What is the most reliable Kahr?

[Wolffire99]

I've made up my mind on purchasing a Kahr for a ccw. I love the way they shoot and they have everything I'm looking for and nothing I'm not. I've done quite a bit of reading on here, tons of great info, and I'd love to have your opinion. Based on your own experiences or what you've read (or haven't read in this case), what is the most reliable Kahr model and on which caliber? Thanks in advance.

[Thunder71]

Anything but the P380.

[Ubaldo99]

I dont have a great deal of experience with Kahr. My only Kahr firearm is the CM9 which I purchased about 6 months ago. It has been extremely reliable and perfect for pocket-carry which was my primary interest in purchasing it. If you follow the break-in and lube threads on the KahrTalk forums you cant go wrong. Good luck with your purchase.

[Russ]

I had issues with an after market night sight Kahr installed on my CM9. They could never figure out why the sight would break off after just a box of shells.

[Thunder71]

I've heard way more than one report of sights breaking off on the CM9, thanks for the reminder.

[stumprat]

I installed my own night sight using red loctite. No issues at all.

[OldLincoln]

Welcome Wolf. If I were buying a new concealed carry gun today, it would be the PM45 and a Silent Thunder IWB holster. The 45 is a solid big bore handgun and the PM45 is a solid reliable model. The Silent Thunder holster is tops in comfort and concealability. It is a Kydex shell lined with leather which protects the gun's finish. It has a single clip standard which is ample for that gun, but for those who insist on dual belt attachments it is available in a dual belt loop option.

PM45 (http://www.kahr.com/Pistols/Kahr-PM45-Black-w-Night-Sights.asp)
Silent Thunder Standard (http://garrettindustries.mybigcommerce.com/products/Silent-Thunder-IWB.html)
Silent Thunder w/ Belt Loops (http://garrettindustries.mybigcommerce.com/silent-thunder-iwb-with-tuckable-belt-loops/)

[Barth]

I only have experience owning the MK40 Elite.
Have also range tested the P40, K40 and P9 models as rentals.
All three rentals were flawless with FMJ range ammo.

With the MK40 it was flawless with Ranger Bonded 180 HPs through
break in.
I bent the slide stop spring during reassembly,
then a fresh spring loosened on me.
Both caused premature slide lock.
I also experienced sporadic FTFs
with big mouth HP Speer short barrel ammo.

Now that I've got the gun broke in and in good working order it's been flawless with all but the SB Speer.
Fine with Speer 155/165 gr HPs and Winchester 135 HPs.
I'm getting some 165 Winchester Ranger T-Series HPs that I'm sure will be fine too.
Talked to my gunsmith about what he could do to increase feed reliability and he said basically nothing.
The guns are just fussy about what they will feed.
Elites come from the factory with polished feed ramps and other such things you might normally do after the fact.

I think with proper maintenance, specifically tightening and lubrication,
and a successful 200 checkout with SD ammo, it's a fine choice for CC.
Recommend Galco Jak Slide or other OWB inside belt carry (belt anyway)
for the stainless steel MK9/40s as they are really a bit heavy for pocket carry.

The PM9/40 CM9/40 are fine in a pocket with DeSantis Super fly/Nemesis or
other like pocket holsters.

My 40 needs the slide stop spring and all four grip screws tightened
with each session. Also the gun will take the skin off the web of my hand
at 200 rounds. Recommend keeping practice down to 100 rounds per time.

good luck

Update:
Don't have personal experience. But the .380 seems to be the most trouble prone.
Seems like all micro .380s have issues regardless of manufacturer.
Also, even with high tech bullets, I'm not sure you get the 10/12
inches FBI protocol penetration for best SD out of a .380.

My best generic advise would be consider a CM9.
Load it with Speer GDHP 124 P+.
Get the gun with standard sights and upgrade to a NS of your liking.
Things have changed since standard three dots.
I-Dot Pro's with optic orange front sight and XS Systems Big Dot 24/7 Express, to name a few.

Final note:
Kahr is not really a mainstream gun.
And some websites will not list NS sights for Kahrs.
They usually do make them, you just have to email or call.

Happy and safe holidays to everyone...

[HadEmAll]

My own experiences, no hearsay:

Had a K40 for 10 years. Never had a malfunction of any type in it over 800 rounds. Mine was the early model, with the satin nickel finished steel slide.

Have a CW40 for 3 years. No malfunctions in 400 rounds.

Have a PM9 bought this year. No malfunctions in 350 rounds.

Have a PM40 bought this year. No malfunctions in 350 rounds. The 5 round magazine's follower broke at 200 rounds. The magazine was hard to load until I replaced the follower, but the pistol shot fine.

