New Kahr CW9 = RECOIL MONSTER!?!?!?

[redterror]

I finally took my CW9 to the range today. the gun has a massive recoil pulse making me miss big time, my shots seem to hit too low. Could something be wrong w/my gun? other than that there were no functional issues with the gun. I also took a Taurus PT111 pro and I can hit fairly well & consistently with it, both are 9mm. What do you guys think? is it the gun or me?

[9mmFL]

I really don't think its the gun, I just got mine the other day and i found it pretty standard for a small pistol, although the plastic grip is a little rough to the hands in my opinion. I bought a slip on sleeve grip for the gun and found it does help on the hands. Maybe give one a shot? Are you familiar with the trigger pull on the Kahr? It took me a couple mags to get used to it considering the guns I normally shoot are DA/SA and SA is much more of a constant short pull rather than the smooth long pull of a Kahr. But keep in mind I am no expert nor do I claim to be. lol But hopefully you enjoy the new toy!!!

[wales]

I consider my P9 to be a soft recoil pistol, even shooting +Ps. The grip is a little irritating, so I put a grip sleeve on it.

[ripley16]

Recoil doesn't make you miss your target. I agree with the others that for such a small, lightweight pistol, the CW9/ P9 is a fairly soft recoiling pistol. Perhaps you may want to try some different grip styles and find one that suits you well. Personally I have good success using the "thumbs forward" grip.

The various grip sleeves available can make the grip a bit bigger, fills your hand better, and eases the abrasiveness.

The recoil spring has a front and back... is it installed closed end toward the rear, open end to the muzzle?

[gkstemple]

1. "Milking" the grip with the firing hand? That's when your trigger "squeeze" causes the other fingers to tighten also and can pull the sights (and the shot) low.
2. Anticipating the shot and fighting muzzle flip -- ahead of the actual shot -- usually has the same result.

1. Relax your firing hand grip quite a bit and use the SUPPORTING hand to "mash" the fingertips and palm of your firing hand against the SIDES of the grip, while keeping a push/pull tension between the firing and supporting hands. Then just press the trigger rearward, without engaging the other firing hand fingers to "help out" their neighbor.

2. You're not going to hold the front of the pistol down when it fires, so don't try to "muscle" it anywhere. Just let it ride where it wants to go and stand with open-mouthed amazement as the sights settle right back on target. Perfect neutral grip. If it's not on target or very, very close for the next shot, adjust your grip and try again.

All else being equal, a lighter, shorter pistol will have a bit more violent recoil impulse than it's heavier, longer brethern. BUT, with a Kahr, all is NOT equal, at least in terms of PERCEIVED recoil. The lower bore axis, in relation to where the hand absorbs most of the impulse really, really gentles things down. So much so that I see little difference between a CW45 and a full-size 1911.

Enjoy your CW9.

[jocko]

wow

I finally took my CW9 to the range today. the gun has a massive recoil pulse making me miss big time, my shots seem to hit too low. Could something be wrong w/my gun? other than that there were no functional issues with the gun. I also took a Taurus PT111 pro and I can hit fairly well & consistently with it, both are 9mm. What do you guys think? is it the gun or me?

massive recoil out of a CW9, that is about the first time I have ever read that. Your low shots and I bet also to the left are shooter error. Kahrs have a looooong trigger system, Alot different that your PT111. takes some rounds down range to get used to a kahr trigger system. Consider you are shooting a 15 ounce handgun, very small, extremely light but with a super lower bore axis,(by patented design) "felt recoil" is very low.

If it bothers you send it to magna-port.com and get that baby ported, or trade it in and buy the K9 which is all steel, much heavier and certainly one fine shooting gun, ..

It is not the gun . If guns could talk we would all learn soemthing

[copterdrvr]

I just purchased a CW40 (it's getting fixed right now-long story) but when it fired, I was surprised at how mild the recoil was.

I also own a PM9, CW9 and a P380 plus some Keltecs and I find these pistols to be amazingly pleasant to shoot when you consider what they weigh.

I agree with the previous poster regarding the bore axis being much lower on the Kahrs than other pistols. I find the Keltecs to be the "least" enjoyable to shoot a bunch. An example is the P380-it shoots like a 22 compared to the Keltec P3AT-that little sucker is the least "fun" shooting pistol I own, followed by the Keltec P9F. The bore axis is considerably higher than the Kahrs.

As you can see in my picture, all of my small pistols have slip-on grips. Believe it or not, it makes a pretty significant difference in the "enjoyment factor" of shooting these little pocket rockets.

I didn't include my PM9 as it wouldn't fit on the book cover!!!

When my CW40 comes home and she proves her worth, it's going straight to MagnaPort to have them do their magic. Unlike the 9mm, the 40SW is alittle snappy and having it ported will decrease my time back on target due to muzzle rise.

[Kingcreek]

Recoil is in the hand of the beholder. ie different for every individual but then again, the laws of physics are the same for all of us. I've never experienced objectionable recoil from the CW9, even with +p ammo.

[recoilguy]

I replied to this same post on a different forum. I hope the good responses you have recieved help you out!

Good luck with the CW9

RCG

[mad1ben2]

Although I don't consider myself very recoil sensitive, I have a PM9 that is very little hitting with the flush mag and regular ammo. I notice a significant difference when shooting +P SD ammo. I also have a P40 covert that is pretty snappy. If you're shooting regular ammo out of the CW9 and you consider that massive recoil, I'm not sure what you could shoot that you'd consider having minimal recoil... I find the PM9 with regular ammo as easy a shooting gun as any other 9mm I've shot.. even larger ones.

Good luck!

[aray]

I have Hogue grips on my CW9 and I found that it significantly improves the feel of the gun vs. when they are off. I agree with kingcreek that felt recoil is in the hand of the beholder. Having said that in my experience the CW9 has less felt recoil to me than similar small CCW guns. But on the other hand I prefer standard pressure load ammunition with my CW9 vs. +P (still hollow point of course). I find that I can get the front sight back on target faster with standard loads than not, due to the increased recoil of +P. I figure in a self defense situation I might make slightly smaller holes, but I'll make more of them, and have them where I want them, vs. +P.

[cgo99]

I was also hitting low when I first got my PM9, but once I learned to "stage" the trigger things got better. Lots of good advice from the folks in this forum.

[Squib]

The recoil you describe is highly unusual in the Kahr's I've shot. One reason I chose to carry the CW9 is its lack of noticable recoil. Were you, by any chance, shooting +P or some other hot load? If that is not the case, perhaps you can find another owner and compare yours to theirs.

I, too, have added a sleeve to the grip. It is more comfortable and gives me a sense of better control.

[NoJustHappyToSeeYou]

As I recently posted elsewhere, the recoil of my new P9 surprised me. I'd shot the K9 and other 9s, and always found the 9mm round to be very mild. But, the P9 is lightweight, and the recoil was more than I was expecting. Still, it's only a 9mm and I'm used to 40S&W. I don't think I'd call any 9mm a "monster," but that's just me. Try one of the thicker grip sleeves (rather than just bicycle inner tube).

[MW surveyor]

Had to reply to this post.

If you think the recoil is bad, try shooting a kel tec PF9 or even the P3AT. The little P3AT is working at the ragged edge.