New MK9 Elite.

[gwbiker]

SN GC626x. 150 rounds of mixed brand FMJ. One FTF. Very good accuracy at 21'. Has the "recoil spring from hell". May consider a Wolff spring conversion.

[Bawanna]

A little stiff is it? Haven't heard that description before.

[FLBri]

I don't believe the Wolff springs would be significantly less hellacious. The MK9 is sprung tight when it come to slide running back. Mine has about 700 rounds and is just now feeling more manageable. I inquired with customer service when I had it in to them for some night sights and their answer was that it is part of the design ... "Don't expect it to be a Pm9".

[jocko]

considering wolffs makes kahrs recoil springs, what conversion are u talking about. ? Ur factory springs in ur MK9 is 20.5# wolfs does make a reduced power spring of 18.5# but IMO I would not make that change. I think thatis for more of a shooter who is shooting reduced power ammo and also some women just can't rack those heavier poundage recoil springs:israel:

Now u can put in the wolffs 5# striker spring which will help trigger poundage but not the racking part. Certainly more rounds out of thegun and the spring swill take a nice designed set in tham and it will get alot easier to rack.

[gwbiker]

A little stiff is it? Haven't heard that description before.

If you remember correctly, what I wrote was "recoil spring from hell".

My recently purchased Beretta Nano also has a 3 inch barrel, modified browning locking system and double recoil spring set same as the MK9 and is far easier to rack.

All of my SIGS, Glocks with double recoil springs are not nearly as difficult to compress as the MK9. Interestingly, the MK9 recoil spring easily compresses out of the gun.

[JFootin]

I think Kahr needs to do something to improve the racking issue, which is a major concern for me with my crippled hands. They could improve the springs so they are more like those other guns. And they could do something different with the slide serrations to improve grip, maybe even adding serrations near the front.

[jocko]

we really need to know what the Nano spring poundage is to. before we start comaring. Good example is my G19 glock comes with 17# recoil springs and the Beretta 92 comes with 13# springs where as the Kahrs are around 20# pretty standard. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE Take the srping combo out of the kahr and just rack the slide and barrel and it is a breeze, so the restriction is not in the gunbut in the poundage of the recoil poundate. Not fair to compare kahrs to other guns when we don't know all the particulars about that gun either. Kahrs have always been harder to hand rack than most other guns, I attribute that to not only stiff springs but also just the small ass size. Just not alot to grasp on. Also some people do not properly hand rack a gun right either:israel:

I am not totally sure either how a captive recoil assembly is actually measured for poundage either, What does 20.5# actually mean? Does that mean 20.5# at the full end of the slide when pulled back? Just asking as I don't really know. Footin issues are one that is not good for racking kahrs, no doubt about it, but again it is what it is. He will IMO have to use the slide lock lever more than maybe he wants to. One can try the under power recoil springs that wolffs offers to see if that helps, I seriouls doubt if one will notice a 2# drop in these kahrs either. Hell cut a full coil off your factory spring and ur probably whgere the 18# wolffs spring is at.

At first I had a very hard timne of hand racking my PM9, but after the gun smoothed out some and after I learned more about the gun and hand racking, all things fell into place. Can I rack my kahr as easy as my G19, ABSOLUTELY not. I think I could rack my G19 with my teeth even it is that easy, why" I cannot tell you, I have no issues with either . I think my slide serations are just fine, I would not want them any sharper than thgey are, as we have had some complaints about that even. Front serations would be cool looking, not sure if they would help that much, Hand cupped over the slide seems to be the propper method of racking right and it certainly is easier than the two finger crap when grabbing the back of a kahr slide..

My K9 slide is very easy to hand rack:israel:

[gwbiker]

Slide recoil timing in a semi auto handgun is the issue. From firing, barrel unlock, ejection/extraction, feeding of new round and lock up for next action.

Gun manufacturers design recoil spring poundage to allow a more fluid slide/barrel movement to eliminate feeding/extraction issues.

Some lubricants such as synthetic grease can improve slide movement and help eliminate need for a heavier recoil spring pack. I use Slide Glide lite or TW25b. SIG Arms recommends TW25b for their alloy frame handguns, however I use SG in my five Sig handguns.

