuffer
New member
I owned:
A pm9...periodically unreliable
A pm40....slightly more reliable than the pm9 but still twitchy. Failed to kill a ruffed grouse with a solid body shot and black talon ammo.
A cm40...the straw that broke the camels back. Tight chamber and very finicky with ammo. Mag release failed and started dropping the mag in every shot. Terrible customer service. In the process of fixing the mag release I found several cost cutting design features that turned me off to their polymer handguns.
I'd love a mk9, but no more polymer kahrs for me.
A pm9...periodically unreliable
A pm40....slightly more reliable than the pm9 but still twitchy. Failed to kill a ruffed grouse with a solid body shot and black talon ammo.
A cm40...the straw that broke the camels back. Tight chamber and very finicky with ammo. Mag release failed and started dropping the mag in every shot. Terrible customer service. In the process of fixing the mag release I found several cost cutting design features that turned me off to their polymer handguns.
I'd love a mk9, but no more polymer kahrs for me.
I have a P9 and the only issue that I've had is the mag. dropping while firing . I contacted Kahr and they sent me a new catch spring . It hasn't dropped since , but I have only put about 100 rds. through it since . I asked for a new magazine release also and they would not send me one with the spring . I had to pay for it and pay separate shipping . I think the design of the magazines is the weak point , the last round nose dives in the magazine . I think that is one reason you cannot slingshot the slide when chambering a round . Yes , I know some of you can , I can sometimes too , it just is not a reliable way for me to chamber a round .
Kahr K9 police trade-in -- modified from long trigger to shorter elite trigger.
It is my CCW.
Reliable. Good/Smooth DAO trigger.
- When my wife (small hands) shot approx 75 rounds in 1 range trip, the right part of her trigger finger where the nail was red and painful enough that she had to stop shooting. I think that her trigger finger rubs on the trigger guard during trigger reset and with the recoil adds pressure as it rubs forward.
- When I shoot it, it also beats up the knuckle on my trigger finger. When shooting fast, I am not as accurate with it as my medium to full size pistols.
- So, when my wife an I shoot it, we stay below 25 rounds at 1 time (enough rounds to keep familiar).
My wife and I like the Kahr K9.
=============
But.....S&W Shield and others are very good CCW pistols, too for a lot less price.
It is my CCW.
Reliable. Good/Smooth DAO trigger.
- When my wife (small hands) shot approx 75 rounds in 1 range trip, the right part of her trigger finger where the nail was red and painful enough that she had to stop shooting. I think that her trigger finger rubs on the trigger guard during trigger reset and with the recoil adds pressure as it rubs forward.
- When I shoot it, it also beats up the knuckle on my trigger finger. When shooting fast, I am not as accurate with it as my medium to full size pistols.
- So, when my wife an I shoot it, we stay below 25 rounds at 1 time (enough rounds to keep familiar).
My wife and I like the Kahr K9.
=============
But.....S&W Shield and others are very good CCW pistols, too for a lot less price.
wild cat mccane
New member
Owned:
2 PM9
1 CM9
1 PM40
2 CW380
The Kahr PM9 does not work well with the extended magazine. It does work with the flush magazine (flush isn't really true flush).
All others were horrendous. PM40 was particularly bad as it is well known they break followers and there is no solution. If yours does not, that's great It is a known issue.
2 PM9
1 CM9
1 PM40
2 CW380
The Kahr PM9 does not work well with the extended magazine. It does work with the flush magazine (flush isn't really true flush).
All others were horrendous. PM40 was particularly bad as it is well known they break followers and there is no solution. If yours does not, that's great It is a known issue.
Beentown71
New member
CM9
PM9
P40
P380
All flawless. My sister had an issue with the CM9 but she shoots so limp wristed that it was no wonder.
PM9
P40
P380
All flawless. My sister had an issue with the CM9 but she shoots so limp wristed that it was no wonder.
hardknocks
Inactive
Kahr
Hi all
I've had three K9, PM9, CW9.
not one problem.
Now I have only the K9 I love it.
The K9 has the best reputation as I see it
Mike
Hi all
I've had three K9, PM9, CW9.
not one problem.
Now I have only the K9 I love it.
The K9 has the best reputation as I see it
Mike
At 25% so far that is a striking condemnation. Yes, it's a tiny sample, but I suspect the ratio would stay in a range that indicates there are a lot of people that have had problems, or at least enough problems not to trust a Kahr to carry. I love the Kahr brand but it simply isn't as good and reliable as the other guns I have carried presently or in the past. Of my eight Kahrs only three have been perfect. That's a little scary in my opinion because even the three good ones are now suspect. I'll carry a Beretta, HK, Sig, Walther and few others, but the Kahr will stay home as a fun gun only.
