Recent experience with Kahr P45?

[gbelleh]

I'm considering getting a new, non-1911, CCW .45.

I've pretty much ruled out everything as too big, too wide, too heavy, too few rounds, safety features I don't want, etc.

But the Kahr P45 seems to be the best compromise.

Anyone have recent experience with this gun? Are there any known problems or concerns with it? Can anyone who carries it comment on its concealability?

Thanks.

 

[klash545]

friend of mine has one,its a POS....do some reading on Kahr pistols before purchasing. i'm sure there will be a bunch of people chiming in on how great and reliable they are....but i'd be willing to bet those people don't shoot very much. remember on the internet "thousands of trouble free rounds" dont always equal real life rounds. I'd suggest a G36 if you want a single stack 45

 

[gbelleh]

Thanks. I'm hoping to get some honest feedback on the current reliability of this model, good or bad.

I actually ruled out the G36 based on problems with the two I've owned. While the 2 Kahrs I've owned so far, have been trouble-free (PM9 and MK40).

I'd really like to see a small CCW .45 from Kel-Tec.

 

[Wyo_F-A]

I carry the CW45 daily and am VERY happy with the pistol. I purchased it instead of the P45 mainly because I liked the lack of extra 'stuff' on the slide...and the cheaper price certainly helped.

As far a klash545's comments about not shooting very much...how much do you wanna bet? Every gun is different, every shooter is different, and everybody has their own preferences. He is obviously a glock fan whereas I wouldn't use one for anything other than a paperweight. But then again, I like Taurus, I don't mind putting Wolf ammo in my AR, and actually like to take my mini-14 to the range even though it doesn't shoot sub MOA, and I can't stand the 1911 platform...so what the hell do I really know?

Get the Kahr, get a decent holster for it, get a variety of ammo to test it, and never look back.

just my .02

 

[usp9]

I've owned both the P45 and TP45. I ended up selling both because I didn't like shooting the gun. This is not to say others may love them. I found the light guns too harsh in recoil for my liking. They are accurate, easy to conceal and high quality. I purchased the TP45 with an idea to cut the grip down to make a more concealable, 4" barreled carry gun...the best of the TP and P models combined. The TP45 can be found at prices comparable to the CW45, but with the advantage of the dovetails and polygonal barrel. Seemed like a good idea, but I didn't like the gun... too bad.

 

[memphisjim]

get the pm45
i know a guy who has several kahrs and swears by them

 

[The Bushmaster]

And I know a guy that has a few Kahrs and swears at them...

 

[Fremmer]

Looks like an interesting gun.

 

[DeepSouth]

I carry a PM45, and I love it. I have not shot 15,000 rounds through it, only about 1,000 maybe a little less. It has jammed on me, once, round #39. Other than that I have had 0 problems, I can say it took about 250-300 rounds before my wife could shoot it without it jamming with her, limpwristing I guess.

About the recoil, I put 220+ rounds through it the day I got it many of which were +P JHP's, my wife shoots it, heck my 10 year old shot it. Obliviously it ain't THAT bad. The muzzle jump is pretty bad though, follow up shots aren't that fast but with a .45 as long as the first one hits it don't matter.

I say get one.

You might also want to check out http://kahrtalk.com/forum.php

Here's my PM45

 

[Welding Rod]

Mine was a POS. It was the most unreliable gun I have ever owned. The main problem was failure to go completely into battery. It was like the recoil spring didn't have enough force to over come the drag of the top round in the mag being pushed up by the mag spring.

I sent it back and they replaced the entire slide assembly. Then I promptly sold it before shooting it so I could get rid of it with a clear conscience. I did disclose the history though.

However, this was a couple years ago.

 

[DeepSouth]

Welding Rod

Was that a PM or a P 45. Just curious.

 

[Welding Rod]

It was a P45.

 

[jfrey]

I've shot the CW45, which is the P45 without the fluff and it was fine. If you shoot reloads you have to watch the OAL and bullet crimp, but other than that I don't know of any special problems. The P/CW gun shoots very similiar to my G36 so I decided to keep it instead of trading for the Kahr. The guns carry very well and the recoil isn't quite as much as the PM45.

FYI: a friend of mine had the feeding problems with the slide not going into battery and we found out his bullets were seated out too long and the bullet was catching the rifling and stopping the slide from going completely foreward. We shortened the OAL to just short of 1.200 and the problem went away. At that point we also installed a new recoil spring and things worked a lot better. You do have to change those things once in a while. I guess that is why Kahr doesn't recommend shooting reloads.

