Kahr compact 9mms (K9 etc): likes, dislikes?

Am I correct in assuming that by using the phrase "Lefty (only)" you are saying that you don't have a right hand at all, or if you do that it is completely unusable?

Sigs, and others do have decockers, many are in the form of a decocking safety, such as the Beretta 92 series pistols. They operate by moving the safety lever down, and this decocks the gun, but unlike the Sig, it needs to be moved back to the fire position before the gun can fire. The Sig style decocker does this for you, and in exchange, does not have a "safe" position.

The Kahr does not really need a decocker. There is no hammer to decock. It uses a spring loaded firing pin. This is similar to the system used in Glocks, XDs and S&W M&P series autos. Perfectly safe to carry chambered in a QUALITY holster that covers the trigger.

Yes, the Kahr triggers are longer than say a 1911 trigger, or a typical rifle trigger, but not unmanagable. A good DA revolver trigger is longer and heavier.

The polymer Kahrs and the steel Kahrs operate in the same manner. The difference is in materials and has a result, how they feel and handle. The K9 is a favorite of mine.

I have a CW9 and while I am not a fan of the long trigger pull, I do think its a fine compact pistol for CCW.

I have both the K9 and CW9. I use the CW9 with a hogue handall. The K9 factory rubber grip just fits perfectly right out of the box. I would like to carry the K9 more but I mostly wear shorts and use a IWB at 4oclock. They both disappear under a t-shirt and those shorts but the CW9 at 7 ounces less doesn't even feel like it's there sometimes. If I wore pants more often I would for sure only carry the K9. They both shoot great for such small guns although the K9 is easier back to target. The triggers on both are long but very smooth and feel fairly light, the K9s trigger feels a little smoother and lighter though. It's probably due to the trigger bar sliding against metal instead of the plastic in the CW9. They both break very cleanly. If cost is a factor, at pretty much half the price I would go with the CW9 unless you like that nice feel of an all metal gun. If it's the polygonal barrel in the K9 you are after and the all metal part doesn't matter there's always the P9. I don't see a difference in accuracy in either of mine so I feel confident with the CW9 conventional barrel.

I have had a couple K-9s and a P-9, and liked them. I went with 39xx S&W pistols instead, but I wouldn't slap a person for handing me a K-9.
They are very accurate, slim, reliable, and comfortable (especially the all-steel K-9) to shoot.
They are a but high priced for a single stack CCW 9mm, in my opinion. Mine fit Colt Officer's Model leather very nicely.

I just recently bought a CM9. Always wanted a Kahr, and despise manual safeties, loaded chamber indicators, and mag disconnects on a CCW piece, so it was a natural choice. Lighter than my PT-111 and smaller (maybe smaller enough for pocket carry). Feels like it weighs about the same as my J-frame S&W snubbie. Rear sight is adjustable (for windage anyway) so that's another plus. I think somebody already makes night sights for the gun but I haven't gotten that far yet. Actually, I've had it for a week and haven't even shot it yet. What's wrong with me??

Love my CM9. Finally found one that had a decent and very smooth take up on the trigger.

I like my CW9 and my CW380.
Great shooting and reliable.
The CW380 is my carry gun most of the time.

I have the PM9 and P380 that I bought several years ago after they came into the market. I find them to be ideal for conceal carry. I have several other pistols and revolvers I could use but much prefer the Kahrs. Judging by their success as a firearms company that caters to the conceal carry market, a great many people have come to the same conclusion that I have.

As a group, other than some having DA only, what are the main drawbacks? There have been comments about the long trigger pull.

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As a group, all Kahr models taken together, there have been two main complaints heard from a large enough number of owners to be credible.
1) Due to the odd design of the follower, extra mags carried for reloading shed rounds.

2) Feeding problems due to rounds "nosediving" and/or the slide not going to battery completely.

The trigger being long is a question of which of three triggers you have on your Kahr. The K9 uses two of these triggers, either the longest pull, measured by Kahr at 1/2" or the "elite" trigger at 3/8". I've owned both triggers and by far prefer the shorter "elite" trigger, (which by the way is one every other model of Kahr except the "enhanced PM9 model).

If you want to see how you like the brand, I suggest you go ahead and rent whatever model the range has. All Kahrs operate the same way and the difference when shooting between the polymer and steel models is minimal. If you like the polymer, you'll like the steel K9.

The K9 is a very nice pistol, certainly suitable for carry. A variety of sights are available, couple of grip styles and a laser grip if that's your desire. The P9, same size but about 8 ounces less is worth looking at too. My personal favorite is the TP9.

gratuitous photo of T9, K9, P9 and TP9.

I have had my P9 since the year if came out, and have loved it ever since. While the trigger pull is long, it is also very smooth (more so that the Ruger, Taurus or Smith of the same size - and that's not knocking those guns at all). This is even more apparent in the .380-class guns.

Never had magazine or feeding issue, so I can't comment on that.

My CM9 has been an excellent little pistol - well-made, 100% reliable, inexpensive, and surprisingly soft-shooting for such a small and light 9mm pistol.

