[RANash]

It seems that the polymer Kahrs, when they first came out, didn't do that well. But now that they've been out a while, what's the consensus? I would especially like to hear from those who have gotten one relatively recently.

Thanks in advance,
Rich

[10-Ring]

I had a chance to fondle one recently. It seemed well made & a fine specimen in that niche. I'd be interested to to find out how well they perform.

[KMKeller]

My wife has one as her CCW piece. She won't trade it for anything and she's pretty capable with it. I've not shot it much for accuracy, but 3" groups at 15 yards are typically what she gets and she's only been shooting 5 times in her life. They're a bit snappy recoil wise, but heavier than you'd think.

[RANash]

I'm interested, especially, in durability issues. Do they stand up under a lot of rounds?

I would like your feedback on all the other issues as well, of course.

Thanks!
Rich

[mini14jac]

I think I got my PM9 around the first of the summer.
(About 4-5 months ago.)
No issues at all.
The gun feeds everything I put in it.
Practice ammo is Winchester 100ct. white box from Walmart.
Surprisingly accurate for such a small gun.
And shootable!

I'm nearing the 800rd mark, because the gun is fun to shoot.
Some scuff marks on the rear of the barrel, where it locks into the ejection port, but no real wear on the gun at all.
I wasn't crazy about spending $550 for a handgun, but it is starting to look like a good deal.

[Tommy.Gun]

I love mine.....

[Ford]

Got my PM9 less than 2 weeks ago. I have only put a little over 200 rounds through it so far but have had no problem while shooting. 200 rounds of Winchester White box and 6 rounds of Speer Gold Dot. ( just wanted to see if it would feed a few hollow points ok.) It did. The only problem that I have had is that sometimes the slide will get stuck in the rear position if I try to pull back the slide and cycle the first round into the chamber. I have found than in order to do this I have to pull back the slide and let it go very quickly. The slide has no problem closing over the round if it is locked back and the slide release is pushed. Not real sure what the problem is. It does not cause the gun to malfunction. It does seem to get a little better as I shoot it and handle it. I think that it is just a matter of the gun getting broken in. Other than that the gun is great. It shoot well and with not much recoil.

[Leadbutt]

I have a pair of them. one rides in my front pocket every day and the other on my vest as a last ditch back up, as per the papaer work that came with them it took about 300 rounds to get them running full tilt boogie, some have had problems with them pening the hood area with +p ammo, but in that size of pistol I don't see the reason in useing it, I use the dept issued Gold dots and Golden sabers,

If you have large hands try the mag extention to catch your little finger and or try the "A grip" panels, I like them better then the Houge slip on,its to sticky for concealed carry

[mini14jac]

Actually, I think the barrel peening was happening with a steady diet of +P+ ammo.

I carry Gold Dot +P in mine.
The gun is very accurate with that round.
I've shot maybe 50 Gold Dots through it.
I've shot those, Winchester Pesonal Defense, and Hydra Shoks.
No problem with any hollow points.

[Old Pa]

I've been running a PM9 for about six months and think it's a wonderful gun. 250-300 breakin rounds went routinely, and once the trigger was mastered, I have no trouble keeping shots on the head of an IDPA standard at 20 yards. My standard +P+ 124 gr XTP shoots to point of aim at 25 yards. It's my regular concealed carry, although it's not going to get the thousands and thousands of rounds of my training and competition .45ACP pistols.

[RemoW]

The only way I would switch from my p9 covert is if Glock made a gun in the same size.

My p9 is at 4k rounds including a batch of 9mm machine gun ammo.

Great weapon and worht every penny.

Dan...

[Obiwan]

My P-9 is on its' third trip back to the folks at Kahr

They told me this morning that they have had a lot of problems with the P and PM series

[LC '92]

I have been carrying & using a Kahr P-40 since April of 2001. Only fired 188 rounds through it to date, but have had no misfeeds using several different brands of ammo, including some cheapy cast police reloads. I love mine. Accurate, powerful, dependable, and easy to carry, but then again, as you can see, I don't shoot it a lot.

To me, it is an ideal carry piece. As stated above, the only thing that would make me change would be if Glock made one the same size.

