Affordable, lightweight Kahr CM9 rated ‘excellent’ for daily carry

by Dick Jones | Contributing Editor

Sometimes, my ignorance embarrasses me, even though no one realizes I’ve been ignorant. As a firearms instructor who’s taught thousands of people how to shoot with most of my recent focus on personal defense and concealed carry, I discuss the choice of the right CCH handgun with two or three people a week. My personal embarrassment recently came when a client came for training with a Kahr CM9. I’ve shot Kahr guns, but for some strange reason, I’d paid little attention to the CM9 and when I shot the client’s gun to check point of impact, I realized I’ve been ignoring a truly remarkable concealed carry option.

I practice and advocate daily concealed carry. It’s my policy to never leave home unarmed and I lead a very active lifestyle. Over the years, I’ve found that many concealed carry citizens purchase a handgun that’s larger than they are willing to carry all the time. Double-stack service-sized and even compact versions of service-sized pistols are simply too obtrusive for most people to wear them 16 hours a day 365 days a year. As a result, larger guns are left at home or in the vehicle much of the time. My position is that a .25 in your pocket is better than a double stack .45 at home on the dresser.

No matter what you say, 16 ounce 9mms have recoil and the CM9 is no exception. Still, several novices in the author’s classes shot the Kahr, and all felt they could handle it in a defensive situation and weren’t intimidated.

I’m aware that many who read this just experienced a rise in blood pressure, but my position comes from years of teaching and discussing concealed carry with thousands of people. The recent exponential rise in gun ownership hasn’t come from people who read multiple gun magazines every month. It comes from people who’ve decided the ability to personally defend themselves is a good idea and they’re simply not willing to carry 40-plus ounces of gun everywhere they go. Many who take my classes today have little or no experience with guns; they simply want the ability to feel safe in an increasingly threatening society.

The rear and front areas of the grip are fairly aggressively checkered. The trigger guard is slightly undercut, but there was no purchase for my little finger with the standard magazine.

Based on the research in writing my recent book, The Gun Digest Guide to Concealed Carry Handguns, I’ve learned that magazine capacity is almost never an issue in defensive situations with firearms. The average number for rounds fired in a defensive confrontation is less than three rounds and average distance is less than nine feet. The needs of the concealed carry citizen are much different from that of law enforcement or military, yet many advocate citizens carry a similar firearm. If you choose to carry a big, large capacity gun, that’s great, but it’s been my experience that most ordinary citizens simply won’t deal with the inconvenience.
My criteria for a concealed carry handgun is that it be sufficiently powerful and small and light enough that the purchaser will carry the gun every day. I advise my clients guns under 16 ounces and .380 or larger with quality defensive ammunition are adequate for 99% of defensive applications and the Kahr CM9 fits perfectly into that criteria.

Takedown of the Kahr CM9 is similar to a bull barreled 1911: compress the slide to allow removal of the slide release and drop the striker to remove the slide. On a smaller gun, it’s a bit trickier but I used the edge of a table to keep the slide in the right place.

With a weight just short of 16 ounces and a magazine capacity of six, in 9mm, the Kahr fits inside my box for practical carry pistols perfectly. It is small; in fact, in profile it’s smaller than a Glock 42 and only slightly thicker. In 9mm Luger and with defensive ammunition, it’s certainly well within my recommendation for power, and it has excellent sights to boot. The rear sight is dovetailed in with a white vertical bar and the front staked with a white dot. My test gun came with a Trijicon front sight. The sights were unobtrusive for concealed carry, but large enough for reasonable accuracy.

The sides of the slide are tapered to allow easier entry into the holster. Styling is angular, but indicates function is paramount.

I was especially impressed with the trigger. While the CM9 is a striker-fired gun, the trigger isn’t what one might expect. Instead of the now standard bladed or hinged trigger, the CM9’s trigger is more like a light and smooth double-action revolver trigger. The CM9 isn’t a true double-action, the stroke of the slide partially cocks the striker, but apparently Kahr’s idea to allow safe carry without a manually operated safety was to require a long enough stroke to make accidental trigger operation almost impossible. There’s a low resistance first stage that ends with the beginning of the second stage and the actual trigger stroke. From the point of that engagement to the point where the gun fires, the trigger moves about 3/8th of an inch. Once the trigger breaks, there’s a bit of backlash, but the resistance is light enough that it caused me no trouble. It sounds a bit strange in verbal description, but it works remarkably well, especially for novice shooters who have a tendency to grab a standard striker-fired trigger when they feel the resistance.

Kahr’s CM9 is compact and lightweight at under nine ounces. It was also reliable as a hammer and it’s adequately powerful in 9mm Luger.

Recoil, as one might expect from a 16-ounce 9mm, is certainly there, but it’s manageable enough. Obviously, the combination of a small gun that allows only two fingers on the grip requires a firm purchase for fast follow up shots, but even with a delicate and wimpy hold, the CM9 functioned flawlessly. This is something to consider with novice shooters, and novices comprise most of the current concealed carry market these days. Kahr advises customers to run 200 rounds through the gun as a break in protocol. I’ve always been wary of such a policy because guns should function straight out of the box in my mind. The CM9’s break in period was the actual testing of the gun and I experienced zero malfunctions. Perhaps they’re being too cautious.

While the Kahr is striker fired, the trigger is a departure from the norm for striker fired pistols. Instead of a bladed or hinged trigger with a long first stage, the Kahr relies on a long smooth pull that resembles a really light double-action pull. As an old revolver guy, I really liked it.

Accuracy was certainly more than adequate with tight, ragged hole groups possible at seven yards and fast magazine dumps to slide lock well within the nine ring of a half scale silhouette. Shooting the CM9 fast made me aware that a magazine change with it would be faster than almost any subcompact semi-auto I’ve tested, and I’ve tested most. This is because on most small semi-autos, the heel of my hand snags the magazine and prevents a drop. It seems there’s just enough distance on the CM9 for the mag to clear my hand and drop. I also liked how the slide release operates easily, allowing using it to drop the slide as opposed to racking it to release.

The white bar-dot combat sights on the Kahr pistol are drift adjustable.

If all this sounds like it meets my criteria for a day-in, day-out, carry pistol, it does. True, many can argue the lightweight Kahr has more recoil than most novices can handle, and this is a problem, but I’ve had good results with new shooters who apply themselves. The Kahr CM9 is light and easy to hide, powerful enough as a stopper, and reliable, even with a limp-wristed shooter. The best part is that the CM9 is very affordable with the MSRP of my test gun at $499 with a Trijicon night front sight, and I found the standard model online for less than $350. I’d take the Kahr over a lot of guns that sell for twice the price and more. An excellent carry pistol for a very affordable price!