Whats up with Kahrs?

[O6nop]

I'm one of those who is disappointed in my CW9. My problem is that it continually has failure to fire issues. The striker hits the primer but it doesn't go off. I've tried all kinds of ammo. The only ammo that is reliable thus far is factory defense ammo. I'm not well off enough to use that as my practice ammo and am afraid to carry it as it may eventually give me the same response as the practice ammo when I need it.
I sent it in to Kahr and they got 100% reliability, but they used only the highest quality ammo. Their recommendation was to not use ammo that doesn't fire. I also went shooting with a coworker who had a a PM9 and his gun fired a full mag of my ammo with no issues. Also, mine had FTF with his ammo.

Oh, it never started having trouble until well after the 200 round break in. I even bought a new striker thinking that it may have gotten damaged. And, I've cleaned it thoroughly.

I'd give good money to get it working because it is as accurate as any gun I've ever shot.

[gigag04]

Just requalified with my Kahr P380 for our annual quals at work. Shot 50 rds flawlessly. Afterwards...I realized I carried for at least 350 of the past days without cleaning or firing it. Ankle carry, pocket, lint, rain, humidity, banging around...and general abuse. This is not a point of pride, I've just been busy. It got a good break down and cleaning tonight, and it's fine.

I was driving tacks from 15 yds with the pocket .380 during quals. I find Kahrs to be superior small pistols.

[Dave2]

Just requalified with my Kahr P380 for our annual quals at work. Shot 50 rds flawlessly. Afterwards...I realized I carried for at least 350 of the past days without cleaning or firing it. Ankle carry, pocket, lint, rain, humidity, banging around...and general abuse. This is not a point of pride, I've just been busy. It got a good break down and cleaning tonight, and it's fine.

I was driving tacks from 15 yds with the pocket .380 during quals. I find Kahrs to be superior small pistols.

Wow... Suddenly I'm not so freaked out that I accidentally skip "scheduled cleaning" from time to time.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm one of those who is disappointed in my CW9. My problem is that it continually has failure to fire issues. The striker hits the primer but it doesn't go off. I've tried all kinds of ammo. The only ammo that is reliable thus far is factory defense ammo. I'm not well off enough to use that as my practice ammo and am afraid to carry it as it may eventually give me the same response as the practice ammo when I need it.
I sent it in to Kahr and they got 100% reliability, but they used only the highest quality ammo. Their recommendation was to not use ammo that doesn't fire. I also went shooting with a coworker who had a a PM9 and his gun fired a full mag of my ammo with no issues. Also, mine had FTF with his ammo.

Oh, it never started having trouble until well after the 200 round break in. I even bought a new striker thinking that it may have gotten damaged. And, I've cleaned it thoroughly.

I'd give good money to get it working because it is as accurate as any gun I've ever shot.

The first Kahr I bought was my PM9. I found it used in a pawn shop, with night sights, and in practically new condition for $550. It has been dead nuts reliable from day one. Never a jam of any kind. I actually have a great deal of confidence in this gun. My wife—who owns a Glock 19 and a S&W 642 and EDC'd the 642—tried my PM9 and really liked it but wanted a slightly larger grip.

We went to Euless Guns and Ammo where we found a CW9 for $419. Not a particularly good price, but not outrageous either. She really liked the way it fit her hand, the light trigger, and the shorter reach to the trigger. We got it to the range, and it has run flawlessly from day one also. Nary a hiccup. I've used it in my Basic Pistol class with female beginner shooters, and they've liked it. I liked it too but I am also partial to .45 ACP, so I bought myself a CW45 ($399). That makes three Kahrs purchased over the course of less than a year.

