Download Kahr Pm40 PDF - US Concealed Carry

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Kahr PM40
Pre-Review Comments:
The model I have has “Tru-
Dot” tritium night sights,
a ver nice enhancement.
Well, I just got dont reveiwing the Kahr PM9 and I have
to tell you, these guns are ALMOST identical. Yes, yes, I
realize that this Kahr is chambered for a different caliber!
Come on... I can figure that out!
Okay, on a serious note the Kahr PM40 is a single-stack,
concealed carry pistol that shoots the .40 S&W cartridge.
So in my mind, the only reason you’d choose the PM40
over the PM9 is if you happen to be standardized on the .40
S&W round.
Either way, we’re still going to shoot this thing and see
what it can do! Let’s get started.
Nitty-Gritty Specs:
Caliber
Gun Type
Capactiy 5+1
Height
Length
Thickness
Weight (Unloaded)
Weight (Loaded)
.40 S&W
Double Action Only
4.23 in.
5.59 in.
1.11 in.
1.122 lbs.
1.344 lbs.
Concealability Factor 1.604
Barrel Length
Sight Radius
Sight Type
1st Trigger Pull
2nd Trigger Pull
3.00 in.
4.531 in.
3 dot
7.0 lbs
n/a
MSRP $786
Street Price (New) $700
Used Price $575
Quality, Fit & Finish:
My comments for the PM40 are going to be very similar
to my comments for the Kahr PM9. The overall quality
is impressive. The slide fits very nicely to the frame. The
one-piece aluminum trigger is simply fantastic. The grip is
very comfortable and secure thanks to the heavy, injectionmolded
stippling on the front and back straps.
The only thing I don’t really like about the fit and finish of
this gun is the same thing I don’t like about the PM9. When
you insert the magazine into the gun, there is a .095” gap
Finger relief under
trigger guard.
My Kahr PM40 has the Tru-Dot,
Tritium night sights. Theh are a
traditional 3-dot, combat sight
arrangement.
Traditional 3-dot sight
arrangement.
Slide release is nice
and big, easy to
operate.
Very nice aluminum
trigger.
The magazine 6-round
magazine doesn’t mate up
to the mag well very nicely.
Slide serrations are
perfect. Nice and
aggressive.
Very aggressive front and back
strap grip serrations. This gun
will NOT slip in your hand.

etween the lower magazine lip and the base of the grip.
Now lot’s of guns have similar gaps but there is usually
an offset in the grip so that at least the gap looks like it’s
supposed to be there! Oh well, I guess every gun must have
at least one flaw.
Excellent manual.
Inside the manual is
a handy parts and
accessories list.
There is also a little
Kahr catalog in here
as well!
Like the PM9, the PM40 has a beautiful aluminum trigger.
This trigger is very comfortable, smooth and it breaks very
cleanly.
Ergonomics & Shootability:
So, the only REAL difference between the PM40 and the
PM9 is going to be the way they shoot. The .40 S&W round
packs a fair amount more energy than the 9mm. It will be
interesting to see how such a tiny gun handles this extra
potential recoil.
Since the frame size of the PM40 is almost identical to
the frame size of the PM9, there is that little issue of where
to put my pinky finger! Alas, the PM40 DOES provide at
least a tiny little place for the size of my pinky to rest. And
that place is that due to the .095” gap created by the funkily
fitting magazine! Who knows, maybe the engineers at Kahr
did that on purpose. (I doubt it!)
Trigger Lock.
Reliability & Accuracy:
Looks like I managed to put 12 rounds within 2.25” of
eachother from 21 feet. This is certainly accurate enough
for a short range concealed carry weapon. The one thing I
noticed while shooting the Kahr PM40 is that the perceived
recoil seemed to be about the same as the PM45 (which of
course shoots the .45 ACP round!)
Concealability:
The concealability rating is determined by the formula below. The lower
the number the better! Cfactor = (LxWxTx(loaded weight))/(7*π)
This gun gets a concealability rating of 1.604 which is
excellent for a semi-auto pistol. The primary reason this gun
scores so well is that it is a single stack design. This leads to
a much thinner gun that weighs less. Of course this means
you’re only going to have 5+1 rounds of ammo in your gun,
but everthing is a tradeoff!
Conclusion & Summary:
My conclusion is that IF you have standardized on the
.40 S&W round, then this would make an excellent deep
concealement or back-up gun. The strengths of this gun
are that is is REALLY small and has an extremely simple
manual of arms. I’ll probably be selling mine but ONLY
because the .40 S&W round is not a round that I use.
This gun comes with a
flush-fitting 5-round mag
and a 6-round mag that
pokes out of the bottom.
Padlock for trigger lock.
Things I LIKE:
¨¨I love the aluminum, single-piece trigger.
¨¨I like the slide serrations and the front and back strap
serrations.
¨¨I like the sight picture.
¨¨I LOVE the small size and weight of this gun!
Things I DONT Like:
¨¨I don’t like the wierd little gap between the mag well and
the magazine.
¨¨I don’t like that the second magazine is a 7-round
magazine. I’d prefer that the magazines are the same.

12 shots all within 2.25”.
Not bad ;-)