Hello all/Cm40 crimson trace

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Hello all I'm new here(don't you love new forums! I do!) I'm considering my first kahr purchase within the next week. CM9 vs CM40. This will be my new ccw and I have shot the CM9 and really love it! Now in the back of my mind I keep getting this itch for the 40 cal. I cannot find a place to try anywhere locally and I am not concerned with power/recoil as much as I am worried about muzzle flip and rapid fire target acquisition speed. I plan on purchasing the crimson trace bc I think for ccw and if that situation arises it makes one handed operation much easier to target. Would the Crimson trace alleviate my concerns with slower target acquisition in rapid fire of the 40? If so it seems a no brainer to me for a self defense gun and I will go for the CM40.
(sorry for the long post) Thanks everyone and I look forward to my new CM9 or CM40. God Bless.

[JFootin]

Welcome to the forum, Nocturnal_Emissions! :) Are those emissions of the gaseous or liquid variety?! :eek:

IMO, the 9mm is totally sufficient for SD in this small package. Plus the ammo is cheaper.

Do yourself a favor and read the stickies about proper prep of a new Kahr and the lube chart in the Kahr-Tech section. Then go put 200 break in rounds of FMJ through it (no Russian ammo). After that, try out some SD ammo, decide on what is going to be your carry round, and then shoot it like you stole it! (© jocko)

[Bill K]

Welcome to KahrTalk!

A laser, IMHO, is for certain a great tool for practice and training and I think most would agree for SD & HD. Me, I'm just not certain about its being a plus or a minus for carry. Guess it would depend on the situation, lighting, etc.

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Thanks for the feedback ya'll. Well I just got back from the range where I found a rental pm40 to shoot. I know rental guns are abused like hell and the feed ramp on this one had plenty of wear and was not polished. I got the cheap Atlanta Arms 180 gr reloads FMJ and the gun did not like them at all. I found out the gun was pending sale by Friday and I hope they got it cheap. No tellin how many rounds the gun has gun through the sn is JA8863 and I looked but didn't see this listed for date of manufacture if anyone knows. Anyway thats one thing I'm leery of with the CM40 is reliability but it was really abused and was reloads. I was able to rapid fire 4 shots in a row after the first round didnt chamber using the slide release. I put 4 within an 8 inch circle at about 7 yds with 180 gr. So I think with practice it would work for ccw for me. But I am reeling about the reliability now!!! Decisions Decisions.

Oh also the crimson trace I think if that moment ever arose, my thinking is if you need to use one handed close quarters or from a crouch around an obstacle the laser would be beneficial. Let me hear your thoughts I really appreciate it this is a tough decision. God Bless.

[getsome]

Hello Nocturnal Emissions and welcome to the best gun forum on the internet!!!...I have a black DLC PM40 with night sights...The .40 cal in a gun this small is quite a little hand popper and you know you have shot something major when you let one go....After 30 or 40 rounds it gets to be not so much fun to shoot due the hand pounding...I'm thinking of getting a Hogue grip for mine to try and tame the puppy a bit...

The only reason I wanted a .40 cal was back a couple years ago during the great ammo shortage when every other pistol caliber was gone off the shelves I almost always was able to find .40 mainly due to the greater amount manufactured for Law Enforcement use...

The gun I bought was very slightly used (fellow bought it for his wife and she couldn't shoot it) and my LGS sold it to me for $350.00 out the door with 2 mags and a free box of ammo so I couldnt turn it down...My pistol so far has been reliable with any ammo tried and the only thing I had to watch out for was keeping my thumb away from the mag release button...

I now wish I had gone with a PM9 due to the recoil and 9mm ammo being cheaper and still very effective for self defence...I still like my PM40 and we have bonded now plus I recently bought a full size S&W .40 cal M&P and have started handloading for .40 cal and am experimenting with lower power range loads so I can practice more...

Which ever Kahr you go with will be a fine little CCW pistol...I don't really care for a laser on a carry pistol and would rather count on night sights and the real truth is most confrontations will be up close and you need to think about getting the gun out and ready to rock and not thinking about turning on a laser...

That being said I think a laser is a great training aid for range use and learning the Kahr long trigger pull while keeping the sights on target...Good luck and again welcome to Kahrtalk...Lots of real nice knowledgeable folks here more than willing to help with any issue or question you may have...:yo:

[kahrnut1]

my primary carry is a pm40 with ct. with the laser i have the target as soon as i draw from pocket. i have the laser sighted a little low so that it does not mess up my night sight picture as the gun comes up to eye level. also great for dry fire you see where the round would hit.

