Hello all. I am currently carrying a 5" Springfield Loaded 1911 and am wanting to pick up something else for summer. I have looked at glocks, XDs, Sigs, M&Ps and Kahrs and really like the feel of the Kahr P45. I’m just looking for peoples opinions, both positive and negative, on the Kahr pistols. Any experience or knowledge on any of the handguns listed above would be much appreciated as well. Thanks
Semper Fi
Tim
my K40 elite runs like a champ. and the trigger is so smooth. i would stick to the barrels that are around 3.5 inches or more. they seem to need less break-in and such than the real shorty’s (pm9/pm40/etc). i’m selling mine right now, though no fault of the pistol
I recently sold my Kahr P45 to a LEO friend for use as his duty weapon when plain clothes. I had no problems at all, gun is very reliable, comfortable and accurate. I sold it to buy an AR, otherwise I would certainly have kept it.
Left to Right: P9, PM9, MK9, PM45, P45…
It’s all good…
i would stick to the barrels that are around 3.5 inches or more. they seem to need less break-in and such than the real shorty’s (pm9/pm40/etc).
No such issues here…
[QUOTE=varoadking;567861]Left to Right: P9, PM9, MK9, PM45, P45…
[QUOTE]
Between the PM9 and MK9 - which do you prefer? I hefted each side by side Saturday and did not feel the weight savings of the PM9 was that significant. I don’t recall hearing of as many teething issues with the all steel MK9 as with the PM9.
Thanks
I have a Kahr PM 9, I have taken numerous hand gun classes with it and now have about 12,000 rounds through it.
This is my summer carry. I NEVER EVER had a problem with it. Since the day I brought it home its been flawless.
My winter carry guns are either a Glock 26, or a 19. I trust the Kahr just as much as I trust these fine weapons.
The only thing is to clean the Kahr at 500 round mark and oil it more then the Glocks.
Good luck,
Kevin
My PM9 has been near perfect in 600 rounds. One thing I learned was that, when reloading a small Kahr and ESPECIALLY when using the extra cap mags, you want to use the slide release lever (as opposed to sling-shotting the slide). Their owners manual says this, and their customer support says this. Prior to that, I had a couple of times where I tried to slingshot the slide after a reload, and with the extra cap mags, slide wouldn’t go into battery. But they are designed to use the slide release, and since I started using that I’ve never had another issue.
By the way, my Dad also has a P9, it has been totally reliable through roughly 1K rounds. I think he had to have his sights adjusted, but other than that, perfection.
My EDC is a Kahr P9, never a problem with it. Kahr will tell you that you need about 200 rounds to break it in before it will be reliable, and I’ve heard other owners back that up. Same goes for using the slide lock to chamber the first round rather than slingshotting it. Keep it clean, lubed, follow those two rules and it will serve you well.
Anecdotal reports seem to indicate that the steel framed Kahrs are more reliable and durable than the polymer, but my polymer P9 hasn’t had a problem yet. Others may tell you that the shorter MKs and PMs are more prone to problems than the full-sized frames, but I have no personal experience one way or the other.
I liked my Kahr CW-9 just fine, but I don’t know that I would get another one. I went with the Kahr because I was thinking the single-stack would add concealability. I recently traded to a double-stack subcompact (P99C) and it is actually much more concealable - turns out grip length is more important than overall width.
In addition to the need to use the slide lock to reliably avoid failures to go into battery on loading, because the top round of the magazine sits nose-up compared to the rest, I had a problem with mags unloading themselves in pockets or pouches.
you’ll hear a lot of “gun snobs” dogging on kahr. i, for one, find them to be a great pistol. the combat bar-dot sights are very intuitive and the da trigger feels like a good da revolver right out of the box. when i got mine, i polished the feed ramp and then had to break them in, but they have been 100% reliable. the slide on their polymer pistols ride right on the frame with no metal inserts like a glock (glocks have metal inserts)… so i am not sure about long-term hard use, but they are a great carry gun with superb ergonomics. if you wanna spent a little extra cash, go with the mk, k, or t series. great pistols. you may read about some spotty unreliability, however i have yet to witness any. if you do a little research on who owns kahr (moon man) you might be a little turned off… but i wouldn’t let that affeect your buying decision. good luck!
The slide on poly Kahr’s rides on metal frame inserts.
The P45 looks promising- all my Kahr experience has been with the PM9 and P9. Both were good shooters, but unfortunately, I had feedway stoppages with both of them, especially with hollowpoint ammo. I shot an entire season of IDPA with a P9 in SSP- had to reload a lot :D- and ended up breaking or chipping most of the floorplates on the mags. The best thing going for these guns is that they are soooooooo nice to carry. I would NOT consider carrying these in your pocket unless you have an air compressor handy to blast them out every day. I had a malfunction on the range doing a “cold” drill (as in shoot what you carry, no warm-up, prep or dry-fire) when accumulated lint in the magazine managed to work its way up the breechface on the 2nd or 3rd round round.
The worst thing going is the loooooong reset, and spotty reliability with the particular ones I had. Both were early production models though, and I’ve heard of other owners who have had good reliability. I’d be interested in seeing some results for a 2000 rd challenge for a P45.
hmmm… maybe. my only polymer kahrs are a cw45 and a cw9. looking at them… no metal inserts on either.
I only shoot the 6 round mags with my pm 9. I’m pretty sure mine has metal inserts. I’m sure some one will chime in as I have my Glock with me now.
maybe higher grade models or newer production cw series have the inserts, but mine, without a doubt, do not… unless they are the new invisible metal inserts that i keep reading about! 
I have had the MK9 and K40. Both were very good guns, highly reliable and amazing accurate. Personally, I prefer their all metal offerings. I still have the k40 and will carry that when I can’t carry my 1911 commander or government.
I am currently attempting to break in a TP-45. I’m over tasked right now so I had it out to have the slide melted and Heinie Straight Eight sites installed. The pictures below are from before I sent it out. I have three other Kahrs (P-9, PM-9 and a T-9) that all run fine with zero break in. I had some stoppages with the TP-45 due to the range session being imprompt and not lubing it. Overall I only have about 150 rounds through the TP45.
Overall accurate and controlable. Time and lube will say if is reliable. I was shooting .27 splits and a few .18. I am not high speed so don’t let that concern you. Bottom line it is pleasant to shoot. If I have my figures right the TP-45 is about the size of a Commander.
Holster selection is very limited for the TP-45. Mitch Rosen and Raven look to be it for now. The mags fit into my 1911 pouches though
I have plans to shoot another 300 through it, then try the 2,000 round challange. If Kahr comes out with a T-45 I’ll buy it. I’d also like to see if their mag can me modified. The 7 round .45 mags are the same size as 1911 mags. If you can change followers to make a 1911 mag hold 8, it woudl seem a smart cookie could do the same for a Kahr mag.
All poly Kahrs have metal rail inserts, but they are often over looked. There is a set inside the dust cover and at the rear of the frame. Those are the bearing rails. On top you have plastic guide rails for lack of a better term. Users often comment on those shaving down ect, but they have no impact on the function of the pistol. When I get done with doing some pallets tonight I will see if I have any photos I can post.
Found an old photo that shows the front rail:
My pm 9 has two small metal rails up front inboard and two very small in the rear ouboard.
My CW9 had them about 1/4" from the rear of the slide rails. The metal inserts themselves were maybe 1/8" to 1/4" long and as wide as the slide rail. In addition, it had metal slide guides that were about 1" long in the dust cover (not in line with the slide rails, but lower on the slide).
Is it okay to link other forums? Someone on Blocktalk posted a thread about it.