Kahr 9mm or S&W 357 mod 60 revolver

[Knightrider]

Smith and Wesson mod 60

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[jsunsr]

Thanks for all the feedback. I just had to replace a kitchen appliance so the money I had is gone. I'll have to wait a month or so and maybe by then the Kahr itch will be gone.

[EXHSLD]

Know what you mean, was about to get another P35...when the 2.5yo roof (original roofer gone out of business...and moved ) started leaking yesterday...

But, for when you're able...

IMHO, the PM9 has much better shooting manners than any 357 J-Frame Snub, provides extra on-board rounds, is faster/easier to reload...you're more likely to even have a reload, can/should have better sights...night sights at that, is flatter and just plain conceals better to boot...especially in a pocket...

An awful lot of folks get .357 J-Frames with the intention of using them for relatively deep concealment. Upon shooting their little firebreather , they discover they really need bigger grips to control the recoil. AMF to the deep concealment idea .

That is not to say that some folks don't use the factory slivers or minimally larger "boot" grips...and do just fine. But, those folks are definately in the minority, a small minority...

Don't just fondle, go out and actually shoot them both...in the configuation you'd actually carry them...and decide for yourself ...

Good luck with the appliances ...

[SamRudolph]

My vote is for the Smith.. no FTF, FTE, no jamming. etc. and the MAG round is so much more powerful.. I always say carry the biggest caliber you can shoot well. and you said yourself that you can handle the .357 so go for it!

Not saying that the .357 mag in a snubbie isn't reasonably powerful, and DEFINITELY not saying that it's not more powerful than a .38 Special +P from the same gun, but given the short-barrel velocity loss, I think a .357 mag from a 1 7/8" barrel is about on the same scale as a 9mm +P from a pocket semiauto, only with more recoil.

(ballisticsbytheinch.com)
.357 mag (Corbon DPX): 125 gr. @ 1050 fps from a 2" barrel.
9mm +P (Corbon 125 gr. JHP +P) 125 gr. @ 1061 fps from a 2" barrel.

Same bullet diameter.

[SCfromNY]

I had a S&W j frame and replaced it with a Kahr PM9. It was a personal choice because I was very inaccurate with the Smith and not comfortable shooting. For such small guns I only shoot them one handed. For me the Kahr has had exceptional accuracy, a joy to shoot, and flawless so far. I am sure that just as many if not more could say the same thing about a j frame. Shoot them both and make your decision.

BTW . . . The Kahr gives you 6+1 not just 6.

[Pete14]

Don't buy a Kahr I hear they are junk

[crzy4guns]

Don't buy a Kahr I hear they are junk

I have a Kahr CW9 and it has been absolutely reliable. I would be a little bit leery of the PM series and the new P380, the P series and the CW series seem to be quite satisfactory now. Even the short 3" barreled 1911s can be finicky and not as reliable as their longer barreled brethren.

I would suggest either the Kahr P9 or CW9 as there would be less felt recoil then either the Kahr PM9 or the S&W 60 .357 magnum. If that doesn't appeal to you, then I would go with the snubbie and load it with .38 Specials. If you do get a reliable Kahr PM9, then you would have the king of the pocket pistols IMHO.

[hipthunder]

go ahead......pry my 60 .357 3" from my cold dead hands

[operator0]

Not saying that the .357 mag in a snubbie isn't reasonably powerful, and DEFINITELY not saying that it's not more powerful than a .38 Special +P from the same gun, but given the short-barrel velocity loss, I think a .357 mag from a 1 7/8" barrel is about on the same scale as a 9mm +P from a pocket semiauto, only with more recoil.

(ballisticsbytheinch.com)
.357 mag (Corbon DPX): 125 gr. @ 1050 fps from a 2" barrel.
9mm +P (Corbon 125 gr. JHP +P) 125 gr. @ 1061 fps from a 2" barrel.

Same bullet diameter.

You haven't looked at the disclaimer have you?

To quote:

"One note: in every case with the T/C Encore the length of the barrel was measured from the end of the barrel back to the breech face. This is how semi-auto pistols are measured, but revolvers are measured as the length of the barrel in front of the cylinder gap. Take this into consideration when comparing calibers using our numbers."


That means the you should be looking at the 3" field for .357 mag in a revolver as compared to the 2" field for the semi-auto. Those numbers give the snub .357 a ~100fps advantage with the Cor-Bon ammo.

Is it worth the recoil? Only you can prevent forest fir....wait a second...Only you can tell. My personal experience is that with the stock grips, the recoil out of a stainless snub is very manageable. But with the hard plastic Barahmi Hip Grips it was a no go. It didn't hurt my hand much worse, but it did change my grip after each round, so much so that I had to reposition my grip. That forced me to downgrade to .38+p for carry.

[Captain Kahr]

The CW9, P9 would get my vote.

[SamRudolph]

You haven't looked at the disclaimer have you?

That means the you should be looking at the 3" field for .357 mag in a revolver as compared to the 2" field for the semi-auto. Those numbers give the snub .357 a ~100fps advantage with the Cor-Bon ammo.

Is it worth the recoil? Only you can prevent forest fir....wait a second...Only you can tell. My personal experience is that with the stock grips, the recoil out of a stainless snub is very manageable. But with the hard plastic Barahmi Hip Grips it was a no go. It didn't hurt my hand much worse, but it did change my grip after each round, so much so that I had to reposition my grip. That forced me to downgrade to .38+p for carry.

I did look at the disclaimer, which is why I used the 2" measure for the semiauto category, as most subcompact 9mm pistols actually have a ~3" barrel (PF-9 3.1", PM9/MK9 3", etc.) by the ballisticsbytheinch.com measure, leaving approximately 2" of non-chamber barrel, which is what most of the snubbie revolvers have. Even the Rohrbaugh R9 has a 2.9" barrel.

[operator0]

I did look at the disclaimer, which is why I used the 2" measure for the semiauto category, as most subcompact 9mm pistols actually have a ~3" barrel (PF-9 3.1", PM9/MK9 3", etc.) by the ballisticsbytheinch.com measure, leaving approximately 2" of non-chamber barrel, which is what most of the snubbie revolvers have. Even the Rohrbaugh R9 has a 2.9" barrel.

Ok, you did read it. And I mistyped in my first post. I spoke of the 2" barrel of the semi-auto when I actually meant the 3" length. The ballistics that I gave for the semi-auto are correct for 3". The Snub does outperform a 3" 9mm +p by ~100fps.

You actually used the 2" measurement for the snub as well, which gives the DPX a speed of 1051. You also gave the 2" measurement for the semi-auto which gives a speed of 1061. At those barrel lengths (2" for the semi auto, under 1" as measured by the OEM for snubs), the 9mm absolutely equals the .357. However, past those ultra short barrel lengths the .357 pulls away substantially from the 9mm +P.

I believe it's disingenuous to compare the ballistics of those two rounds in barrels that the OEMs don't typically supply. People who buy snubs are buying a 1 7/8" length (typically) or longer...as measured by the OEM. Those who buy compact semi-autos typically buy them at about 3"....as measured by the OEM.

To compare the speeds of the rounds from those barrels at BBtI, you must look at the 3" section for the snub and semi-auto. Again, to reiterate, the snub bests the compact semi-auto by about 100fps.

[TonySoprano]

I carry and use both and have the best of both worlds. I tend to use my 60-14 more due to it being stainless and my K9 being carbon steel( made in 1997 ). Both are great carry weapons just chose what you can shoot better with and can carry comfortably. Just my opinion .02.