PM9: Range Report

[zen_grasshopper]

New gun fever got the best of me! I had money and wanted to buy something, unfortunately the wait time for the 1911 I wanted was 4 to 6 months and I needed instant gratification.

I went to town and stopped at all the gun shops and handled just about everything. Socom 16, 1911's, Sigs, XD, Winchester Model 70, Remmy 700 the list goes on. I wasn't looking for anything specific, but I knew I needed a new toy. The last place I went was Sportsmans Warehouse which is my Mecca.

I am a cop and the firearms instructor for my department. My current backup is a S&W Model 36 that my dad carried for 27 years with the State Patrol. I really like the gun; it shoots well, but HEAVY for a backup gun. One of the other officers in the department has a Kel-Tec P3AT, I have shot it but just didn't like it. I have been thinking of replacing the 36 with something lighter, but I wanted an auto for faster reloads.

Finally I played with the Kahr PM9, I have fondled these before and always liked them but had heard of people with problems. I decided to throw caution to the wind and purchase it, after all I have never had a lemon and I have purchased a lot of firearms.

I purchased 300 rounds of Winchester White box 115gr. FMJ and two boxes of Speer Gold Dot 147gr. I was going to the range that afternoon to qualify an officer, so I decided to get there a bit early to break in the Kahr, and practice with my duty weapon. I stopped at the department and disassembled the Kahr and lubricated it with some cheap gun oil.

I got to the range about 3:00 pm and it was about 80 degrees with about 50% humidity and little wind.

I shot 320 rounds total out of the Kahr, not one malfunction. I intentionally limpwristed it, I shot it with only my thumb and index finger, I shot it left handed, right handed, two handed. It didn't matter, it fired and cycled every time.

I destroyed some old evidence (12oz. beers, more fun to shoot, then dump down the drain), at 25 yards by shooting it with the Kahr and the Gold Dots. 20 rounds, 15 dead beers.

Needless to say I really like this gun. After a few hundred more rounds, it will probably replace my S&W.

PICTURE REMOVED BY AUTHOR
Here it is with my Geocaching gear.

PICTURE REMOVED BY AUTHOR
This is what I meant by only shooting it with my thumb and forefinger. Basically, just trying to simulate severe limpwristing.


Jon

[WOD]

It is a pleasure to hear that your PM9 has proven infallable and accurate to boot. I still cannot get over how accurate this little gun is. It gives me great incentive to practice with my CCW, something I was loath to do with my snubby.

That super limp wrist technique looks painful;P but it is good to hear your PM9 still did not fail.

Congrats on the new gun:cool:

[Suburban]

I destroyed some old evidence (12oz. beers, more fun to shoot, then dump down the drain), at 25 yards by shooting it with the Kahr and the Gold Dots. 20 rounds, 15 dead beers.


Noooooooooooo!!

ALCOHOL ABUSE! ALCOHOL ABUSE!

I hope it was Natty Ice or something else foul, at least.

[Suburban]

I destroyed some old evidence (12oz. beers, more fun to shoot, then dump down the drain), at 25 yards by shooting it with the Kahr and the Gold Dots. 20 rounds, 15 dead beers.
[/B]

Noooooooooooo!!

ALCOHOL ABUSE! ALCOHOL ABUSE!

I hope it was Natty Ice or something else foul, at least.

[Michigun]

GREAT report zen_grasshopper, thanks for sharing it! ^c

(Off topic, but I gotta ask… you do any pheasant hunting at all? I ask because you are in SD after all. :) A few buddies (a few which are LEO’s themselves) & I would love to get out there sometime for the bird hunting… we’ve talked about going every year for at least 5 years now, but we always end up saying that we’ll go next year…)

[jarrod01]

zen_grasshopper: Your post helps me a great deal. I bought my pm9 brand new in the beginning of august. Well, after my 200 round break in period hadn't yielded promising results, i shot it some more and polished the feed ramp and it seemed to help. I also firmed my grip up and it stopped having those problems. So until your post, i guess ive had kind of a psuedo-satisfaction with my pm9.

you shot 350 rounds during the break in period, no problems, EVEN when intentionally (and severely) limp wristing it. I shot 200 rounds my first trip out and maybe about 15-20 of them the gun functioned flawlessly.

I still get FTB if im doing anything other than gripping it with 100% of my strength. After reading about your gun, i didnt know the pm9 was able to behaive that way. I dont even have a recalled barrel. I just thought such was the nature of a small, light, polymer framed pistol.

Another thing that bugs me is everytime that ive tried to use the 7 round clip with the grip extension, it drops the clip when i fire it. I have to push it back in, and manually chamber another round and continue. I dont have that problem with my 6 round clip. I dont think it could be me hitting the mag release with my thumb, because it would do it for both clips, not just the 7 round. I seriously wonder if it has something to do with the way my pinky squeezes the grip extension. I wonder if im somehow pulling on it when i fire and it slips by the release.

So i figure if your pm9 can function flawlessly, mine should be able to also. Im going to call about getting a new recoil spring. I hear that solves alot of people's problems with FTB. Im also going to let them know about the 7 round clip falling out. Looking down into the handle, the part that sticks into the side of the clip (not sure what its called) looks like some of the polymer is scraped or damaged, not sure how to describe it.

[drewbaru]

jarrod01: Hope you get through the break-in stage. I have had my PM9 for about a year, and I too went through some tough times in the beginning.

But today I am 110% satisfied, and the Kahr is my absolute favorite carry piece. It's reliable, amazingly accurate for such a small weapon operated by it's rather limited-skills owner, and I can pocket-carry anywhere without hassle.

Stick with it if you can. Good luck!

[jarrod01]

drewbaru: Oh, no doubt i LOVE my pm9, i love my E9 too (but i still love my pm9 more :)) I plan on sticking with it anyway, i just want to be able to have it always return to battery even if i am limp-wristing it like zen_grasshoppers pm9 does.

And my pm9 is well beyond the break in period. I have about 500 rounds through it with different types of ammo tried, and besides the 7 round mag dropping, the limp wristing issue is all that bothers me. But im gonna ask kahr if they will send me a stronger replacement spring and ask them about the mag dropping issue.