[RANash]

What kind of problems have you been having, Obiwan?

Or, maybe I should do this in character... (in my best Yoda voice)

Problems of what kind have you, Obiwan?

Also, how is Kahr in terms of service?

[matbas]

I just picked up a PM9 (Black stainless) over the weekend. I have only run 50 rounds of ball reloads through it, but it has been perfect. I did disassemble it to clean it before shooting and it was clean and well lubricated from the factory.
Matt

[gbelleh]

I have a PM9 that has about 600 rounds through it. It had 2 minor problems (slide not going into battery) during the first 100 rounds. Since then it's been perfect. It gets nice tight groups too.

My best friend also got a Pm9 around the same time. He has about 400 trouble free rounds through his. I've shot his and find it just as accurate as mine. I'm sure some have problems, but the ones I've dealt with have been great guns.

[TheeBadOne]

I'm still waiting a bit (more for lack of money than anything) but am quite interested in replacing my MK-9 with a PM-9.

[PCRit]

I've got a little over 300rnds through my PM9 and the only problem I've had was a "weak" magazine release spring (mag would fall out). I replaced the spring with a "stiffer" factory spring and new magazine catch button, and that solved the problem. You can go to the Kahr forum below to learn more about the PM9 and other Kahrs:

http://www.pistolsmith.com/viewforum.php?f=42&sid=575d69bd9d78d4cff20e345a68949dc9

[The Reverend]

Great to see a good number of shooters here at THR are posting positive experiences with their polymer Kahrs.

Kahr is very open about what is being returned for warranty repair work. In my limited dealings with the CS folks, they informed me that the only steel framed guns they get back with any regularity are the now discontinued E9s. The polymer framed products are still experiencing some issues, but none that appear to be to difficult to address (Obiwan seems to be having a real pistol of a time getting his pistol in good working order).

I will say that it is good to see an "ALL" American gun manufacturer get such high marks even while being relatively young in the industry. I've even heard some comment that they hold the Kahr line up to SIG quality. While I would say that quality is high, only time will tell for me whether the E9 I own will rival the P225or P226 I own...

Have a great day all!

God Bless

[RANash]

The polymer framed products are still experiencing some issues, but none that appear to be to difficult to address OK, but what are the issues?

[Onslaught]

Sounds like the PM's are doing well, but I swear you couldn't GIVE me another P9 or P40...

I have been carrying & using a Kahr P-40 since April of 2001. Only fired 188 rounds through it to date, but have had no misfeeds using several different brands of ammo, including some cheapy cast police reloads.

That's just scary... I promise to be nice, but sounds like you've been carrying it since you bought it, probably even before firing the first round... You've still got 12 more rounds to go before it reaches the factory break-in. Let me tell you why that ( to me) is such a bad idea...

I won't go into much detail on the P9 I sent back 3 times for the same problem, as it was an "older" one, but the P40 that Kahr finally replaced it with was supposted to have all the latest upgrades on it. It was after about 350 completely trouble free rounds that the trigger started to malfunction, same as the 2 previous P9's that kept going back to Kahr. I was at the range, shooting away with no problems, when all of a sudden, I pull the trigger, and it went CLICK instead of BANG. After it continued to get worse, and happen more frequently, I could pull the trigger MULTIPLE TIMES and it would go click click click BANG! Kahr calls it "premature striker release" or some such thing. They said they knew it was a problem and had redesigned the striker system in the Polymer pistols, but that was BEFORE this P40 was made.

I never ONCE had a "misfeed" or any other signs of trouble whatsoever. But can you imagine what would have happened if I had NEEDED that stupid POS and it went CLICK at the neccessary moment? :what:

I'll admit, the PM9 looks promising, and I haven't heard a single person say they had "PMS-R" :scrutiny: with it, but I opted for a S&W 642 as an ankle gun even though I would have preferred the PM9.

NO more polymer Kahrs for me. I absolutely do not trust them.

[Obiwan]

My P-9 is on its' third trip back to Kahr right now

Glad to hear (I think) that I am not the only one

[dsk]

I have an early P9 in the #2000 range. I've fired close to 1000 rounds, and with exception of the trigger pin walking out slightly I've had no trouble with it.

