Is a Kahr poly framed .45 a practical choice for carry?

[DougGuy]

What do you think of the CW45 and the TP45?

I'm not looking at these for a recreational shooter like I would a 1911, this is one I can leave totally bone stock, as delivered, shoot it enough to function test it and get used to the trigger and sights, then use it for daily carry.

I have built and smithed quite a few 1911s and favor a commander with pretty much WWII GI appointments, nothing fancy but reliable, decent trigger, but I don't favor carrying a self built or even a modded pistol for defense for liability reasons. The less they have to use against you, the better off you are if you have to go to court over defending yourself.

I do not like or have every owned a Glock, too much grip angle, don't like the DA first shot and SA remaining shots. Cost vs reliability is also a factor. Most of the other choices are 1911 styles which I would be hard presssed to carry one without at least some tweaking, and all the decent 1911s cost much more than the Kahr.

So I am thinking about a Kahr strictly for carry and no other purpose Opinions?

[Bzcraig]

Have a Kahr CW9 and like it a lot. It is not a 1911 but has a smooth trigger and through about 1k rounds functioned flawless once I got a good round worked up for it. All standard factory ammo worked well but didn't like the way +p handled. It was an excellent purchase and has been very comfortable in my Crossbreed Supertuck as a daily carry.

[Rooster59]

I've had a CW9 from within a few months of their release. I love it but would have gotten the CW45 if it had been available at that time. The 45 is very nice. Like a small plastic 1911 ergonomically speaking.

[warboar_21]

Well as far as the gun goes Kahr makes a quality product. There are several questions you really have to ask yourself about carrying any type of gun though. Will you be carrying the pistol 100% of the time (work, home, running errands). Your preferred carry method (IWB, SMOB, Shoulder rig, Deep concealment, so on so forth). Will the firearm print in your current wardrobe? Are you willing to change the way you dress to carry the weapon if it does print?
Those are just some of the things I think about when looking for a new carry weapon.
I am currently using a Sig P290 as my CCW weapon. I was looking at the PM9 and PM40 and was favoring the .40 as it was a caliber I already had. I was lucky enough to fire the PM40 before I shelled out the money for it. Way to much of a good thing in such a small package. Was not fun to shoot at all. I settled on the PM9 and then saw the Sig sitting in the display case and liked the way it felt better than the Kahr so I opted for it. Now had the CW9 been out when I bought the Sig I think I would have opted for the CW9 as it was about $200 cheaper than either the PM9 or Sig.

[Tatume]

I prefer the 1911. My choice is the CCO (Officer's frame with Commander slide and barrel). There are plenty of them on the market that will not require any modifications. My personal favorite is by Les Baer; he calls it the Stinger, but it's a CCO.

Take care, Tom

[Fishman]

I have the cw45 and like it a lot. I have a crossbreed holster coming for it and I have carried it in a kangaroo carry. It is slightly larger than the cw9 which I have also and is a little more difficult to shoot than my commander. It's a basic pistol that has a decent double action trigger and will work fine for what you need. If you can conceal a 1911 then you can hide this too.

One thing I haven't tested a lot is reliability with different ammo.

I have heard of people lightly modifying 1911 mags for use in the Kahr.

[bobthenailer]

Even though i have several 1911s for carry and been carring them for 40 years , I really like the Kahr !
I have 3 a PM9 ,CW45 & TP45 mine are all accurate ,reliable, excellent sights & trigger ! i really have nothing bad to say about them ! after a few thousand rounds fired in each pistol
I usually dont carry my 1911s any more as the Kahrs are now my favorites.
I have several shooter friends who also have more than one Kahr and every one likes thers.
If i were to get only one Kahr in 45 acp it would be the TP45 I like it better for some reason than the CW45. Ive also shot the PM45 on a few occasions and no thanks !

[KCSO]

We have had good luck with the Kahr 9's and not so good luck with the 45's. My freind has sent his back to the factory twice and now it will feed and function with ONE brand of HP ammo. That's not so good for a carry gun. The complaints I have heard were spotty quality in the 45's. I have heard nothing but good about the 9's so go figure.

[Doc Highwall]

I have a MK9 that I carry.