I will never own another Kahr polymer pistol. I had three and all three were lemons. Utter garbage.
They are too hit or miss. You might get a good one, but there is a pretty good chance you won't. Mine had constant FTF's, FTE's, the PLASTIC magazine catch failed on my CW40 and mags started dropping out EVERY SINGLE SHOT....I know their customer service guy by name, Ian...he's an overworked chap. I have talked to multiple other Kahr owners that know Ian by name...that's just sad. I've never dealt with a manufacturer that has such a sizable percentage of owners on a first name basis with the CS guy.
Their metal guns seem to be well sorted, not so much the polymer ones. The big issue with the current ones seems to be the feedramp being miscut, and breaking magazine followers.
Their customer service is a joke. No offense to Ian, but he seems overwhelmed.
Traded away my pm9 and pm40, thankfully breaking even. Still would have traded at a loss though.
After I FINALLY got my CW40 fixed, I turned around and pawned it for $150, dusted off my hands, and walked away, Not going to pick it up again.
It's the only gun I've ever owned that I'm ok with taking a huge loss on just to get out of my sight and mind.

Now the metal guns...I'd love a K9. I would buy a K9. I did like the trigger on all my Kahrs, and they fit my hand really well.
my $0.02

I have both a K9 and K40 when they first came out in the late 90s. If you like a smooth revolver DA trigger pull you should like the K9. They look like a gun about the size of a Walther PPK/s, but handle like a full size gun and have a bigger punch with 9/40 or even 45acp in other models.

The only negative about the older ones is the black oxide finish is pretty susceptible to rust(daily wipe down a must). My K40 sometimes had the trigger pin back out to the right a smidge,never enough to disable the pistol, if you fire like a box of 50. Blue lock tite keeps this to a minimum and Kahr addressed this on later guns.

Minor note,the chambers may be a wee bit tight and do not like crappy ammo.Never had problems with factory type ammo but some dubious reloaded training ammo was foisted on my agency at the time and sometimes would not chamber.

Recoil is mild with the K9 with most standard pressure and even +p ammo.

If you like DAO,smooth,accurate in a compact package go for it.

My biggest complaint is they dont hold any resale value. Used ones go pretty quick...

Most of the complaints I've noticed were the polymer pistols. I had two that ran great (P9, PM9). I've wanted a K9 for a few years, but dont want to pay for a new one, and cant find them used.

silicosys4 said:

I've never dealt with a manufacturer that has such a sizable percentage of owners on a first name basis with the CS guy.

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Between the Series II Safety and external extractors, a lot of folks knew Dennis at Kimber...

Their pistols are decent...their customer service is ATROCIOUS!

I think the trigger on the CM9 is OK. Better than the LC9 or the SCCY.

Gratuitous stock picture of MK9:

Three or four years ago I bought my wife a CM-9 as a holster purse gun.
It was a wee bit rough so I polished the action and trigger mech.

Since then I have fired 500-600 rounds of various ammo through the gun without a single failure.
The trigger is very smooth now but excessively long for any real accuracy past 15 yards. Although at 10 yards I can put the Hornady Critical Defense ammo into a target the size of an eyeball.
I like it enough that I often carry it my my jacket instead of my old 44 special snub nose.

I've wanted a K9 for a few years, but dont want to pay for a new one, and cant find them used.

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Just looked up some used K9s and they are all above $550 and on up to $700. Those police trade ins for $300 a while back were a deal of a lifetime.
Glad I jumped at that when I did. My only regret is not buying a pile of them at that price. Bought mine and "pushed" my cousin into getting another.

I had a PM40 for carry and a CW9 for practice. Loved them until after a couple of years of practice (~6000 rounds) the CW9 front frame rail broke. Kahr's customer support was lacking so I've switched to S&W Shield. I invest too much in time and practice ammo to rely on a gun the manufacturer won't stand behind -- this was a "shouldn't happen" type of frame failure.

I already shoot the Shield better.
YMMV.

I had a K9 in the late 90's, P9 in the early 2000's and have daily carried a PM9 for over 5 years. The trigger is a little long, but it's butter smooth! In 9mm the steel guns have minimal recoil & the polymer ones can be a bit snappy, but probably due to the dual recoil spring the PM9 recoils less than the P9.
The only issue I've had with mine is the top round working it's way out of the spare 7 round mags when in a pouch.

I've tried to replace the PM9 with numerous other sub compact 9s but haven't found anything as reliable, small, light weight & comfortable to shoot.

They look like a gun about the size of a Walther PPK/s, but handle like a full size gun

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Exactly what I always found to be true as well. I very very stupidly sold my K40 and have regretted it ever since. Carried like a very night slim compact, but pointed naturally and shot like a full service sized gun.
I recently replaced with with a TP45, that isn't going anywhere.
It's amazing how Kahr manages to cram so much gun into such a small package.

I carry a PM9 every day. I have done so for 3 years now. I bought the P9 when they first came out about 20 years ago, and it was garbage. I swore I would never get another one, but the PM9 changed my mind. I bought it from a retired cop friend, who traded me for a M&P 9C. He wanted something larger and I wanted something smaller. After getting rid of my 40 Shield, "when they first came out and had trouble with the 40. I also find that all of these very small guns seem to have more problems with the 40 Caliber, than the 9mm.
Many admit to it, like CZ. I don't think you can have a 40 cal smaller than a Glock 27, that functions all of the time. The round is just too hard on small gun parts.
Get the 9mm and you should be good to go with it.

Kahr factory 'Nite Sights', no replacements available?

My Kahr K9 was made in '96. The P9 a few years later.

The factory dovetail cut has changed since then.

K9 front sight globe has disapeared. Rear sight globes are waay dim. Kahr offers no replacements.

P9 AO globes are still in place, but dim. Neither the AO company(vendor/supplyer) and Kahr(their customer) have sight sets compatable with the 'old style' dovetails. No replacements available.

There was an approx 200.00 additional expense of adding the Tritium sight sets to the purchase price. Now there are no replacement sets available.

Thats a 200.00 planned obselence incentive from Kahr/AO.

Rant over.

sd.