Owning the above pistols has been a pleasure, and I'd recommend them to anyone, and have. I carry the CW40 and PMs a lot. I can't say any one of them is the most reliable, as they have all been 100%.

My brother bought a K40 and CW9 last year based on my recommendations. I was at the range with him when he put the K40 throught its maiden voyage. It was horrible. Felt like everything internally was running on grinding compound. Trigger wouldn't reset, feeding failures, light strikes. I was embarrassed for having recommended it. It' s been reliable since he got it back from Kahr. His CW9 has been perfect out of the box, like all mine have been.

Have a P380 bought this year. Has been a frustrating waste of time and ammo so far. It's coming back from Kahr for the 3rd time, this time with a new frame. We'll see, but I'd never recommend one to anybody I cared about, even if mine works this time. It is a beautiful little thing when it's working right, but that has been sporadic and in short bursts, and only with certain ammo.

[Popeye]

I own a PM9 all black with Tru Dot Night Sights. I do not have a lot of experience with other model Kahrs. I can say though that the PM9 has proven itself to be a very fine quality pistol. It's ergo's and long but smooth DAO trigger make it a fun but safe gun for CC providing you do your part. I find a 9mm round in this size pistol is a good choice as it's not overpowering and keeps on target well for a follow up shot if nessary. I find it doesn't take a lot of extra care on your part to make it a reliable CC pistol. Meaning it doesn't have to be kept spotless 24/7. I'm quite sure with a holster of your liking you be hard pressed to find a better and more comfortable choice in a CC pistol. I know I sure haven't. I carry all my pistols at one time or another and that ranges from a Kel Tec .380 to a full size 1911 but 9 out of 10 times it the PM9 that is on my hip or in a jacket pocket. I'm sure you'll get lots of good ideas on what Kahr to carry from members on this site and that's a good thing, because it's pretty hard to go wrong with any model in the Kahr line of pistols.

[ripley16]

Based on your own experiences or what you've read

Based on my personal experience, the 9mm K, P, T and TP pistols are very reliable. I've never had a failure with the larger Kahrs. I have no experience with the small Kahrs, but constantly read of problems with them.

Based on my own experience, the larger calibers, .40 and .45 have a higher frequency of failures. Based on what I've read the larger calibers, especially the small framed larger calibers have a higher failure rate.

Therefore, using the scientific method, we can conclusively deduce that you should buy a K9, 9mm, all black, with Mepro nightsights. No kidding... the K9 is perhaps the most reliable, most trouble free.

[TominCA]

My vote is for the PM9 as a reliable carry piece. Mine come out of the box 100%. The little p380 can have breakin problems and I'm not familiar with the 40 or 45 cal Kahrs. I like the pm9 because it can go into a pocket or is good in an IWB holster.

[Bill K]

First... Welcome to the forum!

Second... I've only experience with the PM9. I had ttwo issues out of the box but both were quickly fixed by info here, a 6 for 7 round mag exchange from Kahr and a new slide release from Kahr.

Third... My PM9 has replaced about 80% of my .380 pocket carry and I suspect will chew into my winter Glock carry.

Forth... Agree with other poster in that I'd also not recommend the Kahr P380 based on what I read here on KahrTalk.

Good luck!

[TomMc]

I own the P9 with Crimson Trace. Given all the guns I've owned, fired and carried--this is unequivocally the best concealed handgun ever! Period. Light, thin, accurate and ridiculously reliable.

[yqtszhj]

Welcome. I can say that my experience has been nothing but positive with the CW9 and CM9. Can't speak for anything else since I haven't had one. A .45 cal would be OK but couldn't shoot as much though (due to the cost...)

[josp]

PM9 utterly reliable (2k rounds) and most carried.

T9 utterly reliable (1k rounds) but I'll admit using only ball as it's a range gun for me.

P45 also utterly reliable (500 rounds) and closing in on most carried. Somtimes I carry both!

[deanp1964]

I've had flawless performance from my PM9 (5 years plus)

Had some issues with my PM45 but they're being resolved. I really like the .45 auto round...

Today, I think I could recommend both of these guns to anyone, but would add that there are some really good improvement mods that can be done to the magazines - they're simple, easy to do yourself, and the details can be found in the Kahr-tech section of this forum. They made a good thing even better for me.

[Ubaldo99]

So, Wolffie... Have you made a decision yet?!

[deanp1964]

the most obvious, but surprisingly overlooked, feature in a carry gun is its "CARRY-ABILITY" - or, one's willingness to carry it.

For me that has A LOT to do with the size and weight of the firearm. The PM9 and PM45 are the firearms that drew me to Kahr to begin with and they're pretty much all I carry with the exception of a Kel-Tec that I carry as backup on occasion.