Reliability of Kahr Pistols

[thinktwice]

I have an MK-9 Elite that I have had for about 2 years, and a P-40 both have been 100% reliable from day one. The MK-9 is really a sweet shooting little 9mm. With the P-40 it's also a good shooter however you know you are shooting a 40!

 

[Ace_Breaker]

I had a .45 and it was one of the most unreliable handguns I've ever owned. It failed to feed, extract, and dropped mags while firing. Also, the frame rails appeared to be melting into the frame causing a build up of plastic material at the rear of the gun. The plastic felt super cheap compared to others. I had to shave the build up off with a knife. When I called customer service they blamed it all on it not being broken in yet. When I insisted the problems were more than that they wanted the original sales receipt, or copy of, to prove I was the original owner otherwise fixing it was at my expense. Never had any other company go that far to get their handgun to work properly. I don't plan on ever buying another Kahr again.

 

[spodwo]

I know I am a broken record about my Kahr...I should just copy and paste this...

My PM9 is about 9 months old. I have mostly run the cheapest 9mm ammo: Tula, WWB and Federal Walmart brand. Not ONE single issue. I also have shot through around 20 rounds of high end defense ammo.

I almost didn't buy it because of all that "200 round" Break-in period. Regardless - it is one of my favorites.

 

[TheGoldenState]

My PM9……pocket pistol perfection.

 

[hulley]

I ran 200rds today after the suggested break-in prep and the gun ran flawless! I'm very happy with my purchase. Its also very accurate and has a very smooth trigger, much more so than the PT709 that I had.

 

[spodwo]

much more so than the PT709 that I had.

Yep - that is what I got rid of to get the Kahr...

 

[Dashunde]

Every gun should be "broken in," in the sense of being test-fired several hundred rounds for confidence, but not every gun actually needs it to function properly, like so many Kahrs do.

The common need for "break-in" in order to achieve reliability with Kahrs is just a symptom of the real issue...(fitting, burrs, more burrs an so on) ... so "break-in" on a Kahr is very often more expensive than with any other comparably-priced brand.

While I might agree that they could finish up the plastic a little more my slide is absolutely perfect with nary a burr or errant grind line.
The fact is mine started running nicely within the first box, making 250 rounds the quitting point for solid reliability as far as I'm concerned.

So no, they're not so much more expensive to "break'in" - My first one was flawless from shot-1 and honestly, my second one probably would have been too had I cleaned and lubed it before its first outing, instead I went directly from store to range.

But I haven't seen nearly the scope of problems with most of the other <$800 pistols.

Perhaps the Kahrs sell in greater numbers than most at that price?
Its almost certain to be the most common in its size having the longest production lifespan so far - there are a whole bunch of PM9's out there.
Recently, a huge number of Kahrs are the CW's in the $450 price range.

The smaller a gun gets relative to its caliber the more likely it is to have reliablity issues for a whole bunch of reasons from recoil and limp wrists to the shorter stroke and requisite double spring systems.

For clarity - I'm speaking on behalf of the PM9 only, the 45 may be a can of worms, like so many other small 45's

Taking into account the butter-smooth trigger and their accuracy, the little PM9's simply kick ass and have been doing so for a long time now - its possibly the oldest and the smallest of the pocketable poly 9mm's.
Your odds of getting a excellent defect-free PM9 are very good.

My gripes about the PM9 are ergonomics and common sense as appied to iwb concealed carry:
- Pointy corner on the new version of the slide.. kinda dumb really
- Scratchy mag release was chewing on my side... polishing fixed that.
- Big slide release that makes a thin gun fat in that area, its not a huge issue but I'd much rather see a Glock/PPS kind of thing happen there.

 

[dsa1115]

I have a PM9. I had a few FTF's in the first 100 rounds. However, I've got about 900 rounds in it so far and it's been flawless the last 800 rounds with a wide variety of ammunition.

 

[hulley]

To be completly honest. The most important factor to me is that the Kahr fits my hand and the role that I need it to. Most glitches can be worked out and found in many manufacturers. Just get whats feels best to you and will do what you want it to do. I needed a 9mm that was very easy to carry and that I could get a full grip on, for me that is the CW9. If I could carry a full size with less hassle than I would carry my FNP-40. Having said that, I'm sure the Kahr is gonna be in the rotation for a long time and I have no doubt as to its reliability. Good luck with whatever you purchase.

 

[Aiko]

I had a really tough time with my P380, put 450 rounds through it trying to break it in. Constant jamming. I lost confidence in the gun, decided against sending it back to Kahr and traded it for a Sig.

 

[SteelChickenShooter]

I had a Kahr 45 ACP. It didn't hit on target at all. Kahr sent a replacement barrel very quickly as if they already knew what the trouble was. After the barrel swap it did hit on target very well. Out of the box, it was all over the place, and after the barrel swap, it was spot on.
However, there was a second problem. The magazine would pop out when firing. They then sent a couple replacement magazine followers. I brought the little, but potent, pistol back to my dealer and sold it off or traded it in on something else.
I've seen good reviews on small Kahr pistols. I really like them. I just can't buy one based on my experience with them and also taking into consideration my more favorable results with other brands.

 

[Superfuzz]

Ive owned an early model K40 for about 12yrs. Absolutely reliable. Great gun, very accurate, all steel tames .40 very nicely. Disappears on my hip, too.

 

[tlm225]

My CW40? Extremely unreliable despite two trips to the factory. Bye bye.

My K40? Has been 100% reliable so far. I do trust my life with it.

 

[Pastorjon]

No Problems thus far

My main carry is a CW9 and I have yet to experience any problems even during the break-in period, and I have put hundreds of rounds through it since that time. Obviously it is not as accurate as my XD40 but that is changing with practice.