kahr M1 carbine

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mr.trooper

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So iv got it BAD for the M1 carbine now. Local shop has a NIB Kahr for $630.

I considered getting one through CMP, but to order from them you have to be a member of a certified club. The nearest club is over an hour away from me, so that doesn't look like a practical solution.

If the Kahr is crap, or you have a better idea, id love to hear it. Any experiences from owners? :)
 
Go back to the CMP site, and check the three clubs at the bottom of clubs listed. Garand collectors assoc.--The Carbine Club--United American Patriots These will get you in the door. As far as shooting if you're a Vet. or have been LEO or have a CCW permit you should be home free. Also if you're over 60 yrs old.
 
so what about the Kahr?

i did a search, and I got a lot of people who own them saying they are good shooters, and a lot of people who "heard from a friend", or "heard from my friend who is a master gunsmith", that they are the worst dung ever offered to the shooting public :rolleyes: or "don't buy from them they are made by cultists" comments. didn't see people who own them slamming them though.

I'm trying to steer clear of a genuine USGI model.

as a side note, i find it a bit amusing how many "master gunsmiths" are either on this board offering their opinions, or are close personal friends with people who are frequent posters here. I didn't realize there were so many "master gunsmiths" laying around. :D
 
Only personal experience I have with them is a guy returned one to a shop to send it back to Khar since the empty brass was sticking in a tight chamber. I took a look over it, and it appeared to be excellent quality. As far as the cult thing, Khar is owned by the son of Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Or something like that...
 
Yep, lots of conflicting reports. I bought one of the older models and it's been reliable for me. The mag release is a little sticky but other than that I really can't complain. I would recommend you get a USGI instead though. You can get a good one pretty easy for that price and the parts are just made better. I do love the M1 Carbine, super light and fun to shoot. Both my Kahr and Inland are very accurate using the iron sights. Look on GB or AuctionArms for a good deal.
 
i noticed that the one in the shop was very tight as far as the magazine release. The magazine was easily removed, but required a solid slap to re-seat.

As far as the cult thing...i actually did a detailed semester long project for a college religion class on this issue last year. Kahr is not the only industry owned by the unification church. Reverend Moon owns dozens of companies, as do each of his children. They encourage their followers to start and obtain businesses as well. businesses owned by Rev. Moon and his immediate family range from Food processors to gas stations to arms makers. He is a businessman; any businessman worth his salt knows you have to diversify.

As for the "cult" label... The Unification church has hundreds of thousands of followers in many countries across the world, they have a uniform doctrine, and they aren't dangerous. They seem like a legitimate religion to me, and i would be careful slapping them with a label that has so many negative connotations.

Either way, its not like they factories are staffed with their church members. They don't even oversee construction. they just own them and take in the profits. The guns manufactured by Karh are made by average American citizens just like every other American gun maker.
 
You mean that some bald guy wearing a bedsheet and shaking a tamborine is not making the Khar's?? Oh the horror of it all knowing some guy in bluejeans is making them!!
 
My gunsmith specifically warned me against buying an AO M1 carbine. He said he's gotten a steady flow of them coming in for repair ever since they hit the market. Very poor quality.
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I have one of the AO's. It had to go back to the factory due to a problem shooting too far to the right. It's a long story but it eventually was replaced with a new gun. I am happy with the one I have now. I have about 400 rounds through this one with no problems other than some "stove pipes" when I was working up some handloads. I think they were just too weak. I increased the load by a grain it ran without any issues at all. I thought the Kahr/AO customer service was easy to work with and they did everything they could to make it right. That's all I can ask for. In the last year I have sent back two S&W's and a Ruger for repair. Any company is going to put out a dud at some point. I mostly care about how they handle the problem.
 
CMP is the way to go! Their service is spectacular. I got two carbines, one had trouble chambering and extracting, I sent it back, they had replaced the slide, bolt, trigger housing, and front sight and barrel band (just because), and it was back within one WEEK, FedEx.
 
I'm trying to steer clear of a genuine USGI model.
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I don't understand that at all. You are deliberately staying away from a superior quality product and looking for a cheap copy with an iffy track record? Join the GCA and get one from the CMP. As an added bonus the CMP carbine will always go up in value, unlike the Kahr.

