Why I moved from Glock to Kahr

[allthumbsplusone]

First of all I was looking for a pocket pistol. I purchased the glock 43 and by no means is it a pocket gun to go in blue jeans pockets. This let me down the 380 line. i had read some good stuff about the p380 and still found the glock 42 too large for my liking. The trigger was the big hang up for me. I was shooting my Glocks well. Problem was I would pull the trigger to the break point, finish my aim and pul the trigger. This is not really a scenerio I would imaging in a rushed self defense encounter. I did not see me having the time to stage the trigger under pressure of the fear of my life. The P380 was used (2002 model). I don't know if the springs are worn but my trigger pull on my lyman scale comes in at right around 4 lbs 6-8 ounces. The gun turned out very easy to shoot at 21 feet. As a matter of fact I was shooting it as well as my glock. i then traded my glock 43 for new pm9. The trigger was heavier but i put a wolf zfp spring in and it comes in at about 4 lbs 10 oz. I now now practice with a full double action pull, no staging. Smooth and costant all the way through. The PM0 took me bit more time to get used to but i am shooting it better every time out. I think the culprit is recoil anticiption. In any case I now have 2 "self defense pistols" that I would operate the same way in a crisis as at the range. After about 2k rounds with each I had 2 failures. Both primer strikes were good and deep but the primer failed. Anyway i am happy with both of the Kahrs and I still have my Glock 21 because I shoot it better than any pistol I have ever owned including a wilson combat custom and kimber 45.

All said my everyday carry is my P380. It is small, light, and I can shoot it well. I suppose I will carry the 9 in the winter in and IWB holster or pocket but for me the P380 is the best emergency handgun because I don't give a thought about carrying it. I just stick it in the front pocket and forget about it. The sticky holster does a nice job, not because it holds the gun well (which it does in the pocket or hip) but when in the pocket the padding makes it invisible and even if someone bumps you they just feel the soft case.

[yqtszhj]

Thanks for the good report.

[b4uqzme]

...In any case I now have 2 "self defense pistols" that I would operate the same way in a crisis as at the range...

^^^ Two thumbs up on this logic. I came to Kahr from revolvers and wanted semi-autos with the same draw-point-shoot simplicity. And Kahr triggers feel very much like a good DA revolver too. So now all my carry arms "operate the same way in a crisis as at the range".

[wyntrout]

The P380 isn't that old. It was supposed to be out in 2008 and I ordered one with night sights in 2009 and had to wait 11 months... not the best way to go then! I finally got mine March 31, 2010. I sent it back the next day because the front sight was DOA and it looked like someone installed the sights with a pair of pliers and a hammer. They did replace the front sight and the pistol went back twice more for other things, but it's a great shooter and what I carry in and around the house... now at my side, though my G30S is inches from my left knee.

My P380 is my max concealment carry and it goes in my pocket at the doctors' offices when I need to disrobe. I carry it then in an OLD beat up, holey Uncle Mike's Sidekick IWB soft holster, which works fine as a pocket holster in that instance. I have several other holsters, but I usually carry a P40 or a P9 as my EDC.

After getting my wife a G43 because she could rack Glocks but not my Kahrs, I was ready to switch to Glock and get another G43 for myself... nice pistol, especially with the new connector and the Pearce +1 or Vickers +2 upgrades to the mags. But... I got a good deal on a new Black P40 recently at CDNN and jumped on that. I've just completed testing with it and wore it yesterday as my new EDC. My old Mag-na-ported P40 is going to the Gun Show with me this weekend and I should get enough to cover what I've put into my new all black one. I had relatively new NS on hand and put those on. The old one has XS Big Dots and I didn't like those.

I haven't felt the need to put a Wolff 5-lb spring in my new P40, though I have several on hand. I bought a pack of 10 and still have a couple left. The only one that I removed was my PM45. I had a problem with some ammo that wouldn't fire after 2-3 strikes and it fired fine in my G21 SF or G30S, so I put the old spring back in it. I haven't had any problems with the lighter springs and may try one in my new P40.

I have a Wheeler Digital Trigger Scale and my old P40(5-lb) had a trigger pull of 5 lbs 3 ozs with the new at about 6 lbs 10 ozs.

My carry ammo for the P380 is Underwood's +P 90-grain Gold Dot... a bonded bullet getting 1053 fps out of the 2.5" P380 barrel with around 240 ft-lbs muzzle energy. I haven't seen any better tests on .380 ammo and in Lucky Gunner's big ammo test, the regular Speer Gold Dots were a little short on penetration and expansion, but I figure the extra velocity ought to make up for that!

I've put 200+ rounds of +P through my P380... Buffalo Bore and then Underwood, with no problems. I think the P380 with the +P Gold Dots outperforms the 2" snubby .38 +P... and with more ammo and easier reloading. I carry a spare 7-round mag.

I've tried carrying my Glocks, but can't stand the fat things very long. The single stacks are the way to go. If the G43 was a .40, I would have one.

Welcome to the forum, by the way!

Wynn :)

[340pd]

^^^ Two thumbs up on this logic. I came to Kahr from revolvers and wanted semi-autos with the same draw-point-shoot simplicity. And Kahr triggers feel very much like a good DA revolver too. So now all my carry arms "operate the same way in a crisis as at the range".

Plus one. The only problem is , after shooting Kahr triggers I have spent a lot of time trying to get my revolvers closer to the great action of my PM9.