Rack cm9 vs shield 9

[whitlow]

I just got my new kahr cm9 but also own a s&w shield 9 and the difference in racking the cm9 is crazy! I don't think a weak handed person or small woman like my daughter or girl friend could use my kahr cm9.

[codegeek]

After a proper clean and lube and a few thousand rounds, she'll loosen up.

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[whitlow]

I did the prep and lube and over 200 rack and dry fires with the snap cap smoother than it was but nothing like the shield. But I like it more and the trigger is so much nicer! I guess time will tell in the long run!

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[MBSL500]

After a proper clean and lube and a few thousand rounds, she'll loosen up.


Are you still talking about a gun?

[RogerP9fan]

are you still talking about a gun?
lol

[southsound]

I just got my new kahr cm9 but also own a s&w shield 9 and the difference in racking the cm9 is crazy! I don't think a weak handed person or small woman like my daughter or girl friend could use my kahr cm9.
My CM9 is definitely more difficult to rack than my M7P 9C - but it is something that almost anyone can learn to rack successfully. Cathy Jackson, in her awesome blog at corneredcat.com says, "Racking the slide is not about strength. It is all about technique." She has an excellent tutorial at Rack the Slide (http://www.corneredcat.com/article/running-the-gun/rack-the-slide/). There are many other insightful articles on her site. I recommend it for both women and men.

[hardluk1]

Huuum , smaller light slide cm9 +P has to have a heavier spring rate that makes it harder to rack when compared to the shield or the shield sized cw9 kahr. Seems completely practical to me. Just like a full sized m&p is so easy to rack compared to a shield. The larger t or tp kahr is easier to rack than a cm or cw kahr.

[WilliamG]

After a proper clean and lube and a few thousand rounds, she'll loosen up.

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I've found that to be simply untrue. My PM9 is about the same as it was new.

[DavidR]

After 400 rounds my CM9 is a little easier to rack, but not much.


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[340pd]

I have a PM9 and a Shield. Small semi's pretty much all have this issue. I have found Walther PK380 to be a very easy gun to rack (with one finger) but re assembly with that long recoil spring can be tricky. You may look at the new Remington R51. The recoil spring covers the barrel and my brain says that may be easier to manipulate.

[h2ohhh]

I have several small semi auto pistols and the easiest to rack is the Sig P238. My 80 pound daughter can rack it.

[oppi27]

I just got my new kahr cm9 but also own a s&w shield 9 and the difference in racking the cm9 is crazy! I don't think a weak handed person or small woman like my daughter or girl friend could use my kahr cm9.

My wife can't, that's how I ended up with the gun.

[whitlow]

I have racked it now over 500 times and shot it about 50 and it is smother and easier. It shoots great I'm very happy with it.

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[rahmann62]

I have a CW9, my wife could not rack the slide when new. Now, after 1000+ rounds she has no problem racking the slide, it is smooth as butter and ohhhh nice......

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[hawk45]

In my search for a summer gun the Sig 938 was the easiest by far to rack. That wasn't a significant factor for me, but it is for my wife. I'd prefer to have a strong recoil spring to a weaker one in a NATO caliber micro gun. So a CM is on the way for me.

[jocko]

My wife can't, that's how I ended up with the gun.

ice move on ur jpart, act like u bought it for her ad then she ckan't use it ande u say,,,OK I guess I willhyave to keep it then.

u might have folled her but we have seen tyhis many times on the forum. Just sayin:Amflag2::Amflag2:

[jocko]

kahrs (all of them) are IMO no doubt thge hardest guns to hand rack. that bein said, once the gun gets rounds down range and smooths out it gets easier, but also in this break in time the owner has learne dthe tricks of doin it to. I do think a kahr is a b!tch for most women to hand rack.. Just the way it is. I never felt a kahr was a ladies gun either. sure some of these acho women can hanbdle it but the ordinary housewife is not. DON'T FORCE a kahr on a women, let her decide, If she mentally thins she can't do it THEN SHE CAN'T Period, end of story. She has to feel comfortabe with a kahr and by that I mean if rthere are kids around the gome, she has to know exactly how to unload that gun every time and also exactly hgow to load it each time BYT HERSELF. Once she fears that gun for ay damn reason, then it is history. I always feel it is best to lean a woman towards a wheel gun, for reasons I have mentioned man times:
She can easily opet he cylinder and load it, she can't put the bulletsin backwards, she can visibaly see thatthe gun is eithe rloaded or unloaded. She has no fear of a jam. She can open the cylinder nad pop oput all the rounds with the push of thge cylinder ejection rod, SHE CAN SEE IT IS EMPTY and she can put the bullets in the sugar bowl for safe keeping. She ain't gonna shoot it near as good as maybe a semi auot of any make but again the BG would never want to be around a woman with a damn loaded gun. U can buy different loads for her from hot to hotter to mild. They do make a shot load that althugh won't kill but will also not go throguh the wall andinto the kids bedroom. Again the BG wants no part of a woman with a gun and the BANG thing is gonna do more to scare him, IMO. Besides that these shot loads ib a gun in te home have a better chance of hitting a BG than one bullet flying ut he bnarrel also. Also mentally a woman would feel comfortable knowing she ain'
t gonna shoot eh kids in teh utter room. These are all things that IMO u need to talk to ur wife or gal friend before u buy her what u think she should have, for MO more than likely u made a bad judgement. I guarantee u in 50 rounds with a wheel gun she will know for sur ehow toload and unload and fire the gun etc, where s she will ot master a kahr jin 50 rounds PERIOD. Any damn woman can pull the trgger on a fully oaded semi, that takes no brain matter, but give her a jam and she is screwed, let te slide lock ope prematurely and she is screwed, have her inject a loaded magazine and she "could be screwed. Then ask her to unload thgat kahr and she is "
screwed...Now equate maybe all this into a nite time thiing and I guaqrantee u she is "screwed".

