Defensive Carry banner

Kahr's

6K views 37 replies 26 participants last post by  gddyup 
#1 ·
What can ya guys tell me about them ? Espically the a non polymer ones.. Dad asked me this weekend about them and i couldnt really tell him much as i dont have one since there way to small for my hand


What models to look for stay away from ??

Or anything else


Thanks
 
#2 ·
Hi, bud. I've owned two in my life, and I still have one. One was a stainless in .40, and the other a blued-steel 9 m. Both functioned flawlessly. Undoubtedly folks will get into a lot more detail - you'll probably hear about everything from weight, to the lack of external safeties, to The Moonies, but I tend to sort of take the bottom line approach. I have found both to be great guns, able to digest anything I crammed in 'em, easy to maintain, and very reliable.

Best,
Jon
 
#6 ·
rocky said:
ok , what are the moonies? Never got to try a Kahr yet, but they look nice enough.

Oh, geez, what have I started? lol!

Old hat stuff, and unimportant - they're good firearms. For more info on the Moonie thing, just do a Yahoo search for "Kahr" and "Moonies" - you have LOTS of reading. :rolleyes:

Best,
Jon
 
#7 ·
BigJon said:
Oh, geez, what have I started? lol!

Old hat stuff, and unimportant - they're good firearms. For more info on the Moonie thing, just do a Yahoo search for "Kahr" and "Moonies" - you have LOTS of reading. :rolleyes:

Best,
Jon
Not much reading really. Rev. Moon's son designed the Kahr pistols?
 
#9 ·
No ownership but overall the main feedback I get is good re reliability etc - other main comment IIRC is geared to what are seen as rather high prices.

Never considered one because other types always fitted me requirements.
 
#10 ·
Bud,

I did a lot of research prior to purchasing my K9, and I have been very impressed with it. I gravitated towards the steel frame over the polymer; I like the way it looks and feels just a little more. It is certainly "solid" for it's size, but not overly heavy IMO.

I also tried a K40, but decided on the K9 due to availability (it was on the shelf) and the "snappy" recoil of the .40. Not punishing, but certainly gets your attention.

The fit and finish is excellent, and I like the fact that the gun was designed from the onset as a CCW piece, not a full-size thrown in the dryer. I think it avoids a lot of the teething problems that can occur when a full size pistol is chopped (like the thread on the micro Springfields and Kimbers).

I don't care about Moon family politics. I think it's a great little American pistol with a superb design, good DA trigger, and exceptional concealability. I have never felt undergunned with it.

dh
 
#11 ·
Thanks DH thats kind of stuff im wanting to know want to point Dad in right direction i know he will go 9 over a 40

Also want to make sure its a good gun ive heard they were but i never shot obe feel way to small for my hands Dads got lot smaller hands than i do though
 
#12 ·
I've got medium size hands, and I can comfortably get all four fingers on the grip without any mag extensions, etc. Same grip angle as a 1911, which was a plus for me. The DA trigger pull is very smooth, with a crisp break. It still "surprises" me when doing slow fire - no stacking at the end.

When I got it, I cleaned it and ran 200 rds of 115gr FMJ S&B through at the range, no malfunctions. It has also fed 147gr Gold Dots and other JHPs 100% reliably. Kahr recommends changing out the recoil spring every 2-3k rounds, they keep them in stock for under $10 IIRC.

I know there are some other happy Kahr drivers out there...
dh
 
#13 ·
I bought a K9 about a year ago. I has a really solid feel and seems to be a very tough and reliable gun. Never had a single failure with it. It has a good feel in my large, but not huge hands with the mag pinkie extension. The trigger is really nice for a DAO. It feels a lot like a DA revolver trigger. I planned on using the Kahr for a carry gun, and even have a Max-Con V for it, but I can carry my 1911(in another Max-Con V) with no problem so I have been sticking with the .45. I am not totally in love with my Kahr but it has been reliable and for someone looking for a gun that size I think it would be a good choice.
 
#14 ·
I'm on my second Kahr. I had an MK40 Elite98 that I sold a while back (to finance an AR) and instantly regretted it. Ended up trading the AR for a real nice MK9 Elite98 with wood grips and night sights.

The trigger on the Kahrs is real nice a lot like a well tuned revolver (which incidentaly has no safety either). Especially the Elite trigger ... which is on the Elite98, Elite2003 and polymer pistols (you can get all the parts to upgrade a non Elite model from Kahr for around $30. read here)

The trigger is long but smooth, so if you're a 1911 guy you might not like it much.

The best thing about the Kahrs is when you wrap them in leather and stuff them in your pants ... they just about dissapear. I carried my MK40 in an Alessi Talon Plus (which I sold with the gun) and my MK9 I carry in an HBE Leatherworks DC Special.

I carry 24/7/365 so when I tell you the gun is comfortable to carry I mean it. :)


As for shooting, I find the accuracy of both the Kahrs I've owned to be good for such a tiny gun. I imagine a K9 or K40 would be even better for shooting.
 
#15 ·
The K40 was the second handgun I ever bought. I was hovering over the display case in the local pawn shop, hunting a handgun to replace my broken PPK/S. I picked it on recommendation of my gun-nut brother, who never handled a Kahr before, but relied on their good reputation and reviews (and probably because he wanted something new to get his hands on to shoot).

