Playing the Kahr P9 Lotto

[ClintHall]

Traded for an early-manufactured Kahr P9 this morning. It already has some rounds through it, per the former owner, but he doesn't recall how many. No reported reliability issues.

I'll put about 200 rds through it tomorrow and report back. I'm hoping all well be well, but with these things, you never know. Intended use is as BUG to G19, and it carries just fine AIWB, even if the slide stop is friggin' huge. Not too heavy to toss in a pocket, either. Also, a pleasant surprise: the Grandfather Oak IWB kydex holster that came with the P9 seems to work AIWB just fine.

More to follow after tomorrow.

[packinaglock]

I got lucky with my PM 9, it runs great.

[alank2]

Hi,

My PM9 has been running great after I filed down the slide lock lever on the inside. The only issue I had with it originally is that fat bullets would hit the lever on the inside and lock it back before being empty. I'm not sure why Kahr makes it stick out so much on the inside. Runs great now.

Good luck,

Alan

[maximus83]

My PM9 now has over 1400 rounds through it. I had 4 early malfs, all due to operator error as I failed to RTFM. With the PM9, you have to use the slide stop to release the slide, and both the manual and their customer service are consistent on this point. If you try to slingshot the slide, especially with mags loaded to full capacity, you will get inconsistent results at best.

Apart from that issue of operator error, my PM9 has been perfect. Yes, it's a sample of one, so I can't draw any universal conclusions. In general though, I see a lot more satisfied Kahr users who say their P9's and PM9's are reliable, than I see of the opposite. All evidence on both sides of this debate is (as with 99% of all gun debates) strictly anecdotal. My father's P9 has also been perfect through 700 rounds. So that's another one (but I must add in all honesty, his P9 was also customized by Cylinder & Slide, so it had a bit of an advantage in the reliability area). Most criticisms of Kahr seem to be based on either one-off reports of bad experiences, or some very OLD evidence coming from the NYPD when they had issues with a group of issued K9 models over a decade ago.

My perspective on the Kahr is: it's a tiny gun. There's simply no way it's going to be as robust and long-term durable as a Glock, an M&P, or an H&K. But is it reliable enough for use as a ccw or as a BUG? Hard to say, based on the limited evidence, but mine seems ok. It's accurate, reliable, has a great trigger, and is unbelievably light.

Hope yours works out as well as mine has.

[ClintHall]

Results:
100 rds of Fed AE 115 gr, no stoppages.
100 rds of TulAmmo 115gr, no stoppages.

104 rds of Fed EFMJ 124 gr +p, two stoppages: rd no. 73 and rd no. ~90. Both premature slide lock. Not sure if operator-induced, as I'm a lefty, and it's hard to see how the trigger finger could brush against the slide stop.

Overall, I'm quite happy. The thing ran well even with the filthy Russian crap. The EFMJ was a stopgap (had several boxes laying around) until I could find some decent JHPs to store it with. Will probably try something with a shorter OAL.

[alank2]

104 rds of Fed EFMJ 124 gr +p, two stoppages: rd no. 73 and rd no. ~90. Both premature slide lock. Not sure if operator-induced, as I'm a lefty, and it's hard to see how the trigger finger could brush against the slide stop.

Could be what I described in my post above. Kahr's have a point on the slide lock lever that is way too long. I simply ground mine down a bit. What happens is that when a round is scooped up, the one beneath it is pushed forward in the mag and can contact the SSL.

Good luck,

Alan

[WillBrink]

I don't have experience with their polymer guns, but I own two of their all steel guns, MK9 and K40, and both have been dead reliable guns for me to date. They are both going on a decade + so lost rnd count a long time ago.

That's my n=2 experience.

[ClintHall]

Could be what I described in my post above. Kahr's have a point on the slide lock lever that is way too long. I simply ground mine down a bit. What happens is that when a round is scooped up, the one beneath it is pushed forward in the mag and can contact the SSL.

Good luck,

Alan

Yeah, that looks to be the issue. A few folks over at Kahrtalk had the same issue and used the same fix. I think I'll try it. Worst that can happen is I have to get a new ssl.

What'd you use for the grinding? Dremel or just a regular file?

[alank2]

Hi,

Yeah, that looks to be the issue. A few folks over at Kahrtalk had the same issue and used the same fix. I think I'll try it. Worst that can happen is I have to get a new ssl.
What'd you use for the grinding? Dremel or just a regular file?

I just used a flat file. What I did was make sure unloaded and then removed the slide and put the SSL back in. I then put an empty mag in the magwell and pushed it up to see where the follower contacts the SSL. Some SSL springs might be pushed too far with the slide off if you seat the mag fully, so I probably wouldn't do that just to be on the safe side. Once you see where the mag(s) contact the SSL, you can see the part you want to grind down.

Good luck,

Alan

[ClintHall]

Further reflections on the P9 after a day or so:

1. The slide stop is huge. Because of this, at the slide stop, the little gun seems about as wide as a G26. In terms of comfortability of AIWB carry, I'm not sure what the P9 is giving me over a G26. Moreover, given that I intend to use a tuckable AIWB holster for church and other deep-concealment places, the G26's shorter grip actually may work better.

2. I filed the slide stop as recommended and rounds now all clear. Still, I'm not thrilled that this issue may limit my range of ammo options. Especially since the P9's competitors (G26 and/or snub) don't require nearly as much concern. I'm wondering whether the P9's light weight (vis-a-vis a G26) and improved shootability (vis-a-vis a snub) are worth the irritation of selecting carry ammo based on its ogive.

3. Ankle carry is just at the limits of comfortability with my old DeSantis holster.

4. A fully-loaded P9 is appreciably lighter than a fully-loaded G26. For ankle carry, this matters. For AWIB, it doesn't.

5. For me, hits with the P9 are significantly easier than with a snub, and a 300-round break-in session is obviously much more comfortable.