small poly 9mm for CCW

fishface5

fishface5

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Feb 3, 2001
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I'm looking at the Kahr 9093 vs the S&W M+P compact. Both are poly-framed 9mm DAO with optional night-sights, & I likje the ergonomics of each.

I know I can't prevent about 50% of the responses from being "get a Glock" but unfortunately I just don't like'em, I have shot many and never warmed up to them. The S&W has a similar trigger safety but it feels better than the Glock to me.

So the specs of the Kahr vs M&P:

15 oz vs 22oz
7+1 vs 12+1 (that also = extra weight)
4.5" vs 4.3" height
5.8" vs 6.7" long
0.9" vs 1.2" wide

I know there were some reliability problems w/the early Kahrs but that seems to have improved. I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with either gun, or friends who own one & what they say about it? Or especially anyone familiar with both guns?

Thanks - FF5
 
The M&P is nearly a fullsize gun, which is a good or bad thing, depending.

The Kahr carries extremely well, but you might wish it was a bit bigger so you'd have more to hang onto.

For maximum concealment that's easy to pull off, the Kahr gets the nod. For a larger/fatter gun that might be easier to shoot well, then the M&P gets the vote.

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i've got a P9 and a PM9 and love both of them, great pistols, very reliable, more accurate than i expected, imho they are the very best edc pistols around bar none, after the 1st 50 rounds or so have never had a malfunction in either one and i have put probably 2K rounds thru them the last 3 yrs, i like 'em a lot. the P9 i can shoot as well as most any other 9MM, including ones a lot larger than it is (ie SIG P225 and barretta 92 to name 2) its suprisingly accurate especially for its size, and i have fairly large hands.

never been a big fan of S&W autos myself, love the revolvers though.

if ya want an edc pistol imho ya should go with either the kahrs or a glock 26/27/33 they are good also but dont carry as well as the kahrs.
 
The Kahr's are decent guns as are the S&Ws, difference is size mostly. My only problem with the Kahr really is the price. I looked at them, looked at the price and then saved myself a bunch of money by buying a Kel-Tec PF-9...lol.
 
walther pps because it looks nice.

and the new beretta storm sub-compact because it looks better.
 
Last time I was at the gunshop, a gent slipped the new(ish?) Walther 9mm into my hands. That thing was sweet! Truly slim, great little package. Could still get a good grip. Don't know the rep of it yet. Worth looking into!
 
I've got a P9 and really like it! The trigger is nice and smooth on all the Kahrs that I have tried. I just wish I could find a nice kydex holster for it. Yes, they are a little pricey but in this case I didn't mind.
 
I have a P9 and PM9. I carried the latter for many moons in my front right pocket, until I switched over to a j-frame revolver as it hides in my pocket just a tad better.

But I am a fan of the Kahrs, and each would always go boom when I pulled the trigger. In fact, neither have ever failed to go boom on the first try.
 
The Kahr CW-9 sells for $399 here at the gunstores......a very good value.

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interesting - not much love for the S&W here, eh? I will have to check out the Walther and Beretta as well. I see the (poly) Kahrs going for high prices at some shops, and much lower at others - wonder what that's about???
 
I'm surprised no one mentioned Keltec.
That's what I carry and so do lots of the LEOs around here as a back up. I'm a big man with big hands and it still isn't too small to feel good in the hand and in my right hip pocket it disappears.
 
I thought KelTec's reputation for reliability was not so good? Of the two posters mentioning them, have you shot many rounds through yours, and how are they performing? thanks!
 
There is nothing wrong with the M&P Compact. It's just that, compared to the Kahr, it's not all that "compact." This, of course, makes it easier to shoot well.

The Kel-Tec is fine for what it is, but it isn't a primary carry gun for the serious user.

My Kel-Tec 9mm works fine, as do the .32 and .380 I have, but I'd never carry one as an only gun........except for one instance, but that's another story. Suffice to say, I needed a "disposable gun" just in case.

Don't compromise on your primary piece of defensive equipment.

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comparing the kahr to keltecs is apples/oranges imho, the kahr has a lot better trigger and is just a lot better finished imho, and yes i have had a keltec or 2 and agree for the $$ they aint bad but they are a long way from a kahr and thats a fact.

love my keltec P32 though.........

if ya fool with them a while (look at Ktog.org??) ya can generally get them to work pretty well as far as functioning goes,

as far as price goes it is what it is, sure the kahrs a little higher but hey imho its cheap insurance and not that much $$ really, for yrs i tried to save $$, buy the cheapest that would work, ended up costing me $$ as i would end up with the cheapest that worked AND what i really wanted to begin with.

i never have regretted spending a little more and getting the best available product.
 
I hear you - no matter how often you hear "buy quality and cry once," that's a lesson that really can only be learned by experience. But then it tends to stay learned. Anyway, from my reading the Kahr P9 performance has been notably better than the CW9. Another one that looks interesting is the Desert "baby" eagle, although I have never seen a real one in any gun shop, so that can't be a good sign . . . thanks for all the input, it helps!
 
L6steel said:
I'm surprised no one mentioned Keltec.
That's what I carry and so do lots of the LEOs around here as a back up. I'm a big man with big hands and it still isn't too small to feel good in the hand and in my right hip pocket it disappears.
Click to expand...


I did mention them above, or at least mentioned the PF-9.

fishface5 said:
I thought KelTec's reputation for reliability was not so good? Of the two posters mentioning them, have you shot many rounds through yours, and how are they performing? thanks!
Click to expand...

Kel-Tec's reliability is fine, before I traded off my P-32 for the PF-9 i had put probably 1200 to 1500 full power rounds through it, mostly Sellier & Bellot JHP. It alway functioned perfectly. I did feel it was under powered tho and that is why I traded to the PF-9. I have put about 1000 rounds of my JHP reloads through the PF-9 and 100 rounds of Cor-Bon DPX, no glitches at all. I also have a P-11 that I have carried for years, bunch of rounds through it as well.

In the first few years Kel-Tec had a few QC problems, not unlike a lot of new companies starting up but for years now they have been very reliable. The Kahr as well as the S&W also are very reliable and would serve well. As I said I looked at the Kahr for use as a pocket gun as well as one to use for deep concealment carry in a concealment t-shirt but the price pushed me to the PF-9.
 
I have the Kahr MK9 which is the same size as the PM9. I absolutely love the gun. It is obviously heavier but it stabilizes the gun. I did not like the feel of the PM9 as well YMMV
 
have you shot the kahr?

i have a p40, and the recoil isnt too bad, but ive shot the pm series in both 9mm and 40 and find them extremely jumpy.

also, the slide stop really bites my thumb (thumbs forward grip). i was forced to dremel and reshape the slide stop to make shooting it comfortable.

reliability has been decent. ive seen a few lemons, but that is the case with any firearm.


as far as concealment, imo nothing beats the ruger lcp. not available in 9mm, but i dont see the performance difference to be that great between a .380 and 9mm.
 
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