Kahr P9 Bravery

[saki302]

Welp, I finally decided to go through with my next project.

The Kahr P9 Covert isn't approved for CA sale, and I've had a regular P9 for years.. guess what happens next?

I cut down the grip tonight- it turned out fine, but I didn't like ti too much with the flat base plate- same thing I didn't like about the MK9- the bottom of the grip has nothing to retain your finger (I have thick fingers!).

I then decided to take a chance, and I cut a bit more, fitting the frame to the plastic base plate. The end result feels grest in the hand, and is noticeably smaller than the P9 was. It also retains the full barrel length, and IMO the more reliable feeding of the larger gun while giving up almost nothing in concealability compared to the PM9. It originally had no gap between the mag and frame, but I had to add a little more clearance to allow the mag to snap in place easily.

Here it is:



Later on, I may order up a few more baseplates to play with. I thinned down the frontal sides a little bit, but I want to try thinning the sides more when I have some spares.
I have a spare slide release too- I de-horned the one shown, but it needs final bead blasting to match the slide finish.

Whaddaya think?

-Dave

[esskay]

Very clever! What did you use to cut down the grip?

I have a P9 too, it's a great shooter.

[saki302]

You'll love this-

Hacksaw, masking tape, several files, and a lot of time filing. I have a milling machine here, btu there's really no better way to do it. Power tools just melt this type of polymer.

I used an MK9 magazine to measure approx. how much to cut- then marked the cut with tape. After the cut was made, I used the file and sandpaper to take it down until it fit. The cut took about 5 minutes- the filing/sanding, maybe 1-2 hours :P

You just have to remember if you take too much, u're done!

I've done this with a Glock before (Glock 19L anyone? ), so it wasn't as scary the second time.

-Dave

[bu-bye]

WOW, That looks good but very very scary. I want to get a K40 again someday. Very nice shooting gun. I did not know that the covert was not cali legal. I thought I had seen them before NIB. Maybe not.

Congrats on your gun

[Turbinator]

Bravery is right. Nice job, I applaud you for your willingness to take a hacksaw to a perfectly fine item and roll the dice. Great job and thanks for sharing the outcome.

Turby

[saki302]

That wasn't so bad compared to fitting a total of 3 Ed Brown memory groove beavertails to 1911's. I don't think I have it in me to do it again.



Now all that's left is to take it shooting this weekend and see how it handles

I ordered up a universal clip-draw for it too- it should be a nice construction-site gun- small enough to keep out of the way yet still effective.

You can tell I'm not one of the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' school of thought

-Dave

[Turbinator]

Oh? What was involved in fitting the beavertails? Aren't they part of the grip safety?

Turby

[esskay]

Mmmmmm... Ed Brown memory groove beavertails are my favorite! Comfy, plus I like the high ride cut for thumbs high grip!

[saki302]

The beavertail IS the grip safety.

To fit the Ed Brown unit, you first need to cut the radius with a jig.
That's easy.

The scary part is then grinding down the rest to match the contour of the beavertail itself. That requires a dremel, hand files, sandpaper, and a lot of patience!
Take off too much and u're done! They do feel nice when finished though.

-Dave