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Does anyone know what the date of manufacture might be for sn JA8863, I'm still worried about the 40 reliability, I've read and read the past couple weeks and it's like some people have %100 reliable guns and others get complete lemons and spend months going back and forth with Kahr. I also wonder how many rounds a cm40 will last for compared to the 9?

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Thank you everyone for your input I really appreciate it. I am also wondering if there is certain ammo that people have experienced common problems with in the PM40 (returning to battery, nose diving into feed ramp) both self defense ammo and target ammo. I read Remington 135 gr Ranger works flawlessly for some but other gr. do not. Thanks, God Bless.

[Barth]

I have an MK40 Elite with NS myself.
Once broke in it will feed anything brand, any weight, HP ammo.
Any quality SD ammo, in any weight will serve you well.
Winchester Ranger T-Series, Speer GDHP, Federal HST are some favorites.
I personally favor 155/165 gr as the perform extremely well from the 3" barrel.

Opinions very on recoil, I find the polymer guns a little much in 40.
But fine in 9mm. The best 9mm are fine for SD.
Speer GDHP 124 gr +P and Winchester Ranger T-Series +P+ 127 gr
are two favorites of mine.

I have a laser and removed it (Lasermax/P220).
Some good night sights and lots of range time
seem like the best solution to good SD shooting for me.

A polymer gun for SD?
My choice would be a CM9 with NS.

Welcome,
good luck and be safe!

[dirtkicker]

The 9MM Speer GDHP 124 gr +P and Winchester Ranger T-Series +P+ 127 gr is exactly what I use also.

The Speer Gold Dots for my Kahr CM9 and the Winchester +P+ for my Glocks. Probablt two of the best loads you can get. Not sure about +P+ in a 9MM Kahr though..

[Barth]

The 9MM Speer GDHP 124 gr +P and Winchester Ranger T-Series +P+ 127 gr is exactly what I use also.

The Speer Gold Dots for my Kahr CM9 and the Winchester +P+ for my Glocks. Probablt two of the best loads you can get. Not sure about +P+ in a 9MM Kahr though..

Someone that actually knows will weigh in on this.
My understanding is that the CM9 is +P rated.
I don't think it's +P+ rated.
But in limited doses, for SD carry, I'm thinking you can get away with it.
Generally new modern guns can handle the hot ammo.
They will just wear out parts sooner.

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Yes for a polymer kahr in the pm cm series I don't think I would want to shoot many +p+ loads through it. I'm really wondering how long a pm/cm40 will hold up to 180 gr loads without changing the recoil spring, I've read about the slide and frame separating?!!!!

[dirtkicker]

Someone that actually knows will weigh in on this.
My understanding is that the CM9 is +P rated.
I don't think it's +P+ rated.
But in limited doses, for SD carry, I'm thinking you can get away with it.
Generally new modern guns can handle the hot ammo.
They will just wear out parts sooner.

Neither one is anything I shoot on a regular basis. Tested them each for carry use. I wouldn't shoot +P+ in the CM9 and I only shot it thru my Glocks to test it for carry.

[Barth]

Neither one is anything I shoot on a regular basis. Tested them each for carry use. I wouldn't shoot +P+ in the CM9 and I only shot it thru my Glocks to test it for carry.

My only 9mm is a G27 with a Storm Lake 40-9mm conversion barrel.
Since the gun is built for 357 Sig and 40 S&W - only the barrel bothers me.
I wrote Storm Lake about +P+ and thier response was if it's in SAAMI specs it's good to go.
Thing is, I'm pretty sure +P+ isn't SAAMI.

But Glocks are built to run hot NATO stuff all day long and the 40-9mm barrel is actually thicker so it will run in a 40 gun.

Limited use I'm running it in the G27 - if I shoot it better than 40 or 357.
As for the CM? Most would say If you want that much pressure run a 40.

[Nocturnal_Emissions]

Anyone shot 124 grain +p in cm/pm9 and compared that to say a 135 grain in the 40? trying to get some comparison as they sold the only pm40 i could rent within an hr drive so I kindly appreciate any feedback of experience with comparing the two. Thanks and God Bless. Jeff