Guys, I need some help here...

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

I ususally dont post up questions like this, but I need to get some other opinions on the following…

I am thinking of buying a Kahr PM9.

When I can get a way with it, I will IWB a Glock 26 or 19. BY FAR my prefered carry piece(s).

When at work in the summer, typically dress pants and a tucked in polo, there are times when I am relegated to pocket carry. For this, I have been using my Ruger LCR. A little thick, but fills the role fine. I shoot it well and have had no problems with it.

I have been looking at the PM9 on and off for a while, but NEVER see any consistent positive feedback on these things. There always seem to be problems given a few that have had no problems. $700 is quite a bit of cash to plunk down for me, espcially when it feels like a crap shoot on how it runs.

So the question, knowing I already have my LCR 5 shot snub, would you buy a PM9 to replace it for pocket carry? What attributes do you give these 2 as they compare to one another in this role?

I appreciate any feedback and thank you in advance!

-Drew

2

If you are carrying the revolver as your primary gun then I’d say yes, you could replace it with the PM9. Really all you are gaining is a little quicker reload though. I think accuracy and velocity would be about the same.

As for reliability, I don’t know. Your revolver is going to go bang every time. It’s the main reason I carry it as my backup gun.

3

I just went down this path last fall. I’ll share my experience and thoughts, but YMMV.
First off, a pistol this size shooting 9MM is worth some effort. And it took me some effort. I’d do it over if I had to.
Before you ever fire the first round, break it down, clean it (including the striker channel), and de-burr the frame by very light sanding. Next lube the hell out of it. I highly recommend TW25 for the rails. Also if you can, manipulate the slide as much as you can before first shooting. Now go to the range.
The handbook says you need to fire 200 rounds to “break in”. They ain’t lying. And furthermore, I recommend a heavy practice load e.g 124 or 147 Lawman, 124 NATO etc. rather than white box 115 gr. You’ll have to find your own comfort point if you have any failures in the first 200.
It comes with a 6 round flush magazine and a 7 round extended. The extended 7 round magazine was much easier for me to shoot. I just got some Pearce extensions for the 6 round mags and I think they will be a good thing. I had a bit of a problem activating the mag release with the 6 round mags. Recoil is lively, but not bad. But with less gripping surface of the 6 round mag I hit the mag release a few times.
I added a A-grip grip wrap and I really like it on this weapon.
Check your barrel closely after first range trip; particularly the ramp and chamber. Kahr had a bad batch or two of plating jobs and mine flaked. Kahr has very good customer service and replaced my barrel quickly.
It is remarkably accurate and easy to shoot well.
I carry my Kahr in either a Galco ankle holster or Comp-Tac Minotaur IWB. Both do an excellent job. The Galco ankle is great with summer khakis and a polo/t-shirt. The Comp-Tac can be tucked under a shirt and will be very well concealed as well.
The PM9 ain’t cheap and is a bit of a bitch to break-in, but it is a powerful package for its size and was worth it to me.
Good luck, stay safe.

4

The situation i am in does not allow me to carry…or at least let people know i carry. I read a lot of reviews on the pm9 before i picked mine up back in march. The gun has been flawless since i have owned it…i have put almost 500 rounds through it in 3 sittings and it has yet to FTF or FTE…the price wasn’t bad either i paid 575$ for it brand new. I chrono’d my loads out of the gun a month ago 124gr +p gold dots made about 1200fps i believe or somewhere in that area…the gun allows 6 or 7 rounds too which is a few more than your revolver.

The only change i made to the gun was i had a local file down the slide release to be a bit smaller as its pretty large from teh factory.

5

In this instance it would be my primary. Let’s just say I need to be discreet at times given my daily work activites.

LDM- thanks for the very informative post- lots of good info.

The thing is that I can tuck my 26 in a polo shirt using a CTAC with V-clips so I am not really all that sure I really need the PM9 to fill a gap in my ccw that may not exist.

