Kahr's

[HuggyU2]

I'm giving a lot of thought to getting a Kahr.
The P45 has my attention right now.
I know CAMike likes the P40 or PM9, but wanted to see if anyone owned the P45.
Many reviews I've seen were some critical of the PM9 for jamming.

And while it's a chunk of cash,... this article has me thinking too:
http://www.kahr.com/Reviews2010/american-handgun.asp

I'm not near as smart as most of you on handguns, and would like to hear your impressions.
I've read through some of the threads, and did some searches,... but more info is always better.

 

[bunk22]

The only think I know about the Kahr P45 is it has tight tolerances from the factory and requires a break-in period. I've recently owned two small .45 ACP's, a Glock 36 and Kimber Ultra Carry II, and both had issues...the G36 FTF's and the Kimber, FTE. I've read good things about the Kahr, after the initial break-in but it's a lot of money for a small .45 ACP hand gun. Good luck.

 

[xmid]

For what its worth Bunk I have a G36 and have put a lot of rounds down the tube without a single issue. My old roommate had one with the same experience. I don't know whether you got a lemon or we got the two good ones, but I love mine.

 

[CAMike]

I am a firm believer in "very specific" Kahr models. My PM9 is equally reliable as my Glock 36 and G30, specifically zero malfunctions in excess of 1500 rounds in each make and model. That said- My Kahr P45 (Black Upper with night sights) is affectionately known as the "antichrist" here at home. It has a 1% to 3% failure to feed issue. It's has gone back three times to Kahr and one additional time for a lower (complete serial number) exchange. Please keep in mind Kahr's customer service is absolutely outstanding and they have never failed to make an attempt to resolve each situation. i.e. they always pay the freight on the return trip, the problem just never gets corrected.

Without getting into too much detail, the dwell time at the P45's rear most movement (Upper Receiver) is a mere fraction of that a Glock or the Kahr PM models. If you hold it with anything less than the vulcan death grip- the receiver may not go far enough back to grab behind the case head of the next available round in the magazine and push it forward into battery. Coincidentally the P45 is now back at Kahr Arms Inc for a 4th time and I've made it clear this will not come back to me and needs to be exchanged for a different model or refund at this point. I'm now about 900 round into trying to "break it in" and still it no worky. Many other P45's owners are very happy with their guns and don't have the issues that I'm having so their models may have different tolerances built into the upper CNC design. My issue is that it's not a range gun where 98% effectiveness is acceptable- I need 99.7% or better as I would like to place it on my CCW license.

The G36 feels only slightly larger than my Kahr PM9 and can easily be carried for 12 hours a day with an IWB holster just like the PM9. Pocket Holster carry may not be not so easy.

Sorry for the lengthy post but the devil is in the details when it comes to the P45. The Kahr P45 shoots like a dream when it's up, (soft recoil and nearly pure vertical recoil movement)- but when it fails and it gets a down chit- it's very frustrating. BTW- I own several other makes models in 45ACP and they all run great...other than the P45 of course. I suppose having an $800 paperweight just pisses me off.

 

[bunk22]

For what its worth Bunk I have a G36 and have put a lot of rounds down the tube without a single issue. My old roommate had one with the same experience. I don't know whether you got a lemon or we got the two good ones, but I love mine.

My G36 was a lemon, had it looked at by the local expert, fired by him and others, it had FTF's with all of them. I had to make sure it wasn't me limp wristing and such. It couldn't go through a box of 50 rounds without 4-5 FTF's. My Kimber could last longer before its extractor would go out of rigging and start to have FTE. Not a fan of small .45's anymore and it's not enough rounds for me as I'm a horrible shot anyway!!

 

[gaijin6423]

I own two Kahrs, a P9 and a CW9. (The P9 is actually in my back pocket right now.) They do require a break in period. I think Kahr advertises 200-400 rounds, and both of mine were right around 300ish when they smoothed out. The P9 especially pissed me off right out of the box, as there was a noticeable hitch in the trigger for the first 100 rounds. A small sliver of metal had worked its way into the trigger guts, and there was some general gritty feel to it even after I yanked out the metal. After that, though, it really made me a fan of the Kahr trigger. I like them.

