Hellow, I'm new here to this fourm. Not new to firearms, been collecting since 1964. I did a trade yesterday for a Kahr M9 pistol, older model, unfired in box. I have to admit that I'm not an expert on the Kahr pistols. The workmanship seems to be well done. The trigger pull is a little long for me, but liveable. What is the story on the Kahr pistols? When did they come to be? Do they have a good reputation for CCW? Thank you in advance for any information.
What do you think of Kahr pistols?
- Thread starter Rapidrob
- Start date
45SuperBob
New member
The son of the Korean Moon minister guy started the company. Some people have had bad luck with Kahrs, other run like Glocks, I just broke my first one in today, a new PM9, and had no problems. It reminds me of a single stack Glock with a longer trigger, I like it alot and it is tiny for a 9mm.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/unif/Unif36.html
opcorn
http://www.rickross.com/reference/unif/Unif36.html
opcorn
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varoadking
New member
Not interested...
Dfariswheel
New member
Just remember, on the Internet and in the gun shop, the guns that have problems are the ones that get talked about.
You never seem to hear about the good ones that work.
The Kahr is one of todays top quality guns, and is rapidly becoming this generation's "Gold Standard" in a personal defense gun.
Kahr seems to have had more problems with the polymer frames P series guns and most complaints are about polymer guns.
The steel framed guns have an extremely good reputation and you almost never hear of a complaint.
Kahr mandates a 200 round break-in on their guns, but some people buy a Kahr, have a problem within the first hundred rounds or so, are soured on Kahr, and proceed to bad mouth them to all who'll listen.
The Kahr is good enough, that no less a conservative organization than the New York City police authorize it for off-duty carry.
Many other law enforcement agencies are now allowing the Kahr and it's getting a great reputation.
One poster on the gun forums says that his department's SWAT team tested the Kahr, and "attempted to break it".
When they couldn't, that department is now issuing the Kahr.
The point is, there are lemons made by ALL gun companies, and the company's repair service sometimes just screw up badly and don't get things resolved properly.
However, Kahr has a well-earned reputation as making one of the finest handguns in the world.
You never seem to hear about the good ones that work.
The Kahr is one of todays top quality guns, and is rapidly becoming this generation's "Gold Standard" in a personal defense gun.
Kahr seems to have had more problems with the polymer frames P series guns and most complaints are about polymer guns.
The steel framed guns have an extremely good reputation and you almost never hear of a complaint.
Kahr mandates a 200 round break-in on their guns, but some people buy a Kahr, have a problem within the first hundred rounds or so, are soured on Kahr, and proceed to bad mouth them to all who'll listen.
The Kahr is good enough, that no less a conservative organization than the New York City police authorize it for off-duty carry.
Many other law enforcement agencies are now allowing the Kahr and it's getting a great reputation.
One poster on the gun forums says that his department's SWAT team tested the Kahr, and "attempted to break it".
When they couldn't, that department is now issuing the Kahr.
The point is, there are lemons made by ALL gun companies, and the company's repair service sometimes just screw up badly and don't get things resolved properly.
However, Kahr has a well-earned reputation as making one of the finest handguns in the world.
I consider Kahr my favorite maker of tiny firearms.
I own all of their models. I have tested all of their models and have had zero problems with them. I use factory ammo and magazines, and they work well. Any problems with the guns, Dottie from custoemr service has made good on any parts.
I used to carry puny Makarovs, PPKs, SIG P230, and that genre. No more. All the P9, MK, PM, TP, and K series Kahrs have a place on my hip each day.
I have bought some wonderful deals from frustrated owners who bought the guns, did not clean them, did not proof fire them, and did not have patience to work the guns in.
I bought a P9 for $300, a K9 for $350, MK9 for $300, PM9 for $275, K40 for $325, Covert K40 for $275, and another P9 for $250. These guns run new between $550 and $625 easy.
All these prior owners became emotional and frustrated when they could not rack the slide, handle the twisting recoil of the 40 in a small short grip, used premium JHP ammo in an unlubed/uncleaned new gun at the range, failed to use FMJ during the break-in period, and failed to read the manual on disassembly procedures (which involves pulling the trigger and tapping out the tight pin with a dowel).
