I have owned eleven Kahr's and currently still own five. Four out of the eleven had problems ranging from failure of the slide to stay open after the last round to premature slide lock with rounds still left in the magazine. Never had a failure to fire, however. The ones I currently own have been excellent with four of the five being steel framed guns. The one poly is a "newer" model (2005) PM9 which has been excellent.

The four that had problems were an early version of the PM9, a P40 Covert, an MK40 Elite, and a PM40. I think all of these were fixable, though I did send the MK40 Elite back to Kahr and they didn't correct its problem. Of these, I would have liked to have kept and fixed the PM40. That little baby was a powerful package.

Kahr's have very tight tolerances so the break in period is important. They can also be a little finicky with some ammunition. My K40 Elite '98 will shoot Federal HST loads but when unloading that round, it is a tight fit and can hang up. But that gun has been 100% reliable. Kahr's shine for those who want a little deeper concealable sidearm because they are slim and rather small, their 'T' series being the exception. And they make wonderful guns for women because of their grip shape and size. The K9 9mm is an almost ideal gun for women.

That's why I like their inexpensive line of guns, like my CM9. Not only because they are a heck of a lot cheaper. But they don't have Kahr's match grade barrels which I've always found to be very tight, tolerance wise. The CW and CM guns, with standard barrels will chamber and shoot anything.

I have the CM9. No problems of any kind. So far I have about 1000 rds thru it. Very accurate and comfortable to shoot.

I just purchased a P380 and after 350 rounds it will be going back to Kahr. I shot 7 boxes of 50 rounds. After each box shot I cleaned and lubed the gun real well. I was shooting Remington target ammo. In every 50 round trip to the range I had about 4 to 5 FTF's and a couple of no shoots.
I hope they fix this. This P380 is very accurate and I want it to be my main carry weapon.

I've owned a K-40 for a couple years, I had a couple failures within the first 100 rounds, but it has since been 100% reliable.

I bought a new PM45 this week. It's pretty messed up. I've yet to get through a single magazine without a fail. Most fails are it failing to cock as the slide cycles to eject the previous fired casing. It correctly feeds a new round from the magazine and closes to full battery, but you've got nothing as you pull the trigger ... it's not cocked. I've tried it with three different types of ammo and all four magazines I have for it, but those changes make no difference in the cocking failures. Two other "fails" were one where the striker released and fired the round before bringing the handgun down onto target (striker released before the normal full trigger pull was released), and second was a very light strike on the primer of a round (just enough to show a dent in the primer). All these fails appear related to a cocking cam/striker block problem, but it's so prevalent (every 2-3 shots) that I can't believe it made it through any type of live-fire testing at the factory. My new problem is now trying to get them on the phone. I just tried for an hour. Their phone system puts you on hold for ten minutes, then kicks you out to leave them voicemail. I'm really regretting this buy ... both for now having an expensive problem handgun and apparently also having a non-responsive company.

Go to www dot kahrtalk dot com and ask how to get someone at Kahr and who to try to talk to. Those guys know their Kahr stuff there. They will help you.

RCG

Thanks recoilguy, but I "may" have solved the problem. One of the things I found when I first got it was that the slide didn't work smooth and I had trouble getting it to pick up the first round out of the mag when I hand-jacked the slide. I took the slide off and found fine polymer shavings mixed with the lube on the the slide rail grooves (it's a PM45 ... polymer frame). So wiping the rails and rail groves clean and re-lubing them instantly solved that issue. So I got to thinking ... what if there are polymer shavings down in the lower receiver and affecting the cocking cam/striker block?? So I took it out to the workshop and squirted compressed air into the lower receiver half every way I could find to get it in. I hit it hard with air. I then put the slide on it, walked out to the range, and put 40 rounds thru it without a single flaw!! I mean ... it was awesome!

And I have to say this is the most accurate shooting short-barreled .45 I've ever fired. It groups tight and the group is dead-on the bullseye at 20'. Very impressive for a 3" barrel .45!

I have another hundred rounds to put thru it to meet Kahr's 200-round break-in recommendation, and I think I'll do another couple hundred before I declare my cocking problem solved. But at this point, things are looking up!

My wife has a K9. It is a reliable gun when kept clean. Every 2 or 300rds I have to pull the firing pin and clean the channel real good or it will not strike the primer. This is with factory ammo also.

Update on my PM45 problem:

After my 6/22 post, the cocking problem on my PM45 returned with a vengeance. It also started locking up the slide after a no-cock, so that you had to fight and fight to get it to let you eject the unfired round and chamber a new one. This is regardless of the ammo used. So I contacted Kahr and they emailed me a FedEx shipping label and off it went to the factory. After a month, I got it back. But in the first 30 rounds fired after getting it back, I'm getting no-fire "light-strikes" on the primers. I could disassemble the slide and see if they left debris in the firing pin channel (note Jrags post just above that his Kahr is susceptible to this), but I'm too pissed. Especially after calling Kahr today and talking with one of their gunsmiths and having him tell me that "some degree of misfires have to be accepted". 2 out of 30?!? That's supposed to be acceptable???????? This is a "new out of the box" PM45 that I rely on for self-defense. It's supposed to be reliable! So I told them to again take it back and again find the problem. So I'm waiting on another FedEx shipping slip ... and off it goes for another month of shipment and Kahr factory time. I am NOT a happy camper!

I would not be happy either. The smaller .45's are prone to trouble, The Kahr 9mm are all (in my experiance) very good guns.

Sorry to hear of your problems and the gunsmith is wrong, a gun that you rely on for protection, you should expect to work everytime.

RCG

Originally Posted by DrCelica

I've heard some mixed reviews about Kahr's reliability. So I would like to hear from people that actually own a Kahr as to how reliable they are. If you had to do it over again, would you still buy a Kahr?

Nothing wrong with the gun as long as you follow the owner's manual. There is a break in period and you have to be mindful of the ammo you use. I currently own a TP-9 this is the second Kahr I've owned, the first being one of the early K9 before they realized that you had to radius the edges after machining. Can't tell you how many times I cut my middle finger on the trigger guard before I had the local gunsmith dehorn the dang thing. That one (K9) the owners manual recommanded using +P ammo for reliable functioning, that is all I use in all my Kahrs.

Negative, it's not a case where +P ammo would help. This isn't a slide cycling or ammo feed issue where stiffer chamber pressures would make a difference ... it's a case where after their initial repair it was returned "barely striking" the primers. When we examined those that did fire, some were so lightly hit we were amazed the primers ignited. Ammo was Winchester, which is known for mild-metal primers. Had we been using something like CCI with their notoriously hard-metal primers, it would have been worse.

Something in the repair process for the "failure to cock" problem changed how the firing pin (striker in this case) is hitting the primer. If it was a more conventional firearm I would say a stronger hammer spring would solve it. Some handguns even allow for different length firing pins which can solve it. But in Kahr's striker design, they need to figure out what needs to be done.

I'm a junior member per this forum but its not my first time to the rodeo. I have 30+ yrs of military and law enforcement. Between that and competitions, I'm on the range every week either practicing or teaching. And there's been few days where I can recall not carrying ... in my field putting on a handgun is like putting on a watch. You always have it on you, but you must know you can rely on it.

This PM45 is a great carry-conceal pistol. It's light, flat, and has insane accuracy for a 3" BBL, but this particular one has been plagued with reliability issues so I was posting them here so other PM45 owners would know. I admit I was a little upset when I wrote the last entry, but that was due to the Kahr technician on the phone telling me "some degree of misfires have to be accepted". I would accept it if I was using low quality ammo and the primer was being soundly struck, but still not firing. However this is a case where the handgun is not doing it's part and not striking the primers with distinction. It's a mechanical problem, clear and simple.

I sold my Kahr CW45 because I never could trust the gun completely. When I purchased the weapon several years ago, it was to serve as my primary CCW. On my very first range trip, the mag dropped out of the mag well about 1/4 of an inch with one round in the mag. I had to slap the mag back in to empty it. Every time I shot it that day, the mag would drop with one or two rounds left in the mag. And no, I was not touching the mag release button.

After contacting Kahr, they sent me a replacement part and I switched it out. I no longer had the problem of the dropped mag, but in the back of my mind, the possibility was always there. I still liked the weapon - it's weight and balance, it's smooth trigger, it's slimness and decent sights.

Last fall, while out at a friend's ranch, we were blasting away at targets with our rifles and pistolas. I decided to bring out the .45 and proceeded to acquire a target. When I pulled the trigger, it felt really spongy. It took a long time to release and when it did, I noticed the guide rod poking was out of the slide! Holy crap!

Well, I broke her down and put her in my range bag, never to see service with me again.

I sold it last year to fund my Ruger SR1911, my current EDC weapon.

I also didn't care for the possibility that my gun purchase may have funded the Unification Church (the Moonies), which I hadn't considered when I originally purchased the weapon.

So, no. I won't be purchasing any Kahrs in the future. And, I sure as hell won't be recommending them to any family or friends looking for a handgun.