Magazines were problematic and I also observed the cold weather failure that is well known on the PM9s. It replaced my J-Frame carry - more rounds, more accurate, less recoil, faster reloads, better bullets and a comparable size. I figure I shot the polymer frame beyond the design parameters. Two trips to the factory and the reliability kept declining. However, I shot a PM9 to unreliability in less than 10k rounds. Great trigger, tight dimensions and little extra to tote around.
For their purpose, the Kahr were engineered to be hot rods. Three trips to the factory on two guns.Ībsolutely one of the coolest designed gun lines around. I am one of those folks with Kahr trouble. That said, I would have no issues going back to the PM40 or P380. Like Ladder 13, I only carry my Sig P365 off duty now and would carry it on duty if allowed. I don't know enough about the 9MM to comment. As long as one recognizes the trade offs and plans for them I have no qualms recommending the 40 or 380. I recognize that there are trade offs when carrying a gun as small as the Kahrs. Several times when nearing 150 rounds fired on one day I had to take my thumb and push the slide home after each shot. After about 100 to 150 rounds (annual qualification) I replaced the springs. I recognized this and always kept extra springs on hand. The only issue I ever had was that the recoil springs do not last. The PM 45 issue did not stop me from buying a P380 when they came out and I carried it off duty/backup for several years.
Traded it and let the LE Distributor know of my problems. I bought a PM45 later and NEVER got it to run. I still have it as I had my agency seal laser engraved and gold filled on the top of the slide and I don't want it on the street. I finally stopped carrying it as it was so "snappy" to shoot. While I do not know for sure, the last set of followers I got never broke, so I have to assume they fixed the issue.
It was such an issue the LE Distributor kept a drawer full of followers to give to officers who used them. Sometimes it kept working, other times it would not feed. It had a weak point and I broke one to three EVERY time I qualified with it. The original PM40 (don't know if they have fixed the issue) had a design flaw in manufacturing the follower. I never had any more issues with the GUN. Several weeks later I got it from the factory. He told the production manager not to send it back until it worked. He took a PM40 out of the display case and sent it to the factory along with four boxes of our duty ammo. The LE Distributor I got it from said that the guns should run and called the factory. I bought a PM40 many years ago to carry as a duty/off duty gun. I have no issue using any of the Kahr 9s as an off duty carry and a P380 as a backup and if I could get away with it, I would consider carrying a K9 or T9 on duty (plain clothes). Picked up a like new MK9 the other day for $325.00 Upside is that I frequently find incredible bargains on these guns because they are relatively unpopular. Also, I think their mags are not the best, but tend to work fine and can be improved with metal followers if one is so inclined.Īlthough I hear people whine about it, the break in is no issue to me, I would not carry a gun, or at least not a semi auto, until it had processed a few hundred rounds of ammo anyway. In fairness, a few bad apples do slip through and need to go back for work/replacement, but I know of no brands exempt from that.
I guess they never shot a revolver or a DA Sig or Beretta. I see people post all the time about how incredibly long the trigger pull is and that they therefore can't shoot the gun well. I think a lot of people who have problems with them have one of two issues.(1) Not giving them a chance to break in and doing it wrong (best for them to be well-lubed for first few hundred rounds), and (2) people who for some reason just can't use a trigger that has more and a millimeter of travel. Have several and a couple have become my most frequent carry guns.