PM9 shoots low -- slide & barrel loose?

[jocko]

not alot of other semi's out there with a 3/8" trigger travel, so it does take time like u state pp..good point.

[DKD]

First and formost this design is a tilting barrel linkage which is a John Mosses Browning design and is shared by the vast majority of pistols even after 100 years. The barrel and slide must disconnect via the slide stop pin which toggles the barrel down slightly. All this occures only after the barrel and slide travel a short distance after firing the round. If you watched this in time laspse photograhy you woulld see the muzzle flash, the bullet leave the barrel then a few frames later, see the slide & barrel move back say about 1/2" or so locke together, then disengage per the above noted toggle. Once the new round is picked up and begins to move into battery the slide and barrel onc e agin are locked together under the spring pressure riding the spring guide rod.
Your bullet probably hits the target even before the slide has had a chance to begin its rearward travel.
As was previously stated your low hits are more a function of getting use to the trigger mechanism and not the pistol. Do what JOCKO recommeded...and gp shoot it like you stole it! Sorry JOCKO...I got carried away.

[jocko]

ok with me, u are right on target, good descriptrion of what happens. I have never been a good shooter nor ever owned a 1911 or intend to but they can be made damn tight for accuracy purposes, but for me in a true defense gun which is what the entire kahr line basicaly is to, then I want alittle call it slop/play or what ever. certainly our true 191`1 military 45 was as sloppy as can be compared to modern day 1911's but the fokkers wnet bang and they did the job for years. were not talking in a aSHTF situation of hitting a beer can at 25 yards , we are talking about close up personal defense and for me I want a little play in my semi over one maybe so tight that issues could happen more than one with alittle play in it. I tend to think also that all steel guns can be made to tighter standards to, without maybe any possability of perfect reliability. Just sayin

[NoCoErik]

Ok. So finally got to go to the range and try it again. Verdict: the gun shoots fine. Yeah, I'm still not jazzed by the loose play in the slide. I could call it "appropriately loose for a combat gun" (yet my G19 isn't loose and most would call it fairly combat competent); but I'll just call it ... loose. It's VERY MINOR. More of a mental image dissonance thing. I'd heard so much about the PM9 being machined to such tight tolerances, yada, yada, yada. I think 90% of that impression is the super strong spring.

Bottom line, it shoots very accurately when I take my time. Braced, I got a group where 10 of 14 rounds were within 1.5" of each other, and the flyers were no more than another inch and a half out. Performed every bit as well as the G19 in slow fire. BUT I suck at rapid double tap. And the culprit? Me and the trigger. It's just such a Loooooong pull that I'm dipping the muzzle by the time the trigger breaks and a round gets out. I'm consistently low (like 10" low) at 21'. Yet, to be fair, this is my first owned DAO gun and I've got less than 200 rounds through it, so it would certainly be a rush to judgement to write it off. Don't expect to see it on the want ads for sale tomorrow.

But for those who wonder PM9 v. CM9, I'd wager to say, the CM9 is just fine. I got to hankering really bad for the black and the fancy rifling in the barrel (which is FAR less important than the user IMHO). This isn't a target gun, and the difference between barrels, the slide stop and engraving are minimal at best. Your mileage may vary, but that's my take.

For now, it's a keeper. From here, it's practice, practice, practice. Thanks for the feedback and insight along the way. It did give me a lot to look at and try out when I gave it another shot, so to speak.