I'm off to the indoor range this afternoon with the MK9 and with around 200 rounds of mixed FMJ ammo.

BTW, Jocko....try using spell check in your postings......it's free, ya' know....:)

[jocko]

gwbikler: ur new here, I can see that!!

[yqtszhj]

BTW, Jocko....try using spell check in your postings......it's free, ya' know....:)

Now that's the funniest post I've read in a while. Jocko's "defective keyboard" is his trademark. or it could be that 32,000 rounds through his PM9. That's how we know no one has hacked his password and forged anything pretending to be Jocko which would be hard to do in it self..

[gwbiker]

Now that's the funniest post I've read in a while. Jocko's "defective keyboard" is his trademark. or it could be that 32,000 rounds through his PM9. That's how we know no one has hacked his password and forged anything pretending to be Jocko which would be hard to do in it self..

Ah, defective keyboard....I can bear with that if everyone else has.

BTW, 150 rounds of mixed FMJ ammo thu my MK9 Sunday afternoon. No feeding/extraction issues and recoil spring has loosen up.

[jocko]

I just bught a new key borad. fOKKER IS JUST AS DEFECTIVE!!!

[quikduk]

Jocko,

I wouldn't use self-deprecating humor like that to describe you...:p

I might have to send you a good keyboard and mouse...;)

BTW, my MK loosened up nicely after 400 rounds.

[Barth]

BTW, my MK loosened up nicely after 400 rounds.

+1
I too thought the gun was on the edge of too tight when new.
But my MK40 action turned into butter after 400+ rounds.
Now it racks and cycles just fine.
I think the stainless steel just polishes itself with use.
Now the action is glassy.

The gun was built to be shot - a lot.

[Cobra21]

GWB, I got one too. A GBXXXX Elite '98. Picked this up on Christmas Eve for a song in the parking lot of the local convenience store/gas station/taco stand...very happy camper. It replaces my recently sold MK9 GAXXXX just below it. :)

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/Cobra21/Kahr%20MK9/e5b28b8d.jpg

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/Cobra21/Kahr%20MK9/010-1.jpg

[yqtszhj]

GWB, I got one too. A GBXXXX Elite '98. Picked this up on Christmas Eve for a song in the parking lot of the local convenience store/gas station/taco stand...very happy camper. It replaces my recently sold MK9 GAXXXX just below it. :)


I want to know that song so I can get one too

[jlaudio29]

very nice! i need wood grips for my mk9!!

[gwbiker]

I want to know that song so I can get one too

They're not cheap. I paid $760+tax for NIB MK9 Elite with NO night sights.

I'm waiting for GLOCK to introduce a single stack 9mm with their slick striker action as small as the MK9.

That should set the sub compact 9mm market on it's ear.

[Barth]

They're not cheap. I paid $760+tax for NIB MK9 Elite with NO night sights.

I'm waiting for GLOCK to introduce a single stack 9mm with their slick striker action as small as the MK9.

That should set the sub compact 9mm market on it's ear.

People have been waiting, and very vocal about that, for a long time.
I'm not sure it's ever going to happen.

But we can always hope...

[CJB]

.... "recoil spring from hell".

Beretta Nano also has a 3 inch barrel, modified browning locking system and double recoil spring set same as the MK9 and is far easier to rack.


There is a lot to consider with the choice of spring, all relating to the speed of the parts. Conservation of momentum tells us that the heavier barrel/slide combination will have less momentum, and therefore less speed. So you have to consider weight. Also, how much extra does the slide travel rearward, beyond what it needs to actually strip a round. This extra gap relates to time that the cartridge can rise from the magazine, the shorter that space is, the more critical things are, and generally, the slower the slide must move (hence strong springs). Materials choice and overall design also will make for different springs - due to the amount of stress the parts can take while interacting with other parts.

Recoil springs for small pistols are more critical. That much can be said for sure.

[QuercusMax]

People have been waiting, and very vocal about that, for a long time.
I'm not sure it's ever going to happen.

But we can always hope...

