Kahr P9 - impressed

[Palladan44]

I've worked with the CW9 and K9 for many, many years. Way back when, it was my favorite option, and it stuck. No new "hot" item has been able to make up for the experience I have with these since.
They simply work, reliability has been 100% (except with a few types of ammo out of the K9) Before "concealed carry" was as mainstream as it is today, compact or subcompact striker-fired handguns had more of a niche market and that was more for "backup gun" LE purposes. (K9) But at any rate, I'm here to sing some praises of my new P9. It is essentially a combination of a K9 and a CW9, and it impressed the heck out of me today.

New out of the box, I took it to the range today to break it in and brought along every type of 9mm ammo I own. Gold Dots, PDX1s, Golden Sabres, 9BPLEs (I know they're +p+, but my Kahrs have never cared anyways) HSTs, HydraShok Deeps, Hornady flexlock in addition to 3 types of handloads (Kahr, go ahead and Void my warranty now) I've used for high volume shooting. Weights included: 115, 124, 127, 135 and 147gr. I fired about 200 rounds, all 100% reliability and perfect function using all 12 of my magazines. I was betting there would be one it didnt like, but there wasnt. My K9 has some issues with longer 147s, but the P9 didnt care.

The sights sit higher than what I'm used to from the K9 and CW9, so it doesn't fit my K9 Blackhawk leather IWB holster very well, it scrapes the leather beyond just hard, it's actually enough to start racking the slide. I'll need a new holster.

If you are a shooter that likes the double action feel of a smooth revolver, I couldn't recommend a better compact semi auto 9mm.

 

[dfariswheel]

I've been daily carrying a K9 since 1997.
I can't even induce it to jam, and since I was raised on DA revolvers it feels totally natural and I shoot it well.

I'm so old fashioned I don't even like aluminum guns, although I've owned a few, but I just can't deal with the idea of a plastic gun.
So, the Kahr remains my defense.......

 

[red rick]

I have a P9 , I don’t really care for it . I would like to trade it for a Shield Plus , 365 XL , Hellcat Pro or a 43x .

 

[Armed 24/7]

I had High hopes for the P9 I bought New in 2002 ish. It wouldn’t shoot a mag without a stovepipe. I Called Kahr‘s CS and they said that some guns do that and to increase the breakin to 500 rounds and see if that helps. I got So frustrated even trying to got to 500 rounds I sold It for a loss.

 

[Tallball]

I have a couple more, too. Never have any problem with malfunctions. The one I carry most is the PM9, but the 45 does carry well in coat pockets.

Kahr Carries.jpg

• Tallball
• Oct 9, 2023

 

[Dan-O]

I bought a new cw40 back in the day. I’m a wuss and didn’t care for the snap. Found a cheap complete p9 upper on eBay and put it on the cw40 frame.

It’s a sweet little package.

 

[lee n. field]

I bought a new cw40 back in the day. I’m a wuss and didn’t care for the snap. Found a cheap complete p9 upper on eBay and put it on the cw40 frame.

It’s a sweet little package.

View attachment 1195570

I'm a little surprised that worked.

I picked up a CM40 for cheap. Ran it through the breakin, as I suspect prior owner(s) did not. The CMs are the smallest of the line.

Further down the line I picked up a used CM9 for a good price. That one's been absolutely fine from the get go.

Anyway, I wondered if I could make a "convertible" -- change from 9 to 40 by swapping the slide and barrel. Some guns available in both will work that way. Turns out, with this combo, nope. Slides won't interchange. Magazines won't interchange.

 

[halfmoonclip]

I had High hopes for the P9 I bought New in 2002 ish. It wouldn’t shoot a mag without a stovepipe. I Called Kahr‘s CS and they said that some guns do that and to increase the breakin to 500 rounds and see if that helps. I got So frustrated even trying to got to 500 rounds I sold It for a loss.

One of several reasons I avoid Kahrs. When they are talking about a 500 round break-in, the damned gun wasn't finished when it went out the factory door. In these days when Glocks, SIGs and Smiths run from the first magazine, this is absurd.
Had one, mine ran reasonably well, when it jettisoned its front sight, I made it go away.
Really like their tiny .380s, but the brutal slide rack chased me off.

I've been daily carrying a K9 since 1997.
I can't even induce it to jam, and since I was raised on DA revolvers it feels totally natural and I shoot it well.

I'm so old fashioned I don't even like aluminum guns, although I've owned a few, but I just can't deal with the idea of a plastic gun.
So, the Kahr remains my defense.......

You and Danny Reagan on Blue Bloods. They are a handsome pistol that feels good in the hand.

It seems Kahr has never made an effort to revise their line over the years. Perhaps it's time.
Moon

 

[Dan-O]

I'm a little surprised that worked.

I picked up a CM40 for cheap. Ran it through the breakin, as I suspect prior owner(s) did not. The CMs are the smallest of the line.

Further down the line I picked up a used CM9 for a good price. That one's been absolutely fine from the get go.

Anyway, I wondered if I could make a "convertible" -- change from 9 to 40 by swapping the slide and barrel. Some guns available in both will work that way. Turns out, with this combo, nope. Slides won't interchange. Magazines won't interchange.

Disagree with your statement about the slide to frame interchangeability within the same model 9/40, for instance p9/p40, pm9/pm40.

IIRC there's a few posts over on kahrtalk where people other than myself have had similar good experiences with the same conversion.

 

[dfariswheel]

Kahr has upgraded the line...... they've announced a double stack auto is coming this year.
I saw a video a month ago done by some doofus "gun writer" or video maker.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Kahr has upgraded the line...... they've announced a double stack auto is coming this year.
I saw a video a month ago done by some doofus "gun writer" or video maker.

Curious to see it, and whatever changes it brings.
Moon

 

[NMexJim]

A PM9 has been my main carry piece for coming on 15-years. I have absolute faith that it will fire and perform as well as I do.