Kahrs Incorrectly Get Bad Rap

My experience with Kahr was a poor one- P380. Tight tolerances fine. Feeding and ejecting issues. Called Kahr CS said to try different ammo and give it the minimum break-in. The gun just never worked. The offered to have me send it back. However, my feeling is any gun that needs to be sent back- I personally lose confidence in that gun. Would not buy a Kahr again. My very kind LGS have me the full price to trade towards another gun.

Yup, Kahr's are a strange lot.... sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. And dealing with their C.S. is touch & go at best. I have one that just happens to work well, but I probably wouldn't chance another one.

BrainOnSigs said:

I stand corrected.

But whether a company calls it a slide stop or a slide catch or a slide release doesn't change the fact of it's intended original purpose......to lock the slide open. Everyone should save themselves some wear and tear on the lever and the slide and release the pressure of the slide on the lever by slingshotting it.

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I always thought the folks who designed the gun got to say what it is/should be used for, not some random guy on a gun forum.

Aiko492 said:

My experience with Kahr was a poor one- P380. Tight tolerances fine. Feeding and ejecting issues. Called Kahr CS said to try different ammo and give it the minimum break-in. The gun just never worked. The offered to have me send it back. However, my feeling is any gun that needs to be sent back- I personally lose confidence in that gun. Would not buy a Kahr again. My very kind LGS have me the full price to trade towards another gun.

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I never had much luck with any 380 - that caliber seems like a different breed of ammo and, in my experience, problem prone. Admittedly I haven't tried that many different 380 guns and don't intend to based on my past experience. Life's too short....

Yep....that's why John M. Browning referred to it as the "slide stop" in his design. I am sure all the folks who call it a slide release...use it as such. No matter who calls it by what name......doesn't it make sense to release the pressure of the recoil spring on the lever by pulling back the slide versus scraping the metal of the lever off of the metal of the slide?

Signed,

Some Random Guy

It's faster to use the slide stop to release the slide and it takes a lot to wear down the metal especially on modern guns.

BrainOnSigs said:

Yep....that's why John M. Browning referred to it as the "slide stop" in his design. I am sure all the folks who call it a slide release...use it as such. No matter who calls it by what name......doesn't it make sense to release the pressure of the recoil spring on the lever by pulling back the slide versus scraping the metal of the lever off of the metal of the slide?

Signed,

Some Random Guy

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Invoking John Browning has zero relevance on a gun designed by other folks 100 years later.

FIVETWOSEVEN said:

It's faster to use the slide stop to release the slide and it takes a lot to wear down the metal especially on modern guns.

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Faster isn't the point at all. A defensive shooting course sounds in order.

NinjaFeint said:

Invoking John Browning has zero relevance on a gun designed by other folks 100 years later.

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All the relevance in the world. Just because a newer gun manufacturer decides to to call the slide stop a slide release makes it the gospel? Yes the slide stop can be used as a slide release. The design/purpose of the slide stop hasn't change in those 100 years.

There's no more metal scraping by releasing the slide than there is by sling shot method. It's called a stop and a release because it does both. Just get over it. There are way more important issues to get your drawers in a bunch over. Like calling a magazine a clip. Now that's just crazy. Sigh...

Seriously that's the way the kahr was designed per the manual. To call it a stop on their gun is wrong. Kahrs are great guns. I highly recommend purchasing one.

I bought my first Kahr mid Dec last year. The CM9.I haven't gotten to fire it yet. I very seldom get to shoot anymore. I read the manual and it says about a 200 round break in is required. I have worked the slide a few hundred times. Being honest after reading this thread I'm kinda sorry I bought this CM9. It sure sounds like the Kahr's are hit and miss for reliability.

I was hoping to make it a pocket gun.I won't know until I get to put a few hundred rounds through it. I'm just leery now. My little G27 has been 100% since day one.

Don't let these guys worry you about a gun you haven't even fired yet. You've got a fine firearm there. You're probably good to go.

Ledgehammer said:

Don't let these guys worry you about a gun you haven't even fired yet. You've got a fine firearm there. You're probably good to go.

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Thanks Ledgehammer. I guess I over reacted reading these comments. I've owned enough guns over the last 35 plus years and been on forums enough to learn you read all kinds of complaints. I'm actually impressed with this little CM9 the way it's built and the workmanship. Shooting it will prove one way or another. I had a sharp edge on the front RH side of the ejection port. The Dremel tool took care of that in short order.

aik492 Remember what you said if you buy a high dollar 1911 that turns out to not like what ever HP ammo you feed it. When I see treads about what hardball they carry makes me think of people that did not take time to work out there pocket pistols too. Most all of these new smaller pistol have had some serious growing issues 380's and 9mm. Can't think of many that did not have problems. And they fix them sooner or later.

I have a Kahr PM9- no issues, but I bought it lightly used (about 400 rounds according to the seller) so it was broken in already...

It's a nice pistol.

I also own a 1911TC- Made by Auto Ordinance, which is owned by Kahr. It is one of the nicest 1911s I have ever seen, has been a top performer for about 6k rounds now. The fit and finish, even internally, is flawless.

This is NOT your fathers Auto Ordinance!

Faster isn't the point at all. A defensive shooting course sounds in order.

