johnmcd
04-29-2016, 03:24 PM
Hi all,
I bought a new PM9 (model KAPM9193 MA-compliant w/external safety) yesterday and went to the range this morning to test it out, so I thought I'd share a few observations/comments with folks. I realize that a lot of this has been covered before, but the info might be useful for other newbies like myself.
- When I first got it home I took it apart to clean it, and I found a bunch of fine plastic shavings all over the inside of both the body & the slide. I spent an hour with q-tips & plastic probes cleaning every nook and cranny before taking it to the range.
- I put the recommended 250 rounds through it, with a mix of 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, Winchester white box (FMJ & JHP), Hornady Critical Duty and a few rounds of some kind of PMC that I swapped for with another guy on the range. Not a single failure of any kind for any of the ammo.
- I managed to keep it at around a 8" grouping at 21', but the grouping was shifted slightly left of center. Need to work on my trigger finger placement and sight picture with the new sights.
- The checkering on the front and back of the grips started hurting after 50 or so rounds. I installed a Hogue grip that I had bought before continuing and it made a HUGE difference - much more comfortable and easier to control (for me, anyway). The Hogue also helps me with grip placement when I draw, since it has the raised bump on the front. Field-expedient install - I warmed the grip up using the heater in my car turned on high, and trimmed it with my (razor sharp) pocket knife 8-)
- I noticed that my right pinkie finger (I'm right-handed) started to hurt after a while from rubbing up against the exposed bottom edge of the 6-round magazine, so I started curling my pinkie up under the grip and that solved the problem. As was suggested elsewhere in this forum I may round off the edge with a grinder, or look at covering it with some rubber grip tape or Plasti-Dip.
- I have three small cuts on my forehead from flying brass, since I was stupid and forgot my hat. I read that this will eventually go away, but don't forget your hat (and safety glasses!).
- Cleaning it seemed to be a bit more involved than cleaning my previous S&W Shield - lots more more little nooks and crannies.
- All of my magazines (it came with 3) ejected cleanly with no hang-ups. I did notice that they were slightly sticky when I first bought them, so I cleaned up the outsides with some CLP prior to use.
- The safety is unusual (for me, anyway) in that you have to push it up to disengage it, not down (like my Shield). It's going to take some practice to get comfortable automatically disengaging it when I draw, but it moves fairly easily so it's doable.
- The trigger is incredibly smooth (like buttah!), but I've read in other posts that may be due to it being the MA-compliant model.
- The recoil was pretty smooth & manageable, especially compared to my previous .40 S&W Shield.
- The slide lock dug into my right thumb the first few shots, but I just lowered my thumb slightly and that took care of the problem.
Somewhat ironically I bought it at a gun shop about 5 miles from the Kahr factory in Worcester, MA 8-)
I bought a new PM9 (model KAPM9193 MA-compliant w/external safety) yesterday and went to the range this morning to test it out, so I thought I'd share a few observations/comments with folks. I realize that a lot of this has been covered before, but the info might be useful for other newbies like myself.
- When I first got it home I took it apart to clean it, and I found a bunch of fine plastic shavings all over the inside of both the body & the slide. I spent an hour with q-tips & plastic probes cleaning every nook and cranny before taking it to the range.
- I put the recommended 250 rounds through it, with a mix of 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, Winchester white box (FMJ & JHP), Hornady Critical Duty and a few rounds of some kind of PMC that I swapped for with another guy on the range. Not a single failure of any kind for any of the ammo.
- I managed to keep it at around a 8" grouping at 21', but the grouping was shifted slightly left of center. Need to work on my trigger finger placement and sight picture with the new sights.
- The checkering on the front and back of the grips started hurting after 50 or so rounds. I installed a Hogue grip that I had bought before continuing and it made a HUGE difference - much more comfortable and easier to control (for me, anyway). The Hogue also helps me with grip placement when I draw, since it has the raised bump on the front. Field-expedient install - I warmed the grip up using the heater in my car turned on high, and trimmed it with my (razor sharp) pocket knife 8-)
- I noticed that my right pinkie finger (I'm right-handed) started to hurt after a while from rubbing up against the exposed bottom edge of the 6-round magazine, so I started curling my pinkie up under the grip and that solved the problem. As was suggested elsewhere in this forum I may round off the edge with a grinder, or look at covering it with some rubber grip tape or Plasti-Dip.
- I have three small cuts on my forehead from flying brass, since I was stupid and forgot my hat. I read that this will eventually go away, but don't forget your hat (and safety glasses!).
- Cleaning it seemed to be a bit more involved than cleaning my previous S&W Shield - lots more more little nooks and crannies.
- All of my magazines (it came with 3) ejected cleanly with no hang-ups. I did notice that they were slightly sticky when I first bought them, so I cleaned up the outsides with some CLP prior to use.
- The safety is unusual (for me, anyway) in that you have to push it up to disengage it, not down (like my Shield). It's going to take some practice to get comfortable automatically disengaging it when I draw, but it moves fairly easily so it's doable.
- The trigger is incredibly smooth (like buttah!), but I've read in other posts that may be due to it being the MA-compliant model.
- The recoil was pretty smooth & manageable, especially compared to my previous .40 S&W Shield.
- The slide lock dug into my right thumb the first few shots, but I just lowered my thumb slightly and that took care of the problem.
Somewhat ironically I bought it at a gun shop about 5 miles from the Kahr factory in Worcester, MA 8-)