Sapper771
Member
This is a short review of the Kahr CW9. I am not a professional gun rag review writer, I am just a regular joe that likes firearms. I wrote this review for those who are interested in the kahr line of handguns. Some of the content of this review will contain my opinions, YMMV.
Background:
Having recently sold my Sig P232, I was in the market for a new back up gun to carry at work. The Sig P232 was an excellent little pistol, but I had made the decision to get away from the .380 cartridge due to it becoming hard to find and expensive in my area. I currently reload for 9mm and 45acp, so I wanted the new back up gun in one of the two calibers. Having the pistol in a caliber I reload for will allow me to shoot/train with it more and not break my limited budget.
My requirements for a back up gun were :
1.) Must be reasonably Light weight.
2.) Must be in an effective caliber.
3.) Would prefer a thin/slim profile.
4.) Must be reliable.
5.) Must be combat accurate.
6.) No snag points.
7.) Trigger in DA/SA, DAO, or a Trigger that could be modified easily.
8.) Must have a decently aggressive grip texture.
9.) Must be simple to manipulate and shoot one handed.
10.) Rust resistant.
Most of the above points are self explanatory. A few I will go into with more detail due to my needs in a back up weapon. Light weight: I am already packing a lot of weight in equipment (40+ lbs). Thin/slim profile: with the location that I carry my back up gun, the thinner it is, the less obvious it will be, for me and everyone else. Trigger: I would prefer a higher poundage trigger pull because this back up gun wont be in a high security holster like my duty weapon. Aggressive grip texture: my hands are rough and callused from years of work and 20 lpi front straps, so I need something that has some bite to it. Easy to manipulate and shoot one handed: more than likely, one of my hands will be occupied , so it is important that the back up gun lend itself to ease of use with one hand. Rust resistant: I sweat more than the normal person. In my job, if it rains, I am wet. If it is hot, so am I. If it snows, I am cold. The back up gun must be able to deal with the elements.
THE HUNT:
A friend and I decided to take a trip out of town to visit several shops where we could both look at and handle several pistols that fit my criteria. I was able to narrow down my choices to 3 pistols. A Glock 26, a Kahr CW9, and a Kahr CW45. While taking a break, my friend and I were talking about one of the gun shops in our town and how they were not doing too good financially.
I remembered that the local gun shop had all three of the pistols in stock. We agreed to head back home and visit the local shop to do some hands on comparisons. At the shop, I quickly disqualified the CW45 due to its slightly larger size.
I was now down to the G26 and the CW9. After about 20 minutes of hard thought, I finally chose the Kahr CW9 pistol. The G26 was a close contender, but it was thicker than the CW9, it weighed more, the grip was shorter than the CW9 , and the grip texture was not as rough as the CW9. It would also be a pain in the rear shooting lead out of the G26, but I have done it before with no problems.
The local shop made me an offer of $450 on the pistol and I accepted. The CW9 only comes with one 7 round magazine, so I had to purchase another one for $35.
I could have purchased this pistol somewhere else and save about $40, but I was more interested in helping the local store out.
Shooting:
I spent the ride to the range getting accustomed to the Kahr's unique trigger. I am use to shooting Glocks and 1911s and I knew I was going to have some minor transition issues at first due to the DA pull. The factory suggests a 200 round break-in period and I have read that others have experienced FTF/FTE's during this break in, but they usually go away after the 200 rounds.
I started out with about 50 rounds of 115gr BBI LRN reloads. Accuracy was excellent from the little pistol. I was able to keep all my rounds in the X at 7 yards. The Kahr shot POA using the BBI ammo. I backed up to 12 and 15 yards and got the same results, but the group opened up a bit. I will admit that I am not much of an accuracy shooter. Most of my range time is spent shooting drills from the holster in defense style scenarios. I decided to speed things up a bit at 7 yards. I used my Galco Royal Guard IWB Glock 17 holster as an improvised holster for the Kahr. My limited ability with the kahr's trigger then became apparent. Things were smooth til I began firing multiple shots quickly. I was dipping the muzzle down and not paying attention to the front sight throughout the trigger pulls. Rounds were landing 3"-4" lower than my point of aim. Not the kahr's fault at all. Anyone who shoots revolvers should not have any problems with the Kahr's trigger.
No malfuctions at this point. Ejection was positive, casting the empties about 4 feet at 4 to 5 o' clock in a nice pile.
I went back to my range table and got some 115gr FMJ reloads that I load to 1200fps. This load is my "go to" 9mm load. It seems to work magic in all of my 9mm pistols. I started at 7 yards again, slowly shooting for accuracy. As I was shooting, I watched the front sight like a hawk. I gradually began speeding up my shots. After I ran that drill a few more times, I went back for speed. From the holster , my shots landed where I wanted them, tight enough for government work.
