mace85
06-26-2008, 02:33
I know alot of people are asking questions about the new CW series from Kahr, so I decided to write up a review.
Today I picked up my new Kahr CW40. I went straight home and stripped and cleaned it.
First Impressions: The frame looks exactly the same as my P9 I foolishly traded years ago. The slide was a bit heavier than the P9, but it wasn't machined nearly as much as the other guns in their line. The recoil spring is very stiff. Working the slide back was not as easy as I expected. But then again this is a 3.5 inch .40. The action felt gritty all around. The slide, and the trigger. Then I stripped the gun. It strips in the typical GLOCK/Kahr fashion. Make sure the gun is empty, and then remove slide stop, and pull trigger. The slide will ease off the frame. The barrel and recoil spring come apart in a typical fashion. The spring in a non-captive unit. I frankly was surprised at what I saw inside. The slide movement in the slide had a gritty feel to it. The trigger movement was silky smooth. But the striker and safety plunger movement in the slide felt gritty. It felt as if either the metal wasn't machined smooth, or there was grit in there. The plastic frame rails had a fair amount of flashing on them. But this is a budget gun. I cleaned the gun, lubed it per instructions, and attempted to clean the striker channel. I tried to flush it with non-chlorinated brake cleaner, but it felt the same.
Range: I shot Magtech 180grn, Winchester Ranger 165, and 180 grn FMJ reloads (HS-6, I can not remember the charge at the moment). I only had one 6 round magazine, but still managed to get the gun hot. As far as function is concerned I had one failure to feed, but that was a Magtech round with a defective case. The rim was crushed when the bullet was put on. In all fairness, that round would have choked any gun. The lesson here is always check your carry ammo. Other than this one fluke, the gun ran like a top.
It was a very accurate gun. As another forum member posted, as long as you do your part, the bullet goes where the sights are. The gun did not seem to prefer one type of ammo over another, it all shot point of aim. But the distances tested were between 5-10 yards. The trigger reset is very long. The trigger feels like a light double action revolver. Not bad for a defensive gun, but not the best for a range only gun.
Overall the gun was comfortable to shoot, for the first 100 or so rounds. Towards the end there was some hand fatigue. Which was quite odd, I have never experienced that before. There were a few occasions where the slide would lock back on a loaded magazine, or the magazine would fall out. But these were shooter error. I can not fault the gun for this. My hand got tired and a proper firing grip was difficult to maintain. I shot a little of my GLOCK 23C and it felt like I was holding a brick. I almost didn't think my fingers would wrap around the grip. It's funny the tricks your mind will play on you.
The cleaning: When I stripped the gun to clean it after the range all of the gritty feeling was gone. The gun just needed to wear in. The plastic flashing was also gone. The steel did not hold onto carbon at all, it was very easy to clean. And there was next to no powder or carbon in the frame. I lubed it up and put it back together. The slide was much smoother than before.
General Impression: I think this gun is a steal for the high 300's or low 400's. I would feel completely comfortable carrying this gun. I am impressed with the machine work in the slide, even though it not up to the standards of the rest of the Kahr line. It is still a great example of quality work. But I would definitely recommend following the 200 round break in period recommendation. The only thing I would like to see differently on this gun is a slightly more aggressive grip pattern, but that is always an easy fix.
Today I picked up my new Kahr CW40. I went straight home and stripped and cleaned it.
First Impressions: The frame looks exactly the same as my P9 I foolishly traded years ago. The slide was a bit heavier than the P9, but it wasn't machined nearly as much as the other guns in their line. The recoil spring is very stiff. Working the slide back was not as easy as I expected. But then again this is a 3.5 inch .40. The action felt gritty all around. The slide, and the trigger. Then I stripped the gun. It strips in the typical GLOCK/Kahr fashion. Make sure the gun is empty, and then remove slide stop, and pull trigger. The slide will ease off the frame. The barrel and recoil spring come apart in a typical fashion. The spring in a non-captive unit. I frankly was surprised at what I saw inside. The slide movement in the slide had a gritty feel to it. The trigger movement was silky smooth. But the striker and safety plunger movement in the slide felt gritty. It felt as if either the metal wasn't machined smooth, or there was grit in there. The plastic frame rails had a fair amount of flashing on them. But this is a budget gun. I cleaned the gun, lubed it per instructions, and attempted to clean the striker channel. I tried to flush it with non-chlorinated brake cleaner, but it felt the same.
Range: I shot Magtech 180grn, Winchester Ranger 165, and 180 grn FMJ reloads (HS-6, I can not remember the charge at the moment). I only had one 6 round magazine, but still managed to get the gun hot. As far as function is concerned I had one failure to feed, but that was a Magtech round with a defective case. The rim was crushed when the bullet was put on. In all fairness, that round would have choked any gun. The lesson here is always check your carry ammo. Other than this one fluke, the gun ran like a top.
It was a very accurate gun. As another forum member posted, as long as you do your part, the bullet goes where the sights are. The gun did not seem to prefer one type of ammo over another, it all shot point of aim. But the distances tested were between 5-10 yards. The trigger reset is very long. The trigger feels like a light double action revolver. Not bad for a defensive gun, but not the best for a range only gun.
Overall the gun was comfortable to shoot, for the first 100 or so rounds. Towards the end there was some hand fatigue. Which was quite odd, I have never experienced that before. There were a few occasions where the slide would lock back on a loaded magazine, or the magazine would fall out. But these were shooter error. I can not fault the gun for this. My hand got tired and a proper firing grip was difficult to maintain. I shot a little of my GLOCK 23C and it felt like I was holding a brick. I almost didn't think my fingers would wrap around the grip. It's funny the tricks your mind will play on you.
The cleaning: When I stripped the gun to clean it after the range all of the gritty feeling was gone. The gun just needed to wear in. The plastic flashing was also gone. The steel did not hold onto carbon at all, it was very easy to clean. And there was next to no powder or carbon in the frame. I lubed it up and put it back together. The slide was much smoother than before.
General Impression: I think this gun is a steal for the high 300's or low 400's. I would feel completely comfortable carrying this gun. I am impressed with the machine work in the slide, even though it not up to the standards of the rest of the Kahr line. It is still a great example of quality work. But I would definitely recommend following the 200 round break in period recommendation. The only thing I would like to see differently on this gun is a slightly more aggressive grip pattern, but that is always an easy fix.
