Which would you... Colt 380 or Kahr 9?

[grimjaw]

I agree with albanian somewhat. I stopped carrying the Hi-Power even with heavy jackets because of the differences with the Kahr, which is my primary carry. It's not that I don't think the Hi-Power is an ineffective weapon, it's just the differences between the two pistols make it more work to keep a standard set of things in mind. If the Browning has a round chambered, it might be uncocked, cocked w/safety, cocked w/o safety. If the Kahr has a round chambered, it's draw and fire. I'd prefer to keep to that for my CCW, so DAO revolvers as backup would also be used. If I carry both pistols, I'm going to be used to one or the other through training. Can I rely on my ability to know which one I'm holding? Now if the only thing I carried was the Hi-Power (or Colt) then the reverse would apply to the Kahr.

I hope that all made sense, I wrote it while hungry.

jmm

 

[carebear]

If it is pointed at your family jewels, you won't be singing the praises of the SA pocket auto for long. If you do still sing the praises, at least you will be able to hit the high notes like a 9 year old boy again.

Couldn't hit 'em then.

I solve the "loose in a pocket" problem the same way for SA pistols as I (usually) do my DA revo's. I use a properly fitted pocket holster. If the trigger's covered then what else may be in my pocket (for me, typically nothing "pants and suspenders mindset" and all) doesn't matter.

But then I'm actually on record here at THR as not really caring if the thumb safety on my primary carry (Series 80 LW Cmdr) gets flicked off somehow during the day. The trigger guard is covered in the holster, it can't fire from a blow to the hammer and the grip safety STILL has to be depressed before <bang> happens.

I have (and continue to) practice more dryfire presentations (to include safety manipulation and misfunction drills) at home than I could ever afford to perform at the range with live ammo.

That saves my valuable rangetime and ammo for working on trigger control and accuracy.

It isn't a zero sum game, you just have to think it through.

 

[MCgunner]

"To each his own.

To solve the SA safety "problem" I use a little thing called training."

Good for you. While you are "training" yourself to remember to flick the safety on and off, I will be training to actually shoot the Kahr. For every hour you spend practicing your safety checks and drills, someone out there is using that same time to draw faster and put rounds on target more accuratly and faster.

I am not saying the SA auto can't be mastered, it is not that hard to remember to flick the safety off when you want to shoot. If you practice enough, it becomes second nature. My point is, why bother? Why bother having to learn and remember some fine motor skill action on a weapon when there are plenty of great guns where it is not an issue. If the only reliable autos were SA only, I can see your point but I'm sure most SIG, Beretta and Glock owners would dispute that.

SA autos are find for full sized duty guns but for a small auto that may not be carried in a holster all the time, they are a nightmare. How are you going to carry a SA only auto in your pocket? Cocked and locked in the pocket? What happens when the safety gets moved to the fire position and something presses against your hair SA trigger? If it is pointed at your family jewels, you won't be singing the praises of the SA pocket auto for long. If you do still sing the praises, at least you will be able to hit the high notes like a 9 year old boy again.

If I carried a SA in a pocket, I think I'd carry condition 2, not condition 1. Condition 1 makes me nervous anyway, much less in a pocket. Perhaps there's a good pocket holster that covers the safety? That might be an answer to carrying condition one, but I don't think it'd slow the draw all that much to thumb the hammer back and the gun will NOT go off with the hammer down.

 

[carebear]

Cocking a .380 Colt, especially the little Mustang, one handed isn't something I want to try under stress or in a hurry. Swiping off a safety doesn't alter your firing grip, cocking a hammer on that little piece leaves you with little positve muzzle or even "hangin' on" control. Using two hands (in my opinion) negates the idea of having a defensive gun ready anyway.

The safety is pretty positive and, on or not, if the trigger is not pulled on a functioning gun the weapon cannot fire. Covered trigger guard makes almost all other issues moot.