That being said, there was quite a lot of Vaquero 45's statements regarding the K9 I totally disagree with. While the K9 is fairly heavy for such a small pistol, being all steel, it sure as heck doesn't weight as much a Glock with a double stack 9 MM mag.
Kahr K9 = 25.0 oz with empty mag
Glock 19 = 23.45 oz with empty mag
Walther PPS = 21.28 oz with empty mag
(BTW, I'm talking about the PPS,
NOT the PPK)
That weight translates into negligible recoil with even the hottest loads. I switched my K9 to the wood hand grips and noticed no "thickness" problem, while the wood is a tad thicker it most certainly didn't feel the same as a "double stack mag" would have...!!!
The grip width with the wood grip panels on a Kahr K9 is indeed just as thick as a Glock 19. The FEEL is different, because of the grip angle and length, but there is no discernible advantage in grip width with the K9. This at the expense of 8 rounds capacity! There is just no comparison in grip width between the K9 and similar pistols of polymer design, including Kahr's own CW9 or P9, or the Walther PPS.
As for concealment, the K9 will conceal a bit better than a G19 because of grip length. But at 4.5" vs the 5.0" length of the Glock 19, you give up many more rounds for 1/2" of grip length, with similar grip width. This is not the case with the PPS, (or a CW9 or P9) which is very slim throughout the grip, needing no grip panels due to the polymer construction. And, the PPS is a hair shorter with the flat baseplate mag in place. It's also lighter than the K9, at 21.28 oz with an empty mag. The Kahr polymer offerings are even lighter yet.
The Kahr has an extremely smooth DAO trigger...and I mean smooth. I was totally amazed at my results shooting it one handed, the accuracy was everything I'd want for defensive purposes. To me it's one of the easiest pistols to shoot one handed. Regarding the mag issues, the standard mag is flat bottomed for concealment, however, I added the Pierce Grips for the pinky finger support and as the gun is fairly small it really doesn't affect the conceal-ability factor at all. There is also an 8 round mag you can purchase for the K9, so all of the "stuff" regarding the PPK mag being superior I believe is a mute point. I've had 3 Kahr's now and have yet to experience the rounds falling out of the mag at any time. I've since gone to carrying the Kahr MK9...another "heavy steel" Kahr with one round less capacity, yet I feel capably armed even though I've only got 7 rounds in the gun and another 6 on my belt. IMO, both the PPK and the Kahr are outstanding guns..I just disagree with the statements made regarding the K9.
If you don't have the mag problems that I had, you've got a great pistol. Me being a more practical sort, I like to see weight, size and capacity in balance. If I'm going low capacity, I want to justify the reduced round count with a lighter, slimmer pistol to maximize concealment potential. If I'm going through the trouble of concealing a heavy pistol (for its size), with a thick grip, I'm going to go ahead and select something with more capacity.
Having owned a K40 in the past, I have the personal experience to tell you that I actually was able to more easily conceal a Smith & Wesson M&P 40 compact than the K40, with either the Hogue grip or the wood grip panels, both of which I tried. The grip was shorter with the M&P, it was slimmer in the grip (the slide was a bit thicker), and 10+1 capacity in the M&P vs 6+1 in the K40 was no contest. In addition, the M&P was lighter than the K40, and shot a lot softer due to the polymer frame. The short reset trigger was worlds better than any long DAO trigger for defensive work....no matter how smooth it is.
I guess I consider the metal frame Kahrs to be like Smith & Wesson .357 snubs. Beautifully made, great to own and feel really great in the hand. But for practical purposes for EDC, I can get more capacity and a less weight in a reliable modern polymer platform. Maybe I'm just not "old school." :smile: