the trigger

[marcinstl]

I was looking around in the for sale section and saw a guy selling a Kahr--" I'm selling it as I just can't get totally comfortable with the trigger and am moving to all Glocks which I am much more accurate with."

that seems to be a recurring story, kind of feel that way myself. poly Kahrs are small and lightweight for caliber, on paper they look like a great carry gun. at 0 to 10 feet, who needs a great trigger or sights? any Kahr, Kel-Tec, LCR, J-frame will work.

the problem is that a lot of folks want to take their carry gun to the range and shoot bullseye. take the carry gun to someplace and practice draw and shoot at 3 yd. targets. buy a range gun for sport shooting. a gun like a Glock 19, with some aftermarket parts, might be carryable and accurate enough . but the G19 is not a pocket gun and weighs 30oz. loaded. the ($275)Kel-Tec PF9 is 16oz. loaded (if a person can put all the rounds in the 10 ring with a PF9, they certainly have mastered the vague DA trigger).

for sport shooting, might as well go all the way and get some kind of SA range cannon. I have a growing passion for good single action revolvers. I shot a Beretta Stampede (Uberti clone of Colt 1873 SAA), that had a trigger job and many rounds fired. cock the hammer, gently press the trigger, bang. no creep, no slop, no travel-- it's like the trigger doesn't move, you just think bang and it happens. a 1911 can be built to do that.

the Kel-Tec shooters have a trick for folks that want a "wall" in their DA trigger pull, go to the office supply and buy the correct sized pencil,w/eraser, slice off the eraser and super glue it to the inside of the guard behind the trigger, tune the eraser with a fingernail sanding board, now you pull all the slop out of the trigger, hit the "wall", squeeze a little more and bang.

have fun.

[Planedude]

I had a good friend once who bought a Chevette, but really wanted it to be a Corvette. He added mags, a fancy stereo and period popular seat covers to make a 'racy chick magnet". The world scored it a fail.

Cars are what they are and guns are what they are. An SD carry gun should not be judged against a match prepped gun under match like conditions. The results should be obvious before the first round chambers.

I have nice 1911s for targets and have carried the hefty SOBs on more than one occasion, but I found my Kahrs, stated carrying them and now my 1911s only see the prettiest of gun range sunshine. If I was (able) to shoot competition again, I wouldn't hesitate to use a Kahr. I just shoot mine that well, But if I'm looking in the safe before I go, my 1911s would most likely wander themselves into the range bag.

The truth is just the truth. One must use the proper tool for the job at hand...
Some folks can't be told, they have to pay good money for every lesson. We just get to make the good deal buying their "mistakes".

Peace

[OldFatGuy]

Before I bought my Kahr, that's what I heard, "the trigger". I had a S&W Bodyguard before the Kahr, the Kahr is a dream compared to the S&W. I like the trigger.

[WMac19]

I only buy guns intended for carry. Only shoot enough to stay proficient and confirm proper functionality. I wouldn't expect my choice of gun to be preferred by passionate shooters. Just as I'd feel their having any assumption that my guns would be fun to shoot extensively to be maybe just a bit off.

Tool has to fit the job. There may be some trade-offs and/or concessions but if a gun is treated as the tool that it is and consideration applied to its design and intended use, disappointment should be pretty easily avoided.

Edited to add: Lol... Should've read Planedude's post, I just kinda repeated the last paragraph. 😊

[muggsy]

A good trigger job on an S&W revolver will make it feel very similar to a Kahr.

[b4uqzme]

^^^ Yeah, I just have no empathy for those complaining about Kahr triggers. Coming from revolvers...and still carrying revolvers...Kahr triggers feel perfect! Now if I was used to something else, or wanted a race gun, that would be different.

[ltxi]

A good trigger job on an S&W revolver will make it feel very similar to a Kahr.

Newer ones, yeah/sadly....older Smith's mostly wouldn't of needed it and appear to be the triggers Kahr's are patterned after.

[b4uqzme]

^^^ trigger jobs aren't that bad. Do it yourself or pay a gunsmith about an hour labor + buy springs from Midway for $9...and wa-la! I do agree that Kahr seems to have emulated a fine SW trigger...and done a great job of it!

