All posts in Kahr magazines

Pocket Carry Options keep expanding but not everyone considers it

I never tKahr Magazineshought about carrying a pocket gun when I first started carrying a Colt 1991A1 and a Beretta 92FS.   At first I started out with a should holster but when summer came, fanny packs or small of the back were the only good options although I did try IWB with the Colt 1991A1 for a little while.   Most people think of pocket guns as 32acp or 380 but I have to make the Official Announcement that that era is far over.   There are so many durable 9mm pocket guns and Kahr Firearms has been extremely popular for 9mm pocket guns.  The .380 ballistics have come such a long way that it’s not what it once was.

Not enough people consider pocket carry and we hear about it every day in our store.   People are always having trouble picking a holster out but pocket holsters seem to be very generous as far as fit and it’s not that hard to find a good one. The Ruger LC9 was popular but we see more people buying the Smith & Wesson Shield and Kahr is always a given.  We do sell magazine holsters that will work for Kahr Magazines like the Kahr PM9 and I highly recommend carrying them.   There are several pocket holsters from Elite Survival Systems as well as revolver speed loader and single magazine pouches.

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Do your gun magazines work in your firearms?

Gun MagazinesThere are plenty of people out there that stock piled various firearm magazines in the last 2 years, especially after the Connecticut shooting when everyone thought that President Obama would have the Political climate to ban the AR15.  I won’t ask all of you reading this, to raise your hands if you actually thought that would happen. I found it embarrassing to watch people panic.  I had a friend who recently picked up his first AR15 a Colt 6920 and got a pretty good deal but it looked like it was sitting around for awhile from a Y2K panic buy, apparently the seller had large quantities of magazines for sale and he asked if  it was a good deal.

I told him to buy whatever he wanted but if he was buying large quantities of them he better test them out before he thinks they are all going to work in his AR.   Gun magazines are like wine, they need to be store properly, and all are made on different dates.  There is truth to the fact that a Magpul Pmag will not be durable 30yrs from now just based on it’s material break down, and metal magazines won’t if stored properly, but how bad is your outlook on life if you have to worry about that?  If you got a good buy on bulk magazines take atleast a half dozen of them and test them on the range and make sure they drop free, rotate the magazines when you use them, and when they need to be tossed out, open up the packaged ones and test them out again.  Don’t expect the brand spankin newly wrapped magazines to work, I’ve one too many times seen people have issues with magazine dropp

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Being the first to buy a new gun?

Kahr MagazinesFactory magazines9mm MagazinesWe’ve seen a lot of recalls in this industry and it’s almost always a gun that just came out, and 6 months later you find out their is a magazine spring issue, extractor issue, or the barrels just don’t cut it and there has to be a Generation 2 or a slightly improved version.   I remember learning this lesson years ago on a firing range when someone in the NYPD was telling me all of his friends were getting Kahr pistols because it had a consistent trigger pull like Glocks did so it was a very nice off duty firearm.  Back then, the Kahr was kind of king of the small 9mm concealed carry crowd because it was very well built and seemed to have a good track record except for one thing, the early production firearms had issues with the trigger pins coming out.

Now that just about everyone and their dog is putting out a .380 handgun, watch and see how many recalls you see this year, or how many guns won’t be around in 2yrs.   One thing for sure is that there isn’t going to be a shortage of getting Kahr Magazines if you end up choosing that design.  Check out all of the gun holster options for Kahr and you’ll see how popular of a gun it is.   Single stack magazines for 9mm, 40 S&W and 45acp are available.  I’ve personally shot a lot of these guns and although I don’t own any, it’s definitely a product line that I would suggest to someone due to parts and availability.

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Going smaller than a 9mm without compromising durability

Kahr MagazinesThere was a time I avoided some of the smaller Kel-Tec firearms even though some really smart and good people I know were carrying them.   When I saw some of the ballistics for .380, 22LR and 32acp,  I wasn’t impressed and being on the “experienced” side of life, I know how big and drugged up some people are and going with firearms that punch tiny holes are have, in most situations, very poor penetration, I was not going to choose to go with something that needs recoil spring replacements after putting 500rds through it.   Some fancy guns like the Rohrbaugh 9mm are nice but very expensive and high maintenance.   I ended up with a Sig 239 considering its very reliable history and it’s 9mm ballistics.

Things have changed, changed for the .380, both gun designs and the ballistics of the round have improved by several hundred feet per second, as well as the durability of firearms chambered for this.   Kahr Firearms have a very good reputation for both being reliable and small,  Kahr magazines are not that uncommon and getting replacement parts or not burning a hole in your pocket are a good thing.    Even Glock has jumped on the bandwagon this year with a .380 chambered Glock 42.   I don’t like to be the first to buy guns made by manufacturers that are putting their first on the line, but Kahr has been a safe bet for a long time.

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CCW Firearms and Kahr firearms in general

Kahr magazinesManufacturing technology has dramatically improved over the last decade and gun magazines are becoming more and more durable.  All gun parts and firearms will eventually wear out, but proper maintenance and attention can get you longer use.   Magpul pmags are king of the AR15 magazines although there has been some minor changes to the design in recent years.  When  you’re looking for handgun magazines, we have Sig Factory magazines, Glock magazines, Beretta magazines, Chip McCormick magazines, Promag magazines, Mec-Gar magazines, CZ magazines, Walther magazines, Wilson combat magazines and many other rifle and handgun magazines.

