MachIVshooter said:
Handled one today. Ergonomics were OK, trigger was great, fit and finish were typical of Kahr quality. I'm sure it shoots fine, too. But it is not at all what was expected, which was the smallest, lightest .45 autoloader out there. It is only marginally lighter than many other compact .45's, and is considerably larger dimensionally than the Springfield Micro, Para C-6, Taurus PT145MP, etc.
I don't think that is accurate. Let's compare:
Height:
Kahr - 4.75
Taurus - 5.125
Para - 4.75
Springfield - ?
Barrel Length:
Kahr - 3.5
Taurus - 3.25
Para - 3.0
Springfield 3.0
Length:
Kahr - 6.25
Taurus - 6.0
Para - 6.5
Springfield - 5.75
Thickness
Kahr - 1.0
Taurus - 1.25
Para - ?
Springfield - ?
Weight:
Kahr - 18.5
Taurus - 23
Para - 30
Springfield - 24
The Kahr is not considerably larger than any of these like you claim, but it is comparable, and wins quite a few categories. Note that the Kahr has the longest barrel in its class, yet still competes in size with all of these. It is polygonally rifled. If you compare the Kahr to the 3.5" barrel versions of the Taurus, Para, and Springfield, it wins hands down.
The BEST advantage to the Kahr is that out of all of these pistols, you can get a FULL hand grip on it, while the others are 3-finger guns. This is because the Kahr has a larger grip in proportion to its size vs. the others. That's where their offset lug comes into play. The trigger/slide height is very short saving space for more grip.
Recoil wise, I'd have to say the Kahr dominates over all of these pistols because of 2 important factors.
1] more grip
2] lower bore-axis to hand
I've shot a 24oz Star PD (.45) that was dimentionally larger than the Kahr and similar in bore axis height as the Springfield/Para being a 1911, and over 21oz. It's recoil was significantly greater than the Kahr. The Kahr .45 feels like a 9mm compared to that. Less muzzle flip, less movement in the hand. Low bore axis makes a huge difference. These little 1911's twist and flip making follow up shots difficult.
The Para only ties it in height, the Sprinfield/Taurus is shorter but the Kahr has more barrel, the Karh is the lightest, and I don't think the Para or Springfield are less than 1" thick, although they are probably right about there or close. Only the Taurus beats the Kahr on price, the Para and Springfield are much more expensive. I personally would never buy a Taurus given their quality and lack of customer service. The Springfield has a reputuation of being a jam-o-matic, and I haven't heard much about the Para, but I am sure it's pretty good. You can get a lemon in any gun, and Kahr is no exception.
