thinker
01-01-2013, 03:49 PM
Greetings. I just purchased my firsr Khar, a CW9, from a Cabelas sale at $350. A real good deal, I think. My last gun as a Deputy Sheriff was a Colt Custom Carry Commander in .45 acp which I shoot very well.
However, I interviewed three civilians who were physically attacked and hurt. The one common thread in all three attacks was the SPEED at which the attack happened. They all saw it coming for an instant, but didn't have time to react. One guy (a security supervisor) was driving along with his unloaded S&W revolver on the seat beside him. At a stop sign, two guys simultaneously pulled his front car doors open, dragged and pushed him out of the car, gave him a few stitches worth of head banging, broke his glasses, stole his wallet and gun, and left him laying bloody in the street. Welcome to Chicago!
All three of these "victims" were in oblivious condition white. But as one guy said "I was getting out of my car in front of my own house in a nice suburb. Who could have anticipated two guys rushing at me in those circumstances?" After getting one of his front teeth knocked out, I guarantee he anticipates it now!
Numerous experienced trainers extoll us to "Keep it simple". I own quite a few handguns (I had a federal firearms dealers license for about 20 years) but like a few things about the Kahr none of my many other guns have:
1. Flatness. For certain types of inside-the-pants concealed carry, this is an absolute must.
2. Small size. My Colt Commander is just as flat as the Khar, but just too big.
3. Simple operation. No time to futz with a safety, insure a proper grip on a grip safety, etc.
4. The long trigger pull is a good enough safety for me. The short, light trigger on my Colt Gold Cup .45 is great for combat shooting, but I am scared to death to put it in my pants.
5. Good reputation for dependability.
6. Affordable price (Not a necessity, but nice.)
7. With Cor-bon 115 gr. 9mm +p, this gun is right up toward the top in Marshall and Sanow's one-shot-stop table of real-world results. (But it's still only a pistol. It's not unreasonable to practice firing until the immediate danger is no longer in front of you.) A Sergeant once told me at qualification "You shoot too fast". I replied "When some criminal is pointing a deadly weapon at you, you can't possibly shoot too fast". (Don't get me started on how lacking most police firearms training is these days.) And with the minimal recoil of the 9mm (at least compared to an aluminum framed .45) it is possible to fire rapidly with good control).
So the Khar is the right gun for the right purpose at this time, but not the ONLY gun to carry.
(So the trigger is a little gritty, Who cares? It's not a Smith & Wesson N-frame revolver.)
However, I interviewed three civilians who were physically attacked and hurt. The one common thread in all three attacks was the SPEED at which the attack happened. They all saw it coming for an instant, but didn't have time to react. One guy (a security supervisor) was driving along with his unloaded S&W revolver on the seat beside him. At a stop sign, two guys simultaneously pulled his front car doors open, dragged and pushed him out of the car, gave him a few stitches worth of head banging, broke his glasses, stole his wallet and gun, and left him laying bloody in the street. Welcome to Chicago!
All three of these "victims" were in oblivious condition white. But as one guy said "I was getting out of my car in front of my own house in a nice suburb. Who could have anticipated two guys rushing at me in those circumstances?" After getting one of his front teeth knocked out, I guarantee he anticipates it now!
Numerous experienced trainers extoll us to "Keep it simple". I own quite a few handguns (I had a federal firearms dealers license for about 20 years) but like a few things about the Kahr none of my many other guns have:
1. Flatness. For certain types of inside-the-pants concealed carry, this is an absolute must.
2. Small size. My Colt Commander is just as flat as the Khar, but just too big.
3. Simple operation. No time to futz with a safety, insure a proper grip on a grip safety, etc.
4. The long trigger pull is a good enough safety for me. The short, light trigger on my Colt Gold Cup .45 is great for combat shooting, but I am scared to death to put it in my pants.
5. Good reputation for dependability.
6. Affordable price (Not a necessity, but nice.)
7. With Cor-bon 115 gr. 9mm +p, this gun is right up toward the top in Marshall and Sanow's one-shot-stop table of real-world results. (But it's still only a pistol. It's not unreasonable to practice firing until the immediate danger is no longer in front of you.) A Sergeant once told me at qualification "You shoot too fast". I replied "When some criminal is pointing a deadly weapon at you, you can't possibly shoot too fast". (Don't get me started on how lacking most police firearms training is these days.) And with the minimal recoil of the 9mm (at least compared to an aluminum framed .45) it is possible to fire rapidly with good control).
So the Khar is the right gun for the right purpose at this time, but not the ONLY gun to carry.
(So the trigger is a little gritty, Who cares? It's not a Smith & Wesson N-frame revolver.)