I was reluctant on the Kahr because it was an unfamiliar company, but once I got the little gun in my hands, I liked it right away. It's solid - built like a tank inside out. It's easy to take apart and clean. It's got grippy Hogue grips. It eats any brand I feed it. It has an incredibly slim profile and sleek lines, perfect for concealed carry. It has no manual safety, if you like that on autopistols. It fit perfectly for my hands, and I have yet to find a handgun that fits as well.

Unfortunately, that caliber in that size package with that long trigger pull required a heckuva lot more practice to stay consistently good than it would take for me to stay proficient with any other handgun I have now. I even installed the smoother Elite trigger, and I had the 4" ported barrel. I just don't like the trigger pull, even on the 9mm version. I carried the Kahr for a long time, but it was eventually replaced. It sat in the back of the safe for a long time, and I was reluctant to sell it because it was still a very good piece. Mrshonts is now the proud owner.

One shooter who handled my K40 loved how it handled, but wished the gun was bigger. He had huge meaty hands, and the slide nearly grazed skin.
 
#16 ·
Bud

One of the only guns I have ever regretted trading was my P-9. I carried that gun exclusively for almost three years, and never worried about it. The Kahr was super reliable, extremely accurate for a DA gun, and man, was it ever easy to carry.

I toted it with me to fla soon after 9-11, when everyone was worried about the terrorist threat. I carried it under a tee shirt in a cheap bianchi IWB, and I honestly forgot about having it on. Never had that with any other serious pistol.

Ten years previous to that I had a K-9. It was a lot heavier than the P-9, obviously, and less reliable. I bought it used, and the previous owner told me he had sent it back to the factory once.

It worked reliably only with silvertips, ball, and hydra shocks. But, as I noted, it was one of the early models.

In fact, I was on the phone last night with Brommeland talking about having him make me a rig for a new P-9 I will probably buy next month sometime.
 
#17 ·
Bud
I've sen a couple of the 9mm guns come back for repair. Mainly because they wouldn't feed properly.
The Polymer guns don't come back, as well as the stainless steel 40 cals.
They fire in a D/A mode, but won't do a double strike (as in a hard primer strike.) You need to pull the slide rearwards and then pull the trigger again (as in the Glock) in order to fire the cartidge in the chamber. Just an observation IMO.
 
#18 ·
I've got two K9s and I think they're great. Flat, accurate, nice smooth triggers. I can see how you might run into problems if you have big hands: mine are on the smaller end of large (about a size 9) and my trigger finger just barely contacts my thumb when shooting. It's no problem for me but could be for someone with bigger hands.
My first Kahr needed a trip back to Kahr to be 100% with JHP (about 1 round out of 200 would nosedive when feeding). The other one has been 100% from the start.
I installed the Elite trigger in one of them. It makes it better but it's not as if the standard trigger needs improvement. I'm not going to bother upgrading the other one unless I already have the trigger apart for some other reason.
Overall, a nice solid compact gun.
 
#19 ·
I own three Kahrs: P45 (.45 ACP), P9 Covert (9mm) and PM9 (9mm). They are all outstanding little guns. The power to size (and weight) ratio is awesome. Controllable, lightweight, accurate...what's not to love about them....well, except for the price...they can be a tad pricey.
 
#20 ·
I have a K9 and I believe it to be a reliable and very concealable carry piece. It is heavier that the polymer versions, but I like the weight as I used to carry a .40 Glock and am used to the weight. I had a few FTB's with the first 100 rounds, but found it was more my problem than the gun's fault (recently had a broken hand and wrist). I now have about 500 rounds through it and I have fed it everything from 147 gr. to 115 gr. with no problems. I even tried stacking different bullet weights in the same magazine (just for testing) and had no troubles. I've had the pistol for about 2 months and it goes everywhere I can go legally or without being fired from the job. If it fits the hand that carries it, it will serve well, IMHO.
 
#21 ·
I have the all stainless MK9 and MK40, both are very reliable (I have never had a malfunction with either weapon and they both have over 500 rounds through them of various factory JHP's). The grips on the MK series are a little short for me and I have medium size hands. Pierce Grip makes a Kahr magazine grip extender, which works real good for me and does not add much length to the butt. The DAO trigger does take some practice to master, but for a DAO trigger it is very light and smooth. Even when I have not practiced for quite a while, I have no problem keeping COM double taps in the kill zone at 30 feet. I dont intend to target shoot at 25 yards with these weapons, if I intend to do that, I have more appropriate guns. For thier intended use and size they are great little guns.
 
#23 ·
Bud.. Just an update to my post. The Kahr 9mm that came back to the store, didn't like Wichester ranger ammo. The LEO that bought the gun was required to use the Ranger ammo, due to PD requirments. He traded the gun back to us, for a full refund, and bought the Polymer 9mm, which has NOT come back. We also gave him a couple of extra mags, and I polished the feed ramp for him before he took the gun out of the store. Could have been the mags or the ammo. He's not been back since, but I'm hoping he'll call me to tell me his results.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top