Background:
Having recently sold my Sig P232, I was in the market for a new back up gun to carry at work. The Sig P232 was an excellent little pistol, but I had made the decision to get away from the .380 cartridge due to it becoming hard to find and expensive in my area. I currently reload for 9mm and 45acp, so I wanted the new back up gun in one of the two calibers. Having the pistol in a caliber I reload for will allow me to shoot/train with it more and not break my limited budget.
My requirements for a back up gun were :
1.) Must be reasonably Light weight.
2.) Must be in an effective caliber.
3.) Would prefer a thin/slim profile.
4.) Must be reliable.
5.) Must be combat accurate.
6.) No snag points.
7.) Trigger in DA/SA, DAO, or a Trigger that could be modified easily.
8.) Must have a decently aggressive grip texture.
9.) Must be simple to manipulate and shoot one handed.
10.) Rust resistant.
Most of the above points are self explanatory. A few I will go into with more detail due to my needs in a back up weapon. Light weight: I am already packing a lot of weight in equipment (40+ lbs). Thin/slim profile: with the location that I carry my back up gun, the thinner it is, the less obvious it will be, for me and everyone else. Trigger: I would prefer a higher poundage trigger pull because this back up gun wont be in a high security holster like my duty weapon. Aggressive grip texture: my hands are rough and callused from years of work and 20 lpi front straps, so I need something that has some bite to it. Easy to manipulate and shoot one handed: more than likely, one of my hands will be occupied , so it is important that the back up gun lend itself to ease of use with one hand. Rust resistant: I sweat more than the normal person. In my job, if it rains, I am wet. If it is hot, so am I. If it snows, I am cold. The back up gun must be able to deal with the elements.
THE HUNT:
A friend and I decided to take a trip out of town to visit several shops where we could both look at and handle several pistols that fit my criteria. I was able to narrow down my choices to 3 pistols. A Glock 26, a Kahr CW9, and a Kahr CW45. While taking a break, my friend and I were talking about one of the gun shops in our town and how they were not doing too good financially.
I remembered that the local gun shop had all three of the pistols in stock. We agreed to head back home and visit the local shop to do some hands on comparisons. At the shop, I quickly disqualified the CW45 due to its slightly larger size.
I was now down to the G26 and the CW9. After about 20 minutes of hard thought, I finally chose the Kahr CW9 pistol. The G26 was a close contender, but it was thicker than the CW9, it weighed more, the grip was shorter than the CW9 , and the grip texture was not as rough as the CW9. It would also be a pain in the rear shooting lead out of the G26, but I have done it before with no problems.
The local shop made me an offer of $450 on the pistol and I accepted. The CW9 only comes with one 7 round magazine, so I had to purchase another one for $35.
I could have purchased this pistol somewhere else and save about $40, but I was more interested in helping the local store out.
Shooting:
I spent the ride to the range getting accustomed to the Kahr's unique trigger. I am use to shooting Glocks and 1911s and I knew I was going to have some minor transition issues at first due to the DA pull. The factory suggests a 200 round break-in period and I have read that others have experienced FTF/FTE's during this break in, but they usually go away after the 200 rounds.
I started out with about 50 rounds of 115gr BBI LRN reloads. Accuracy was excellent from the little pistol. I was able to keep all my rounds in the X at 7 yards. The Kahr shot POA using the BBI ammo. I backed up to 12 and 15 yards and got the same results, but the group opened up a bit. I will admit that I am not much of an accuracy shooter. Most of my range time is spent shooting drills from the holster in defense style scenarios. I decided to speed things up a bit at 7 yards. I used my Galco Royal Guard IWB Glock 17 holster as an improvised holster for the Kahr. My limited ability with the kahr's trigger then became apparent. Things were smooth til I began firing multiple shots quickly. I was dipping the muzzle down and not paying attention to the front sight throughout the trigger pulls. Rounds were landing 3"-4" lower than my point of aim. Not the kahr's fault at all. Anyone who shoots revolvers should not have any problems with the Kahr's trigger.
No malfuctions at this point. Ejection was positive, casting the empties about 4 feet at 4 to 5 o' clock in a nice pile.
I went back to my range table and got some 115gr FMJ reloads that I load to 1200fps. This load is my "go to" 9mm load. It seems to work magic in all of my 9mm pistols. I started at 7 yards again, slowly shooting for accuracy. As I was shooting, I watched the front sight like a hawk. I gradually began speeding up my shots. After I ran that drill a few more times, I went back for speed. From the holster , my shots landed where I wanted them, tight enough for government work.
