Johnny Ringo
13th July 2010, 12:34 AM
In Book's thread on Magill's concealment wear, we discussed compact, single-stack autos for carry during hot weather, when a lot of clothing would be not only conspicuous, but downright uncomfortable. I'd mentioned how my Sig P-229 (in .40 S&W) clearly "printed" when wearing my SmartCarry in-the-pants holster and a tucked in shirt, despite claims by the SmartCarry folks that it wouldn't. Book mentioned his Kahr P-9 as his hot-weather piece, so I started looking at them.
The P series was a little more than I wanted to spend, and I had a hard time finding any Kahrs in 9mm. But I found the Kahr CW-40 (.40 S&W). The CW is basically the economy version of the P series, and I won't go into the differences here (easy enough to look up.) Capacity is 6 +1, one less than the 9mm.
The salesman told me up front that a minimum 200 round break-in was recommended by Kahr. He also said that it wouldn't be much fun to shoot, and if I did the whole break-in during one session, I'd have a sore hand at the end of it due to the hard, roughly-checkered grips. And it would kick like a mule. He was right on those points. Here's a detailed breakout:
Look/Feel: I bought the two-tone, black polymer frame and stainless matte slide. Looks good. Not a pocket pistol, but not much bigger. Lightweight, and feels good in the hand. I have fairly small hands, and my pinky nestles nicely against the mag grip extension. Fits nicely in my SmartCarry holster for medium-size pistols, same as I use for my P-229. Much more comfortable to carry there than the heavier P-229.
Accuracy: Not bad. Any issues with accuracy are likely due to the operator - I don't shoot as much as I need to, and I've probably developed some bad habits in my old age. That said, I have better accuracy with my Taurus P-101, XD-40 Subcompact, and my Sig P-229. Still, you don't buy the CW-40 to punch holes in paper - you get it to neutralize a threat. It'll get the job done. Sights are fixed, BTW.
Performance: As mentioned, the muzzle flip is very pronounced. I found it difficult to control. A true double-tap is out of the question for me - I need about a second to reaquire the target due to the muzzle flip. The trigger pull, as all the reviews said, is verrrrryyyyyy long, with no perceived increase in resistance. About the time you say to yourself, "WTF is wrong with th---" BAM! The trigger releases very far back and very suddenly. It took awhile to get used to. Some reviews said they had trouble getting the first round to chamber, and I found this true as well. Sometimes I could press the slide release and it would slam the first round home, and other times it wouldn't. Similarly, pulling back on the slide slightly and releasing it also worked only sporadically. I often had to pull the slide back and offer a slight forward assist to get the slide to chamber that first round.
Reliability: I read as many reviews as I could. One reviewer said his kept malfunctioning using Winchester White Box ammo. I had a 100 round box of the WWB target ammo (FMJ), and it ate it with no problems. I then went to a value-pack (100 rd) of Remington JHP. My very first mag, I had a failure-to-feed after firing the first round. The malfunction was easily cleared by pulling back on the slide and giving it a forward "assist." I had several FTFs throughout the rest of that box of JHPs, and it was ALWAYS the second round that didn't feed. I was rotating 3 mags, and the FTFs happened at one time or another with all three. Just to make sure it wasn't a cleaning issue, I put three mags of Federal 180 gr. FMJ (the kind showing up at WallyWorld) through it after shooting up the Remington JHPs - no malfunctions at all.
Bottom Line: I was frankly a little disappointed with the FTFs. At least there weren't any FTEs, which I think are more difficult to clear. I got to the point where I expected the second round of a mag not to feed, and I was able to remedy the malfunction quickly. Still, I expected more. I have put all kinds of ammo through my Sig, CZ, Beretta, P-101, and XD without a malfunction of any kind. I don't feel uncomfortable using the Kahr as a primary carry piece since I feel I know what to expect, but I'm going to use FMJ in it until I test out some different hollow points.
Hope the info is useful to someone, and I'll be happy to answer any questions.
The P series was a little more than I wanted to spend, and I had a hard time finding any Kahrs in 9mm. But I found the Kahr CW-40 (.40 S&W). The CW is basically the economy version of the P series, and I won't go into the differences here (easy enough to look up.) Capacity is 6 +1, one less than the 9mm.
The salesman told me up front that a minimum 200 round break-in was recommended by Kahr. He also said that it wouldn't be much fun to shoot, and if I did the whole break-in during one session, I'd have a sore hand at the end of it due to the hard, roughly-checkered grips. And it would kick like a mule. He was right on those points. Here's a detailed breakout:
Look/Feel: I bought the two-tone, black polymer frame and stainless matte slide. Looks good. Not a pocket pistol, but not much bigger. Lightweight, and feels good in the hand. I have fairly small hands, and my pinky nestles nicely against the mag grip extension. Fits nicely in my SmartCarry holster for medium-size pistols, same as I use for my P-229. Much more comfortable to carry there than the heavier P-229.
Accuracy: Not bad. Any issues with accuracy are likely due to the operator - I don't shoot as much as I need to, and I've probably developed some bad habits in my old age. That said, I have better accuracy with my Taurus P-101, XD-40 Subcompact, and my Sig P-229. Still, you don't buy the CW-40 to punch holes in paper - you get it to neutralize a threat. It'll get the job done. Sights are fixed, BTW.
Performance: As mentioned, the muzzle flip is very pronounced. I found it difficult to control. A true double-tap is out of the question for me - I need about a second to reaquire the target due to the muzzle flip. The trigger pull, as all the reviews said, is verrrrryyyyyy long, with no perceived increase in resistance. About the time you say to yourself, "WTF is wrong with th---" BAM! The trigger releases very far back and very suddenly. It took awhile to get used to. Some reviews said they had trouble getting the first round to chamber, and I found this true as well. Sometimes I could press the slide release and it would slam the first round home, and other times it wouldn't. Similarly, pulling back on the slide slightly and releasing it also worked only sporadically. I often had to pull the slide back and offer a slight forward assist to get the slide to chamber that first round.
Reliability: I read as many reviews as I could. One reviewer said his kept malfunctioning using Winchester White Box ammo. I had a 100 round box of the WWB target ammo (FMJ), and it ate it with no problems. I then went to a value-pack (100 rd) of Remington JHP. My very first mag, I had a failure-to-feed after firing the first round. The malfunction was easily cleared by pulling back on the slide and giving it a forward "assist." I had several FTFs throughout the rest of that box of JHPs, and it was ALWAYS the second round that didn't feed. I was rotating 3 mags, and the FTFs happened at one time or another with all three. Just to make sure it wasn't a cleaning issue, I put three mags of Federal 180 gr. FMJ (the kind showing up at WallyWorld) through it after shooting up the Remington JHPs - no malfunctions at all.
Bottom Line: I was frankly a little disappointed with the FTFs. At least there weren't any FTEs, which I think are more difficult to clear. I got to the point where I expected the second round of a mag not to feed, and I was able to remedy the malfunction quickly. Still, I expected more. I have put all kinds of ammo through my Sig, CZ, Beretta, P-101, and XD without a malfunction of any kind. I don't feel uncomfortable using the Kahr as a primary carry piece since I feel I know what to expect, but I'm going to use FMJ in it until I test out some different hollow points.
Hope the info is useful to someone, and I'll be happy to answer any questions.