Finally, The Perfect Pocket Gun.

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Phydeaux642

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Okay, I've had it all along, but I've just now decided to stop looking for something else.

Before I picked up my CCW permit a few years back I picked up a S&W 642 in anticipation of using this as my carry gun. Depending on what I am doing I either pocket carry it in a Mika pocket holster or put it in a Smartcarry holster. For a little while I carried a Kel-tec P32 in my pocket but decided I felt more comfortable with the 642 and went back to it.

A few months ago I decided that maybe I should look for something with a bit more capacity. I started reading a lot of articles about small autos, reading different forums and the experiences other people have had with small autos and dropping by gun shops to look at and handle some small autos.

I almost had myself talked into a G26 but it's just a little big for pocket carry (at least in my pockets and my pockets are not small). I have a P11, but I don't trust it as it has had a lot of feeding issues and I have tried it in a Nemisis pocket holster and it's too large for my pocket. I refuse to pay $700+ for a PM9 (why can't they build a gun that is close to the same cost as a G26 or XD9?) and a Rohrbaugh is way out of my range at this time.

As I thought more about it, I realized that I already had the perfect pocket gun with the 642. I've got a 442, also, but I still carry the 642. So, I guess my search for a small auto is over as nothing seems to compete with the little wheelgun that I already have. I mention the 642 becuase that is what I have, but any of the little snubbies would fit the bill, so, don't think I'm saying that the 642 is the end-all to pocket revolvers.
 
I agree 100%

ya just cant beat a j frame snub and I have my share of SA pocket pistols(actaully all the ones you mention and then some)...still carry a j frame every single day(for years) and couldnt be happier

nice guy came into the store the otherday, he had gotten a 442 as he went all summer without a gun, his carry gun was a 1911(which here in the NW in summer really makes it hard to carry and enjoy summer)......now the j frame is his main gun....he will always have it with him.
 
I have to agree 100%. The light wheel guns have plenty of power for the rounds they shoot. I'm currently looking for a S&W M&P 360 at an affordable price, the 13 ounce .357. Versatile gun. I can shoot light weight loads, +P's or I can fill the cylinder with .357's. I had a Charter arms .44 pug. It weights 26 ounces whrn loaded. It was too heavy for amy pocket and it felt like it was dragging my pants down. I'm not against the airweight models, and should I find one at a real good price, I'll do that also. I like the versatility of a .38/.357 snubby.
Ohio Rusty ><>
 
I prefer my Kahr to a snubby. It has a better trigger, better sights, softer recoil, higher capacity and a thinner profile.
 
Phydeaux642: ...I refuse to pay $700+ for a PM9 (why can't they build a gun that is close to the same cost as a G26 or XD9?) and a Rohrbaugh is way out of my range at this time...
Click to expand...

Uhhhh.......they do. Not everyone runs GunBroker auctions with a Buy Now! of $799 for a PM9.

I've transferred several PM9's in the last year. No one paid anywhere close to that. For example: NIB PM9 for $539 http://www.arizonagunrunners.net/Products/Kahr/PM9093/pm9093.html






.
 
Uhhhh.......they do. Not everyone runs GunBroker auctions with a Buy Now! of $799 for a PM9.

I've transferred several PM9's in the last year. No one paid anywhere close to that. For example: NIB PM9 for $539
Click to expand...

Well, I haven't ever bought anything off of Gunbroker, but every shop in my area sells the PM9 for $700+ depending on the configuration. The MSRP is around $1,000, so, $700 didn't seem far from correct to me and I'm not paying that. And, the same shop can sell a G26 for $499 and a XD9sc for $489, so, I don't think they are trying to gouge me.
 
The great thing about the snubby compared to the Kahr autos ..... The snubby doesn't have some weird backward frame safety that confuses you if up is safe or down is fire. Bad thing to try to remember when your life is in danger. The snubby doesn't have to burn up $100 worth of ammo in a 200 round break in period just to make the gun reliable. The snubby will fire the first round right out of the box .....38 or .357 depending on which model you have .....No FTF's ...no FTE's, ... no stovepipes ....Instantly reliable as a CCW weapon without worry. And you can shoot low power wad cutters for practice and plinking, or light loaded 38's for target work, or full power defense rounds. The snubby wheel gun is definitely versatile when it comes to ammo selection.
Ohio Rusty ><>
 
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The PM9 does not have any external safeties.. (which is a good thing)
You can do quicker reloads with the PM9 vs. a snubbie.
The PM9 has a nicer trigger pull.
PM9 (6+1)(and it takes also the 8 round mag of its bigger brother vs. snubbie (5 rounds)
Reliable (99%) and accurate.

That said..it's a toss up for me between PM9 and 642.

Why?
The 642 is 100% reliable. Can be fired from inside a jacket pocket. You can make "contact" shots without problem. And if you have a dud round, just pull the trigger again.
 
