Should I get a CW45 or XDS-45?

[JERRY]

Well everyone, I'm sitting in the parking lot of KY Gun Co...with my newly purchased CW45! $350 plus tax, and I couldn't be happier. Hopefully I will still be as happy once I get to shoot it!

congrats.


patience is needed during the first 200 rounds usually. you might get lucky and have a jewel right away. mine was a lump-o-coal until about 500 rounds.

[Armybrat]

Mine has been great from the get-go.

Hope yours is too.

[kwh]

I have the CW45. The grip suits me better than the XD.

[schmitty]

Congratulations!

Had my CW45 since March and couldn't be happier! I have about 600 rounds through it now and only had 2 hiccups. I had 1 stovepipe in the first 100 rounds, and 1 failure to go into battery after around 250 rounds without cleaning the gun well. And that just required a tap on the back of the slide. Shoots like a dream!

[yqtszhj]

Well everyone, I'm sitting in the parking lot of KY Gun Co...with my newly purchased CW45! $350 plus tax, and I couldn't be happier. Hopefully I will still be as happy once I get to shoot it!

That's a good price too. Congratulations.

[muggsy]

The rails on the frame of the cw's are plastic, not steel.

Steve you're letting your ignorance show. There are plastic rails to aid in assembling the gun, but there are also steel rails both front and rear the the slide run on. I strongly suggest that you read your owners manual which it is obvious you failed to do. Those steel rails require lubrication.

[b4uqzme]

I'd get the Chevy. Oops, wrong forum.

Congrats Bob. Good choice and welcome!!!

[pbagley]

Congrats and good choice. I bought a CW45 a couple of weeks ago myself. My trigger is still breaking in. Functioning has been 100% with three boxes of TulAmmo 230gr RN's. Accuracy has been quite good.


Sorry for the phuzy photo. It was late and I was losing my light. This is a 50 foot target shot at 25 yards.

The CW45 was also 100% reliable with 10 rounds of 200gr jacketed SWC's over 7.7gr of PowerPistol, and very accurate at 25 yards.


My target load has been another story. 200gr H&G cast SWC over 5gr of WW231 is too light a load for the recoil spring. I've had FTE's and rechambers. With under 200 rounds down range cast bullets left lead in the barrel too - same load is fine in 2 other 45's. I suspect a rough bore.

The H&G's are store bought, I cast a 200 gr Lyman that has a shorter nose. Loaded to the same OAL I found the Kahr has a rather short throat with the Lyman's. I'm looking for more 200gr jacketed SWC's.

Back to that trigger. Initially it was quite inconsistent, sometimes breaking at the very rear of the travel. Slowly it is becoming more consistent. In contrast I have a CM9 that I bought a year ago who's trigger was good from day 1, but it was a store display model. My CW45 was fresh out of the box and did not have the benefit of being dry fired by many potential buyers before I came along.

The bottom line is that the CW45 is far more accurate than the CM9, and has been far more reliable with factory loads. I like the CM9, but I like the CW45 more.

I hope this helps. Please let us know how you like the gun once you've had it to the range a time or two.

[tycoonbob]

Thanks everyone!

I still have not had the chance to shoot my CW45, but I have spent plenty of time breaking it down and getting familiar with it. I have dry fired it several times, and I think I will like the trigger which was one of my main concerns. I've also given it a good cleaning.

I hope to put 50 rounds or so through it this coming Sunday!

I do have another question, purely just thoughts though. Does anyone own a CW45 and a CM45? Is there any real benefit from owning both? The CM45 is smaller and probably easier to conceal, but would it be a waste to get both (not anytime soon, but several months from now)?

Another question. So I currently only have 2 handguns; this CW45 and a GSG 1911-22. I love my 22 as it's fun to shoot, and I have a M&P 15-22 on my radar as well. For handguns, I don't want to stock ammo for all calibers, so I'm trying to decide what third caliber I should go for and I'm thinking either 9mm or .380ACP. My .45 will be for CC primarily, while my 22s will be for fun. I do suspect in the future I will get a larger .45 for open carry, but I want to get the lady something later this year for her birthday, and trying to decide between a 9mm and a .380. If I love my CW45, a CW380 or CM9 might be in her future, haha.
So for stocking handgun ammo, I would have .22LR, (9mm or .380ACP), and .45ACP/Auto. Maybe .38 Special if I ever dish out the money for a S&W 686 that I've had my eye on.

Sorry for the rambling, and thanks!

[pbagley]

What follows is just one opinion, and is by no means advice for your situation. I do not know you well enough to provide such advice. Standard disclaimers apply.

