The issue isn't what is required to fire, its what is required to field strip.
Well lets look at your reasoning...
Yup. And in a more powerful round as well. Guess what this means. According to american rifleman, "Upon firing, there is considerable "snap" to the muzzle rise". Considerable snap isnt something that one looks for in a handgun.
So for carry, the Kahr gets the point since lighter guns are more comfortable, but for shooting, the PPK wins because it has far less recoil.
Not quite true either. The 9mm is more powerful than the .380 (though both aren't one stop shots by any means), however BOTH guns have a capacity of 6+1. In the interests of fairness lets give the Kahr a 1/2 point for more a more powerful round.
Here is where you lose. The PPK has a longer barrel and a long sight radius. More importantly, it is a blowback pistol. The Kahr is a recoil operated pistol. More moving parts mean less inherent accuracy. Add this technical accuracy to the practical accuracy of far less recoil and the PPK wins hands down.
While this is sort of subjective, the less recoil a pistol has, the easier it is to shoot well. For the above reasons listed the PPK wins here as well
Well, the PPK trigger in SA is a full pound lighter than the Kahr. Lots of folks have a preference between DA/SA and DAO so I suppose that factors in a great deal, but generally trigger weight is the brass ring.
I don't know. The Kahr requires a 200 round break in period mandated by the factory. The PPK doesn't. The PPK is a proven design that has been the foundation for many other firearms so its trackrecord as a reliable weapon isn't really questionable.
Maybe after considering these points, the PPK might not look as diminutive as you thought it was.
I think what some here might be missing is that there is a difference between "better" and "better for you". Because pistol A fits a person better than pistol B, that doesn't mean that pistol A is generally better than pistol B.
There are some really great pistols out there that I just can't shoot, whether its because they don't fit my hand or becuase they just don't gel with me. That doesn't make them bad pistols, that just makes them not good for me. I think too many people dismiss older pistols in favor of tupperware because they are heavier, not as forgiving of poor maintenance, and not the flavor of the month.
*i will promise you the kahr is more accurate than the PP series i have been using/shooting/carrying PP series pistols since ~ '70 or so so i would wager i have put as many rounds downfield from a PP series pistol as most anyone you would care to mention, and by PP series i mean PP's, PPk's, PPk/s's and even a TP22 and a P38 or 2. the kahr is more accurate period end, now can ya put them both in a ransom rest and the PM9 is better? dont have a clue, but as far as practical accuracy the PM9 wins easy imho, mostly imho to the fact that the kahr has more visible sights, while i like the PP series i never thought the sights were visible enough, i always thought they were too "fine" and hard to pick up, in fact, my fav PP ( a .22 cal '70 model PP) has some adjustable sights someone put on, made by i have no idea, but they would have been an excellent option from walther if walther had ever offered them, though not as rugged as the fixed they are plenty rugged, in 30+ yrs never a prob with 'em, and i edc'd the pistol around our family ranch/farm daily in my pocket for yrs, dropped it a time or 2 also, one time from horseback, didnt hurt the sights at all (the pistol didnt AD either FWIW) but walther never offered adj sites, IIRC mine might be MMC maybe?? i dont remember now and they arent marked i dont think, but they do make it an excellent little pocket pistol esp for small game and such, i killed a lotta rattle snakes with it for sure thru the yrs, and to be honest ather than a PPk skeeter skelton owned and did an article in shooting times about i have never seen nor heard of another with adj sites like that, but point being imho the kahr sites are a lot more visible and easier to pick up.
*i will also promise ya anyone who can do well with a .380 PPk can do the same with a PM9 i cant imagine anyone thinking. at least with std velocity ammo, the kahr PM9 has any kind of bad recoil, it just doesnt, FWIW poly frame pistols supposedly absorb some of the recoil unlike steel or alloy frames. and if your hand fits a PP series well it would fit a PM9 well too as the dimensions of the 2 in that regard are damned close,
*imho the kahr is easier to shoot well its got a better trigger, as far as DA/SA vs DA only i will take the DA only anytime, anyplace, i have suffered with DA/SA pistols again since ~ '70 and have never liked them, be it berretta, walther, SIG, S&W, et al i dont like it and never have, i have made do with it, but i never liked it. and while the SA trigger on the walther may indeed be liter the DA trigger certainly is not & to me i prefer a trigger which is uniform from pull to pull not DA then SA, in fact, for me, a heavy DA pull (like the typical walther PP) followed by a lite SA pull doesnt help me much, i would prefer a little liter DA with a little heavier SA, and while i learned the transition DA to SA pretty well thru the yrs i never liked it as much as a good DA pull, on a revolver or auto, or a cocked/locked 1911 either.
*i dont think the bbl is much longer, if any, and i dont think the site radius, if it is any longer, is longer enough to make any significant diff, i am tempted to open up the safe and measure just for grins but at 330A i think i will pass lol, but if it is any longer we're talking .5" most i would think. i have compared the PPk and PM9 myself & they are very similar in size and weight too, the PM is a bit liter, but as far as site radius and bbl length there aint a lotta diff, if in fact any, grip circumfrence too is pretty similar.
*well when does the break in end for the walther? i have had zero malfunctions on the kahrs after the 1st 50 rounds, never have had any on my P9, not ever, with anything but ball the walther isnt real reliable, certainly not anywhere close to 100%, sure i suppose i could get a ramp job, but since i aint putting any $$ into something i no longer pack i will pass, and the kahr didnt need a ramp job FWIW. and while my PPk .32 is ok as far as reliablity, with w-w silvertips anyway, none of my .380s are very good with anything but ball.
like i said the PPk isnt a bad pistol but it was designed quite a while back FWIW, and as far as its being anything even close to something like the kahr, or glock 26, is in fact imho absurd, its just not, i dont care what you, the american rifle assoc, or the teamsters have to say, its not, and like i say i have put only the lord knows how many rounds downrange out of the PP series pistols, so i know a thing or 2 about them and how they handle and how they shoot,
have you ever even fired a kahr PM9?
to be honest these days when i pack a .32 or .380 i carry a P32 or P3AT, which is smaller, as accurate, infinitly more reliable (my P32 has never jammed with any ammo, more than i can say for any walther PP series i have) liter, thinner, a little harder to shoot but not that much and to top it off at least in .32 holds one more round vs the PPk, the only con the P32 has is the funky sites and i added a shotgun bead to mind so no prob with that either, ya outta try one.
and again, for the last time, i love the PP series and have since i was 11 or 12, i have killed rabbitts, snakes, skunks, possums, quail (with my PP .22 with adj sites) and carried a .32 for SD for years, cool little pistols, in there day the best around, but sadly firearms technology has progressed some since '29 or '30 and incredibly enough some designs have caught up with and in some cases surpassed the PP series in its typical roles of small edc pistol, and they have surpassed it in terms of ergos, reliablity, size, weight, calibre, function, safety, reliability, its just not as good as some stuff around now, and imho the PM9 is a prime example of this, i honestly dont think they are as good a edc as the keltec P32 and the P32 i have i bought new for $239 which ia a lot less than most any PP ya are gonna find,
but hey, chocolate and vanilla huh? if ya like 'em good i do too, but imho the great majority of folks who try one/then try the other will prefer the PM9, lord i know i do.
now if i had a PPk as my only pistol, already owned one and had for a while, would i feel handicapped by it? no not really, mine have always, within limitations, been fine pistols, but would i reccomend someone who doesnt have a pistol to buy one these days, for edc use? or buy one myself, for edc use? nope.
