All posts tagged Kahr Factory Magazines

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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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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Kahr firearms and .380 pistols

I remember the first time I ever shot a .380 pistol and it was an NAA Guardian gun.   They seemed so small that my initial impression was it was just a step up from a fly swatter.   I’ve done some not so scientific ballistics tests on metal fence posts and saw the penetration differences between a .38 Special and a 9mm, and there is a substantial difference between those calibers and penetration.  The .380 is practically a 38 Special short and people need to be realistic when they want to consider what a firearm engagement will be with a pocket pistol such as this.   Worrying about accuracy ans sights on this gun IMHO is pointless because this is the type of firearm that will only stop a threat if it’s put into the main reactor of the Death Star or  you unload the whole  thing and hope the bad guy isn’t wearing body armor.

I have shot a lot of Kahr firearms and I think the 9mm pistols are very well made and I see no reason to change the caliber to a smaller one when the 9mm already fit in your pocket.   Kahr magazines are what you want to use in the gun and I would not compromise on this issue with a concealed carry firearm.  There is  nothing wrong with having range magazines so you don’t wear out your primaries, but it’s mostly only with 1911 firearms would I stray from factory magazines.   If you have a semi-auto that holds 5-7rds and can carry a backup magazine,  and you’ve done some training, you should be good to go.

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Does a small semi-auto CCW gun mean more fragile?

It sure use to mean that, but pocket guns have come a long way.   Defensive ammo has gone a long way in recent years and the 38 special ammo your grandfather used in Law Enforcement is not the 38 Special you have today.    I did some chrono tests with a Smith & Wesson Model 19 and the  feet per second velocity between that and j-frame Model 637 was dramatic.   I was breaking 1000ft per second with the j-frame and it really literally blew me away.   I always thought that having a 4 inch barrel on a gun meant that it was shooting a load faster, but not the case with these two guns.

A friend of mine told me that everything he thought he knew about ballistics was thrown out the door when he got his first Chronograph and I agree.   I also though that because a gun fit in my pocket that it had to be weaker.  I am still trying to unlearn what I had learned with pocket guns, but another buddy of mine did some ballistic tests where he proved that his 32acp penetrated ballistic gelatin as well as a 38 special.   While there is definitely some variations in results from firearms, the ammo you put in your Kahr PM9 and the 6rd or 7rd Kahr magazines that you are using, may be far more potent than you realize.   The Kahr firearms are probable one of the most durable small guns out there and they have had several improvements over the years that put them above their competitors.

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Concealed carry advice, how many magazines?

What caliber are you comfortable with?  What kind of gun do you want to carry,  a Smith & Wesson 38 Special airweight or do you want to carry a full size Beretta 92 Brigadier.   I always tell my students that when they are choosing a firearm, they really should be realistic about what kind of threats they anticipate.   If you are carrying for your business and carrying gold or lots of cash, you may want to wear a bullet proof vest and carry a full size auto.  If you are a civillian that is just wanting to have the ability to carry and defend yourself, a 5 shot revolver may be more confortable to carry.

When I get my students to the range, I always start off with 38 Special revolvers.  I show the difference in recoil between airweight revolvers and something like a Smith & Wesson Model 19.    Just because the gun is smaller doesn’t mean that it’s easier to control, as we work our way up the chain of firearms, the next we use is a Kahr PM9.   I think it’s extremely reasonable to carry atleast 1 handgun magazine and Kahr magazines are meant for Kahr firearms.   If you are driving in a vehicle, I also suggest you keep atleast one loaded magazine in the vehicle.

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Pocket guns with firepower

Kahr firearms has made some real grounds in the CCW world.  Whenever I talk to some of my shooting buddies about what type of gun I should consider carrying it always ends up being J-Frames, Kahr and then something else.   I never really jumped on the pocket semi-auto bandwagon, but I would have to say that many of my friends have had very good experieneces with Kahr firearms.   My only real interest in buying there products would be one of the M1 Carbines from Auto-Ordnance but I’m not sure if that really counts.    The Sig 239 has turned out to be my primary small semi-auto but I have to admit that even though it fits in a pocket, it is still too heavy to carry there.

Kahr firearms come in the popular .380 caliber, 9mm, 40 S&W and the potent 45acp.  I think the idea of a pocket 45acp is a good idea, but I highly suggest you do some reasearch into how often you will need to replace recoil springs.  Many small semi-autos need more lubrication and spring maintenance and this will play a major factory in gun magazine and recoil spring reliability.  The smaller the gun, the more you will have to be concerned about limp wristing, also.   Kahr magazines are in the $30 price range, but I would seriously consider keeping atleast 3 of them for each gun you own.

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Rotate your ammo and rotate your mags

There are various stages of CCW experience, those that have made the mistakes, those that have witnessed the mistakes and those that are doomed to see both.  Although a gun owner may be observing all of the firearm safetey rules there are still many things to keep in consideration when CCW a firearm.   Even though a gun hasn’t been fired, if it is being carried it will fill up lint or the gun can become dry.  I have carried guns through out the summer months and found out that I’ve rusted out screws or pitted firearms.  Clean your CCW guns for reliability sake, but also for protection.

It is extremely important for you to rotate your carry ammo.  Many reloaders know the importance of having the proper bullet crimp to prevent bullet setback, but this is something that is inevitable going to occur if you keep closing the slide on the same bullet.  Even if you are not shooting up your ammo, rotate the ammo in your gun magazines to make sure you are not slamming the same first round.  Defensive ammo can be expensive and I realize that you aren’t going to want to shoot it all up after a couple times of cleaning  your ammo.  If you rotate just an 8rd magazine full of defensive ammo, you should be able to dissassemble and clean the gun safetly about 24 times with the same magazine.

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Smaller doesn’t mean easier

Kahr magazinesI’ve got my credentials from the NRA to teach students, but it wasn’t for any financial gain or to be a full time teacher.    The real reason I got into training was because of all of the bad instruction I’ve witnessed from untrained teachers.   I’ve seen guys show up with their girlfriends and basicall load up a handgun to full capacity and begin their first experiences on the firing line by telling them to “rack the slide”.    I believe I’ve seen that type of firearm instruction one too many times, and I believe i’ve seen it atleast 3 times.   The female has her finger on the trigger while she fearfully tries to pull back on the slide and sometimes instantly jams the gun.  The first time I saw this happen there were shooters  on a firing line on both sides and I just stood there shaking my head.  Not only are we going to see an accident about to happen, but this girls first experience wasn’t going to be a good one.   I know now to be more assertive and speak up when I see stuff like that, but luckily there were no major mishaps.

Every other time I saw the same type of behavior I spoke up and got involved.  I’m not going to bash women because I’ve gone shooting with plenty of females that were shooting up to 600yds with 308 rifles so don’t think I’m trying to say that women can’t handle recoil.   I’m not one to say that you have to start a new shooter out on a 22LR pistol, just don’t load it up to full capacity the first time someone is pulling the trigger.    I had a Kahr MK40 with 2 Kahr magazines with me and a Beretta 96.   I asked a friends girlfriend which gun looked like it had more recoil and she thought the Beretta 96 did.   I told  her that if she was afraid of recoil at first, that the bigger gun actually kicked less and the smaller firearm, more.   She started out shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 19 with 38 Specials and worked her way up to a 1911 that day, and I could tell by the smile on her face that she wasn’t afraid of shooting firearms.

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