Kahr CW45 And J-Words For Defensive Carry

[DougGuy]

2yrs ago I bought a Kahr CW45 for an edc because it was striker fired and I could carry it with a loaded chamber and didn't have a hammer that needed to be cocked back in order to be ready to use it. It doesn't bother me to see a 1911 in condition 3 carry but it bothers some backwoods Podunk judges, and I found out the hard way a cocked and locked 1911 can be played against you in court in this state.

After the recommended 300rd break-in period, I carried Hornady 230gr XTP +P ammo and had a few FTF which was unnerving, and appeared that there were either light primer strikes, or the round wasn't seated fully in the chamber and the striker lost some of it's energy while it pushed the round all the way into the chamber, I don't know but one FTF of a daily carry is totally unacceptable.

My buddy hooked me up with an older 50rd box of Speer Gold Dot 230gr JHP ammo in nickeled cases and says he swears by it and it is the only ammo he will carry. The CW45 gobbles this stuff up easily and has had ZERO issues with it. Last night was July 3rd, which (while all the fireworks are going off) is one of my periodic function test dates and I drew the Kahr from it's holster and fired a round into the ground to make sure it is functioning as it should. It passed with a loud bang and not much flash and that put a smile on my face..

Today I got curious and dug the round out of the ground. I found it had penetrated 8" into the dense North Carolina red clay, it had left a golfball sized channel all the way to the base of the bullet and the bullet had expanded PERFECTLY to a whopping .720" and retained 229.1gr of weight. Not too shabby for a short barreled .45!

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Kahr%20CW45/SpeerGoldDotSoilTest7-4-2015_zpsyf4bj0w4.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Kahr%20CW45/SpeerGoldDotSoilTest7-4-2015_zpsyf4bj0w4.jpg.html)

I use factory ammo in my edc, everything else gets cast.

[Bzcraig]

That is impressive! I'll bet those +p loads and that light gun make you hang on pretty tight!

[DougGuy]

This was a standard Gold Dot in the photo. It doesn't like the Hornady 250gr XTP +P load. It shoots the +P accurately but I was getting some failures to fire with them.

[Bzcraig]

This was a standard Gold Dot in the photo. It doesn't like the Hornady 250gr XTP +P load.

And I really did read your whole post! Brain fart

[Hogdaddy]

I carry Gold Dots 124+Ps in my 9mm,, Great ammo for EDC ; )
H/D

[gray wolf]

My 230 grain gold dots look just like yours,
penetrate 3.5 1 gallon water jugs lodged in the 4th with 6.5 grains of Long shot powder.
And I do like the bonded bullets.
I like the gold dot ammo.


Sam

[jonp]

Ive gone to 200gr jhp hornady xtp in my cw45's. I like the lighter bullet in the plastic guns. I use reduced recoil in my 380's.
Ive also found gold dots to be 100% but also most others. With these guns I think rounds downrange is the key
No one can convince me there is a better plastic handgun out there than the Kahr's

[Elkins45]

No one can convince me there is a better plastic handgun out there than the Kahr's

I couldn't agree more.

[EMC45]

Looks textbook.

[Paul105]

Doug,

Have you tried "throating" the Kahr? Reason I ask is that I tried Buff Bore 255gr FN in my CW45 and they would stick in the leade. They stuck so bad that I had a heck of a time ejecting the live cartridge (yes I was extremely careful).

I found that the CW45 can be a bit finicky about what ammo it likes. Mine runs flawlessly with Win Ranger T 230gr JHPs which I chronoed at 875fps from the Kahr and 958fps from a 5" Les Baer. This is standard pressure, NOT + P ammo.

I also found a way resize the Buff Bore bullets so that they too work flawlessly, but it's a pain.

I'm really impressed with the CW45. Everyone I've let shoot mine comments on the perceived lack of recoil.

Fits nicely in my left front pocket and with the 255gr Buff Bore ammo, it is my "all the time" gun and NY reload when I'm out in the field.

FWIW,

Paul

[DougGuy]

I can throat the CW45 barrel for you if you want to not have to a-hem "readjust" your BB ammo.. It's really inexpensive..

[Paul105]

I know you can, and why I asked if you had done yours. I am seriously considering it, maybe this winter.

Paul

[bobthenailer]

I currently have a TP45 and a PM45 and previously had a CW45 ,

The TP was flawless the PM & CW took more tinkering to be 100% reliable ! I suspect that the shorter slide travel / stroke has something to do with it . I have a 45 acp finish reamer but the CW & PM throat lead were long enough to accept my cast bullets at there normal col, so that was not the problem.

I use the Saeco 068 200gr swc and 062 170gr swc seated to 1.250 to 1.255 for the TP and all of my 1911 based pistols. the CW & PM wont work well with these two cast bullets FTF even if the col is reduced to 1.230 bullets, so I tried my 230 gr rn rcbs mould in the PM & CW they worked better but when I seated a little deeper to a col of 1.230 it was flawless in both guns.

I noticed when checking the col of about 7 different factory JHP ammo from 165 to 230 gr bullets that the col was between 1.230 and 1.200 for my samples, I have reloaded several brands & weights of the big 4 jacketed bullets seated to 1.230 or shorter with excellent results in all of my 45 acp pistols

I am a big fan of the Kahr pistols for carry I have a TP45 , PM45 , PM9 and a CW380. I am also a big fan of the 1911 for over 45 years !

[BigAl52]

DougGuy
Im glad you like your CW45 I hate mine and would not ever buy another. It wont function right and fires all but one round out of the magazine and then the magazine falls to the ground. It lays in the bottom of my gun safe and Im considering using it for a fishing weight. Al

[DougGuy]

Have you spoken to Kahr support about it? I would speak to Ian and see if you can send it in.

[BigAl52]

No I haven't. Its out of its warranty period and I'm not sure I want to spend the money to send it in. Its been a joke from day one and after playing with it for some time I got frustrated with it and threw it in the bottom of the safe. Al

[Huntsman52]

I just picked up a new CW45 and it is great. Ran 80 rounds of Winchester white box ammo with no issues. Did not like my reloads though. Rounds to fat to fully chamber. Accuracy was excellent as well. Also works with my Chip Shooting Star 8 round mag (feeds, locks and drops) as designed.

BigAL52....ever thought of selling the CW45? :) PM me if your interested.

[MtGun44]

230 GDs in my Commander has been my std for at least 10 years, can't remember
exactly when, probably closer to 15.

Bill

[str8wal]

I had a CW45 and it wouldn't chamber my tried and true 1911 handloads. When I shoved the bullet back in the case a bit the gun ran fine. Didn't want to piss with it so it went bye bye.