2nd PM9

[Jitterbug]

Hi Guy's

New guy to the forum here, I've perused the site, and this seems to be "The" place for Kahr owners.

I little history.

My first Kahr Black Diamond PM9 with n/s, was purchased back in March 2004, since then I've put somewhere around 1500 rounds through it and pocket carried it just about every day with a DeSantis Nemesis holster.

Other then a few issues within the first couple of hundred rounds the gun has been flawless. I use Speer 147 grain Gold Dot's as a CCW round.

Mine is a VB serial # and was part of the barrel recall way back when, Kahr either modified or replaced the barrel (can't remember which), but the gun has been flawless since then, other then a broken Magazine catch which just happened last weekend.

The wife has been carrying a S&W 442 and just can't seem to get used to it, so we've been discussing her purchasing a PM9 since she shoots that so much better the her 442.

So, I just picked up the 2nd PM9, her's has the stainless slide with n/s and I also picked up and installed a CT Laser for it.

The first Laser was on the 442 and since then, we've installed one on her M&P9c and now her PM9, I'll be ordering another for my PM9...obviously I'm sold on the lasers.

Last night was the first range trip with her PM9, we ran about 175 rounds through it, about 140 rounds of WWB 115 grain loads and about 35 rounds of WWB 147 FMJTC. We used 4 mags, my two and her two.

She fired about 2/3's of the rounds, I fired the remainder.

She had 7 nosedives, all with the 115's, but she only ran a mag or so of the 147's, I shot the rest. I didn't have any nosedives or failures of any kind, with either the 115's or the 147's.

I marked the mags that nose dived and the only one that didn't was my old 6 rounder.

I prepped, cleaned and lubed prior to the shoot, she has 2 years shooting experience, and does have a "flinch" she's working on, mostly due to the 442. I'm and old fart and have been shooting for over 50 years, started when I was six.

And I did "break her in" with a Ruger MKII for quite sometime, but in hindsight probably shouldn't have made the leap to a 442, it is a bit much in the recoil department.

I haven't yet broken the gun down to clean, examine or re-lube, but I'm guessing the nosedive's may have been caused by a "grip" problem? Probably limp wristing, from my reading on this site, it appears to be common?

After cleanup and lube this weekend, I have another range trip scheduled for Monday morning by myself. I'm thinking of running another 100+ through it and I'm going to see if I can find some more 147's or 124's locally over the weekend. I have a good supply of the 115's. Obviously if it runs fine for me, then I'll be considering her grip.

Although with my older PM9 she runs it just fine, no jams of any kind, with any ammo. So I'm scratching my head a bit on the limp wrist issue???

Do you guy's have any thoughts on that?

Nice site you guy's have, I've been through some of the fixes, and found a post on how to remove the magazine catch on mine, Thank you! that was helpful.

I just ordered a new catch from Kahr yesterday and hope to have it later next week. I probably should have ordered a new recoil assembly while at it, but found one in my original Kahr box that appeared unused so I'm going to install it and see how it goes.

Mine is no doubt way past due for a breakdown of the slide and I should probably replace ALL the springs I can get to while at it.

I shoot mine just fine and even though I carry the gun everyday, my range procedure is to just run a mag or two or three through it once a month while shooting other guns at the range, just to make sure I'm on the money with it and it runs right

[TucsonMTB]

Welcome to the forum!

It's good to hear that you are enjoying your wife's new PM9. It sounds like she may not be as happy as you are. If it doesn't behave well in her hands after some more shooting, you might want to consider something that works better for her.

My wife prefers the larger grip of the P or CW series to our PM40. Depending on how she carries it, the longer grip may not be an issue, other than making the pistol easier for her to shoot.

Also consider a grip sleeve. For both my wife and I, the improvement is remarkable. It may give your wife enough greater ease in gripping the pistol to eliminate the malfunctions she is experiencing.

http://viewsfromtucson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kahr_PM40.jpg

Here's what we use. According to the package, these are size "3A". Here's a link. (http://www.qwikgrip.com/page2.htm) You will find a size chart here that suggests that a "3" might have been a better choice, but these work well for me. They make our PM40 fun to shoot. So, they should do wonders for a 9mm. :D

[jocko]

if u had no issues the the new kahr and she did, then it has to be shooter error. More rounds down range should help her get going. She needs to work on her grip to eliminte the issues. If u both were produc8ing the same issues, u could then assume something might be wroing with the gun, magazines etc, but that doesn't seem to be what is happening.

I might be confused here to but the recoil assembly you found in ur box, if that is for your gun it will work OK, if it is for her gun it will not work. You slide has the blunt nose and her slide has the beveled , tadlonger slide, both take a different recoil assembly. They won't interchange..

ur PM9 is now well broken in and smooth as glass and her's is still new and tight and not yet smoothed out yet. Why not switch her guns, ???

[Bill K]

Welcome to KahrTalk.

Maybe a little more break-in and she'll be good to go with 115s? If their are no issues with the 147 then forget about the 115s and don't look back.

Please let us know how the next range sssions works out for you guys.

Bill K.