And I'm not bashing Kahr, I have one of their pistols and its a fine gun, but compared to a USGI carbine theirs is a cheap copy.
 
I have one and I love it. It has run great for me, and I personally felt that a new gun with a warranty was worth it over a USGI which may not have matching parts and no warranty whatsoever.

I trust my AO M1 Carbine to do the job I expect it to do, and would reach for it first if I needed a light, powerful carbine.

There will be naysayers with every new gun, someone will always know someone else who had a lemon, etc. It is a reproduction of a proven design. Not a brand new gun design or "improved" design.

Bottom line, it's your money. I'm happy with mine and my reloads for it.
 
I have a Kahr M 1 Carbine and an Inland from CMP.

Both shoot well out to the 200 yards I've test driven them on. They use the same mags. The Kahr, with its new barrel, is a little better at groups than the 1944 vintage Inland off the bench, but I wouldn't sell either one of them.

The Kahr has the "flip" sight and the Inland has the later model adjustable sight. The parts are indeed interchangeable. I did some test swapping during the long cold winter and updated the barrel band from the 1/2 inch original that came on the Kahr to a type 3 with the bayonet lug.

I shot the Kahr in a pistol carbine match last summer and it did just fine at 100 yards. I think a lot, not all but a lot, of the Kahr criticism is from folks that never shot one or are going by gun store commando's comments.

FWIW, the Kahr people were great when I wrote them about wanting a better looking stock and handguard set. The original walnut was very light and I wanted the more traditional darker coloration. They sent me a new stock set at no charge before I even shipped the old one to them. Nice folks to deal with.
 
There's a gun rag article interview with Justin Moon out on the web somewhere.

He got serious into gun slinging with his brothers and buddies and set out to design a handgun that was as slim as a Walther PPK and yet fired 9 mm Luger.

How many college students do you know who crank out a design for a new handgun, because they see a niche that needs to be filled? And then start a company to manufacture then?

JM has several patents in his P9 design and pays licensing fees for the use of some features that are patented by others, as opposed to just ripping them off and leaving them to chase him in court.

Seems like a straight up guy to me.

He chose the name Kahr, because it sounded German and German manufactured goods have a reputation for quality..........and he wasn't even a marketing major :)

Kahr Arms bought up the failed Auot-Ordinance company and with it the rights to manufacture the Tommy guns.
 
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the only problems I've had with mine was Wolf ammo. I would advise staying away from the steel cases, I think they have messed up a part of the ejector assembly
 
Kahr / AO

I've owned a Kahr since 2006 and have well over 2000 rounds through it so far. It's been a good, reliable little carbine. I've used it for competition and general range fun. The only problems I've had with it were related to aftermarket mags. She runs fine with USGI mags - just keep the gun clean, especially the gas system.

It is not 'junk' by any meaning of the term. Break one down and you'll see - no tinfoil or bubblegum. It was money well spent in my opinion.
 
Product with an iffy track record
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You see, thats what I'm talking about. The only bad reports are coming from people who "heard from my gunsmith". Only one guy said his had trouble, and Kahr eventually made it right for him.

For the record, I don't think tight chambers are a defect. Its a simple thing that i can fix myself. The example i held, and the one i would be buying had a good tight fit in all its parts. I have plenty of experience with cheap guns, and it was indeed not cheap.

Im looking to avoid a GI model because my guns get used. They will get scratched, they will get dinged, and the finish will be scraped. I clean them, and take care of them mechanically but this carbine will be a user. I don't want to beat up piece of history any more than it already is. i would prefer to leave those for shooters who will be able to keep them in better shape.

You should see my P-22. After two years or CCW and about 3,000 rounds of target shooting and PPC, the finish is worn down to the metal at several points around the slide. Thats what this carbine is going to look like a few short years from now. ;)
 
Im looking to avoid a GI model because my guns get used. They will get scratched, they will get dinged, and the finish will be scraped. I clean them, and take care of them mechanically but this carbine will be a user. I don't want to beat up piece of history any more than it already is.
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Don't be silly, they made over 6 million of those "pieces of history".

Don
 
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