I watch them at the range. I hear them curse, rant and rave. I hear them curse the Koreans (sometimes mistakenly associated with Germans and even Chinese manufacture) and their products which are no better than a Hyundai. I see them fumble and mumble. Then I politely stroll up to them, ask the problem, and devilishly make an offer to take it off their hands.
I give cash 90% of the time. I then rush home, strip it, clean it, lube it, and run back to the range and fire away with zero malfunctions. I learned how to grip the thin frame. I know how to manage the reocil and muzzle rise. I giggle at the wonderful deal I just made.
I know. I am a shark. Gun addicts like me have no compassion when the consuming need to score a quick deal overcomes the senses. Not much different from a vampire who sees and smells blood.
heee hheee. I love Kahr gun deals. Watch out for me in the next lanes at the firing range. If you just bought a Kahr and hate it, I may just make you a quick deal to get it off your hands.........
I own all of their models. I have tested all of their models and have had zero problems with them. I use factory ammo and magazines, and they work well. Any problems with the guns, Dottie from custoemr service has made good on any parts.
I used to carry puny Makarovs, PPKs, SIG P230, and that genre. No more. All the P9, MK, PM, TP, and K series Kahrs have a place on my hip each day.
I have bought some wonderful deals from frustrated owners who bought the guns, did not clean them, did not proof fire them, and did not have patience to work the guns in.
I bought a P9 for $300, a K9 for $350, MK9 for $300, PM9 for $275, K40 for $325, Covert K40 for $275, and another P9 for $250. These guns run new between $550 and $625 easy.
All these prior owners became emotional and frustrated when they could not rack the slide, handle the twisting recoil of the 40 in a small short grip, used premium JHP ammo in an unlubed/uncleaned new gun at the range, failed to use FMJ during the break-in period, and failed to read the manual on disassembly procedures (which involves pulling the trigger and tapping out the tight pin with a dowel).
I watch them at the range. I hear them curse, rant and rave. I hear them curse the Koreans (sometimes mistakenly associated with Germans and even Chinese manufacture) and their products which are no better than a Hyundai. I see them fumble and mumble. Then I politely stroll up to them, ask the problem, and devilishly make an offer to take it off their hands.
I give cash 90% of the time. I then rush home, strip it, clean it, lube it, and run back to the range and fire away with zero malfunctions. I learned how to grip the thin frame. I know how to manage the reocil and muzzle rise. I giggle at the wonderful deal I just made.
I know. I am a shark. Gun addicts like me have no compassion when the consuming need to score a quick deal overcomes the senses. Not much different from a vampire who sees and smells blood.
heee hheee. I love Kahr gun deals. Watch out for me in the next lanes at the firing range. If you just bought a Kahr and hate it, I may just make you a quick deal to get it off your hands.........
orionengnr
New member
I only own one...
...so far. A PM9, and it flat-out works. I just missed adding a bargain-basement P40 last week, and if the opportunity presents itself, I won't miss again.
A P40 or PM40, and maybe a P45 are in my future...
...so far. A PM9, and it flat-out works. I just missed adding a bargain-basement P40 last week, and if the opportunity presents itself, I won't miss again.
A P40 or PM40, and maybe a P45 are in my future...
varoadking
New member
What the hell is proof fire?
A good friend had one, I forget which model. Was his carry gun so I'm guessing was probably a PM9 or MK9. ANyway, had a buch of problems with it. He said customer service took forever. The final straw was when the front sight fell off, returned it and got the gun back with the sight on backwards.
I've purchased four of them: an E-9 (sold and upgraded to a K-9 Elite), PM9, and most recently a troubled MK40. Both the E-9 and MK40 had problems with an oversized slide stop.
A call to Kahr's excellent customer service department resulted in replacement parts (slide stop and spring) being sent out that day. In the case of the MK40, I got that for $350 looking NIB from someone who didn't know any better. Great shooting guns, all of them. the MK/PM guns are helped by the addition of Handall JR grips and Pearce grip extensions.
Denfoote: beautiful gun!
A call to Kahr's excellent customer service department resulted in replacement parts (slide stop and spring) being sent out that day. In the case of the MK40, I got that for $350 looking NIB from someone who didn't know any better. Great shooting guns, all of them. the MK/PM guns are helped by the addition of Handall JR grips and Pearce grip extensions.
Denfoote: beautiful gun!
