Kahr PM9 - US Concealed Carry

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Kahr PM9
Pre-Review Comments:
The model I have has “Tru-
Dot” tritium night sights,
a ver nice enhancement.
The first thing that impresses me about the Kahr PM9 is
how small it is. Holy cow, this thing is tiny. If you can’t
figure out a way to conceal thing, well t hen you’re probably
not trying very hard.
The PM9 is also a very light weight gun. It will be
interesting to see what the recoil is like when I fire it. I
doubt it will be a problem as the grip is very comfortable
and there is a slight releif under the trigger guard to allow
for maximum grip coverage. I’m pretty excited to put this
run through the “Tactical Tim” gauntlet!
Nitty-Gritty Specs:
Caliber
Gun Type
9 mm
Capactiy 6+1
Height
Length
Thickness
Weight (Unloaded)
Weight (Loaded)
Double Action Only
4.15 in.
5.47 in.
1.11 in.
1.032 lbs.
1.214 lbs.
Concealability Factor 1.391
Barrel Length
Sight Radius
Sight Type
1st Trigger Pull
2nd Trigger Pull
3.00 in.
4.467 in.
3 dot
6.5 lbs
n/a
MSRP $786
Street Price (New) $690
Used Price $570
Quality, Fit & Finish:
The overall quality, fit and finish for the Kahr PM9 is
excellent. Compared to a Glock, the Kahr has a much larger
slide release lever. This allows for much easier slide release
operation. Some might complain that this would have a
greater chance to snag on clothes, etc. I don’t think this
would be a problem because the reverse leading edge of the
slide release lever has a nice bevel on it.
There is very little play / slop between the frame rails and
the slide and when the barrel is in full lock-up, it does not
move at all. This will hopefully translate into good accuracy.
Slide release is nice
and big, easy to
operate.
Finger relief under
trigger guard.
My Kahr PM9 has the Tru-Dot,
Tritium night sights. Theh are a
traditional 3-dot, combat sight
arrangement.
Traditional 3-dot sight
arrangement.
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.

One of my favorite aspects of this gun is the trigger. Kahr
uses a one-piece aluminum trigger. My first guess was that
is a machined trigger, but upon further inspection, I noticed
an ejection mark on the back-side. So, the trigger may be
investment cast or maybe even a powder met part? The
bottom line however is that the trigger is very comfortable
and has a nice clean break.
Excellent manual.
Inside the manual is
a handy parts and
accessories list.
There is also a little
Kahr catalog in here
as well!
The only thing that kinda bugged me about this gun was
the poor fit between the magazine and the magazine well.
When the six round magazine is fully inserted, there is a
gap that’s about .095” between the mag well and the mag
lip. It’s not the end of the world, it just seems something’s
not right.
Ergonomics & Shootability:
Many of you know that I like to have a place to put my
pinky when shooting a gun. Well, as you can imagine, this
tiny little pistol leaves no room for pinky engagement.
However... that little .095” gap that I was complaining
about above DOES kind of create a nice little place for the
side of my pinky to rest.
Trigger Lock.
The mag release button works nicely but the magazines
only dropped free about half the time. And finally, the sight
picture is fantastic.
Reliability & Accuracy:
As you can see by the attached target, I had no difficulty
shooting a decent group with this gun. I’ve shot less than
200 rounds through this gun, so the jury is still out on
reliability as far as my personal experience goes.
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 1.391 which is
simply amazing. Fully loaded this gun is very light and it
is simply a REALLY small gun. Now, you’ll only have 6+1
rounds of 9mm with you, but you can always carry a few
spare magazines.
Conclusion & Summary:
I have to admit. Prior to this review, I’ve never been a
big fan of Kahrs. To me they just seemed like Glock knockoffs.
But now I realize that the Karh PM9 fills an important
gap in the concealed carry gun category. That category is
a single-stack, 9mm pistol that is “Glock-easy” to operate.
I will NOT be getting rid of this gun anytime soon! It’s a
keeper.
This gun comes with a
flush-fitting 6-round mag
and a 7-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.

If we throw out the one “wild
round” then I shot a 2.125” group
from 21 feet while resting my
hand on my wobbly knee!