Kahr PM9/PM40

[Weights]

Has anyone purchased or had one that was manufactured within the last couple months or so? If so, please post your experience with them; performance, reliability, etc...

[Rule10b5]

Not in the past couple of months.

But I can tell you that a P40 that I purchased a year ago is the worst gun I've ever owned. And a PM9 that I purchased a year before that is the second worst gun I've ever owned.

And I've owned a LOT of guns over the years -- taking first and second place is quite an achievement.

Why not consider the MK9 or MK40, instead? I've never heard a single bad thing about the all steel Kahrs, not even online, where you can always find someone saying something bad about any gun, no matter how good.

[Cheeseybacon]

I'd steer clear of the PM9 if I were you. Absolutely 100% junk!!! My dad chose this pistol for his CCW and he has had nothing but problems with it from day one. Total crap.

First of all, the overall quality / fit and finish of the PM9 is horrible. The polymer is nowhere close to being as nice as an XD or Glock. It is very soft and dents/marks up easily, it also tends to shave off as as the slide travels over the top of it. The body of the gun is fairly smooth for the most part, but then amongst all of this smoothness there is a great big slide stop lever with the sharpest damn corners I've ever encountered on a gun. Kahr has a "carry" package you can buy that includes, among other things, rounding off the slide stop. What I want to know is should you have to pay extra for concealed carry features on a gun that is obviously built with concealed carry in mind? Accuracy also sucks. Neither me nor my dad could hit the broad side of a barn at 7 yards with it.

My dad had trigger reset/striker-cocking issues soon after he got it. Sometimes it would fire, sometimes it wouldn't, it was totally random. It was the only semi-auto I've ever seen that you could literally play Russian Roulette with, if you were so inclined. Later the end of one of the springs started working it's way out of a hole in the frame next to the trigger and started jabbing his hand under recoil. Very painful. The PM9 is not very reliable either. We both noticed many FTF and FTE under a variety of circumstances, both clean and dirty. Even after ridiculous amount of cleaning and lubing the action still feels very coarse and gritty. After about 400 rounds through it the barrel began to show evidence of peening. Right about that time my dad got pissed and sent back to Kahr. Customer service was really snotty with him and tried to accuse him of everything imaginable before agreeing to take a look at it. It's been there for well over a month now and we haven't heard anything. All said and done this damn little gun cost about $740, and for as much as it cost, it should run like a Glock, not like ass. As soon as he gets it back he's probably going to cut his losses and sell it.

Some folks seem to get lucky and claim they get a good one, but my dad wasn't so lucky. I'd stay if I were you. Take a look at the Walther PPS instead. It similar in size and probably a lot better gun (not to mention about $100 cheaper).

[BUCKMARK]

I really like the P series Kahr. At the same time I really DO NOT like the PM series.

I don't think Kahr has anymore bad guns leave the factory than the average norm, but I do think that Kahr pushed beyond the limits of reliability with these little guns.

IMHO these small guns are too light, thin and small to work with the amount of reliability and durability expected. To prove my point, look at Kahr's major competitor.... Kel-tec PF9. The Kel-tec PF9 also suffers many problems and is also getting a bad reputation as junk. On the other hand, both Kahr and Kel-tec have much better reviews on thier bigger guns. To take it further...many companies wont even try to make a gun this small and light. I think they know the risks.

I really like the Kahr P9 and think it is a great carry gun. I have no idea why Kahr dropped their "Covert" series guns which had the PM size grip frame with the longer more reliable barrel and slide from the P9. IMHO it was the perfect gun for deep concealment.

I think the only thing a PM series Kahr has over the P series is the ability to carry it in the front pocket....something I don't care for anyway. If I had to have a super small gun for front pocket carry I would go with the 5 shot J frame from S&W like the model 637. A gun that is well known to work when you need it.

For belt carry, look at the P9, CW9, P40, CW40 or any of the steel frame Kahrs.

I too would avoid the Kahr PMs'.

[TwistedCopper]

Just got a PM9 this month. Look lower on this thread...
http://www.pafoa.org/forum/pistols-4...t-new-toy.html
I have taken it to the range twice now and so far it has been great. Have only shot WWB FMJ (200 rnds) and JHP (50 rnds) through it so far and it has been flawless. I was expecting some trouble during break-in but have had not a single failure and once I got used to the DAO trigger I was surprised at how accurate it shot. If I find any fault with it I will surely post up.

[Slingshot Engaged]

I also own a Kahr PM9 with night sights, brand new in august 07'. It is the first pistol I have ever owned. I have close to 1000 rounds throught it now. After the initial break in, it has been working flawlessly. The only failure to feed problems I had were during the initial break in period and I contribute them mainly to me being a newbie pistol shooter and the 7 round factory magazine (no problem ever with 3 factory 6 round mags). I have had no barrel peening issues. Just normal wear and tear on the barrel that so far has not affected reliability at all. As far as the fit and finish goes, there were a few those little stringy polymer strands here and there inside the frame, no big deal to me; never affected anything. If you have the time you can remove these yourself, however they tend to work themselves out the more you shoot it. No marks or scratches on my polymer after close to 1000 rounds. With a full mag, the slide realease requires little pressure to operate and gets easier and easier as you break this pocket rocket in. I don't know why people keep complaining about the pointy slide realese, man up . As i'm getting more experienced with it, its getting more and more accurate, I couldn't hit crap with it at first. Now I'm much better and starting to get surprised at how accurate this gun can be. It fits great in the front pocket too. So far I'm very happy with it and hopefully it keeps working the way it does now.

[MarcS]

they are very hit-or-miss. You either get a good one which you'll love or you'll get a nightmare. That being said, for what they charge there's shouldn't be this huge variance in quality control.

[PAUL CHAMBERLAIN]

i have a pm40, and even though i am fond of the pistol, your hands do take a beating with prolonged shooting.

[The_Boogie_Man]

I own a PM9 a PM40 and a PM45 I mostly CCW the PM45 in a SmartCarry rig or below inside waist band holster living in Florida this works best for me. All three Khar pistols have over 2,000 rounds fired. Not one malfunction of any kind. I have had great luck with these pistols. Kahr is coming out with a small 380 I will also buy one of those hopping the good luck continues.

[Johannes_Paulsen]

I've heard lots of people are satisfied with the PM9.

That said, the one Kahr gun I've heard the most complaints about has been the PM9. There was a recall on an earlier model. I would not buy a used one for that reason.

I have an MK9 and it's been a fine pistol. A friend got a CW9, and he is also happy with that.