Kahr CW9

[DPC]

Just recently purchased a Kahr CW9 from turners seemed like a good deal nice slim 7 + 1 9mm SS slide polymer frame. Can anyone inform me on there reliability and acurracy.

[CRTguns]

read the manual- it says you gotta burn @200 rounds to break trhe thing in b4 caomplaining about function. THis seems disconcerting- but in the end the gun cannot be beat for its price and design and the niche that it fills so nicely.

Great CCW gun. Carried one for 6 years till they refused to renew my CCW.

[DPC]

Thats just the way I felt could beat the price for a 9mm small compact I thought it would be worth the break in hassle till it becomes reliable. Sorry to hear about the CCW thing though hope you get it back!!!

[Spyder]

I've been carrying a K40 Elite '03 for four years now. I've never had any sort of failure with it and it is very accurate for what it is, a little compact 3 1/2" barrel. Mine is the full stainless framed/stainless slide. Awesome trigger for a stock pistol.

I'll see if I can dig up the review I wrote for it on another forum...

[Spyder]

K. Here goes. This is from a few years ago, but it remains pretty much how I feel about it now...

------------------In a few short words, I love it! Accurate, small, easy to shoot, points great, awesome trigger, good grips, flawless function...

Kahr K40 Elite 03

I've been carrying it for about three months now and I love it. The particular model I picked up has smoothed edges for easier draw and more comfort. It's far more comfortable than my Sig 226. I did have to do a little bit of filing on the front sight to smooth out the sharp corner that was against my body, but the rest of the gun is perfect for carry. It's a bit heavier than I expected, but is a full stainless frame. The poly version is quite a bit lighter with the same dimensions and capacity. I opted for the stainless because of the weight, actually, as the poly one will beat you up after a long shooting session, much like Rolex's Glocks. I fire a LOT of ammo when I go, so I wanted something I could carry and still put a couple of hundred through once or twice a week without being beat up. It fits in the pocket of a loose fitting pair of jeans or shorts, although it is just barely large enough to show an outline to those who know what to look for. If you wanted to go smaller, the MK9, MK40 would be perfect guns, as they are essentially the same but about 2/3 the size.

It holds 6+1 of .40S&W. There are a variety of sizes, styles and calibers available, and I wanted something different than a 9mm just because I did. The .45 had not been out long enough for me to find one that I liked for a reasonable price, so I went with the .40, which is great.

Recoil is surprisingly light for a subcompact .40. Felt recoil seems to be only slightly more than my Sig 226 in 9mm, and I can fire two hundred rounds through the Kahr and still pull off accurate groups at the end of the session because I'm not sore or feeling too much fatigue yet. When I go, I usually warm up with my Ruger MkII, firing a hundred or so rounds through it, then move on to the 9mm, firing until I want to change, then some .357, 38 Special, 38 S&W and .40, switching every few magazines just for variety. If I'm at the outdoor range, I'll pop off a few cylinders from the blackpowder 1858 Remington, just to impress the hell out of whoever else is out there.

The gun feels great in your hand. It points where you look and rapid fire without sights is surprisingly easy to keep on target. Double taps were just as easy as with my Sig 226 in 9mm, and using slow fire I was producing groups of about an two inches, two handed grip, at 7 yards. One of my earlier groups surprised the HELL out of me, as every round was in the same damned spot. Seven rounds, at 10 yards, and I couldn't have passed a 30 carbine casing sideways through the hole. Very accurate gun for a 3.5" barrel. Hell, very accurate gun for any handgun without modifications.

Longer ranges of fifty or so yards, I wasn't really firing at a target, but at debris on the range. Bracing it against the bedrails on the truck, I could hit 1/2 gallon milk jugs better than half of the time. Great shooting gun, I'll say it again!

Trigger pull is awesome. Smooth, consistent and just heavy enough to be comfortable with keeping the thing in a pocket. (If I'm carrying unholstered and therefore with an unprotected trigger, I do NOT keep it hot. Only when the trigger is protected by leather is there a round in the chamber) The trigger doesn't catch or bind or grab and the stainless trigger itself has the perfect curve to fit just about anyones hand.

Grips are soft rubber, thin and comfortable. Single stack magazine, so its nice and narrow. Reversible thumb mag release that, so far, has been flawless.

Dissasembly is easy and requires no tools. Just pull the slide back about halfway and knock out the slide catch with something that won't scratch the stainless, and it comes right apart.