The CW series is more of an entry level model, and is slightly less finished than the P series. If I remember correctly, the differences between CW and P are a pinned polymer vice dovetailed metal front sight, cast vice machined slide stop, and traditional vice polygonal rifling, respectively.

I do notice slightly better accuracy at relatively longer ranges with my P9, but I typically wouldn't expect to be engaging actual targets at 25 yards with what amounts to a slightly oversized pocket gun. And the difference was about 1" in groups.

 

[A4sForever]

Just curious ... why would you boys buy a 'Moonie' pistol -- ummmm, like a Kahr (or a car, for that matter) -- when there are other choices to bet your life on that are less finicky, less 'controversial', more reliable, more ammo-friendly, same weight, same cost (sometimes LESS), same/better ergonomics, .... etc., etc. ... ???

Inquiring minds would like to know ... I mean, the guys name IS 'Kook Moon' ...

'Scuse me while I get the Yugo prepped & ready to go downtown ... I mean, while I like her and she works most of the time, she can be finicky other times ...

감사합니다

 

[bunk22]

Just curious ... why would you boys buy a 'Moonie' pistol -- ummmm, like a Kahr (or a car, for that matter) -- when there are other choices to bet your life on that are less finicky, less 'controversial', more reliable, more ammo-friendly, same weight, same cost (sometimes LESS), same/better ergonomics, .... etc., etc. ... ???

I think that's a valid point. I've got 4 handguns right now, I primarily carry two of them and my primary carry (XD9sc) has 4000 rounds of every type though it without a single issue attribued to the gun (I had single bad round not too long ago, took two strikes to fire). None of my guns have had an issue as a matter of fact, knock on wood. I trust my life to my XDsc and not saying that are all perfect, it's just that I've put so many rounds through it where I can trust it. If one buys a Kahr and it works after its break-in, why not carry it??

 

[HuggyU2]

Moonie pistol? You lost me.
And I'm all ears if you have a pistol you prefer.
In this case, I'm looking for a pocket pistol, probably in .45.
What do you carry?

 

[A4sForever]

Moonie pistol? You lost me.
And I'm all ears if you have a pistol you prefer.
In this case, I'm looking for a pocket pistol, probably in .45.
What do you carry?

Kahr Arms: "an American small arms manufacturer founded by Kook Jin "Justin" Moon (son of Unification Church founder -- Sun Myung Moon). The younger Moon currently serves as CEO and President".

Having spent a fair amount of time in the ROK over the past 30+ years, I've come to appreciate that while there are many good things that emanate from the Land of the Morning Calm, there's a lot of crap as well. Just sayin' ... mindsets (theirs & mine) ... personal preference(s) ... ahhhh, soooo ... 한국

What I carry kinda' depends on the WX, where I'm going, what I'm wearing, etc., etc. The pistols all work the same (w/ the exception of a single-action Colt or two) and the revolvers (D/A) all work the same, obviously. I have a couple of "car" pieces, as well. It just depends on the circumstances ...

.45 ACP?? I used to carry a Colt Officers Model in stainless most of the time. I really, really "like" the .45 ACP round (it's probably my "if you could only have one" pistol cartridge), but on any given day, it's hard to say in advance. Tomorrow I might have an H&K P2000SK in .40 cal. secreted somewhere w/in "easy reach". The .45's great, but given the day-to-day choice of balancing weight, simplicity of operation, portability, ambidextrous ergonomics, trigger, and # of rounds carried, the SK in .40 S&W (for example) ain't a bad choice, either. In this particular case, I opted for an "X-grip" mag adapter for 1 or 2 of the 3 magazines carried (allows full size mags - improves 'pinkie' grip -- more rounds) and it's great. And then there's the 9mm, the .38 Special, the .380, even a couple of .32's, yadda, yadda, yadda ... they all work. Still, like I said, it all depends.

Everyone has their 'favorites' ... I have several, depending upon circumstances. I like lots of everything. I like Ike.

 

[HackerF15E]

Detonics Combat Master.

 

[HuggyU2]

Ahh soo... and copy all.
Thanks for all the advice... and the education.
That's a very interesting fact.