That is the question I need to answer…

6

the pm9 offers pocket carry which is one of the reasons i picked it up

7

Great info. You saying you bought your PM9 NEW in March of 2010? No problems thus far? I am hoping to get some feedback on more recent production PM9’s. I have the one with the black finish on order. None in stock at any Distribtuors right now. I agree with you that 9mm > .38 spl + I get an extra round or 2 which is a plus!

Keep em comming!

8

yea i ordered it in march of 2010…the production date was in january 2010 too.

I wish i would o fwent with the black model…it was only 30$ more and i didnt…

9

I have the PM40 w/crimson trace as my carry. I am a small guy and it is very easy to conceal. I have put over 500 rounds through it and it has never failed. It is also very accurate. It does hut the hand after shooting it a bunch. I would only use it on the range for practice and not plinking fun. Hope this helps.

10

I carry an S&W 642 (roughly same size as your LCR) as a weakside backup in a pocket holster. Have done so for almost a decade. In the fall of 2005 I bought a NIB PM9 as a possible replacement for the 642. I liked the extra capacity, the superior sights, the smaller size of the PM9, etc.

The PM9 has had some issues of failures to return to battery with various types of factory ammo, about 10% during the first 250 rds and about once in every 500 rds since then.

Then there’s the Kahr “load the first rd from the mag with the slide locked back” issue. Kahr in the owner’s manual advises owners not to slingshot the slide to chamber a rd, saying this can result in a failure to feed. My experience bears this out. Kahr recommmends locking the slide back and loading a rd into the chamber by dropping the slide stop lever, and my gun has always worked okay using this method. If the slide is forward on an empty chamber and I attempt to load a rd into the chamber by pulling the slide back and releasing it, the gun will sometimes reward me with a nosedive failure to feed. Numerous other Kahr owners have reported similar experiences, but some report not having this issue. The real issue here is whether the gun will respond to a tap-rack-bang technique of clearing a malfunction. I have tested the tap-rack-bang with the gun using dummy ammo, and it worked okay, but haven’t tried setting up a malfunction using my carry ammo (Federal P9HST2 147 grain std pressure). My thinking is this: If the gun won’t consistently load a rd from the mag with the slide forward by pulling the slide to the rear and releasing it, then how can I expect a tap-rack-bang to work?

I have consistently changed the recoil spring assembly at about every 1000 rds.

I’ve put about 2k rds through the PM9. At about 1800 rds it went back to Kahr to fix a significant barrel peening problem, an eroding mag release problem, and to replace the missing frame access plate screw/pin. It’s back and all seems well.

The PM9 for me doesn’t draw as smoothly from a pocket holster as my 642. In various types of shorts and pants, the 642 consistently draws smoothly, leaving its holster in the pocket. This is using a DeSantis Nemesis or Superfly, or an old Bianchi synthetic pocket holster.

The PM9 on the other hand frequently brings the holster out of the pocket when I draw. This happens with a DeSantis Nemesis, a cheapie Uncle Mike’s, and some other holsters that I can’t remember right now. The only pocket holster I have for the PM9 which will pretty consistently stay in the pocket when I draw the gun is a Galco; it has a hook that is designed to catch on the edge of the pocket. As long as I rock the holster sideways to catch the hook on the edge of the pocket, the holster will stay in the pocket as I draw the gun. Additionally, regardless of holster type, the back of the slide of the PM9 sometimes catches on the edge of the pocket, making for a fouled draw. These two draw issues are sufficient to keep me from trusting the PM9 as a pocket gun. Others may have a different experience.

11

Drew78, the Glaco Ankle Glove ankle holster has really worked well for me when for whatever reason I did not want anything around the waist or I thought I’d be in close enough quarters that a covered waist carry might be compromised. It conceals better than even the Minator tucked in a shirt.
The PM9 would work well in cargo pockets or a jacket pocket, but I’d go with the ankle holster before trying a pocket carry. Its just a touch too big in my opinion for casual or dress slacks (w/o a jacket, and the you can do otherwise). But for that matter, a J-frame prints more than I like in pants pockets.
I have not seen it, but a PM9 might work in some kind of belt pouch, like for a Blackberry, PDA, or camera.
Stay safe.