Well I am willing to go on record as a Kahr hater and with good reason and from personal experience. Specifically
1. I ordered this gun as I wanted a specific model – stainless MK9 with nite sights, gun comes through with one buggered grip screw and multiple burrs and chatter marks on the milled / machined surfaces as evidence of either a dull cutter or completely wrong speed and feed rate when being machined. Not impressive for a company that is supposed to be started as a spin of some state of the art CNC machine operation.
2. The gun did not work period. Had a FTF at liest once per mag with 4 different factory mags using quality ball ammo. This persisted well past their lame break in period and occurred with several brands of ammo, a different shooter, different grip styles and both dripping wet with lube and nearly bone dry and a few places in the middle. I also tried 2 different types of lube.
3. When I contacted Kahr they said just shoot it more --- this several hundred rounds after their break in period --- WRONG I was very detailed about my problems and what I had done so far with the gun, they were very unreceptive to any sort of help, just shoot the miserable things until it works.
4. So I have the gun shop send it back detailing all of the problems with it, including the buggered screw. I get the gun back with the ramp polished and the extractor replaced but not the grip screw and the gun is disgustingly dirty from test fire, guy at the shot was apologetic and embarrassed when we opened the box, I mean would it hurt them to hit it with a blast of gun scrubber? What better way to send an anti-customer message.
5. Gun still did not work. Period. After several hundred more rounds still could not make it work. I also noted that the barrel hood was starting to peen and there was a visible gap between it and the slide. I said forget it and got rid of it.
6. I would strongly agree with the idea that any gun or mechanical device for that matter may have a period of break in where parts are seating themselves and that with a gun specifically this may take a few 100 rounds so a problem or two in that time that goes away never to return is not a problem and easily attributed to this. This was not the case with the Kahr and their customer service’s first response was to try and hide behind this in my problems with the gun. My problem has not been the only one, and I am not the only one who has been told it’s ok shoot it more. I submit that the fact that Sig, Glock, HK, and many others can make guns that are 99.9% out of the box almost all the time as empirical evidence that this is possible and Kahr ought to know that and give a darn about their customer.
1. I ordered this gun as I wanted a specific model – stainless MK9 with nite sights, gun comes through with one buggered grip screw and multiple burrs and chatter marks on the milled / machined surfaces as evidence of either a dull cutter or completely wrong speed and feed rate when being machined. Not impressive for a company that is supposed to be started as a spin of some state of the art CNC machine operation.
2. The gun did not work period. Had a FTF at liest once per mag with 4 different factory mags using quality ball ammo. This persisted well past their lame break in period and occurred with several brands of ammo, a different shooter, different grip styles and both dripping wet with lube and nearly bone dry and a few places in the middle. I also tried 2 different types of lube.
3. When I contacted Kahr they said just shoot it more --- this several hundred rounds after their break in period --- WRONG I was very detailed about my problems and what I had done so far with the gun, they were very unreceptive to any sort of help, just shoot the miserable things until it works.
4. So I have the gun shop send it back detailing all of the problems with it, including the buggered screw. I get the gun back with the ramp polished and the extractor replaced but not the grip screw and the gun is disgustingly dirty from test fire, guy at the shot was apologetic and embarrassed when we opened the box, I mean would it hurt them to hit it with a blast of gun scrubber? What better way to send an anti-customer message.
5. Gun still did not work. Period. After several hundred more rounds still could not make it work. I also noted that the barrel hood was starting to peen and there was a visible gap between it and the slide. I said forget it and got rid of it.
6. I would strongly agree with the idea that any gun or mechanical device for that matter may have a period of break in where parts are seating themselves and that with a gun specifically this may take a few 100 rounds so a problem or two in that time that goes away never to return is not a problem and easily attributed to this. This was not the case with the Kahr and their customer service’s first response was to try and hide behind this in my problems with the gun. My problem has not been the only one, and I am not the only one who has been told it’s ok shoot it more. I submit that the fact that Sig, Glock, HK, and many others can make guns that are 99.9% out of the box almost all the time as empirical evidence that this is possible and Kahr ought to know that and give a darn about their customer.
Well I am willing to go on record as a Kahr hater and with good reason and from personal experience. Specifically
1. I ordered this gun as I wanted a specific model – stainless MK9 with nite sights, gun comes through with one buggered grip screw and multiple burrs and chatter marks on the milled / machined surfaces as evidence of either a dull cutter or completely wrong speed and feed rate when being machined. Not impressive for a company that is supposed to be started as a spin of some state of the art CNC machine operation.
2. The gun did not work period. Had a FTF at liest once per mag with 4 different factory mags using quality ball ammo. This persisted well past their lame break in period and occurred with several brands of ammo, a different shooter, different grip styles and both dripping wet with lube and nearly bone dry and a few places in the middle. I also tried 2 different types of lube.
3. When I contacted Kahr they said just shoot it more --- this several hundred rounds after their break in period --- WRONG I was very detailed about my problems and what I had done so far with the gun, they were very unreceptive to any sort of help, just shoot the miserable things until it works.
4. So I have the gun shop send it back detailing all of the problems with it, including the buggered screw. I get the gun back with the ramp polished and the extractor replaced but not the grip screw and the gun is disgustingly dirty from test fire, guy at the shot was apologetic and embarrassed when we opened the box, I mean would it hurt them to hit it with a blast of gun scrubber? What better way to send an anti-customer message.
5. Gun still did not work. Period. After several hundred more rounds still could not make it work. I also noted that the barrel hood was starting to peen and there was a visible gap between it and the slide. I said forget it and got rid of it.
6. I would strongly agree with the idea that any gun or mechanical device for that matter may have a period of break in where parts are seating themselves and that with a gun specifically this may take a few 100 rounds so a problem or two in that time that goes away never to return is not a problem and easily attributed to this. This was not the case with the Kahr and their customer service’s first response was to try and hide behind this in my problems with the gun. My problem has not been the only one, and I am not the only one who has been told it’s ok shoot it more. I submit that the fact that Sig, Glock, HK, and many others can make guns that are 99.9% out of the box almost all the time as empirical evidence that this is possible and Kahr ought to know that and give a darn about their customer.
1. I ordered this gun as I wanted a specific model – stainless MK9 with nite sights, gun comes through with one buggered grip screw and multiple burrs and chatter marks on the milled / machined surfaces as evidence of either a dull cutter or completely wrong speed and feed rate when being machined. Not impressive for a company that is supposed to be started as a spin of some state of the art CNC machine operation.
2. The gun did not work period. Had a FTF at liest once per mag with 4 different factory mags using quality ball ammo. This persisted well past their lame break in period and occurred with several brands of ammo, a different shooter, different grip styles and both dripping wet with lube and nearly bone dry and a few places in the middle. I also tried 2 different types of lube.
3. When I contacted Kahr they said just shoot it more --- this several hundred rounds after their break in period --- WRONG I was very detailed about my problems and what I had done so far with the gun, they were very unreceptive to any sort of help, just shoot the miserable things until it works.
4. So I have the gun shop send it back detailing all of the problems with it, including the buggered screw. I get the gun back with the ramp polished and the extractor replaced but not the grip screw and the gun is disgustingly dirty from test fire, guy at the shot was apologetic and embarrassed when we opened the box, I mean would it hurt them to hit it with a blast of gun scrubber? What better way to send an anti-customer message.
5. Gun still did not work. Period. After several hundred more rounds still could not make it work. I also noted that the barrel hood was starting to peen and there was a visible gap between it and the slide. I said forget it and got rid of it.
6. I would strongly agree with the idea that any gun or mechanical device for that matter may have a period of break in where parts are seating themselves and that with a gun specifically this may take a few 100 rounds so a problem or two in that time that goes away never to return is not a problem and easily attributed to this. This was not the case with the Kahr and their customer service’s first response was to try and hide behind this in my problems with the gun. My problem has not been the only one, and I am not the only one who has been told it’s ok shoot it more. I submit that the fact that Sig, Glock, HK, and many others can make guns that are 99.9% out of the box almost all the time as empirical evidence that this is possible and Kahr ought to know that and give a darn about their customer.
I got the new in box K9 with Nigh Sights that went dead from age. The pistol had 20 rounds through it when put into the back of a safe. The owner said they did not like the recoil when fired.
The pistol is very high quality and shoots to the point of aim.
The pistol was made in '94 or early '95. The instructions do say to break the pistol in by firing 100 rounds. I have not seen this to be needed. The company also recommended certain brands of 9mm ammo to be used. So far other than huge mouth hollow points,I have found all ammo works well out of my pistol.
