Planning to get a CCW in the near future; and am looking at a Kahr CW9 and PM45 at the local shop. Both are very flat, feel ok in the hand, but a little narrow in the grip - I realize that in their purpose they will be carried much more than shot.

I have shot a bunch of .45 1911's, and 9's including my wifes Glock 26. Who has comments on the Kahrs? Even considering the short barrel, the Glock 26 is easy enough to shoot at appropriate range, is the CW9 a similar shooter?

I would rather carry the power of the 45, but how is the PM45? I know that snubby 45's are harder to control, but should a regular 1911 shooter be able to transition to it (given short ranges)?

i don't know much about kahrs but 2 guys i work with have them not sure models and they say they are reliable my boss used his for the reality shoots and didn't have malfunctions this didn't answer your question sorry about that but figured give you the info i have about kahr

the kahr 45 IMO is a brick, you fill that sucker with 45 ammo and it makes it into one heavy beast, I don't think the gun makes a very good CCW, I say go with the 9mm version, the 45 model loaded with ammo will weigh about the same as a full size 9mm. its all about weight

depends on the carry - if you want something that needs to be small then the 9 in better. if you can afford the xtra weight and size then i'd go to something like a officers model 45

Hmmm, I wouldn't classify the PM45 as a brick. I am considering selling my PM40 and buying the .45. I have carried my .40 quite a bit and find it to be very concealable, and in a IWB holster I forget I have it on. I think the .45 would be similar. It does have some snap to shoot, but if you are an experienced shooter it will not be a problem. My .44 mag has a much sharper recoil. I will say this, if I needed to use my gun to defend my life at ranges more than spitting distance I would much rather be shooting one of my 1911's. I can hit better and much farther with one. To answer your question more directly I would say that a regular 1911 shooter used to full power loads should transition fine.

I got an MK9 Elite before Kahr came out with the polymer 9mm compacts.

Kramer IWB horsehide -- 9mm about the size and weight of most 380's. It's the one that gets carried.

Hundreds and hundreds of rounds at the range, all sorts of loads, bullets, and brands. Never a glitch.

I'd really like to have a 45 ACP, high-cap in a size and weight of a Kel-Tec P-32 or Seacamp.

The 9mm is a decent compromise. I have several "carry 45's" . . . They don't get carried.

quote:

Originally posted by sputster:
Planning to get a CCW in the near future; and am looking at a Kahr CW9 and PM45 at the local shop. Both are very flat, feel ok in the hand, but a little narrow in the grip - I realize that in their purpose they will be carried much more than shot.

I have shot a bunch of .45 1911's, and 9's including my wifes Glock 26. Who has comments on the Kahrs? Even considering the short barrel, the Glock 26 is easy enough to shoot at appropriate range, is the CW9 a similar shooter?

I would rather carry the power of the 45, but how is the PM45? I know that snubby 45's are harder to control, but should a regular 1911 shooter be able to transition to it (given short ranges)?

Sputster,

Answer is simple, Buy both.

First, get your priorities straight. As I see it, your decision points (the competing factors) are; carryability (size and weight, mainly); capacity (number of rounds); controlability (can you hit what you intend); reliability; terminal ballistics (what the bullet does to the target). If I have left any out, add them in.

Carriability: Carry both (one at a time). Compare. Decide.

Controlability: Shoot both extensively and see which does better for you.

Reliability: Not a factor. Since they are the same design, they are likely to be identically reliable. If one feeds less reliably than the other, a little work on the particular magazine(s) or feed ramp will probaly fix it. Or choose ammo (with appropriate terminal ballistics) that feeds well. When well-tuned, I expect reliability to be identical.

Terminal Ballistics: Here is where you have your research work cut out for you. A .45 has almost 61% more frontal area than a 9mm and (generally) twice the mass. 9's that do not expand have a tendency to overpenetrate and exit the target to endanger objects or people beyond while leaving a small wound channel in its wake. And at the velocities you will get from a short barrel, expansion is problematic. Put another way, the .45 starts out with the frontal area of a fully expanded 9mm. And by the tme the 9mm is expanded, the velocites are the same, but the 45 still has twice the mass (and energy and momentum). In Terminal Ballistics, out of a short barrel, the .45 is winner.

Capacity: The 9mm is winner.

Of course all these factors are largely situational.

If you are a large person, the 9 and the 45 may be equally concealable/carriable.

If your work involves a high likelihood of actually having to use the gun, or if it is largely just a piece of required equipment (for example, do you investigate and interview or have backup swiftly available if a tactical situation develops or are do you have a higher liklihood of having to actually use the gun on any given day or to be on your own for an extended period of time if a firefight erupts). The tradeoff between high capacity and high stopping power becomes a matter for a lot of thought.

Most commonly, a shooting on the street involves discharge of a single round. The vast majority of police-involved shootings involve fewer than four rounds fired. (Both these statistics are several years old, by the way). Given that, and knowing the 45 will put a man down with a single shot more reliably than a (short barrel, remember) 9mm, I would choose the 45 if I could carry it easily. However, if my tactical situation might involve a more extended fight and running out of ammo might be a factor, I would have to choose between filling my gear with more .45 magazines or switching to the 9mm.

Like I said in the beginning, buy both. Carry what the day calls for.

I hope my contribution of confusion has helped.

Last item: Believe only half of what you see and only one-quarter of what you read. And that goes double for the internet. Especially what you hear from me. Double check all facts and figures not otherwise personally known by you to be true (some "experts" have been known to be wrong or to make mistakes). A typographical error or misplaced punctuation can radically change the meaning of the best advice and make it the worst.

Lost Sheep (Larry)

I have never liked the trigger of the little Kahr. I would rather carry a mini Glock or XD subcomp. If you are a 1911 guy, why not an OM or sim. 3" SA. I have a OM steel frame that is a great shooter but abit heavy for all day carry. The Sig P239 is also another great choice. Same size as my OM, but 6oz lighter & can be had in 40s&w or 357sig or both w/ an add'l. bbl.