cpenwell957
08-13-2012, 02:08 PM
Hello to everyone, just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Cory from Dayton, Ohio. I'm really glad to be part of the Kahr community. I have been here for a few weeks reading a lot and it looks like there are a lot of knowledgeable people here, and I am looking forward to learning from all of you.
When I went looking for a gun that I would carry, the Kahr CW9 appeared a lot as I was reading around. After reading a ton of positive reviews from people I was pretty much set that I was going to get the CW9 for CCW. Some time later I had talked to some people that convinced me a snub nosed .38 might be a better option, from a reliability and ease of use standpoint. I was at the gun store ready to buy a Smith and Wesson 642 Airweight and just happened to ask if they had a CW9 for me to look at. Sure enough they did, and as luck would have it, happened to be on sale. Once I put my hands on it I was sold. It just fit my hands so well. So after a few minutes of tough decisions I went ahead and got the CW9 that I had originally wanted. A decision that I'm glad I made.
After getting the gun home I signed up to this forum in hopes to learn a bit more about the gun before I went out to shoot it. One of the first things i came across was "Proper prep of a new Kahr" written up by jocko, which is great information, thanks jocko! I made sure to follow this information prior to going shooting, which I'm sure explains why my first outing to the range went so well. So I got the gun apart to clean, after reading and rereading the manual of course, which was VERY oily from the factory. I used Hoppe's Number 9 cleaning solvent to clean it all off. There was also a lot of dark semi-gritty looking crud in a lot of the crevices which proved to be difficult to get out. I seen a lot of you had also mentioned the possibility of a dirty striker channel from the factory. So I got a can of the CRC Brakleen Non-Chlorinated brake cleaner and sprayed it out accordingly. I also went ahead and cleaned the frame off with the spray cleaner which removed the remainder of the crud i mentioned earlier. I took apart the magazine and cleaned it out also. After the gun was completely clean, I wiped down all of the parts with a rag dampened with Ballistol to re-moisten the materials after using the brake cleaner. I then lubed up the gun with Hoppe's Elite gun oil following the chart also listed here in the forum.
In the time before my first outing to the range, i made it a habit to cycle the slide on a daily basis several times. The recoil spring was VERY stiff out of the box, and made it difficult to even pull the slide back. After doing this for a while the gun loosened up a significant amount. I would also insert and remove the magazine (unloaded) several times when doing this. I kept the magazine (separate) loaded to help break it in a bit. I would also cycle these rounds in and out of the magazine to loosen up the spring. I think its safe to say that by the time I made it to the range the gun was loosened up a great deal. I had read quite a few reports on here about people having some issues with multiple Kahr models and began to get nervous and worry that I may have similar issues. Only way to find out was to go shoot it.
On my first trip to the range I was able to put 150 rounds through the CW9, all of which were Blazer 115 gr. aluminum case. I did not have a single issue whatsoever in all 150 rounds. The gun ran flawlessly! The trigger felt great and recoil was very manageable considering its small size. I would say I was able to shoot it pretty well considering it was my first time shooting the gun. So after returning home and cleaning the gun very thoroughly I only noticed a few areas of noticeable wear. The recoil spring guide finish was marked up pretty bad, there were the two very small marks/indentations near the slide stop lever on the bottom of the slide (which i believe i read on here is common?), and the barrel had a few wear marks from rubbing on the inside of the slide. None of this really bothers me, and otherwise after cleaning the gun is back to looking brand new. All in all i am very happy with my purchase so far, i can only hope my experience with this gun continues down this path.
Sorry for the life story i just wanted to share my experience and thank all of you who have shared your valuable knowledge on this forum. My good experience has undoubtedly been due to all the great advice you have all had to offer. :)
When I went looking for a gun that I would carry, the Kahr CW9 appeared a lot as I was reading around. After reading a ton of positive reviews from people I was pretty much set that I was going to get the CW9 for CCW. Some time later I had talked to some people that convinced me a snub nosed .38 might be a better option, from a reliability and ease of use standpoint. I was at the gun store ready to buy a Smith and Wesson 642 Airweight and just happened to ask if they had a CW9 for me to look at. Sure enough they did, and as luck would have it, happened to be on sale. Once I put my hands on it I was sold. It just fit my hands so well. So after a few minutes of tough decisions I went ahead and got the CW9 that I had originally wanted. A decision that I'm glad I made.
After getting the gun home I signed up to this forum in hopes to learn a bit more about the gun before I went out to shoot it. One of the first things i came across was "Proper prep of a new Kahr" written up by jocko, which is great information, thanks jocko! I made sure to follow this information prior to going shooting, which I'm sure explains why my first outing to the range went so well. So I got the gun apart to clean, after reading and rereading the manual of course, which was VERY oily from the factory. I used Hoppe's Number 9 cleaning solvent to clean it all off. There was also a lot of dark semi-gritty looking crud in a lot of the crevices which proved to be difficult to get out. I seen a lot of you had also mentioned the possibility of a dirty striker channel from the factory. So I got a can of the CRC Brakleen Non-Chlorinated brake cleaner and sprayed it out accordingly. I also went ahead and cleaned the frame off with the spray cleaner which removed the remainder of the crud i mentioned earlier. I took apart the magazine and cleaned it out also. After the gun was completely clean, I wiped down all of the parts with a rag dampened with Ballistol to re-moisten the materials after using the brake cleaner. I then lubed up the gun with Hoppe's Elite gun oil following the chart also listed here in the forum.
In the time before my first outing to the range, i made it a habit to cycle the slide on a daily basis several times. The recoil spring was VERY stiff out of the box, and made it difficult to even pull the slide back. After doing this for a while the gun loosened up a significant amount. I would also insert and remove the magazine (unloaded) several times when doing this. I kept the magazine (separate) loaded to help break it in a bit. I would also cycle these rounds in and out of the magazine to loosen up the spring. I think its safe to say that by the time I made it to the range the gun was loosened up a great deal. I had read quite a few reports on here about people having some issues with multiple Kahr models and began to get nervous and worry that I may have similar issues. Only way to find out was to go shoot it.
On my first trip to the range I was able to put 150 rounds through the CW9, all of which were Blazer 115 gr. aluminum case. I did not have a single issue whatsoever in all 150 rounds. The gun ran flawlessly! The trigger felt great and recoil was very manageable considering its small size. I would say I was able to shoot it pretty well considering it was my first time shooting the gun. So after returning home and cleaning the gun very thoroughly I only noticed a few areas of noticeable wear. The recoil spring guide finish was marked up pretty bad, there were the two very small marks/indentations near the slide stop lever on the bottom of the slide (which i believe i read on here is common?), and the barrel had a few wear marks from rubbing on the inside of the slide. None of this really bothers me, and otherwise after cleaning the gun is back to looking brand new. All in all i am very happy with my purchase so far, i can only hope my experience with this gun continues down this path.
Sorry for the life story i just wanted to share my experience and thank all of you who have shared your valuable knowledge on this forum. My good experience has undoubtedly been due to all the great advice you have all had to offer. :)