Now that is out of the way here's what I did. I wanted a CW45 a year ago, but was buying for IWB carry. The CM9 seemed like a more versatile choice at the time. This is just a little narrower than the PM45 you are considering, and a few $ cheaper. As a bullseye shooter I found the little 9mm to be difficult to group well at 25 yards. I sold a 9mm in the mid '90s with the same complaint. A few months later I decided a .380 needed to be added and bought a 738TCP (380). In practice the 738 gets the most use using a wallet carry. Or to my wife: "That's not my wallet, Dear. Other side." IWB with the CM9 is next most popular. A J frame Smith is my least popular option, but for front pocket carry I find the semi-autos to be monkey traps while the longer revolver comes out smoothly without catching. I think the CW45 will come in around the same ranking as the CM9 once it is fully broken in tested with defensive ammo. I carries about the same, except is not quite as deep into the waistband and is easier to draw. It really does not print any worse for the most part. And I like it better, which plays a part in my decision process. I have not carried it yet, so things may change once I have some experience. And for what it's worth, I have found defensive ammo I've tried to be most accurate and most reliable in all calibers - as it should be at over $1 a shot.

I hope that helps.

[tycoonbob]

Finally shot my CW45 today, and boy do I like it. I bought a box of 50 Blazer 230g FMJ, and shot 44 of them before I had a problem (no FTE or FTF).
The mag ran out and the slide stayed open, so I loaded the mag back up with 6 shots, with the first 2 being Tula 230g FMJ (friend had 2 left so I thought I'd try something different). Inserted the mag, released the slide, but the slide didn't close all the way. Maybe 1/4 inch, and I couldn't get it to close all the way. Tried pulling the trigger but nothing happened, and I can't pull the slide back to release it. Basically, a round is stuck in the chamber and I can't do anything with it.
Other than that, love the gun. I'm taking it to KY Gun Co tomorrow to let them take a look, and hopefully let them fix it. Very happy with the Blazer ammo I shot, and I will be buying more of it ($19.99/box at another local shop).

Now I need recommendations for a OWB holster for a lefty, and best place to buy another mag or two.

[CJB]

Buy AMERICAN, buy KAHR.

The Springfield is made in some eastern block slave labor factory

[tycoonbob]

Buy AMERICAN, buy KAHR.

The Springfield is made in some eastern block slave labor factory

The Kahr is what I ended up buying.

[pbagley]

I had a similar problem with some of my reloads. These were long proven loads used in both my older .45's, and they typically produce pretty decent accuracy. In the Kahr CW45 the slide doesn't close all the way. It seems that the Kahr has a shorter throat than the other two, so this particular bullet needs to be loaded to a shorter OAL to fully chamber.

I have shot 150 rounds of TulAmmo 230gr 45ACP in my CW45 so far with no issues and pretty decent accuracy. If the one that got stuck was a factory load, not a reload, then perhaps some dirt got in with the top round. Good luck, and I hope they treat you right at the gun shop.

Finally shot my CW45 today, and boy do I like it. I bought a box of 50 Blazer 230g FMJ, and shot 44 of them before I had a problem (no FTE or FTF).
The mag ran out and the slide stayed open, so I loaded the mag back up with 6 shots, with the first 2 being Tula 230g FMJ (friend had 2 left so I thought I'd try something different). Inserted the mag, released the slide, but the slide didn't close all the way. Maybe 1/4 inch, and I couldn't get it to close all the way. Tried pulling the trigger but nothing happened, and I can't pull the slide back to release it. Basically, a round is stuck in the chamber and I can't do anything with it.
Other than that, love the gun. I'm taking it to KY Gun Co tomorrow to let them take a look, and hopefully let them fix it. Very happy with the Blazer ammo I shot, and I will be buying more of it ($19.99/box at another local shop).

Now I need recommendations for a OWB holster for a lefty, and best place to buy another mag or two.

[tycoonbob]

I had a similar problem with some of my reloads. These were long proven loads used in both my older .45's, and they typically produce pretty decent accuracy. In the Kahr CW45 the slide doesn't close all the way. It seems that the Kahr has a shorter throat than the other two, so this particular bullet needs to be loaded to a shorter OAL to fully chamber.

I have shot 150 rounds of TulAmmo 230gr 45ACP in my CW45 so far with no issues and pretty decent accuracy. If the one that got stuck was a factory load, not a reload, then perhaps some dirt got in with the top round. Good luck, and I hope they treat you right at the gun shop.

It was a factory load, and I'm also guessing the round was dirty or something (I might have dropped it on the ground for all I know, and it was muddy out). Ky Gun Co took care of me, unjammed the round for free and advised me not to use Tula anymore because of some coating they put on the rounds? I'm not sure what they were talking about, but I'm quite happy with the Blazer ammo so I have no problem sticking with that through the break-in period.