[oppi27]

ice move on ur jpart, act like u bought it for her ad then she ckan't use it ande u say,,,OK I guess I willhyave to keep it then.

u might have folled her but we have seen tyhis many times on the forum. Just sayin:Amflag2::Amflag2:

I will not lie, it's a keeper. 👍

[muggsy]

If you guys learn to use your hands like Jocko does you'll have forearms like Popeye in no time. :)

[hardluk1]

My oldest daughter a no girly girl, She is 5-9 and tough when she needs to. Hates the cm9 but can rack it and shoot it. The cw9 and tp40 she has no problems with. But her carry gun is a 13oz 38P+ revolver . Heck I did not like shooting it with carry ammo.


And the worse part is the older I get the sorrier I get. She may end up CC my 9 and 40 kahrs yet. I may have to buy a ole slow and soft tp45

[whitlow]

Mine has got easier with over 500 racks and some shooting. Plus I like the way it shoots that's a big plus! I'm better with this than with my shield 9

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[Pkersey2]

You need to clean it and then rack it 300 or so times. The polymer skin that covers the guide rails will wear off and it gets smoother and easier. Don't know why Kahr doesn't do it but oh well. My Cm9 has been great so far but WAS tight.


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[SwampDude]

Are you guys talking about racking the slide to chamber a round or just to clear a round?

My CW9, which is fairly new, is hard to rack for me (185 pound male). Furthermore, its a bloody pain to install the recoil spring assembly after cleaning the gun. My experience with fairly easy racking Glocks makes me wonder why Kahr's spring has to be so heavy.

I like my Kahr a lot, and I'll get used to the heavy spring. However, I think the strong spring is a negative for the otherwise awesome CW9.

[DavidR]

Swampdude - the stiff recoil spring means the CW9 is not right for everyone. I love it but my wife cannot rack the slide to chamber or clear.


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[SwampDude]

Swampdude - the stiff recoil spring means the CW9 is not right for everyone. I love it but my wife cannot rack the slide to chamber or clear.


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The reason I asked about "chamber or clear" is because of Kahr's advice to chamber a round only by using the slide release. I'd rather chamber by racking the slide like all other semi-autos I'm familiar with, but that method just doesn't work reliably with my CW9. Maybe I'll get it right eventually.

Does Kahr make a weaker recoil spring for the CW9? If yes, does it work reliably?

[DavidR]

Wolff makes a weaker spring but I haven't tried it. I think it's listed under their PM9 springs. After 400 rounds through my CW9 I can chamber by racking but not every time.


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[RRP]

SwampDude,

The suggestion to rack the slide hundreds of times is for for break-in purposes. Don't use live ammo. Don't use dummy rounds. You won't be chambering anything. Simply move the slide back and forth, manually, to begin mating the moving parts and to exercise the stiff recoil spring. Do this without a magazine, of course, or the slide will lock back with every cycle.

A stiff recoil spring is needed for a few reasons. First, on these tiny pistols the mass of the slide is significantly less than on a full-size gun, therefore it does not absorb much recoil energy. A stout spring is needed to dampen the recoil and to reduce the speed of the slide as it moves rearward. Second, because the slide is short, and the energy of the slide moving rearward must be absorbed over a shorter travel than on a full-size (long slide) gun, a stiffer spring is needed.

[SwampDude]

Thanks, RRP-

I fumbled around for 10 minutes this morning putting the recoil spring back in my CW9. I know, my technique is lacking and my arthritis doesn't help. I also know it will get easier each time.

[RRP]

Technique will help, SwampDude, but thumbs that don't work add a layer of complexity to the task. Growing old is not for sissies.

[100percent]

I put on extra power Wolff springs in my PM40. The new springs were about a half inch longer than the old ones. After I took the outer one back out it had shrunk down to almost the same length in 5 minutes with only a few "racks"

Yep it racks hard but that is the price you pay when you hot rod a 380 sized gun to 40.

Technique makes a huge difference. I find it a lot easier to push the receiver into the slide rather than pulling the slide back.

[2dawson]

SwampDude,

A stiff recoil spring is needed for a few reasons. First, on these tiny pistols the mass of the slide is significantly less than on a full-size gun, therefore it does not absorb much recoil energy. A stout spring is needed to dampen the recoil and to reduce the speed of the slide as it moves rearward. Second, because the slide is short, and the energy of the slide moving rearward must be absorbed over a shorter travel than on a full-size (long slide) gun, a stiffer spring is needed.
How do other tiny guns get by with weaker springs? A Sig P938 is the same size as my PM9 yet I can rack the slide much easier on the Sig. Obviously I get it done with PM9 but it's sure not easy to safely clear one from the chamber.

I didn't see much difference after the break-in. I love the gun, just don't see why they have to make it so difficult to use.