[DougGuy]

My freind has sent his back to the factory twice and now it will feed and function with ONE brand of HP ammo.

Is that the CW45 or TP454? I saw Jeff Quinn's video review of the TP45 and he said it was 100% with a bunch of different ammo, either 15 or 19 different loads.

I really wanted the TP45 because of the longer barrel and 1 more round but 3/8" less barrel in the CW45 is not going to be a make it or break it deal for me. The CW would be easier to hide, and I usually carry IWB with no holster. I am thinking that if I get one and don't shoot it a whole lot it might not have problems.

[45 acp]

I have a cw9 with 6-700 rounds through it and only 1 malfuntion on the first mag
Through it. I only wish I had picked up the 45 that was next to it as well!

[Silver Jack Hammer]

A buddy of mine was shooting the Kahr 40 with factory ammo and the gun blew up. Pieces stuck in the ceiling. Just went too far in trying to meet the market's demands for lightweight and high power.

[rintinglen]

I have the CW-9, but have fired the KP-45. It is slightly larger and much harder to control. It is fine, albeit energetic, with a solid two hand hold, but one handed? It is a handful. It is only about 25 ounces loaded. Perhaps a lighter bullet load might help, but one box of LRN boolits at standard velocity was enough for me. The CW-9 is much more pleasant to shoot.

[DougGuy]

Hey thanks for all the info/replies, I ended up getting a NIB CW45 from an old school mom/pop gun store in rural Ohio, for $399.

I had shopped heavily and couldn't come up with a TP45, all the dealers that could get one couldn't say when they could get one and this one was priced to go home with me so it's on the way.

I spoke with a factory rep at Kahr, and I hashed out a few issues that I had read on forums with him, he was on his game and knowledgeable. He said that the slight shaving of poly that some pistols do is nothing wrong, the pistol has a steel subframe and as the slide settles in it's not uncommon for it to shave a bit of poly the first time or two it is fired but it will quit. They use Wolff springs throughout, and all their small parts are forgings made in the US, as well as the magazine and the rest of the pistol. They recommend to shoot the gun in, it takes 200-300 rounds for the springs to take a "set" because they are by design made longer so that when they do temper themselves, they will be the right length. He also said who made their barrels but I didn't catch the name. He said the price I paid for that was a smokin' hot deal and that they are hard to come by so I got lucky getting that one. I have to agree with him, I couldn't come up with any TP45, and of the 6 calls I made to gun shops in NC, could only come up with one CW45, and it was about $40 more than what I paid for this one.

They also say that it should feed any commercially made .45 ACP ammo that's SAAMI spec'd, including +P and that if one has to go back they feel the buyer should not be responsible for shipping, and that they will fix the gun as long as it's a factory or QC issue and not damaged from abuse but they do not warranty normal wear and tear.

He said also that field stripping one is not like a 1911 in that it doesn't go back together in reverse order, and they see a lot sent back in for repair because the owners tried to reassemble them in the reverse order they stripped them and that doesn't work. RTFM, watch the video, shouldn't have any problems.

All in all, had a nice week long road trip/vacation, and brought home a new stainless steel, made in USA 45 Auto to boot, for less than $400 bucks. Not too bad.

Edit: LOL I think the only stupid thing I did in this trip, was leave the biggest Cabelas store I have ever been in (about 30mins before I bought the Kahr) which was fully stocked with factory 45 ammo, brass, powder, and boolits, EMPTY HANDED!! I should have at least bought what .45 stuff I could have used, but I didn't know for sure if the dealer still had the Kahr so I waited.... Oh well..

[Rooster59]

That's great news on a good gun at an unbelievable price.

The rep gave good advice. When I picked up mine I headed to the range with 4 boxes of various ammo and heated up the barrel until the ammo was spent. The only loads mine hasn't had run through it are handloads. That CW9 is so accurate in my hands that there is little need for practice so I haven't started handloading for it yet. I usually step out the back door, empty one mag into a target at 15 yards on the dirt backstop and call it good.

Mine is so easy to carry it has become as natural to strap on as my multi-tool.

