First Kahr, first range report.

[jwr]

I picked up a CW9 yesterday to augment my Sig P238 and for days when my XD9sc is just a little too thick and heavy to carry.

I field stripped it last night and cleaned and lubed it, and then detail stripped the slide (using the very helpful instructions I found here) and cleaned those parts as well.

I was hesitant to disassemble the slide components but figured I'd hate myself if I got the the range and started having extractor issues or something like that. I'm glad I took the extra time because I found a small metal shaving blocking the hole in the extractor itself. I don't know if it would have caused any problems right away but it was nice to find it and get rid of it. Everything else looked clean and smooth.

Like I said in the title to the post this is my first Kahr. One of the things I almost always do on my new pistols is polish the feed ramp on the barrel. I was ready to do just that when I stripped this CW9 but was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was *already* mirror smooth. Nice!

I took it to the range this afternoon and shot my 200 "break-in" rounds through it. These consisted of two boxes of 124 gr Sellier & Bellot FMJ's, one box of Blazer aluminum cased 124 gr FMJ's, and a box of Monarch brass 115 gr FMJ's. Yep, 200 rounds of cheap stuff.

Not a single failure of any kind. I did about 40 rounds of fast double-taps with no problems (the range doesn't allow rapid fire so I couldn't try that). I loaded "7+1" five or six times to make sure there were no problems there either. I even limp-wristed a few to see what would happen. No troubles at all.

After spending weeks and several hundred rounds getting my P238 tweaked where it feels reliable it was very confidence-inspiring to have this CW9 absolutely trouble-free from the start.

Oh, the gun is also very accurate--more so than me :-)

The trio:

[Vinikahr]

Thanks for the report, nice trio! :4:

[In-Yo-Grill]

Congrats on your new purchase. I have a chance to pick up a gently used CW9 w/ 3 magazines. I think you may have made up my mind.

[Hoop1101]

new P9

Im right behind you. I just got my first Kahr(and first handgun), a Kahr P9, last Saturday. This weekend I will be hopefully be taking it to the range for break-in. Picked up some Federal Champion 9mm 115gr at Wal-Mart for $9.47/box. I love to hear post after post on these forums regarding the reliability of their Kahr, and it sounds like yours is no different so far.

I also noticed you taped up the grip on your CW9. I have heard a few other people complaining about the roughness of the grips on these guns. I rented a P9 prior to purchasing mine and did not have a problem with it, although I only shot 50 rounds through it. 200 might be a different story.

[Vinikahr]

This weekend I will be hopefully be taking it to the range for break-in. Picked up some Federal Champion 9mm 115gr at Wal-Mart for $9.47/box. .

That is a good deal, if I only can get a couple of those!

I also noticed you taped up the grip on your CW9. I have heard a few other people complaining about the roughness of the grips on these guns. I rented a P9 prior to purchasing mine and did not have a problem with it, although I only shot 50 rounds through it. 200 might be a different story.

Actually is not tape, is a bicycle tube cut 2" or so and rolled to the frame, I did the same thing to PF9 and my wife Ruger LCP (I did not wanted to alter the profile of them).

[jwr]

...I also noticed you taped up the grip on your CW9.

Vinikahr is correct--it's a short piece of bicycle tube. In this case 700c x 20mm. I had to pre-stretch the heck out of it to get it on but it felt great shooting with it today. I haven't shot the gun without it so I can't say for sure but the grip was noticeably "raspy" when I bought it.

Here's a shot of the bike tube next to a 9mm snap-cap. It's a very tight fit on the grip:

[recoilguy]

Very good report. Sounds like you went through the measures very nicely, and the CW performed admirably. That is a nice bunch of guns you have.

I loike my CW very much too.

RCG

[Hoop1101]

tube

Vinikahr is correct--it's a short piece of bicycle tube. In this case 700c x 20mm. I had to pre-stretch the heck out of it to get it on but it felt great shooting with it today. I haven't shot the gun without it so I can't say for sure but the grip was noticeably "raspy" when I bought it.

Here's a shot of the bike tube next to a 9mm snap-cap. It's a very tight fit on the grip:

Well that is an interesting idea! I havent heard about that one yet. Might have to try that if i find it uncomfortable.

[jwr]

Thanks guys! I'm very happy with the gun. I was also surprised by the smoothness of the trigger. My XD, which is a fantastic gun as well, has just a touch of increased resistance just before the trigger breaks, so I've become used to immediately taking up the slack and holding at that point.

The Kahr, on the other hand, was just a smooth pull straight through. It's a long pull in comparison but very very smooth.

I was also curious as to how I'd shoot with the CW9's stock sites as I'm used to 3-dot. I was very pleased to see how fast I could re-acquire the target on followup shots. On double-taps I tended to drift up or down a hair but my windage was very consistent. I didn't expect this but I think it's pretty cool. For a defensive handgun I'd rather drift vertically a bit in COM than side to side.

Hoop1101, I also turned the tube inside-out. There were two seams on the outside of the tube but the inside is smooth and the white stuff on the inside is just a talc substance which comes right off.

[Ol'coot]

Congrats on the new CW9 and the great range report, I am sure you will really be happy with it and welcome to the forum.