Can't really think of much bad to say about it. I've had a thousand or so rounds through it and have had no problems to speak of. I can empty a full magazine in no time, as fast as I can pull the trigger, with el cheapo ammo and have no jams yet. The one and only thing I'm not fond of is that when it arrived there were traces of rust on the frame. Shouldn't happen on a stainless gun, I know, but it did. It came to me totally dry and VERY well cleaned, but non-lubricated. I bought it lightly used. The backstrap, where the webbing of your hand between the thumb and finger, and just above the trigger guard had little spots of surface rust. I cleaned the hell out of it and applied Tetra Gun heavy penetrating lube, massaging it into the metal a couple of times and its been fine since then, no more has showed up.

Overall, I'm exceptionally happy with this offering from Kahr! I sometimes wish I had gotten the poly framed pistol, or the MK40, which is the 2/3 size stainless .40, but then every time I go to the range, I'm glad that this ones got a little bit of heft to it. When I test fired the MP9 (super small 9mm) and the P40 (poly .40), after a box of ammo I wanted to change guns. This one I can shoot a full session.

Accurate, small, reliable, pretty and getting easier and easier to find. I like it!

[windsheer]

Good job on the Kahr , I have P9 , which is the same size I think . My P9 has been 100% reliable . Once I got used to the trigger I was able to shoot it almost as good as my 1911's at 7 and 10 yards. At 15 to 25 My groups got larger real quick. I like it so much I plan on gettin a K9 thats all stainless so I can shoot the hell out of it for years .

[WileyWilly]

I have a CW9 and I had 1 FTE during the first 50 rounds and none after that. I have ran around 450+ through it. Very accurate and surprisingly low(perceived?) recoil.
WW

[nick]

I've had one for a few months. During the first 200 rounds it misfired one in 3 rounds, and there were several FTEs. Kahr's response was that it may take up to 400 rounds to break it in. When after 300 rounds total 15 out of 25 rounds misfired (the firing pin touches the primer, but not strongly enough to ignite it) I've had enough and sent it to Kahr. They took their sweet time (about 1.5 months) and replaced the slide assembly. I put 100 rounds through it since with 2 misfires. If it continues on, I'll have to send it to them again. I guess, I just wasn't lucky with that one. Also, I heard that metallic Kahrs are ok, it's the polymer models that have issues (I actually saw a picture on the Internet of a Kahr CW9 having the plastic parts of its slide rails worn out after a few hundred rounds).

That being said, when it does fire, it's surprisingly accurate for such a small gun. Disassembly is really simple, as well, and I think it'd work out well for CC, provided the reliability issues are worked out.

[redcliff]

I have a black slide PM9 with night sights, great ccw pistol. Couple hundred rounds with zero problems so far.

[Exposed]

I love my CW9. It functions great. like everyone else, I had a few FTF in the first 200-300 rounds (about 15 or so) but lately it has shot flawless and is as accurate as my Glock19. The mechanics are identical to the P9 that cost almost twice as much, so they both function exactly the same. The only reason its so much cheaper is because the slide is not as pretty do to the lack of the fancy logo embedded on the slide the little fancy groves on the top of the slide and the lack of adjustable sights . Also, the slide release and barrel are both cast iron metal as opposed to the forged metal on the P9. The slides are both forged though and I think thats what really matters since all the stress is on the slide and frame, but the frames are both polymer and polymers as well all know are super strong and can take a lot of damage before giving out.

[bigchelis]

So far its never failed.

My CW9 has about 1000k rounds and never failed. The trigger feels a lot smother now, then when it was new.
1. I had the trigger, external controls, slide, and barrel polished.
2. Trijicon night sights.
3. stainless steel guide rod.
Well, here is the end result.

[bigchelis]

Forgot to add.

The trigger is DAO, so it is like a smooth double action revolver. It does take some getting used to. I gave up on my CW9 and sold it only to buy it back and master the DAO trigger and since then I couldn't be happier.

Do some dry fires to learn and master the trigger; much like you would with Glocks.

[Exposed]

The trigger is DAO, so it is like a smooth double action revolver. It does take some getting used to. I gave up on my CW9 and sold it only to buy it back and master the DAO trigger and since then I couldn't be happier.

Do some dry fires to learn and master the trigger; much like you would with Glocks.

Dude, that is some nice work you did on the Kahr. I would like mine to look the same. How much did all that work run you?

[bigchelis]

Thank you.

Dude, that is some nice work you did on the Kahr. I would like mine to look the same. How much did all that work run you?

I had customizedcreationz.com do all the polishing work for $160. All external controls, barrel, trigger, and slide.

Some more pictures: The top of the barrel looks dirty, but is flawless in person. I have to figure the flash or picture thing to make it reflect its beauty more accurately.

Also, I purchased the trijicons from the Kahr website along with the stainless steel guide rod to complete the look. Note: removing the trigger is easy, but assembly of it is a real PITA.

[Exposed]

looks like customizedcreationz.com is about to have a new customer