[jonp]

I have 4 Kahr's and 2 are CW45's. My wife liked mine so much I had to buy another as she would not give me mine back. I have tried a bunch of different ammo in it and it seems to shoot all of it without a hitch but I have taken to loading 200gr for the less recoil it produces. It has been a touch finicky with the RNFP boolits but once I solved the crimp correctly I have had few problems with it. It shoots all factory 45 in all weights without a hitch. I have tried Wolf, Fiocchi, Win, Rem, Federal and S&B from 165gr to 230gr.
The double action trigger of the Kahr is the best I have tried in a pistol and I have owned a couple for several times the $300 I paid used for the Kahr's and was why I bought the CW's.
They most certainly are ok for CCW

[jonp]

I have the CW-9, but have fired the KP-45. It is slightly larger and much harder to control. It is fine, albeit energetic, with a solid two hand hold, but one handed? It is a handful. It is only about 25 ounces loaded. Perhaps a lighter bullet load might help, but one box of LRN boolits at standard velocity was enough for me. The CW-9 is much more pleasant to shoot.
Try a lighter bullet. 185gr Federal Low Recoil is what the Mrs shoots and does quite nicely with. I use slightly heavier stuff but I'm not 5'4" and 110lbs either.

[DougGuy]

One more q, what boolit diameter for this polygonal barrel? Will they take cast boolits okay? I thought about getting some 225gr LSWC and loading up a couple hundred to break mine in. Just curious as to what will chamber in it. I know some of the Ruger Vaqueros have trouble with .452" boolits unless they are reamed, and then you gotta adjust the crimp to those cylinders.

Gotta love a smart phone.. After I bought the Kahr, I hit a few gun shops along our way home from vacation, came up with a pound of powder here, another pound plus some primers, then 300 new pieces of brass for a decent price, need boolits and dies now. Thank you Google...

For carry I have some older CCI Lawman 200gr "flying ashtrays" and some Hornady 230gr JHP +P. I won't carry handloads on the street. Might even have some 230gr Speer Gold Dot JHP, have to look.

[jonp]

For reloading I find that the 452's work just fine although with some of the brass it can be tight. Measure your brass to make sure you get the correct diameter. I would rather run 451 if I can find it although I have a few thousand of the 452 so am using them up. I have found that if you use boolits with a crimp groove you can pull the crimp down to where you need it for the headspace and they will work. Make sure you do a plunk test. 4.4gr Red Dot is a nice load in these with a 200gr boolit

[Fishman]

I was under the impression that all past and current production cw guns were conventional rifling. Or am I having a senior moment?

[jonp]

I never really noticed as I could not see what difference the type of rifiling in a carry pistol would make. I'll check and let u know

[13Echo]

The C series pistols have land and groove rifling. All other Kahrs have polygonal rifling.

Jerry Liles

[bobthenailer]

.452 dia cast bullets works well in my CW45 with conventianl rifleing and TP45 with poly rifleing as well as all my 1911s in 45 acp with factory and match barrels from Clark, Heine , Kart , Nowlin.

[DougGuy]

Edit: LOL I think the only stupid thing I did in this trip, was leave the biggest Cabelas store I have ever been in (about 30mins before I bought the Kahr) which was fully stocked with factory 45 ammo, brass, powder, and boolits, EMPTY HANDED!! I should have at least bought what .45 stuff I could have used, but I didn't know for sure if the dealer still had the Kahr so I waited.... Oh well..

Ended up calling the Cabelas store today, and to my surprise, the box of boolits I saw on the floor there and thought was cast lswc, ended up being Rainier plated 200gr .451" boolits and they said they would ship them, so fingers crossed! I have some TZZ ball ammo, along with these plated boolits I might have my break-in loads accounted for.

There is a Kahrtalk forum that has some very detailed and informative threads, like how to prep a new Kahr, what parts of it to clean first, check a few critical areas and how to shoot it in so it will avoid having issues that might require a trip back to the factory. Seems like the biggest mistake is trying to reassemble it in reverse order after field stripping/cleaning, which is a no-no.

[jonp]

I can't say I've ever "assembled it in reverse order" and I did not have a book with it as I bought both of mine used. Unless your really not paying attention this is a non-issue