Kahr K40

[popeye]

Last week I posted here on my acquisition of a KAHR E9. Initially I put out a "I want a KHAR 9 or 40 (used)" to 3 local gun shops. Last week I get a call from shop 1 on an available E9 and I buy it. $340. Today I get a call from shop 2 " Weve got a nice black K40, nite sites for $450" . I had them hold it till tues. when I can get there. So I'm gonna get K40, and put the E9 up for sale on consignment.

Question: Will steel K40 hold up? Is recoil tolerable? I generally shoot, carry a COLT COMBAT COMMANDER.

 

[Gunmeister]

I've owned a Kahr K40, and several other Kahrs, with Mep Pro nite sites for several years. I have shot hundreds and hundreds of rounds with no malfunctions. This is one of a few guns that I own that ain't goin nowhere. She's a keeper.
The main reason I answered your post was to warn you of a common K40 problem. That being, denting your ejected brass. Not all do it but most do. Kahr says no problem and just keep on shooting. Now I don't reload so I don't know if smileys in the brass can be corrected, I'm sure someone out there knows.
I just wanted to give you a heads up on this so you don't panic like I did and call Kahr raising hell about something that they consider a non-issue.
Good luck with your Kahr, they are great pistols. If yours is new and never fired, pay attention to the owner's manual and do the break in procedure. If it won't go fully into battery just give the slide a little nunge and keep on shooting. After a couple hundred rounds she will loosen up but chances are it will dent the brass forever.
You might consider going over to www.glocktalk.com scroll down to the Kahr Club, lots of good stuff there. Also check out the Kahr forum at www.pistolsmith.com, scroll down to Kahr.

 

[fastbolt]

Well, I certainly can't ... and won't ... pretend that I can offer a definitive answer to your question, but I'll add a personal experience.

One of the guys at work has a K40. He's one of the handful that actually enjoys shooting, and shoots a lot. If he's not down at our agency range on his own time practicing, he's out attending the weekend IDPA sessions each month. Nice to see ...

Anyway, he's owned his K40 for several years, and has used it for a reasonable amount of training. Other than needing to replace his recoil springs, I'm unaware of any issues he's had with it.

I found it pleasant enough to handle and shoot, and certainly accurate enough. The Kahr triggers can be nice ... if you like DAO ... although they certainly wouldn't be my first choice. But that's just me.

I've had more opportunity to shoot another fellow's MK40, and I don't care for it. It crosses over that fine line ... for me, and apparently for the owner, as well, watching him shoot it a few times ... where diminutive size is obtained at the expense of controllability and manageability. Some owners will naturally disagree, and that's to be expected, and perfectly understandable. To each their own ...

I'd own the K40 before I'd own a MK40 ... but then, I wouldn't personally own a K40, either. Not compared with some other compact platforms available. I'm not trying to dissuade you, mind you, just stating my preference.

You say you're a Combat Commander owner & shooter. Me too. Have you fired any of the steel framed Kahr models chambered in .40 S&W? Feeling comfortable and good in the hand at the counter is one thing, but sometimes it doesn't necessarily translate over to the actual shooting of the handgun.

I wouldn't have said this even a few years ago, but I'd own a Glock before I'd own a Kahr.

As a matter of fact, I recently bought a G26, and I liked it so much ... for what it is, mind you ... that I've ordered a G27. This doesn't mean I like my S&W's, Colts or Rugers any less, of course. It's just that as an armorer for the Glock, as well as the S&W TDA, Sigma & SW99 series, I can appreciate the Glocks as fine, serviceable, accurate defensive pistols.

I haven't reached that point with the Kahr line up ... not yet, anyway.

Didn't mean to babble ...

Best of luck, though, and let us know how it works out for you. What's life without a little adventure?

 

[popeye]

I have fired a K9. Never a .40. I've owned several Glocks. I've kept the 19 which I consider ( I know so who cares what I think ) the best in the Glock line up. I just sold my 21 which I consider with a high cap installed and 2 spares something like a "One man army". I got a S&W99 in .45 to replace it. The Glock 26 - 27 line up is probably the most versatal (sp?). 3.5" and with A&G grip extenders you can use 19 - 23 high caps.. I had a 26 set up that way, great gun. I just want a single stack, small, skinny, gun to carry now with a grip as long as my hand fits.

 

[fastbolt]

Hey, if you get the K40 and later decide that you don't like it, and want to replace it with something else, it's not like you haven't done it before, right?

Think about trying one out at the range, though ...

 

[joegerardi]

I have the K40 98 Elite. I love the thing. It's my night table pistol, and the piece I carry when I need something really small to CCW with. I find the recoil very manageable, but interestingly, it is the loudest pistol I own. I mean, it seems to BOOM louder than my Bren Ten, and much louder than my 1911's and my various 9mm's.

Think of the recoil as a cross between the "snappiness" of a 9mm G19, and the "push" of a 1911, though it does come back on target quite quickly. That's the best way I can describe it. That said, the pistol is so very accurate for a 3" barrel. I think it's a combination of the great grip feel and the tight lockup of the machinery.

The Elite 98's trigger is incredible, and I'm not sure, but I heard that Kahr was now installing them in all their pistols. It's got the length of DA, but there is no stacking, and is K-Y Jelly smooth! (Sorry, I was just getting tired of the "buttery-smooth" analogy.) There is no real break to it, but it does reset quickly.

If you are comfortable the the recoil of the 21, then the K40 won't bother you.

..Joe

 

[albanian]

I owned an E-9 and I now own a K-9. I have shot a K-40 Covert, the one with the short grip but the full length slide. I didn't the recoil was bad at all. If you can shoot a .45acp, the K-40 should be no big deal.

The problem with the K-40 over the K-9 is you get one less shot and ammo is almost twice the price if you don't reload. I love the 9mm cal because it is so inexpensive that I can really get to know any gun I have in 9mm without feeling like I just wasted a ton of money. I can get 1000rds of 9mm for about $100. 1000rds of .40S&W cost at least $150.