I normally shoot a couple hundred rounds a week so I usually know if a problem is the gun or me. (As per the comment above about people not shooting very much)

 

[bltmonty]

I owned both the P45 and CW45 and ended up selling both. I shoot a lot and own many pistols, but I could never manage to be accurate with these pistols, especially with quick shots.

Despite what the Kahr website says, their trigger pull is 50% longer than the other Kahrs. I know people will disagree, but my the pull length on Kahr P40 and MK 40 is about 1/2 for both, but it's 3/4 inch on both the P45 and CW45. I wanted to like them, but I could not. My hand is an average large, but that extra length was just enough to throw off my quick draw shots.

Both were very reliable, however.

 

[gbelleh]

Thanks for the comments. I'm going out to some gun shops this weekend to take a closer look at these.

 

[Mudinyeri]

I was going to recommend Kahrtalk, but I see Deep South already did. I have no experience with the P45 but my CW40 has been flawless.

 

[devildog66]

The PM series from Kahr just seems like it should be the perfect pocket or hide gun but I have heard such mixed reviews on the Kahrs that I have steered away from them. The PM 9 & PM 40 seems to have solid record for a BUG but the PM 45 has not gotten the reviews I had hoped for. Gun Tests has really liked both the smaller caliber PM pistols but slammed the PM 45 due to stoppages, FTE and FTF issues.

 

[bdb benzino]

I have a CW9 and had a CW45 and they both were flawless. I recently got laid off and I shoot the CW9 alot better so the CW45 hit the road. I really liked it and may replace it some day!

 

[DeepSouth]

The PM series from Kahr just seems like it should be the perfect pocket or hide gun but I have heard such mixed reviews on the Kahrs that I have steered away from them. The PM 9 & PM 40 seems to have solid record for a BUG but the PM 45 has not gotten the reviews I had hoped for. Gun Tests has really liked both the smaller caliber PM pistols but slammed the PM 45 due to stoppages, FTE and FTF issues.

The PM45's commonly have issues in the first few hundred rounds. They have and issue where the rear section of the 2 piece guide rod hits the slide when it begins to cycle backward, it will eventually wear a small notch in the slide on the inside of the slide between the hole for the barrel and the hole for the guide rod, then all the problems will go away. The PM9 (don't know about the PM40's) comes with this notch already machined out.


My PM45 did wear the notch in, but I was one of the ones who didn't have to endure the FTE's and FTF's to get there. That is why I was curious what Welding Rod had issues with, this problem doesn't exist on the P45, that I know of. The longer length probably allows the guide rod to drop that extra few thousandths.

KAHR does need to address the problem with the PM45's. They may have already, I haven't seen a new on in a while. Like I said they already machine the notch out on the PM9's so they should know the problem exists and machine the same notch on the PM45's.

 

[gbelleh]

Well, after checking these out in person, I realized that no .45 is going to compete with my PF-9 for summer carry, so I ended up getting a Glock 23 as another option for cool weather carry.

Thanks for all the comments.

 

[orionengnr]

I am carrying my P45 as I type this, and have been since springtime.
I have owned the P45 for several years and this is the second summer I have carried it.

For some reason, it is not crazy about my reloads (fails to ignite the primer somewhat regularly) but works perfectly with any factory ammo.

I also have a PM9 that I carried every day for about three years. I'd like to try a PM45 one day.

I love my 1911s and carry one in the winter. In the summer, though, when I am not wearing pants with a belt, etc., the light weight of the P45 rules.

 

[Mudinyeri]

A couple tips on Kahrs with the plastic frames ...

1. Put a drop of Bux Dri Slide on each rail of the slide and let them run all the way down to the other end. This stuff makes slides slicker than snot and was worth its weight in gold in Viet Nam. If you can't find Bux, many bike shops will carry something similar. Just make sure you're getting molybdenum disulfide (MoS). (I like to use this on the slides of all my semi-autos.)

2. Look at the frame of the gun under a magnifying glass and take note of where the plastic is wearing. Sand it gently with some automotive 800 grit sandpaper. Make sure you get all the "filings" sanded off and cleaned out of the slide rails.

3. Try Wolff's 5# striker spring for a little lighter trigger.

 

[bill111444]

Mud, instead of MoS get a can of Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease, it makes it feel like the insides are running on ball barrings. I use it in my revolvers too.

 

[Mudinyeri]

Mud, instead of MoS get a can of Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease, it makes it feel like the insides are running on ball barrings. I use it in my revolvers too.

I've been using MoS for years and like the results I get. I can see where the synthetic grease would work well too.