Kahr cm9 new owner questions

Picked up a kahr cm9 tonight and had a few questions:

1) The instructions say do not take apart the captive recoil assembly, but it looks like its ok to remove the guide rod spring. Is that correct? Mine was on so tight I did not want to force pull it off. Is there a trick to removing it?

2) the plastic frame seems like it would wear easily where the slide moves across it as there seem to be only front and not rear metal rail guides on the frame itself. Anyone have issues here.


3) the included magazine feels very cheap and l worry about bending the feed lips. The follower was very creaky when I depress it. A second one I purchased seemed smoother. I did take the factory one apart and clean and lube it, but it didn't help too much. The thing that worries me is that when loading the small magazine the rounds don't seem to line up well. Any tips here?

4) holding the slide back to remove and replace the slide stop is abut tricky to do. I am sure you get used to it, but is there a good way to grip the gun to move the slide back while lining up the slot for the slide stop?

5) I have read that the front sight can be replaced with a night sight, but what is actually holding it to the slide?

Thanks for any help or advice!

1. The spring on mine comes off. Its not captive. Perhaps Kahr changed their design?

2. The poly frame does seem frail at the muzzle end. But I am not worried about it. Gun is a defense piece and will not see what a range gun sees for use.

3. I have not had any issues with the mag that came with it or the three I purchased. Nothing bent or broken and I usually throw them in a bag when going to the range, literally.

4. It will get easier. The recoil spring is quite stiff new. It will soften up with some use. I tend to wrap my hand over the rear of the slide to hold it after getting the mark lined up. Much the way Glock users field strip.

5. The front sight is all plastic and is a post going through the slide. Kahr inserts in a hole in the slide and melts the end to secure. Snap it off with a pair of pliers.

* When field stripping the entire duel spring unit is removed. You are able to replace the springs, as they wear, by dismantling the assembly.

* the polymer frame has a steel insert. There are steel rail guides front and back.

* Kahr mags are what they are. I wouldn't call them cheap or poorly made, but they are a unique design. I've never had any problem with my mags. Not sure what you mean by "the rounds don't seem to line up well."

* I hold the slide back by doing a variation of the "Glock squeeze". Put your thump in the beavertail, then grasp the top of the slide, in front of the sights, with your index and middle finger, then "squeeze" the slide to the rear.

* Replacement sights are held in by a screw, supplied with the sight.

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Originally Posted by ripley16

* When field stripping the entire duel spring unit is removed. You are able to replace the springs, as they wear, by dismantling the assembly.

* the polymer frame has a steel insert. There are steel rail guides front and back.

* Kahr mags are what they are. I wouldn't call them cheap or poorly made, but they are a unique design. I've never had any problem with my mags. Not sure what you mean by "the rounds don't seem to line up well."

* I hold the slide back by doing a variation of the "Glock squeeze". Put your thump in the beavertail, then grasp the top of the slide, in front of the sights, with your index and middle finger, then "squeeze" the slide to the rear.

* Replacement sights are held in by a screw, supplied with the sight.

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* I looked up what I was seeing with the mags. The top round points up at an angle and looks odd, but this is by design. The polymer has some rough edges where the slide goes over so I think they'll smooth out. I was able to remove the guid rod spring after some lube. I wanted to be able to clean the guide rod from the factory oils, so that is why I wanted to remove it.

* After taking it down repeatedly last night, I got the hang of it but bnow my hands are really sore:smile:

* I knew the front sight was pinned but I was trying to figure out what was holding it in, and yeah I can see they just melt the posts. Has anyone had issues with that snapping off under normal use or holstering?I have seen that people have had the front sight replaced with night sight, usually by Kahr. Has anyone here had that done?


* Lastly, the only issue I had was some times when you pull the trigger to remove the slide, it gets stuck and wont come off. I did some reasearch and it seems like this is common and often times it is a matter of technique. After some practice I found a way that works most of the time, but have others here had that issue?


I also picked up a galco sto-n-go, which I like but it lacks an adjustable cant. Anyone know of something similar (single clip IWB) that has a cant adjustment?

DeSantis SoftTuck.

Check the Kahr prep thread (and others) for a lot of good info:

Proper prep of a new kahr - KahrTalk Forums


And, IIRC, the frame has a lot more steel than we may think, we only see the visible rails. Have fun, you've got a good gun.

