Pros & cons -P9 covert vs. PM9

[BillC]

I'm a newbe. Anyone considered the advantages and disadvantages of these two pistols for pocket carry as well as IWB? I would be interested in your thoughts on this subject?

[BroncoAZ]

BillC,

I'm going to repost my response from the other thread. BTW, welcome to Kahr Talk.

I have owned the P9, CW9, and PM9. All three shot great with the P9/CW9 size being the more comfortable to shoot because of the 3 finger grip. I kept the PM9 because of the small size, it is great in an IWB holster. If you're paying the "penalty" of the PM9/P9 Covert only having 2 fingers on the grip with the flush magazine I couldn't keeping the .6" longer slide and barrel. Kahr must have agreed, they don't offer the P9 Covert on their web site anymore. There are a couple threads on here where people have cut the grip on a CW9 to match the P9 Covert size:

http://kahrtalk.com/p-cw-series-pist...w9-covert.html

[dusty10]

my first thought is the P9 covert, having a longer barrel, will require deeper pockets to hide grip from protruding top of pocket. Small weight difference too. Otherwise, for pocket carry that's all I can think of.

[oldjarhead]

I don't know if it will work for you, but I added a pearce grip extension on my six round magazine on my Kahr PM9, and that allows my pinkie to rest comfortably on it. I think you would like the PM 9. It is great for pocket carry. I wear the 5.11 Tac lights and fits in my front pocket in a Desantis Nemesis holster. It is great for IWB carry as well.

[jlottmc]

Not to pick a fight here, but adding a grip extension to a PM9 may help get a better grip and all, but if you do that wouldn't you be better with the CW/P9? That kind of defeats the purpose adding the grip extension, and for my money a longer bbl pistol shoots better too. Dusty has it right in post 3. Then again, I'm just one man with one opinion.

[Bawanna]

I just look at the grip extension as an option. Carry a flush mag in your pocket, use the extension for a spare or range mag etc. You can make a small grip bigger, but it sometimes takes a little longer to make a big grip smaller.
I do see alot of folks that buy a gun cause it's so small, light and easy to carry, then want extended 10 round mags, or pinky extensions and lasers and load it up like a AR15 in the Cheaper than dirt catalog. Thats kind of silly but I'm just one guy with a few of them darn opinions too.
If it raises your skirt, run with it and just be happy.

[MikeyKahr]

Answering the question

I'm a newbe. Anyone considered the advantages and disadvantages of these two pistols for pocket carry as well as IWB? I would be interested in your thoughts on this subject?

Hey BillC, welcome to the discussion. Yes, I (and others) considered the advantages/disadvantages of both of the pistols. Both are great guns and I think you'd like either. Basically, differences narrow down to these:

P9Covert - ~3.6" barrel, ~15 oz., tougher to find.
PM9 - ~3.0" barrel, ~14 oz., readily available.

For pocket carry, PM9 would be way to go in my opinion. That extra ounce and 0.6" in length makes a difference. IWB, I'd say it's about a draw. Since I like to pocket carry at times and the prices were right at Bud's, I went with the PM9 and am very happy with my selection.

[jocko]

just basics for me. If ur gonna waist band carry the P9 will do super, never know you are carrying it.

If your gonna pocket carry the PM9 will no doubt be the best you can find anywhere. Shooting wise always the bigger the frame tc, the better the feel, that being said I love to shoot my PM9 over anys emi I own, Over 30,000 rounds through it, It is pleasant to shoot, it is my personal 24/7 carry peace, so why not just shoot it like you stole it. If your gonna waist band carry certainly other mfg-ers offer similar great semi's also,but for pocket carry I do think the PM9 does it all. If one is going to knock the PM9 for not being able to put your entire hand around the grip, probably should not have bought it ibn the first place. I don't consider that a disadvantage for I knew what I was buying when I went to the PM9.

Also own a K9, can't say anything bad about it, just a super all steel kahr, but not my carry peace either.

[CougarRed]

Rebooting an old post.

I chose a P9 Covert over a PM9 about 9 years ago. I love my Covert. Advantages:

1. 0.45" longer barrel = better ballistics
2. longer frame = better sight picture = more accurate
3. traditional recoil set up + more slide travel + extra ounce = softer shooting

And at the time, the PM9 was new and having lots of issues whereas the P9 had been around for several years. My gun has been 100% reliable since day 1. And it's a joy to shoot. I have a Brooks AGrip covering a Handall Jr grip sleeve. Very soft shooting.

The disadvantages are it weighs an ounce more than the PM9, and the 0.4" longer slide can affect concealability.

Neither gun is well suited for back pocket wallet carry. And I find that grip length is more important than slide length for front pocket concealed carry. The Covert, of course, is equal to the PM9 in grip length.

At 21-22 ounces fully loaded in a pocket holster, the Covert and the PM9 are both significantly heavier compared to a S&W 340 scandium revolver or some of the 380s on the market today.

To conclude, I believe the P9 Covert is the one of the very best small 9mms on the planet. The PM9 is slightly more concealable and the Rohrbaugh R9s is much more concealable. Otherwise, the P9 Covert matches or exceeds the PM9 and R9S in reliability, accuracy, ballistics, and felt recoil.

[hardluk1]

The pm series makes for a useable pocket pistol and is still controllable for defense use but maybe not as enjoyable at the range sections. The P series are not practical as a pocket gun but with both the longer grip and barrel make for a much better option as a iwb carried pistol along with better control and higher velocities from +P ammo. Or add a mag extention to a pm for the same basic grip feel?? More about what you find comfortable to live with. When I IWB its with the larger model. I don't own a pm or p only the cm and cw for easy to conceal pistols.

[Rubb]

PM9...the best of both IMO.
6 round mag for pocket carry, 7 for a full grip IWB.