I’ve had an itch for a PM9 for about a year now. Every time I get close to buying one, I back out because of all the horror stories. They seem like great guns if you get one that runs, but the amount of issues they have is scary. The complaints run the gamut from fit/finish and barrel peening to FTEs and FTFs.
Due to the large amount of unhappy Kahr owners, I really have to question relying on one for my life. I’m curious why Kahr firearms are held in such high regard in this forum, and why they command their high price.
So, why do you guys continue to rank Kahr as top-notch firearms when they have such poor performance records?
I’m not one of them. I had a P9 Covert. Trigger wouldn’t reset after firing. It went 2 times back to the factory & still didn’t work. When it did worked, it handled great.
I tried some other small semi’s, but finally went back to a J-frame for a BUG.
I’ve got a PM9 that I got new and a P9 that I got used. Both are top notch guns. Enjoyable to shoot, easy on the recoil for small guns, nice triggers and excellent finish. Both shoot extremely accurately and never fail. Never once. Are they high round count guns, no way. I’ve made my hand swollen and sore shooting a couple hundred rounds of +P 9mm due to the light weight, thin profile in the hand and heavier recoil than a larger gun. But they work fine, so I’m not sure what they are getting a pass on.
Are they a Glock 26 or M&P9c? No I don’t thing they would last that long or be that comfortable to shoot, but for their purpose of making CCW comfortable and easily concealable, they are awesome.
I’m sure others have different stories, but I’m keeping my Kahr pistols.
I wondered the vary same thing when shopping for a pistol for my wife. In fact, I posed similar questions in the past. From everything that others posted…It seemed to come down to two things;
1.) While they may have some flaws, they are better than the competition, so it is relative.
2.) When you get a good one, it is an outstanding firearm. Buy with caution and know what to look for, but once you prove yours reliable, you can rest assured and be confident.
I purchased an Kahr PM9 for my wife. We are putting it through its paces and watching for known problems…
While I don’t have any experience with a Kahr other than what I read, I’ve seen good and bad posted on their line. In general, I see more post with issues concerning the smaller polymer line.
Regardless of the manufacturer, there’s a threshold on the size and weight of a gun before you may experience cycling problems. That of course has alot of variables involved and one key factor is the shooter and how he/she holds the gun.
General shootability of little monsters is another thing to consider, especially for the sensitive ones.
One thing I don’t agree with is that you shouldn’t have to shoot a new gun to “make sure it works” or “break it in” You should shoot it enough to make sure it works with your ammunition and become familiar with it to the point of trusting your life on it and your ability to manipulate it.
The reason that the Kahr PM-9 gets a pass is because there really is no competition in terms of 9mms that compact that are relatively commonly available.
I have a Kahr PM9 that works reliably. I have heard of others that don’t. Some need a breaking in and others need to go back to the factory.
I owned a Kahr PM9 for a couple months and a Kahr PM45 for a couple weeks. Most unreliable pieces of shit I’ve owned. The PM45 went back the second day of ownership, due to FTF issues. They sent it back with FTE issues. 500-rounds and things got worse. I ditched it at a huge loss with disclosure and moved on.
Never again. When I need a pocket gun, it’s a J-frame, period.
I bought a PPS because of a buddy’s terrible experience with his PM9. The Kahr is a little smaller, but the PPS has been completely reliable. I don’t understand why anyone would say the Kahr has no competition in the compact 9mm arena.
I hada CW9 for my wife. Failure to feed, and failure to reset where not common but did happen. She was taking a class with me when a FTR happened, she ran the rest of the class with a G19 and the Kahr went bye bye.
So… I dont give them a pass. I do see them spoken of quite a bit though, so I know what your refering to, but I never personally recomend one.
The PPS is also far more pleasant to shoot than the plastic Kahrs, and has a far better trigger for those of us used to Glocks. Best thing I’ve done in awhile was go from the P9 to the PPS.
Lay those two on top of each other and take the long mag out of the Kahr. The PPS looks like the hot girls fat friend. Even wearing black she is fat. My very early production PM9 goes bang everytime. I have two other friends who carry the PM9 with no issues.
Not top notch in my experience so no pass here. I had a P40 lemon and went on to a scandium J-frame and then a PPS. The latter two were substantial and worthwhile upgrades to the Kahr product for a similar cost. I don’t miss dealing with Kahr’s surly customer service person either.
Comparison photos lifted of the net (Gunblast?) PM9/J-frame in the photos…
Photographs aside, it’s true that the Kahr is a little smaller, but it’s still not a pocket pistol and in practice IMHO the PPS is not more difficult to conceal effectively. Other than the Kahr’s lack of reliability (in my buddy’s experience), the PPS’s grip without the extended magazine impaired its controllability and comfort, at least in my hands, and my wife’s, who has the same pistol. I was willing to trade the relatively small size difference for my perception of reliability and shootability.
True even the PM9 can be a little much in cargo shorts. I am a skinny guy and every little bit helps. To me the Kahr is not all that small in my hand. If I did not feel that mine was reliable I would move up in size to a J-frame smith 340 no lock.
I have a PM9 that I purchased Oct 2010, I put 150 rounds thru it two weeks later three diff manufacturers of ammo, out of the 150 rounds I pulled the trigger on, 68 didn’t go bang. I have owned other Kahr’s in the past, currently a CW-9 that has been ultimately reliable with everything that I have fed it. I called Kahr arms and recieved a “new” recoil spring/rod assembly (I don’t even begin to try and connect how fail to fire is related to that piece). The ammo all would have good solid hits on the primers but they would be off center on the edge of the primer. Apparently Kahr might not understand what “centerfire” means.
I contacted them again after the recoil spring didn’t fix the problem. I got my RA #. I haven’t gotten around to actually sending it back in. I am disgusted with the whole thing at this point. I already told them I am only sending it back in once…
I own two Kahrs. The first is a .40 S&W that I’ve had around ten years. I sent it back to Kahr as the slide/barrel were out of spec. It has run flawlessly ever since.
I also have a PM45 that I wrote about in the May 2009 issue of SWAT. The article is located on Kahr’s website if you would like to check it out. It certainly needed the break in period, and then some, that Kahr mentions in their manual. It now runs flawlessly even with inexperienced shooters.
I will be running a friend’s PM9 tomorrow at the range. It was failing to feed and failing to fire. I believe both the recoil spring and firing pin spring were soft so we changed them out. Kahr’s customer service has always been exemplary in my experience.
Six rounds of .45 acp in a reliable piece, with a decent trigger and excellent sights, makes me happy. It’s rides in Alessi leather on my ankle as I write this.
My very early production PM9 goes bang everytime. I have two other friends who carry the PM9 with no issues.