Agree with PSP that 25 percent no-buy rating is alarming, and I am one of those voting no. Kahrs have high APPARENT quality, but are built way too tight to be relied on. Yes others say they can. I won't buy another.
Have owned:
K9 Elite
PM9
CM9
P380
The K9 started off fine for 300 rounds, then started having FTEs just often enough for me to lose trust. The small Nines were both JUST finicky enough (1 or 2 malfs per 100) to be not trusted. My P380 was a disaster, 1000 rounds down range and it still wouldn't function sufficiently, even after a trip back to Kahr.
Have owned:
K9 Elite
PM9
CM9
P380
The K9 started off fine for 300 rounds, then started having FTEs just often enough for me to lose trust. The small Nines were both JUST finicky enough (1 or 2 malfs per 100) to be not trusted. My P380 was a disaster, 1000 rounds down range and it still wouldn't function sufficiently, even after a trip back to Kahr.
senecahornet
New member
CT-380 KAHR
My wife loves it. She says comfortable to shoot easy to get a good grip and small enough to pocket. What good is a handgun if you can't handle it.
My wife loves it. She says comfortable to shoot easy to get a good grip and small enough to pocket. What good is a handgun if you can't handle it.
Sgt Pepper
New member
I've only had one Kahr - a P45 with stainless slide. It was used when I got it, and I found it to be flawless. Really soft shooting for a compact .45. Again, my experience is limited to one pistol, but it was thinner and smoother than a correlative Glock. Nice pistol. Would recommend.
I've owned two Kahrs.
The first was a CW40 that had a failure rate of about 8%. After 2 or 3 trips back to the factory it didn't improve. A real shame cause it could have been a great carry gun.
My second is a K40. It's been 100% reliable and I still carry it some.
Still wish the CW40 had worked.
The first was a CW40 that had a failure rate of about 8%. After 2 or 3 trips back to the factory it didn't improve. A real shame cause it could have been a great carry gun.
My second is a K40. It's been 100% reliable and I still carry it some.
Still wish the CW40 had worked.
It is amazing too me that after all these years, that Kahr still has a fairly high unreliable rate. It seems they cannot iron this out either.
Looking at Kahr vs other small guns, it seems like slide mass and travel vs recoil spring. As in, slide mass is so low that the customer must hold on to the gun very tight in recoil so the gun unlocks and gets to full travel. Sounds like if the customer let's the gun recoil that the slide won't full travel due to recoil force being lost in rotation. Reducing recoil spring for may not be an option if it is on the hair edge of unlocking early. Adding slide mass would help, but if you can shoot yours, you wouldn't want to add weight.
All the others, Glock, s&w, XDS all have more slide mass, it seems.
Seems like they need a gen 2!
Looking at Kahr vs other small guns, it seems like slide mass and travel vs recoil spring. As in, slide mass is so low that the customer must hold on to the gun very tight in recoil so the gun unlocks and gets to full travel. Sounds like if the customer let's the gun recoil that the slide won't full travel due to recoil force being lost in rotation. Reducing recoil spring for may not be an option if it is on the hair edge of unlocking early. Adding slide mass would help, but if you can shoot yours, you wouldn't want to add weight.
All the others, Glock, s&w, XDS all have more slide mass, it seems.
Seems like they need a gen 2!
Interesting Nathan. My view is they build them too tight, and have been too obsessed with being small rather than being reliable. If they had made the P380 based on the PM9 slide length, I bet that would run better, and I actually wish they had kept the P9 Covert because the longer slide travel would make that one work better also. But they didn't ask me.
My first pistol was a kahr cw40. It was 100% reliable but i disliked the recoil so i traded it with a little cash for a p380 with brass dies and ammo. That little pistol has been great! It didnt like the ammo he gave me but the xtp loading has been perfect. It goes everywhere with me.
I had a lot of problems with an early version CW45, went back to factory and now it is reliable but mostly I use it with 1911 magazines. I have changed my mind on what caliber I carry though, so I do not carry it---however I bought an OLD AS DIRT used PM9 (probably 10k rounds before I bought it) that has never ever ever jammed or failed to fire. I carry this one.
jackstrawIII
New member
In my experience, Kahr = jam city.