PM9, $525 out the door with a 100 rd WWB value pack thrown in. LOVE it and have been pocket carrying it since 2005. I shoot it EVERY time I go to the range "just to be sure". It comes out of my pocket and fired as if I were using it to save my life. No "babying it", no "pre-lubing" it...not even blowing out pocket lint. Works perfectly every time. :cool:
 
442 is my daily pocket-carry, and my home pocket-carry. I admit I now have an LCP (which has 100% reliability in feeding/firing so far) that I carry in some of my lighter-weight summer dress slacks when the 442 is too big or too heavy for the right-front pocket. The 442 loaded weighs 17.5 ounces, the LCP weighs 12.1 ounces loaded 6+1. The smaller/lighter LCP pocket-carries better for me in a few situations.

Les
 
Pocket Guns

I'll always keep my Taurus 605 snub in 357mag. I don't know how many snubs I have had which did not shoot to the POA of the sights like this one does. Also, it does so with my favorite defense loads in 125 JHP +P . Others got traded off for poor sight regulation on their fixed sights. Too, if you need more rounds just drop a couple of speed loaders in your pocket and you're ready to go, with 15 rounds .
 
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If you think you have found the perfect pocket gun in your Smith you really should at least try a Ruger LCR. The trigger on it is at least on par with my Kahr and vastly superior to any other DA revolver I have had occasion to fire. For what its worth I have never seen a PM9 for $700, $600 yes but not $700. Nothing wrong with a J frame though.

I agree a glock 26 is simply too big to pocket carry in almost all my pants pockets.
 
I also find the 642 the perfect pocket pistol. Light weight, reasonable power level, confident it will go bang when needed to do so.

I am thinking I am going to add a M40 so I can have one in both pockets...
 
If you think you have found the perfect pocket gun in your Smith you really should at least try a Ruger LCR. The trigger on it is at least on par with my Kahr and vastly superior to any other DA revolver I have had occasion to fire. For what its worth I have never seen a PM9 for $700, $600 yes but not $700.
Click to expand...

I agree that the LCR has a nice trigger and is a very good choice for pocket carry, but I really wouldn't be gaining much over my 642. As for the PM9, they seem to run from $680 to $730 in my neck of the woods. I used $700 as a mid-point. They go for $625 and up used around here.
 
Pricing madness is starting to end. The Obamamania is giving way to a depression, where folks are selling guns, and, few have money to buy.

Kahr really should be about 500-550, and, Glocks should be 300-400.

Now, S&W snubbies. Everyone is bragging about the reliability. What about the lock? Mine had to come out, after it auto-locked.
With a 'tuned' 11 pound DA trigger, at 7 yards, with .357, I'm aiming center of mass, since head shots are pretty much out.

The Kahr has more rounds, a MUCH better trigger, and, at least in my hands, is headshot accurate at 7 yards, check that, touching holes in some cases.

The kahr is 20 oz, not 15 oz, so, in some forms of carry, it's too heavy.

Each has a place...
 
Prosser, not sure where you got 20 oz from but, according to the specifications on the Kahr website, the unloaded weight of a PM9 is 14 oz and the magazine is 1.9 ounces. OF COURSE it's going to be heavier when loaded, so don't bring that up, please. Every manufacturer lists unloaded weight because of so many different types of ammunition.
 
From the digital postal scale....

My digital postal scale lists the gun at 1 pound, 3.7 oz loaded, or 19.7 oz. That's loaded. Loaded is the only weight I'm using, unless of course you pocket carry your gun unloaded.

Loaded, my .357 scandium snub weighs 14 oz. That's a huge weight difference, the difference between many kinds of carry, pocket, etc.

The Kahr weighs 14.9 oz, unloaded. Maybe the stainless slide is heavier?
 
So, you just had to bring up the loaded weight despite the fact that manufacturers cannot predict what ammo people will carry and that's why they list UNLOADED WEIGHT, huh? :rolleyes:

And, ALL Kahrs have stainless slides. But, that aside, I'm glad MY PM9 rides front pocket duty just fine pretty much all day, every day. :cool:
 
+1 on the PM9. Light, thin, accurate as all heck for a pocket gun and 100% reliable with 2400+ rounds thru it so far. Amazing little gun!

Prosser, what is your snubbie empty if it's 14oz loaded with .357s? The numbers don't seem to match up or that is one, light revolver.
 
Ohio Rusty: The great thing about the snubby compared to the Kahr autos ..... The snubby doesn't have some weird backward frame safety that confuses you if up is safe or down is fire...
Click to expand...

Huh?:scrutiny:

Currently, no Kahr pistol has or has ever had this feature. Kahr recently announced that it plans to sell a PM9 with a safety ONLY IN MASSACHUSETTS, supposedly to be released this fall. :rolleyes:
 
There is a picture of a PM9 with the safety on the Kahr website now. Hope they don't go that way with all of them.
 
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