Does your Kahr CM9 have a crappy trigger?
The design of the Kahr trigger action is actually a really good piece of engineering.
That being said, I believe I've discovered something that sets the CM and PM series of pistols apart that Kahr isn't telling because it makes a pretty big difference.
They tout the CM pistol as a less refined version of the PM series, and that it is. They imply, however, most of the differences are merely outward appearance. That's not so.
If you look at Kahr's comparison sheet here, you will note something. The PM series has a machined slide stop, the CM series has an "metal-injection-molded" one:
http://www.kahr.com/PDF/CM9093.pdf
What does "metal-injection-molded" mean? It means it's quicker, easier, and cheaper to make. It doesn't require milling or machine-work, but a bunch can be "poured" out into a mold all in one shot.
Big deal, right? Wrong! One thing that happens when using injection molds for metal is there are always warts! Warts are the little nubs where the part had to be taken out of the mold from where the steel was poured.
I found out just how this affects the trigger of the CM9 because I've spent the last 4 days intimately sanding and buffing all the internals of my CM9 to get the trigger even close to what my PM40 was (which was a fine, fine shooting pistol).
What did I find inside the striker trigger action? WARTS!
There's good news and bad news with this. The good news is that Kahr, even with their injection molded parts, uses a very, very hard steel. I've seen newer Glock slides scrape from simple use, the metal they're using is so soft.
The Kahr, not so. But that brings us to the bad news, these hard warts will hinder your trigger action bigtime!
I know because the last few days as I've buffed every other part outside of the striker action to no avail.
It was only when I opened up the striker action and found not one, but two "injection-mold" warts where these important trigger parts were not properly sanded down and smoothed out. Additionally, it appears Kahr buffs what can be seen and reached easily on the CM series and leaves all the hard to reach parts unbuffed and rough.
After much sanding and buffing, the trigger is almost perfect. I will give it another go tomorrow sometime and when I get my Galloway lower weight trigger springs this pistol will likely shoot as beautiful as my PM40 did.
The moral of the story is, if you want a PM9 trigger, you have to pay for a PM9. If you want to do the work yourself, and I'm not so sure it's worth it, you can buy the CM9 and do the sanding and buffing yourself.
Don't let anyone tell you the PM and CM series are essentially the same. The CM9 comes complete with warts and all.
Reply With Quote