12

Nice little gun. Fluff it, buff it, and slap a crimson trace laser on it.

13

I tried to love the S&W 642 for pocket carry. But the 642 has a bigger lump on the pocket, the handle can poke out of the pocket when sitting, and in some shorts, the handle can be visible from the pocket if standing next to me.

My PM9 (I bought it used, like new, about 5 years ago) conceals better for me in the pocket.

I recently shot both guns to compare my abilities with one vs. the other. I personally shoot the PM9 much better than the 642.

That being said, I rarely use the PM9 for pocket carry. It is rare that I do not carry a Glock 19, or lately an M&P9c, in an IWB tuckable type holster (Blade Tec UCH).

I own a Glock 26 that lives in a FIST kydex pocket holster. While heavy, you’d be surprised how many shorts pockets this combination will fit in.

I tell friends who ask about the topic that the PM9 is my gun for when I absolutely just can’t be armed, such as church, in-laws, dressy social events, ect. If I can’t conceal the PM9, it’s because I’m butt a** naked!

I don’t see that much difference between shooting the 6 rd and the 7rd magazine. I curl my pinky finger under the magazine base plate with the 6 rd when shooting. I use the 7 rd as a reload.

14

As far as I’m concerned…Kahr rocks…

15

I bought my PM9 in Feb. 2008 when several other guys at work ordered them, together I think we got 4 guns. They are a bit pricey, I went with the factory night sights and all black finish, so mine was the highest price.
Out of the box, it was super tight in the slide, cleaned it well and hit the range for some break-in/practice and needed to qualify with it for carry. I bought mine as a secondary BUG to my S&W 442 should it need repair or something of that nature. I also wanted a small auto for summer carry with more than 5 rnds. available.
I ran 300 to 350 rnds on the first range trip and had no weapon failures, just three user induced issues. I kept hitting the slide release on an empty mag., small gun and my thumb was on the slide release. For me it shot well and I am more accurate with it than the 442. It is light but recoil is very manageable, the PM40 was really snappy, hence I bought the 9mm. All told I probably have close 800+ rounds through it now with no problems. The problems I’ve heard about on the PM9 seem to center around used guns, but that’s just from what I’ve read.
As was pointed out, Kahr does not recommend a sling shot load on the slide, bit of a drawback, but it’s ok. I carry mine in an Alessi ankle holster or a Mitch Rosen Clipper in AIWB position. I’ve got an Uncle Mikes pocket holster, but the gun seems to only work better in cargo pockets for me. The gun is slim and is easily concealed, probably a bit easier than the j-frame because it is thinner. If the 6 rnd. mag is utilized, the Pearce Grip floor plate replacement is a must for just a bit more grip. The PM9 does not snag when I’ve practiced pocket carry/draws, but the J-frame just glides out som much smoother. I think that is due to no square edges, might just be me though.
When I carry it as a primary, I carry the 7 rnd. mag in the gun with one or two of the Kahr 8 rnd. mags with finger ext. in my pockets.
Will this gun fill the role you’re looking for, yes, but so does your LCR, jsut a few rounds less. Is it the be all do all pistol, no, but it fills a specific role or two for concealed carry due to size, weight and round capacity over a 5-shot revolver. Let us know what you end up with and shoot one if you can before ya buy.

16

I own a k98 elite .40 but I’ve owned a pm9 and shot many others. Some all steel models. In my experience, the all steel models seem to run a little better. I keep to .40 around for those days when discretion takes priority. It’s been a great gun with about 2800 rounds thru it but its not my primary gun by any means. That being said, I still think the only ones Kahr for really right were their all steel models.