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* Lastly, the only issue I had was some times when you pull the trigger to remove the slide, it gets stuck and wont come off. I did some reasearch and it seems like this is common and often times it is a matter of technique. After some practice I found a way that works most of the time, but have others here had that issue?

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When dismantling, pull the trigger and hold it to the rear as you pull the slide off the frame. Be sure the mag is out and gun cleared.

Precisely why I dumped my Kahr ASAP! Reassembly was a royal pain--- literally.:blink:

* I will look in the desantis, it actually was on my list! I love how it conceals IWB at the 1oclock position but don't like the safety issue with appendix carry. So I am thinking 4olcock but the grip prints a bit and if I can adjust the can I can probably get it just right.

* Holding back the slide while pulling the trigger as you suggested is actually the trick I found to work best.
Takedown and re-assembly are really no big deal.


* I did read the prep thread and had a quest about:

"Now, with one finger, pull back on the striker at the back of the slide and continue to spray in that hole and also spray clean from that breech hole also. You have now cleaned that striker channel without disassembly. DO NOT OIL THE STRIKER CHANNEL. Refer to the Kahr Tech section. The 2nd sticky down is KAHR LUBE DIAGRA M. Point #9 shows the clean out hole and this is the best lube chart for any semi auto to."

* Doesn't the manual say NOT to pull that back on your own?

* Also, after cleaning, lubing and racking a bunch I noticed some small nicks on the one side of the barrel. I couldn't find anything in the slide that was rough. Does that sound like a problem or normal wear/break in?

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I did read the prep thread and had a quest about:

"Now, with one finger, pull back on the striker at the back of the slide and continue to spray in that hole and also spray clean from that breech hole also. You have now cleaned that striker channel without disassembly. DO NOT OIL THE STRIKER CHANNEL. Refer to the Kahr Tech section. The 2nd sticky down is KAHR LUBE DIAGRA M. Point #9 shows the clean out hole and this is the best lube chart for any semi auto to."

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The suggestions in this forum thread are by Kahr owners, not Kahr itself. I can see no great harm in following the advice, but I've never done this personally

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* Doesn't the manual say NOT to pull that back on your own?

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I don't know whether the manual says that or not, I'll have to check, but I've done it to check the function of the striker and the safety with no ill effects.

Small marks on the barrel hood are normal. Happens to most guns.

NO not on the hood, but the barrel itself. They are little nicks, not just scratches.

eipo and ripley16 did an excellent job of answering your questions.

as a fellow CM-9 owner (and a very satisfied one), i'm glad that you disassembled, cleaned, and lubed yours before actually shooting it. i've read a number of people on this site describing how they had problems with their new POS gun (various brands and models), and it turns out that they took their new gun directly from store to range, and complain that it didn't function 100%.

my CM-9 has been perfect so far. zero failures of any kind. when it functioned perfectly with the first 50 rounds of FMJ, i started trying different JHP's, including CCI/Blazer aluminum-cased JHP's. it continued to digest everything without problems.

this is a good feeling to have about a piece of emergency equipment that MUST perform perfectly when you need it. i find it hard to understand why a person would not try to give his/her SD gun every chance to perform at its best, but from what i've heard them say, "i paid $XXX for this gun, and i expect it to work perfectly out of the box." yeah, well, good luck with that. i prefer to stack the odds in my favor whenever i can.

I have a kahr CW9 on the way, whenever it gets to the dealer I'll go pick it up and compare it to what you said about the barrel scratching, seeing how its basically the same gun

Don't get me wrong. I love the gun. I just want to make sure the barrel is ok. The other issues I see is the feed ramp has an odd sort of uneven shape to it. Does anyone else have that?

I sent picture to kahr per their request.

I have about 800 rounds through my P9 and another 300 rounds with PM9. Nice guns to carry and shoot. So far so good.
They go with me daily. It tell something.
Vodekz

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Originally Posted by Curlyjive

Don't get me wrong. I love the gun. I just want to make sure the barrel is ok. The other issues I see is the feed ramp has an odd sort of uneven shape to it. Does anyone else have that?

I sent picture to kahr per their request.

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The feed ramp is offset from the barrel to get the axis of the bore lower. It helps with recoil by getting the bore axis more in line with your arm. This may be what you are seeing?