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I'm breaking mine in now. Bought a CM9 last week-end. I'm following the break-in recommendations on this forum. I also followed the recommendations for lubing the gun. It appears to prefer to be run a bit "wet". First range session I fired about 175 rounds. My primary break-in round is a European surplus 9mm FMJ I have a bunch of. I would rate them as being on the "hot side" as factory 9mm rounds go. These were bought for a Sten Gun, and function flawlessly in that application. After the first couple of magazines of this round through the new CM9, it took them without a hiccup for the rest of the day. I also took several other types of 9mm rounds I've had lying around to the range, as much to use'em up for the break-in as anything. It was interesting to see how the pistol handled each one though. Mixed factory JHP's were no problem especially after a few magazines had been run through. I have a cast load I make up in quantity for my Browning Hi-Power. It has proven utterly reliable in that pistol for years. Initially, the CM9 didn't handle it well. As the session progressed, the little pistol became more tolerant of those mild cast bullet reloads. At the beginning, it wouldn't function well with them at all...by the end it was taking magazines of the cast reloads without problems.
The trigger of the CM9 is suprisingly good for a DAO pistol. I've never had one like this before(DAO). All shooting was done from 15 yds. using a target with a 3" bullseye. Slow fire offhand, taking my time, I could reliably keep'em in or "next to" the bull. Shooting faster...bring it up to eye level and fire quickly...keeping them on the 8.5 x 11 sheet of target paper wasn't too tough. For a first session, especially with my old eyes...I'm satisfied. With regular range work, I'm confident I'll be able to hit "minute of bad guy" with the little CM9 if necessary.
In summary....these Kahr CM9's appear to work just fine if properly handled. They are VERY "break-in sensitive". The literature that comes with them tells you to expect a 200 round break-in period. I definitely saw it with mine. If you want a new gun you can take out of the box...load up with any 9mm on the market and be ready to defend your life...this isn't it. For me, the prep. and break-in issues do not outweigh it's inherent "carry-ability" which exceeds anything else I've tried. FWIW...I carried a borrowed Glock 26 for a little while, just for a test, and disliked it enough that I never took it to the range for further evaluation. Living in Florida....choosing a carry ALL THE TIME defensive handgun involves making some compromises. When you go down the "compromise road"..only YOU can decide which parameters you won't trade-off and which ones can be compromised. The Kahr CM9 meets my most important criteria, which are: being on me..ALL THE TIME and being utterly reliable. Those are my primary requirements. Yours may be different.
The trigger of the CM9 is suprisingly good for a DAO pistol. I've never had one like this before(DAO). All shooting was done from 15 yds. using a target with a 3" bullseye. Slow fire offhand, taking my time, I could reliably keep'em in or "next to" the bull. Shooting faster...bring it up to eye level and fire quickly...keeping them on the 8.5 x 11 sheet of target paper wasn't too tough. For a first session, especially with my old eyes...I'm satisfied. With regular range work, I'm confident I'll be able to hit "minute of bad guy" with the little CM9 if necessary.
In summary....these Kahr CM9's appear to work just fine if properly handled. They are VERY "break-in sensitive". The literature that comes with them tells you to expect a 200 round break-in period. I definitely saw it with mine. If you want a new gun you can take out of the box...load up with any 9mm on the market and be ready to defend your life...this isn't it. For me, the prep. and break-in issues do not outweigh it's inherent "carry-ability" which exceeds anything else I've tried. FWIW...I carried a borrowed Glock 26 for a little while, just for a test, and disliked it enough that I never took it to the range for further evaluation. Living in Florida....choosing a carry ALL THE TIME defensive handgun involves making some compromises. When you go down the "compromise road"..only YOU can decide which parameters you won't trade-off and which ones can be compromised. The Kahr CM9 meets my most important criteria, which are: being on me..ALL THE TIME and being utterly reliable. Those are my primary requirements. Yours may be different.
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