Kahr's I Have Owned

[Gunmeister]

I guess you could say I've had some Kahr experience. I've own/owned a dozen of them. Not a record to be sure but enough to be able to say I've had experience with Kahr products.
Let's begin with the .40S&W models.
1. My first Kahr was a K40 (all steel) Covert, it carried well but the weight was mildly objectionable and the piece felt nose heavy to me. Never had a problem with this one, it was just not fun to shoot and it only had a 5 round mag. Sold it.
2. Next is a K40 which is one of the finest guns I have ever owned. My son is a LEO and has carried it for several years as his off duty piece. It dents 90% of the brass on ejection but Kahr says that's a non-issue. This ones a keeper mega thou flawless rounds fired.
3. Next was a MK40 Elite 98 it was a great gun also, very regretfully I traded it for a Glock G19 in a moment of weakness. This is one gun I truly regret not having kept, never had a problem.
4. Next was a P40 which was OK, recoil was stiffer than either the MK40 or K40's. Kept it in the safe for a long time, recently sold because of non use. No prob`s about 500 rounds fired.
5&6. Two PM40's both terrible, terrible guns. I would not ever recommend one of these duds to anyone. Sold both at a huge loss.
7,8&9. Three PM9's the first two were the early models and like their PM40 brothers were totally unsat in every way, sold both at a huge loss also. I weakened and recently bought a newer (manf in 2005) PM9 which after 500+ rounds fired has been totally reliable and is my every day gun, it's a keeper.
10&11. Two MK9's I loved these guns but just grew tired of the weight and traded one for a Glock G26 (bad move) and sold the other to buy my current PM9. Never had a problem with either one.
12. A recent K9 which had the long pull NYPD trigger which I disliked. Also the machine work on the underside of the slide (lot's of machine "chatter" and swirls) was terrible, it didn't affect the firing of the gun but it bugged me just because it was flawed in my eyes. No problems mechanically, ran fine. Sold it.
Just thought I'd share these comments with you.
Be advised that any gun I have sold because of mechanical defects, the person who bought them was fully aware of the gun's problems at the time of purchase.
JW

[fcamd]

You certainly have shown your loyalty to the Kahr brand. Despite all the earlier problems with the PM line you still had the cajones to go buy another one. I'm just curious, was it the concealability of the Kahr guns that make you keep buying their product, or was it appearance? I'm sure it wasn't the price.

I only own one of their guns so far (a PM9). Quality isssues have made me hesitant to get another one even if the one I own has not been a problem. Maybe I'll wait a little longer before I get my second Kahr.:sad:

[Gunmeister]

I have bought sold and traded firearms for over 50 years now. My Kahrs have been bought, sold or traded over about eight years. Most of them, with a few exceptions, were previously owned.
The early all stainless steel Kahr's were touted by the gun magazines as precision pieces that were built like a Swiss watch. This was true. I have always preferred the all steel models to their polymer brothers and have found the steel ones to be much less problematic than the poly models. In days gone by I swore that I would never own another poly Kahr after having had many probs with 2 PM40's and 2 PM9's. I did weaken when I bought my current 1 year old PM9 which was previously owned, from a local fellow who swore it ran flawlessly---and it does.
My primary reason for owning Kahrs has always been concealability and the high quality workmanship of the early ones. I worked for years as a machinist building very close tolerence hydraulic selector valves and I appreciate well turned out products like the early Kahrs. Some Kahr products produced from about 2000 to 2004 showed some pretty rough machining probably as a result of dull tooling or hurried production or a combination of both. Recently there appears to be considerable improvement in their machine work which I hope continues.
Kahr can build firearms that will last a lifetime and can be passed on to your grandkids. They are expensive for a "moderately" priced firearm but if you get a good one, you really have something.
I would highly recommend that anyone contemplating purchasing a new or used Kahr should field strip it and inspect it's innards carefully for poor workmanship before you buy. If the owner or dealer balks at this, walk away.
JW:patriot: