I'm all about the compact 9's.

[mlk18]

So first of all I am new to Kahr Talk but old school on several other gun forums. I am an LEO & FI who is a big fan of the S&W M&P series, but the M&P9C is just a little too big for warm weather off duty or BUG carry (IMO). And S&W has yet to enter the slim 9mm market yet, and may not since it is currently quite flooded and their Bodyguard series has been met with mixed reviews.

I have been a big fan of the compact 9mm since the only small 9mm was the Smith & Wesson 3913. And since then I have owned a lot of different tiny 9mm's. Unfortunately they always left me dissatisfied. The 3953 was just a little too big, the P11 trigger made it hard to shoot fast, the Glock 26 was like a brick only thicker, the PF9 was not reliable (mag release issues), the PM9 was just too small for my hands, (insert other models here) and the used P9 I bought online turned out to be a P9 Covert (and was promptly returned). In retrospect I have spent a lot of money on these compact 9's trying to the find the one that would make me happy.

That brings me to the little 9's that I have considered since then; the Bersa BP9CC never seemed to materialize, the PT709 was/is not made in the USA, the XD subcompact does nothing for me, the Rohrbaugh is too expensive, the PPS is too sensitive and the P290, Kimber Solo & LC9 have not been on the market long enough for me to be interested (I am not a beta tester). That brings me all the way around to the CW9.

Edit: Well my CW9 owning days just took a major step backwards. I had a deal all worked out and the seller just needed to ship it to me. Turns out after we made our deal he got a "better offer" and sold it out from under me. Nice huh. For the record it was going to be a like new CW9, 3 mags, IWB Kydex and OWB kydex for $380 shipped. At least I got my money back. Now I have to decide it I want to drop the same amount on a new CW9 with one mag and no holsters. Decisions...decisions...

[bonjorno2]

as a fellow member in blue, i can tell you that I carried a cw9 as a primary when i worked armored cars and loved it.... as a backup i prefer the pm9, but the cw9 will win you over for sure!

[bonjorno2]

oh yeah and you can pick one up under 400 so you can't beat that!

[mlk18]

Love the warranty that we might give up by melting.

I thought about that. But the way I figure it, if they won't cover the repairs of an issue inherent to that specific gun (defective part, parts breakage, premature wearing, reliability issues, etc.) because it has the slide melted (which obviously had nothing to do with the issue) then I probably don't want a gun made by that company anyway. But in my experience, most manufacturers will indeed stand behind a customized gun as long as you communicate with them properly and the custom work is not the direct cause of the issue.

[Bawanna]

I agree and I don't think you'll have any problem getting anything fixed that isn't directly related.

[jocko]

I never did all my melting work and grip work until my pm9 WAS imo TOTALLY RELIABLE. I had my P380 grip stippled and mag well cut outs in it and it had to go back to kahr once after that and they never questioned it. NOt to say that a company can't use what one did to a gun as an excuse to not do anything under warranty but most all of the time if the mod u did is not related to the issue involved they will fix it...
If I wanted to melt my gun or port it, I would not worry about the warranty stuff. to me that is more of an excuse to not do it or that u were not that sincere about doing it in the first place. Life is to short to worry about some things that indeed might never happen. Fokk it go for it!!

[O'Dell]

My first Kahr was a CW9 to replace a PF9 that I had given up on. It was totally reliable and I carried it until I replaced it with a PM45, which is about the same size and just a bit heavier. Unfortunately that CW was stolen last year as was the PM45 a few weeks ago. My hands aren't that large so the PM9 will be my replacement.

I, too, am a fan of the M&P series. I had an M&P c 45 before the burglary, and it was a great shooter. When I went to my LGS to replace it, I compared the c 45 with the c 40, and there was a big difference in size and weight. I had replaced my stolen S&W 4043 with another one, and since I had already had one 40, I got the M&P c 40. It's not a pocket gun by any means, but it rides very well in a belt holster under a jacket or untucked shirt.

[mlk18]

Holy Crap O'Dell, sorry about the string of bad luck. Hope your insurance company came through for you. I just got caught back up with my photographic and informational gun database just in case that ever happens to me. When I get home I am going to give the Rottweilers another treat and thank them for their vigilance! ;)