Kahr P9 Story

[einstein]

Before I begin: There are two recent other Kahr threads (8/28 and 29). This one adds to them.

My three-year-old. 3,200-round Kahr P9 broke while I was cleaning it. The right side guide rail on the polymer frame broke.

Called Kahr and talked to a technician. He said the guide raile on the slide was too tight.

Good, pleasant service. I said I wanted a PM9. OK. No problem. Send the broken P9 with an FFL copy and they'll send the PM9.

Thought about it overnight and spoke to the technician again. Longer story short, he said there are problems with the PM9 and the MK9.

I liked the idea of a real small carry gun but I want to be able to shoot the heck out of it. You know, carry what you shoot well.

I ordered the K9 Elite. The tech said that's what he carried.

I hope it doesn't break.

The guys at the range razz me about the Kahr. They're 1911/older S&W guys. And my kid's godfather says the K9 is made of pot metal.

End of story. For now.

einstein

 

[sgt127]

"Longer story short, he said there are problems with the PM9 and the MK9."

Hey!! You can't just leave it at that...as Paul Harvey would say.. "The rest of the story..."

 

[tomkatz]

I have never had a problem with my mk9, and really can't recall hearing anyone else say they have either, and alot of folks here own them. My early model had the mags with the metal follower, there were a few feeding problems with those mags. Kahr exchanged mine for the newer mags with plastic followers and I have had zero problems since.......tom

 

[Obiwan]

Gas on the fire!

Bought a new P-9 around the first of the year

400 rounds later it still would not run more than 2 mags without jamming.

Same thing every time....round stuck on ejector.

Sent back to Kahr...they "fixed it" and returned it a week later

Next 150 rounds....5 jams...required prying the case loose..not pretty

Spent the next week trying to get it returned....left messages...sent faxes...talked to two people that promised someone would call me.

Finally emailed the sales managers listed on their website and magically got a call back (7 days have passed)...said it was too late to arrange a fedex pickup that day...call him in the morning.

Called the next morning and was told it was his day off. I convinced the person that answered the phone that hanging up would be a bad idea!!!

Arranged a pickup ...waiting to see how it goes this time


So far...I am not impressed...first Kahr...first time I have had this much trouble with a new weapon....coincidence???

 

[Snowdog]

my kid's godfather says the K9 is made of pot metal.

Yeah, and my Benchmade's blade is made from mozzarella.

It's a shame people speak of things when they haven't a clue what they're talking about; they tend to lose credibility that way, and not always just in that one particular subject.

That K9 Elite will probably become your favorite 9mm.

first Kahr...first time I have had this much trouble with a new weapon....coincidence???

Yep.

 

[usnavymasterchief]

Been carrying Kahrs for years. First one was a Covert .40cal. easy to conceal but hard to shoot with the short two finger grip. Current carry gun is an all stainless "full size" K40 which is 100% reliable.
I really like the all stainless Kahrs but don't care for the polymer models. I've heard too many bad things about the polymer models and nothing but good stuff about the stainless ones.

 

[ThirdShiftRich]

Sorry to hear. My mk9 Elita has been 100.0 % reliable.

 

[KarlG]

Bought a used Kahr MK9 Elite about a month ago. Price was so good I wondered what was wrong with it. Only about 300 rounds through it so far, but not a single problem. I expected as much because my Karh E9 has served me well for a couple years already.

 

[mini14jac]

I put over 600 trouble-free rounds through my MK9 before I traded it for a PM9.
Now, I've passed the (trouble-free) 600rd mark with the PM9.

As the MK is an all (stainless) steel gun, I can't imagine there will be parts breakage problems. Any other problems are going to show up in the first few rounds.

With the polymer guns, there could be some issues. So many have been sold, I'm sure we'll start hearing about it if there are actual defects in the guns.
Yes, there have been people with defective guns, but that applies to Glocks, S&W, Ruger, .... you name it.
Is there a design or manufacturing flaw?
Time will tell.

There have been others:
The Taurus PT145 comes to mind. Myself and many other users reported cracked polymer frames.
Ther recent Glock problems. Apparently a defect in the polymer forming process?
Early Ruger P97s, slide stop would work out.
Early KelTec P32s, assembly pin would work out.

With some of these, a new part could be mailed to you.
With others, a change had to be made in a supplier, or manufacturing process, or design. These required you to send in your gun.

There have been some defective P-series Kahr pistols, but this is the first I have heard of a piece breaking off of a polymer gun.
I won't be selling mine yet, but I will keep my ear to the ground.