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I don't see the point here. I only use over hand when I shoot left handed but right handed I use the slide stop. What would is the point of you mentioning a defensive shooting course?

It is a smart idea to do something during training that you would want to do during a defensive situation. I would not dare try to use my fine motor skills during such a time, I would only use my gross motor skills.

Some back ground. I take 2-3 defensive shooting courses a year (20+ over the years including Thunder Ranch a couple of times). I took the time to became an NRA instructor plus I shoot competitively. Lots of trigger time....lots of training....plus a couple of real world experiences that opened my eyes.

I am not sure how many here have had to draw a gun or draw a gun and fire it at someone. I can attest to the fact that your hearing and vision change, your hands sweat and a small button on the side of a gun seems to shrink tenfold.

I like my CM9.

I've owned a few Kahrs in my day, I absolutely love them but also just sold my last one. I just can't get behind the whole slide release requirement. Except for my MK9, ever Kahr I've ever owned would have a mis-feed if I did not use the slide release. This would be ok if I was right handed but as a lefty it just does not work.

It is a smart idea to do something during training that you would want to do during a defensive situation. I would not dare try to use my fine motor skills during such a time, I would only use my gross motor skills.

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It isn't fine motor skills, it's gross. No matter what happens during my reload, I always can hit the slide release. My thumb is high above the slide release in the first place during shooting so it naturally sits there. To release the slide I just slide it down against the gun and hit it. I've never missed the release even when I bugger up my overall reload when I rush things way too fast. I'll stick with what works then what is slower.

I just put another 200 rounds through my CW9 this afternoon with no problems at all since purchase. Now over 1,000 error free rounds. Every new mag was slingshotted today with no problems at all. I also own a P380 that has been perfect from day one (I bought it used) with over 300 rounds of the cheapest 380 ammo I could find. Thought I would give it a test and now I have moved on to good SD ammo. Both of these guns are well made and a pleasure to shoot and carry. I would buy many more Kahrs and if I got a lemon I am confident they would make it right. Personally I don't care if you call it a slide release or slide stop-works both ways.

Does it really matter who named it or what they named it...

It comes to mind that upon firing the last round in the magazine it truly becomes a Slide Stop!

and.......

Upon inserting a fresh magazine.....It becomes a Slide Release!


just sayin!

let me tell you all about the PM45. the 1st PM45 i bought had every issue FTF,FTE,mags. falling out of pistol while firing,4 mags cracked. i called the dealer whom i purchased the pistol from, he called his distributerer who is davidsons and they replaced the pistol.

PM45 #2 had issues FTF,FTE,4 cracked mags. again, no mags. falling out of pistol. called dealer again, he called davidsons, davidsons sent pistol back to Kahr. when i got the pistol back it still had all the same problems as before it went back to Kahr. so i called dealer again,he talked to davidsons, a rep from davidsons called me, left the option up to me, he would send it back to Kahr again or replace the pistol again. i chose another replacement pistol.

PM45 #3 so far 650 rds. down range,everything from 230 fmj to 185 gr jhp,200 gr jhp 230 gr jhp not a single issue the pistol has performed flawlessly. it is very accurate to. i finally have confidence in the pistol that is my main carry gun which is why i bought it.

now what is interesting from the 1st pistol to the 2nd pistol and the 3rd. pistol each time before having it replaced i took every possible measurement. Kahr had made a lot of changes to the pistol which led me to believe they had a design issue they knew about. the barrel length changed, the slide the muzzle end changed, the opening in the slide changed with 2 additional cuts at some interesting angles, inside the slide where the recoil spring sits there is a different cut. after my expierence with the PM45 every firearm i buy ,i buy through a dealer who uses davidsons as their distributer, it is easier to deal with davidsons than a manufacturer, any manufacturer.

FIVETWOSEVEN said:

It isn't fine motor skills, it's gross.

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Manipulating a single lever with a single digit is the perfect definition of a fine motor skill.

Again...you will discover how fast your fine motor skills can diminish, what skills you will revert to, and how your mindset can and will be altered during a defensive shooting.

I guess I have worn this subject out and continue to step on people's toes. Enlightenment was my only goal. I will bow out.

My apologies to the original poster for derailing this thread. I own several Kahrs (all purchased since 2009) and they all have been excellent, reliable weapons. If this thread was about Springfields or Glocks or S&Ws or Sigs or whatever....there would be several posts detailing a particular gun's flaws. The majority of modern gun manufacturers build thousands of guns a year that have zero issues. If any manufacturer had an abnormally high rate of failures compared to the numbers sold....then they wouldn't stay in business very long.

If the few flaws we all know about were fixed, then the Kahr line would be almost perfect. I've also seen some examples of horrible quality control. There appears to be an acceptance of a "it's close enough" philosophy, allowing too much variance in the product. IMHO, one particular model Kahr should look and function exactly like all the others... but they don't. Roll marks, tool marks, fit and finish can be widely varied and that alone makes me wonder about the really important parts and the overall quality and concern placed on their products.

I own a bunch of Kahrs, like and shoot them, but the company has some room for improvement. My dream; Kahr sends some of their employees to HK to learn about QC and they bring back a new corporate ethos.