I have not replaced the dead tritium night sights and really don't care about them.
After owning the pistol now for 13 years, I have no complaints about the pistol.
I have read certain later model pistols with the polymer frames are not of the quality of the metal framed pistols. I cannot confirm this.
The pistol is very high quality and shoots to the point of aim.
The pistol was made in '94 or early '95. The instructions do say to break the pistol in by firing 100 rounds. I have not seen this to be needed. The company also recommended certain brands of 9mm ammo to be used. So far other than huge mouth hollow points,I have found all ammo works well out of my pistol.
I have not replaced the dead tritium night sights and really don't care about them.
After owning the pistol now for 13 years, I have no complaints about the pistol.
I have read certain later model pistols with the polymer frames are not of the quality of the metal framed pistols. I cannot confirm this.
It is not everyday I see a thread that starts and 'ends' this way...with a 13 year lifespan in between...I'm glad things worked out! I have had a K40, which I find is a very serious handful and takes a good bit of ongoing practice to stay useful with. I'd stay the single biggest challenge for me is keeping the time lag down between presentation, target acquisition and having the gun go bang. That trigger takes getting used to, and again, lots of practice. As I expect would a double action revolver...little difference.
wild cat mccane
New member
I'll put the amount of guns I currently own against anyone one on this forum.
Kahr failures are not just individuals not getting it.
I don't care for them (previously owned CW380, PM9, CM9, PM40)
Kahr failures are not just individuals not getting it.
I don't care for them (previously owned CW380, PM9, CM9, PM40)
The OP mentioned a M9 model. There is no M. Perhaps you mean K or MK.
Kahr has been around since the mid '80s. Focused on making guns for the concealed carry market. My Kahr experience has been a mixed bag. I've gone through eight. A couple of them simply never demonstrated acceptable reliability, even after much patience and many, many rounds. Mainly feed problems and one that had ejection problems.
Several have been very reliable. I still have a TP9, K9 and a fairly new S9. Another very reliable model was my first Kahr, an early "slab sided" carbon steel K9. I just didn't care for the standard trigger on that gun and later bought a K9 with the elite trigger.
Although my newer stainless K9 is very reliable and a good shooting pistol, it did break on me after several thousand rounds. The rear of the trigger bar sheared off rendering the gun useless. Though not under warranty Kahr did fix it for free absorbing both shipping and repair costs. Kudos.
I had a very reliable early P9 that I viewed as the almost perfect carry gun in performance, size, weight and accuracy. I traded it for a Walther PPS, a very similar gun. Missing the P9 is the reason I bought the S9.
The ones I moved along because they didn't function perfectly were a P45, TP45 and a CW9. I also sold a T9 for personal reason not related to the gun so much.
Kahr has been around since the mid '80s. Focused on making guns for the concealed carry market. My Kahr experience has been a mixed bag. I've gone through eight. A couple of them simply never demonstrated acceptable reliability, even after much patience and many, many rounds. Mainly feed problems and one that had ejection problems.
Several have been very reliable. I still have a TP9, K9 and a fairly new S9. Another very reliable model was my first Kahr, an early "slab sided" carbon steel K9. I just didn't care for the standard trigger on that gun and later bought a K9 with the elite trigger.
Although my newer stainless K9 is very reliable and a good shooting pistol, it did break on me after several thousand rounds. The rear of the trigger bar sheared off rendering the gun useless. Though not under warranty Kahr did fix it for free absorbing both shipping and repair costs. Kudos.
I had a very reliable early P9 that I viewed as the almost perfect carry gun in performance, size, weight and accuracy. I traded it for a Walther PPS, a very similar gun. Missing the P9 is the reason I bought the S9.
The ones I moved along because they didn't function perfectly were a P45, TP45 and a CW9. I also sold a T9 for personal reason not related to the gun so much.
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PatientWolf
New member
I have a PM9 which has been very reliable and normally fills the role of EDC.
At one of the LGS’s the other day I saw they had a used P9 for about $350 that has me somewhat tempted, although I think the price is a little steep even with 4 mags and a kydex holster.
At one of the LGS’s the other day I saw they had a used P9 for about $350 that has me somewhat tempted, although I think the price is a little steep even with 4 mags and a kydex holster.