You can keep hoping, but after just reading about the insufferable arrogance of Gaston Glock in a pre-release copy of "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun (http://www.amazon.com/Glock-Americas-Paul-M-Barrett/dp/0307719936/)," I think you are wasting your time for now. There's a reason that Glock's company slogan is "Glock Perfection" - it's because Herr Glock, the creator of the mighty Glock, is utterly convinced that he is right about everything; his product actually *is* perfect in every way (both design and manufacturing quality); and his customers are stupid.

The book is quite a good read, and very eye-opening about how a foreign manufacturer suddenly took the US handgun market away from S&W, which thought it was the rightful owner, at least for law enforcement.

The story of Glock is a lot like the story of Toyota: The established US manufacturers were resting on their laurels, assuming that they "owned" the US market while letting their quality and competitiveness slip, and then when a foreign competitor finally appeared with a product that seemed laughable at first (a "plastic" gun??? - nobody will want one) they underestimated the threat until it was too late and then went into catch-up mode. Now Glock - and Toyota - have become the "safe" but bland choices that seemingly appeal to the herd mentality of many Americans (and not just teenage girls) and thus dominate the middle and largest part of the US market.

BTW, bland does not appeal to me. Call me traditional or whatever you want, but I don't own a Glock - or a Toyota - and probably never will.

http://www.glockthebook.com/images/glock-the-rise-of-americas-gun-the-book.jpg

[Barth]

For the early part of my life I only drove American cars and had American guns.
Drove a Chevy Camaro SS in HS.
But as my American cars self destructed at 100K, and I watched my dad
switch to Toyota, so did I.
Got 389K out of my Toyota 4X4.

In a recent Top Gear episode they tested for the best American truck.
Ford, Chevy and Dodge.
Two of the three didn't make it and the third was on the verge of breaking down.
I couldn't help but notice the backup/rescue truck was a Toyota.

Today I have seven handguns.
I still believe that S&W makes the best revolvers in the world and own three.
Although they are all 10+ year old pre-lock guns - LOL!

In auto just the Kahr is all American.
Although my Sigs, like Toyota, are part American.
And after 20+ years of refusing to own a Glock, I now have a G27.
I wish America made the very best things, but they don't.
I'd love to be true to American products.
But my hard earned cash and need for the best wins in the end.

We seem, as a country, to have been reduced to a consumer of world goods and services.
Rather than a leader in world manufacturing.

I hope in my lifetime, as a country, we can rid ourselves of Obomanation.
And find our way back to being the world leader and superpower that we once were.
And can be again.

[PaulBarrett]

Hi, Kahr fans. I noticed that this discussion referred to my new book, GLOCK: The Rise of America's Gun, which is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com (hard cover and Kindle) for delivery Jan. 10. The comments about some American gun makers getting caught with their pants down by foreign competitors -- a parallel to what happened with autos -- is one central element of the Glock story. Interestingly, Glock is now manufacturing some pistols here in the U.S., at its plant in Smyrna, Ga. In any event, I think all Kahr owners would find fascinating the tale of how an Austrian curtain-rod maker (Gaston Glock) cleared the way for the plastic pistol revolution in the U.S. and around the world with his innovative polymer handgun. More info here: www.glockthebook.com (http://www.glockthebook.com). Happy to answer questions. All the best, Paul M. Barrett, author, GLOCK: The Rise of America's Gun

[jocko]

Isn't it nice that yet we can voice our oppinions and not get banned or shotr over it.

can't do that everywhere, u know.

[ORSalesRep]

My MK9 Elite was also somewhat tight at first. I put on a pair of gloves one night and sat in front of the TV and racked it about 1000 times. I then continued to do this for about a week. That and shooting about 1000 rounds through it and it is very nice now.

[Tilos]

What Barth said, the only thing we HAD left, until recently was the housing industry, which could not be "made in China".

But along came Barney Franks' and Chris Dodd's fannymay and fannymack policy changes to drag down the housing industry, which is now government controlled.

Make NO mistake, housing and only housing IS/ was the U.S. economy before what's happening now.
Sorry for the drift,
YMMV
Tilos

[KMA]

I do not have any kind of problems with the original spring.