[ltxi]

Quite correct. I'm long a competent amateur gunsmith wrt working over Smith revolver actions. My Kahrs emulate them decent/just fine right otb.

[deadeye]

I firmly believe that guys who want Glocks should have Glocks. Not buy Kahrs and expect them to be Glocks. Or buy Glocks and expect them to be Kahrs. I bought my CM9 for concealed carry. And, son of a gun, it is excellent for what it was bought for. My son has a Glock 17. It is sure enough a good gun. I would just as soon CCW my AR as I would his Glock. However if I ever decide I want a Glock, I will sure enough get one. And expect it to be a Glock.:p

[marcinstl]

I think the more you shoot, the better it gets, a more experienced shooter can shoot a so-so trigger and make it look good. if I had the eyes to get serious about target shooting, I'd be looking for a SA range gun, all tuned up and probably way to much money invested. for carry, hey whatever works, that fits your hand, lifestyle, budget.
hehehehe, I had an '86 "Vette", Chevette, 2 door, 4 speed, darn little thing was more fun that a barrel of monkeys. now I have a Kel-Tec P-32, same story. go to the range, put the bag on the bench, hang the target and roll it out to 3yds., get the P-32 out of my shirt pocket and shoot 3 or 4 from the hip, 3 or 4 straight arm, finish the mag using the white dot I painted on the front sight. if I'm carrying a 9mm IWB, I do the same with it. then I take a range gun out of the bag and try to put holes in the numbers on the target, shooting at 12 and 15 yds. at least 4 times a year I take the Mossberg 500 and shoot slugs at 25yds.
I have to get a different barrel for the Mossberg and go spend money at the skeet range, paper targets get boring.
if you ever get a chance to shoot on a simulator, do it. as close to a series of gunfights as you would want to get. (when the simulator pans around from the ATM machine to show the guy lunging at you with a crowbar, ya better be quick!). (putting holes in 2" red dots at 15yds. has nothing to do with with emptying the gun into crowbar guy.) (the fancy gun in the display case or safe, has got nothing to do with shooting.)

[berettabone]

I started with revolvers, and I like the Kahr trigger.....................................

[Redstate]

I like both the Kahr and Glock triggers. I am a little better with the Glock trigger because I use the Glock more often (competition). The only issueIi have with a Kahr or revolver trigger is that when I try to go real fast, I might on occasion short stroke the trigger, because I am used to the shorter reset on the Glock. The short stroking has happened to me in the past using the Kahr in competition such as IDPA. I am sure that with more practice and regular use of the Kahr in competition, I would not short stroke the trigger.

[marcinstl]

in one of the Jerry Mikulek videos he says when he's setting up a gun he goes for the lightest hammer or striker spring that will make the gun go bang, but he puts in the heaviest trigger return spring he can find so the trigger will keep up with his magic finger.
once I figured out Kahr and J-frame triggers, I shot some Kel-Tec's. the K-T trigger is a long pull, DA feeling thing, with grit until you polish the insides of the gun. after the gun goes bang, you let off on the trigger and it clicks and then clicks again and then(finally!) your ready for the next shot. taking your finger off of the trigger after the bang, letting the trigger reset, then getting back on it for another quick shot is called, "slapping the trigger". if you can do that and keep the rounds on or around a paper plate, thats close enough. slapping the trigger, for us, might be a bad habit to avoid, but perfecting the trigger slapping is how all the big names shoot so fast.

[TheTman]

I have pistols for competition, pistols for SHTF, and guns for CC. And guns for fun. All have different triggers. My Wessons, Dan, or Smith and, all have a super light SA trigger, and are much more accurate than I am. Those are the ones where you think about pulling the trigger and it goes bang in SA mode.
My CC guns are Kahrs, and that is the trigger I like for CC. Gives me a little wriggle room before it goes bang. I want that at my age, should certain circumstances arise.
I don't want all my pistols to be the same. I want a pistol set up for the job it's meant to do.

[Baklash]

Newer ones, yeah/sadly....older Smith's mostly wouldn't of needed it and appear to be the triggers Kahr's are patterned after.

Right on. I've got a sweet S&W 38sp. revolver bought back in 1978. When I found Kahr I immediately bought a CW9 and then CM9. I like the trigger.