It seems there are good ones and bad ones out there.

[mini14jac]

RANash,

If you'll do a search here, and on www.pistolsmith.com, you should find any problems with the Polymer Kahrs.

1.There was something about a "bowed" frame.
Seems like that was cosmetic.
2.Trigger pins walking out.
This was fixed by putting a cross pin in.
3. Frame damage caused by the cross pin.
4.I think the little plastic cover on one side of the grip came off of earlier guns.
This was redesigned.

Those are the issues that I remember.

I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy a PM9 or a KelTec P3AT until the bugs were worked out.
Then I bought the first one of each that I saw. :rolleyes:

-No self control.-

It looks like my PM9 was one of the good ones.
As I stated above, no issues at all.
I don't think I could be more pleased with this gun.
I plan on shooting it until it breaks.
Hopefully, that will be when one of my great-grandkids is shooting it.
(Don't even have grandkids yet.)

If you are going to get one, see if the dealer will let you field strip it before you plunk down any cash.
Many problems can be spotted with a good inspection.

[dsk]

I have an early P9 in the #2000 range. I've fired close to 1000 rounds, and with exception of the trigger pin walking out slightly I've had no trouble with it.

It seems there are good ones and bad ones out there.

[RANash]

Thanks to all!

It sounds like there are no more problems with the polymer Kahrs than what I would expect from any manufacturer...they all seem to produce a few lemons. Looks like one is in my future!

Thanks again,
Rich

[Obiwan]

"no more problems with the polymer Kahrs than what I would expect from any manufacturer"

That is my problem....I have NEVER had this problem before with any other weapon.....

I guess I am spoiled!

And I think you are on to something...now if only Kahr would just replace the lemons rather than trying unsuccessfully to fix them

[Obiwan]

Ranash....they drive me to the dark side

Consistent casing stuck at the 12 o'clock position regardless of ammo used.

Even had one case stuck under the extractor...had to use multitool to get it out.

First outing. Couldn't get through two mags without a problem

Second outing...much better...up to three mags

Third outing...hit or miss...2-3 mags no problem...next mag 3 jams

Man are my malfunction drill sharp!

And every time they swore it was fixed and they had test fired

After second trip I called/faxed/emailed for a solid week before someone arranged to return it. I literally spoke to people that promised someone would call me...and nobody did!

[einstein]

Bought about 3 years ago. Shot about 3k rounds. Loved it. Very accurate. Comfortable to shoot. I don't have it anymore.

About six weks ago it broke.

Whilst cleaning, the right front guide rail (polymer/plastic) on the frame broke. The plastic just snapped.

Called Kahr. Very good customer support. "Send it back. We'll give you whatever you want. We want you to be happy."

He said my problem was that the "female" guide rail on the slide (metal) was too tight and it wore down its plastic "mate".

I got a K9 98 Elite with night sights.

I REALLY wanted the PM9. In fact that's what I first asked for. then I called the tech guy back the next day.

"So what's with a 3 year old gun breaking?" I said politely. "Will I have problems with the PM9?"

He said that PM9's had been coming back to the factory. He didn't go into detail. He said he carried the K9.

None of the above is Kahr bashing. All brands of guns have had problems.

I still really want the PM9.

einstein

[mini14jac]

einstein,

Are you saying the guide rails on the frame of the P9 are polymer?
Do you have pictures?

On the PM9, they are steel inserts imbedded in the polymer frame.
So you have steel grooves on the slide riding on steel rails imbedded in the polymer frame.
It's all metal-on-metal contact.

I thought Ruger was the only one with a steel slide riding on polymer rails.
(That's the design of my P95, and it works fine. You have much more room for thick rails on that gun though.)

[einstein]

mini14jac,


It certainly appeared that the frame rails were (are) (I no longer have the gun) polymer.

Like I said, the rail just snapped when I was cleaning it.

And, Javier (the tech at Kahr) did say it was probably due to the metal slide rails being too tight and weakening the frame rails. That also indicates to me that theyare polymer.

einstein