Kahr PM40 need owner feedback

Status
Not open for further replies.
40s&w pistols from even higher end brands are selling around the $300-$350 mark new or used. $400 for a PM40 seems a little much in the current market. YoullY be taking a $50-$100 lost off the top.
 
Last edited:
megatronrules

I had a CW40 about a dozen years ago. Had some problems with it even after the so called break-in period. Recoil was a bit snappy and there was considerable muzzle flip with it. I eventually sold it to a guy at a gun show who really wanted to try one out. I have been much happier with my CM9.
 
I have an MK9 that I really haven't had enough time with to tell if it's reliable yet, but $400 for a used PM40 seems high.

I'd think $350 out the door would be an OK price, and $300 would be a good price. Just about any .40 S&W gun can be had for a good price right now.
 
megatronrules

I think $400 for a used PM40 is a bit high as well. Maybe offer them $325 for it and see what they say. Never hurts to ask. Let us how things go if you do decide to get it.
 
A few people have troublesome Kahrs, but I love mine, and know many others who do also. Very good BUG I carry far more than I should as the primary.

.40 in that size is probably asking for it. Even up to 26/27 size Glock, I'd stick with 9.

That's a bit high for any used Kahr, and .40 is not selling well these days as well as a glut of LE trades as agencies change out guns and the 10-15 year old guns were the height of the 40 boom so prices are depressed generally.
 
Had one, paid $325 and wasn't reliable enough to satisfy me, same with a pm9. Both were sold and not missed.
 
I have a PM40 it serves as a "2nd option" in weak hand front pocket to a larger pistol IWB.
Option to put my hand on it without revealing I'm carrying. ;)
I've shot it one hand weak hand and it was less punishing to my hand than a LCP 380.
Pocket 40 delivers respectable power. :D
PM40
180 gr. Federal Hydra-Shok @ 944 fps / 356# KE
180 gr. Federal HST - 947 fps / 359# KE
180 gr. Speer Gold Dot @ 950 fps / 361# KE
155 gr. Federal Bonded @ 1,086 fps / 406# KE
 
Mine has been great and still have it. A lot of power in a tiny package but it's a little beast. Agree with everyone else. Seems a wee bit high for a .40 these days. But that's because of the caliber not the gun. Some Kahrs do have issues but when you get a good one it is usually good for the duration.
 
I have a CM9 that I love. Last Black Friday after Thanksgiving Cabella's had the CM9 and CM40 on sale for around $300. I picked up the CM9... I actually ordered it over the internet then drove 2 hours to pick it up a week later. My CM9 is a nice mellow shooter... my DB9 on the other is a palm puncher though. I have never had a single failure with my CM9. I did rack the slide several hundred times before the first trip to the range with it... I think that helped a lot with eliminating the break in period.

If the CM40 goes on sale for around this price next Black Friday I will definitely pick one up. I do not own any .40's... I kind of hate them because the cases always get stuck in .45acp cases and jam up my Dillon press. But the CM40 is a good powered round in a small pistol. I will have to rope off a special area at the range for shooting the CM40 then shoot my 9's and 45's well away from that area!
 
Thanks everyone I'm still kicking it around. My current EDC is a S&W 340PD without the internal lock. I carry and shot it with speer 357 magnum ammo.

Would the kahr be a step up from what I have now? It holds an extra round or two and is faster to reload,are the pluses I'm coming up with right now.
 
Thanks everyone I'm still kicking it around. My current EDC is a S&W 340PD without the internal lock. I carry and shot it with speer 357 magnum ammo.

Would the kahr be a step up from what I have now? It holds an extra round or two and is faster to reload,are the pluses I'm coming up with right now.

It looks like the Kahr is a couple ounces heavier than your 340pd... to me a couple ounces make a big difference in a carry gun. I love my CM9 but I usually pocket carry which the CM9 is too big for so the CM9 usually is a truck gun. My DB9, LCP or P32 are what I usually carry.

Only you can say what works best for you though.
 
Last edited:
If you're shooting magnums in the 340pd the pm40 will be easier on the hand than that little snubby. As far as effectiveness, I don't see you giving up any power when compared to the snubby even with magnum loads. Magnums out of a <2" barrel shed a good deal of velocity. You will pick up a few ounces with a topped out pm40 but it will be a flatter profile. When I carried the pm40 I pocket carried it in a nemesis pocket holster with the extended mag. The mag did not seem to add a lot of bulk to the carry. It is an accurate piece but follow ups are slower than with a pm or cm9. And 40 was my duty round when I worked so I shot a lot of 40.
 
I have a PM40 and a PM45, I don’t really carry or shoot the PM40 a lot but I’ve never had an issue with it. I wouldn’t be scared to buy one used, come to think of it I did buy the PM40 used. If I didn’t have the PM45 I’d carry the PM40 daily.
 
I've owned and carried a PM40 for several years. $399 for one in good shape with 2 mags and box is not bad. Kahrs tend to be quite pricey (hence their CW bargain line coming out a few years back). I think that's what I paid for mine way back when (deputy from a neighboring county bought it and traded it back in after shooting TWO ROUNDS ... heh ... wimp). I mostly used mine as a BUG to my then-duty weapon and toted it OD a lot. Mine is an older model and I eventually had to replace the mag catch to the newer version (after I e-mailed Kahr one of their gunsmiths sent me the new catch for free and offered to talk me through the installation but without help it took me about 5 minutes including opening the envelope). I don't think mine has ever failed to go bang or cycle. That said, any of these little guns with power levels out of proportion to their size and weight (to include itty-bitty .380s) come with some special considerations:

Hold it like it's a snake that wants to bite you and if you have any cycling issues, try shooting it one-handed and see if the problems go away. Yeah, I know, I know, but these are not target guns or duty guns, they are easily carried, powerful little "Get-Off-Me" guns. A lot of our favorite two-handed grips actually leave a tiny spot unsupported on the backstrap due to the minuscule size of the grips. This means the gun moves a little more under recoil. It's vitally important that you hold on tightly and minimize how much the weapon moves under recoil. They really depend on your hand and arm soaking it up. Usually for my tiny pocket blasters, if I shoot two-handed I have to use the old now frowned-upon "cup and saucer" hold to ensure reliability. Shooting tiny guns like duty pistols often, in my experience, can lead to functioning problems.

None of that will be a problem once you realize the situations in which you're most likely to draw and fire may well be one-handed, toe-to-toe, very fast engagements.

Mine has the XS express-style sights. The tritium has faded to quite dim over the years but that big ol' dot is sure easy to put on target and drop into that shallow rear groove. My old agency's BUG/OD course required shooting from 15, 7, 5, & 2 yards, 25 rounds total. I never had a problem qualifying, in fact I think I always shot 98 to 100%. It's not (for me) a fun shoot-all-day gun. Half a box and I'm pretty much done with shooting it now days (arthritis). The Kahr I mostly carry these days is it's smaller brother the CW380. But it still gets a lot of carry time still, especially in the summer when bigger guns are harder to hide. If you get it, enjoy it! Kicks like catching a line drive bare-handed but they put an even bigger hurtin' from the other end, too. ;)

p.s. At a ballistics seminar the agent teaching the course shot my PM40 (165 gr Federal HST) into the same gel block (t-shirt covered) that he shot a 180 gr HST from a Glock with a custom 6" bbl. The rounds wound up side-by-side at the 16" mark, and you could not eye ball any difference in the rounds; both fully expanded with nice wound tracks. --- Take that for whatever it's worth, but I took away from it that the short bbl doesn't rob a lot of performance from the .40 S&W round.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top