[TucsonMTB]

ur PM9 is now well broken in and smooth as glass and her's is still new and tight and not yet smoothed out yet. Why not switch her guns, ???
+1 on switching guns to give the new shooter the best possible chance for success!

Trust the "older", experienced guys like Jocko to think of the obvious best suggestion. You'd almost think he had been a gun dealer for a few decades or something. :D

[Jitterbug]

Thanks for the welcome and the links.

I'm taking "her" PM9 out to the range tomorrow morning were I can work on it alone. I have a good supply of the 115's and I'm going to see if I can find some 147's this afternoon before I go.

The WWB 115's measure 1.160" while the only 147's I have on hand, Speer Gold Dots and Federal HST's measure in the 1.120" range. Those light bullets make for a long COAL, whether this has anything to do with anything is just a guess at this point.

But, if we have to forgo the 115's that's no biggie. Personally I prefer 147's when I can find them, since this is the weight I use as a CCW load. I went with 115's since Chinamart had them on sale and I was hoping to reduce recoil with the lighter weight for her.

Recoil springs, Yep, I know they're different, and my apologies for causing any confusion.

Jocko, I think we're on the same page, we've already discussed how she needs to work on her grip and dry fire, here the laser really helps, she's a good student. I suspected "limp wristing" right of the bat.

I'll have a better idea tomorrow after I run another 75-100 rounds through it to see if I can duplicate the nose dive.

My gun being 1500 rounds looser might be the better choice for her in the short run until her's breaks in some more, we'll see. Bottom line is she'll get the one which run's the smoothest for her.

Tucson, funny you mention the P series, I almost went that way for her gun, but in the end I decided on the compactness of the PM9.

She does do well with my older model, she's fired it off and on over the past two years and I can't recall any malfunctions with it. Last weekend she put at least 75 trouble free rounds through it.

I'll know more after the next range session.

[O'Dell]

A few years ago I had a PF9 that absolutely refused to shoot WWB. I think the extra length was the culprit. That said, my new PM9 doesn't have a problem with them. They aren't a very hot round though, so a very slight grip problem could cause the action not to cycle properly. If that's the case the issue should improve as the pistol loosens up with use.

[Jitterbug]

Well, today I ran 132 rounds through the new PM9 and another 30 or so rounds through a 442 that I was trying out some 135 +P Gold Dots in.

In the past 8 days I’ve put about 300 rounds through two PM9’s and another 150 or so through the J frame, I think it’s about time for a break, I’ve had about enough pocket pistol shooting for awhile…definitely a lot of pocket pistol shooting for me in 3 sessions and rough on my old wrist.

The new PM9 did good, 1 failure early on with 147 Speer Gold Dot’s, this was a premature lock back and I’m thinking it may have been due to a rough cartridge, this is one that had been cycled a few times and tossed into the “shoot bag”, the case head was a bit rough from previous cycling.

The 1 other failure was a nosedive with the same WWB 115 FMJ that had given the wife troubles. The PM9 was freshly cleaned and lubed.

So it was 2/132 in this last session.

The 442 did surprisingly well, the 135+ P Speer Gold Dot turned in a 5 shot 1.9” group and a 1.7” off hand group with a mild 158 SWC reload that I’ve worked up for it. I’ve bad mouthed the accuracy or lack thereof of the J frame in the past, it just made me eat my words…and that’s ok.

The PM9’s best groups were a 3 shot 1.5” group with Speer 147 gr. Gold Dots, the Federal 147 gr. HST did just about the same.

Range is 12.5 yards, and I was using a rest for my arms when shooting for groups, with the exception of the 1.7” group with the snubbie.

I prefer to shoot 3-10 shot groups, when evaluating for accuracy but with the cost of the CCW ammo it’s sometimes cost prohibitive to do so, either 147 load seems like it will work fine, with the Federal HST seeming to have a bit more recoil then the Speer 147 gr. Gold Dot.

Both guns have a CT laser and I was using it, rather then irons.

Bottom line, I think the new PM9 will be just fine, I used her 2-new mags and my old 6 and 7 rounder’s they all seem fine. I think the wife was having some limp wrist issues with the new, tight gun and needs to work on a better grip routine in the future, not to mention these little guns take a bit of time, patience and skill to master.

Since my older model runs smoother for her, it might be a good move to have her carry it for awhile until hers has a few more rounds down range.

[Jitterbug]

The new magazine catch arrived from Kahr today, that took all of 30 seconds to install, works fine, I think all metal will last longer. So I gave my PM9 a good scrubbing and lube.

The 442 will go back to the safe as a "spare pocket pistol"

I also ordered a new recoil assembly, a Mitch Rosen OWB holster for the CT, another CT for my gun and some Peirce magazine extensions for the wife's gun.

I probably should have ordered another 6 round mag too.

I'm also looking into some new CCW ammo, I decided I'm no longer going to jump through the hoops to find or pay for Speer 147 Gold Dot's any longer.

I'm going to try out some more Federal 147 HST and will probably compare with Winchester Ranger T's and Remington Golden Sabers in 147 grains, easier to find and about 1/2 the price.

Otherwise we should be good to go.