The 45acp is still one of the most popular CCW calibers, but finding a firearm that is easy to carry in this caliber is not always the easiest things. Kahr firearms are excellent CCW guns we stock Kahr magazines because many firearms similar in size are not as robust. We are a stocking dealer of many gun accessories for the Kahr pistols and Kahr magazines. Kahr .380 and 9mm are also our best selling CCW gun accessories.Kahr makes some of the best concealed carry friendly 9mm handguns in existence. They are the most durable small 9mm handguns and even their 40 caliber guns are very nice.  It’s always good to have 2-d spare Kahr magazines and rotate through them when you are training.Many people think that pocket guns are all j-frame revolvers or you have to go with a .380 type pistol for deep cover concealment, but Kahr CW 9mm are outstanding in size, weight and firepower.

 

 

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Caliber changes or gun changes? .380 vs sub-compact 9mm

I’ve never been a big fan of small guns because from my experience the smaller the gun the snappy or nastier the recoil.   I’m  not sure of the model but one of the first guns I shot that I really did not like was a 32ACP handgun.   The gun hurt the palm of my hand and after about 50rds I knew that I never wanted a gun like that.  I believe it was a kel-tec pistol but I’m not sure of the model.   I’ve shot 44magnums and plenty of .357 in the past but those were guns that If they fit your hand, the blast and concussion was more of an issue than my hands stinging.  There are plenty of options to adjust grips, but if the gun is already so small, why would you want to make it bigger?

Several years ago I settled for the Sig 239 because it was the only small 9mm that I could trust that was rugged, and would not be uncomfortable to shoot.   I’ve been messing around  a friends Kahr PM9 and several Kahr Magazines that he let me borrow and I put in some range time.  This gun is borderline as far my personal tolerance because if I don’t find a gun fun to shoot I don’t want to own it.  For someone over 6ft tall I don’t need to carry the smallest caliber or the smaller firearm to CCW.  If size is an issue but you don’t want a 32acp or a .380, I would say that the Kahr PM9 is a really 9mm for it’s size.

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Rotating gun magazines and paying attention to useage

This year we are again attending the Contagion 2012 in Pennsylvania.  This is a yearly event and one of the best things about it is getting first hand experience at and a look at various guns and gear.  One of the things we can tell you that we see every year, is a lack of proper firearm training.  We haven’t seen any major safety issues, but we see guys walking up the range and firing guns at stages that go “Click” because they never properly loaded their firearm.   The Contagion event has been going on for about 4yrs now.   You get a good look at the footwear, eyewear, firearms, rifle scopes and some very high end looking AR15 rifles.  Even the guys that show up with the good stuff have problems.  Just because you spent $4000 on an AR15 and gear doesn’t mean you are going to survive the zombie attack.

This year we are a vendor and we are bringing lots of gun accessories and maintenance tools.   This is one of those events were having extra handguns magazines like Kahr magazines will be at hand.   Kahr pistols are very popular in the concealed carry community and they have a very good reputation of holding up.   We stock the Kahr factory magazines and highly suggest that if you are using them for a competition event that you bring atlease 6  magazines with you.  Avoiding excessive wear and tear on magazines that you may also be using for CCW is a good idea.

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And the most popular concealed carry firearm

According to all of our holster requests are hands down Kahr firearms.  I don’t have a ton of experience with these firearms, but I will say that they are the smallest 9mm handgun that I would ever consider carrying.  I find them to be a little too harsh to shoot for that size, but depending on the on the circumstances I would not feel under gunned with one of these.   I actually first found out about the Kahr firearms from a retired Law Enforcement Official that work in the NYPD for 3 years.   He was the first person I ever met that actually carried two firearms, and  one was a Kahr PM9.

The .380 is a buzz, but every time I look at the ballistics of the firearm, I just cringe.   If I’m going to carry a gun, the 38 Special is the smallest caliber I will carry, but the Kahr PM9 and some spare Kahr Magazines fill my pockets.   I have several friends that pocket carry these firearms and 6 or 7 rounds of 9mm and a spare magazine is not minimal.  Maintenance on the firearms is not different than any other,  it is always wise to keep up with your recoil spring replacement and magazine rotation.

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Regardless of all of those .380 pistols out there

And I’m sure many of you own the Ruger LCP and LCR guns by now, but the Kahr .380 pistols are still in the top 3 as far as parts, magazines and holsters for .380 firearms.   I  own a few Walther PPK handguns but mostly for the nostalgia.   I personally think there are a lot of firearms that people own just because they like them and not because they are all that great of a gun.   There are many firearms in that CCW market that are almost like sports cars, they sit in peoples driveways or garages and get worked on, but they never go out on the street and on occasion, get taken to the race track.

Everyone and their dog is making a .380 pistol now, but the ballistics have not really changed that much and from my real world experience, I won’t carry anything smaller than a 38 Special.   Kahr firearms and Kahr magazines are still the number one selling CCW gun and magazines we see moving.  Their 9mm are very reliable and the prices are pretty good considering what you get from them.   There are a few older models that you might want to avoid, but the stuff they have out now very good for the price.

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The .380 may be lighter and easy to carry but

Don’t forget that the .380 ballistics are something to be aware of if you are protecting your life.    There has been plenty of documented shootings by police and the military involving 9mm stopping power and the statistics are not very good, as a matter of fact, handguns are not very effective when it comes to stopping people in their tracks.  There are varying degrees of this, but the .380 guns that are ever so popular these days need to be looked at more than once.   Sure a gun is better than no gun in a hostile situation, but many firearms especially 9mm guns are smaller, lighter and more reliable than ever.

The Ruger LCP is hands down the most popular and sought after gun for our white collar CCW holders.  Kahr guns are still going strong though because once you actually take those calibers to the range, there is a drastic difference in penetration.   Kahr firearms are really tough and probable the #2 most popular CCW makers as of now, Kahr magazines aren’t too bad in pricing either.  The Kahr PM45 is an excellent CCW 45acp for anyone that wants something smaller than a Sig 220, XD 45 or 1911 firearm.   You do have to pay attention to your round counts with these firearms and replace your recoil springs when recommended.

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