The CW45 is the first Kahr I've had which has really required a break-in period. It has had at least 200 rounds through it. At first, it was a bit rough, and I was moderately concerned. At the time, I was not aware of any history of Kahrs really needing a 200 round break-in. I break-in all of my pistols before carrying them by running a couple of hundred rounds through them, but the CW45 is the first one that actually needed breaking in. All of my other pistols have (with the exception of my 3" Kimber which shipped with a defective part) ran flawlessly right out of the box, and the Kimber ran flawlessly as soon as I dropped in the replacement part. My wife's G19 has been stellar from day one. Ditto the others. So I was actually a bit surprised that the CW45 has needed so much break-in. Now, about 200 rounds later, it is much better....but it still isn't perfect. I will still get an occasional FTF. My guess is that another 200 rounds will have it running pretty flawlessly, but I don't want to keep going down that road for a $399 pistol. I was looking at the Glock 36 too when I bought the CW45, but the G36 was $569 at the same store where I bought the CW45, so I bought the Kahr. If I have to buy $170 worth of ammo to get the CW45 running the way the G36 would likely run right out of the box, then the G36 might turn out to have been the better deal. I still prefer the ergonomics and trigger of the Kahr, so I'm willing to go the distance to make it as reliable as our other two Kahrs have been.

My biggest complaint about Kahrs is the quality of their magazines in .45 caliber, and that seems to be the issue with my CW45's reliability. On a Kahr forum, I saw that you can take a rebuildable 7 round officers size 1911 magazine, replace the spring and follower with the units from a Kahr magazine, and it will function in the Kahr pistol better than the Kahr magazine does. The problem with the Kahr .45 mags is that the metal they use in the magazine body has a bizarre finish to it, and the edges of the feed lips are particularly roughly finished. So the cartridges don't strip off the top as cleanly or as smoothly as a 1911 magazine. The 9mm mags appear to be made out of a different metal, and they have a better finish on them. Anyway, I'm going to pick up a couple of 7 round officers length 1911 mags and try the modification to see if it works. Maybe that will speed up the break-in process.

[Diesel42]

I have two K9's and a T9. I love my Kahrs, but I had serious issue with one of the K9's. Toward the end of my practise the gun would suffer FTF issues. I had issues with cheap ammo and expensive ammo. The folks at Euless Guns & Ammo worked with me and Kahr Arms for several weeks and finally solved the problem by replacing the barrel. My lesson learned was this: Kahr has great precision because the tolerances are so tight. I had to really work with one K9 to get it functioning properly. Now I trust it completely. No more FTF at all.

HTH
Happy Trails! N

[Transplant]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like Kahr's have a good trigger, are generally accurate, and are relatively comfortable to shoot, but it looks like a good percentage of you have run into issues with a number of models.

I'm not sure if I want to take the risk or not. I'm not really excited about the prospect of something that needs a lot of fine tuning to run right. Maybe I can locate a used one that's already been broken in.

I sure wish Glock or Springfield made a light single stack 9.

[2firfun50]

You mentioned in the original post that the PF9 was a little much for your hands. I would like to suggest that you may not find a pocket model 9 mm that you would enjoy shooting very much. You might want to look into a similar size/weight .380, not one of the little ones like a Keltec P3T or Ruger LCP for example. More on the size of a Bersa Thunder. I personally consider the little .380s evil little beasts that are best carried more than they are shot. My wife shoots her S&W Bodyguard 380 just enough each range trip (about 20 rounds) to know it works. She then pulls out her Bersa Thunder and runs me out of ammo (usually 200-250 rds).

Myself, I carry a P-11 Keltec back a forth to work and a CW45 IWB when I don't expect to have to disarm. At the range, I follow my wife's approach and shoot both of them enough for familiarity and confidence. For fun at the range, I shoot a Ruger Blackhawk .45 LC with really light loads.

Just keep in mind that you may not find a small pocket model 380 or 9 mm that will be lots of fun at the range for you. "For you" is whats important. Pick your carry weapon carefully, test it for reliability (any gun), and practice as much as you can to shoot it accurately. The one to get in the first well placed shot usually wins.

I just live around the corner. Shoot me a PM if you want to chat.