New Member-First range day with Kahr CW30

[King Rat]

I have been shooting the LCP for about 10 years. Went through three of them and on my fourth. I enjoy shooting the Pocket guns. I had always heard about the Pico. Finally bought one and was ecstatic over the quality and Mild shooting. Amazing better quality than I had seen in years and it is such a pleasure to shoot. Gone was that heavy recoil from the LCP, especially that slap.t Ended up getting a second on, just because I loved it so much. The first one has over 1200 rounds now without a Hiccup and the second around 4-600 without a flaw.
Regardless, I started hearing about the Kahr, another gun that had high quality, so invested in one. Bought it Sunday night From Sportsman's Guide and it arrived yesterday. I could see from just opening the gun up that it had great quality.
So I logged on to this forum and learned as much as I could about the gun in a few days. I spent last night just re cleaning the gun and racking the slide over and over for about 150 times. I loaded up the one mag I had to full capacity and let it "Set" over night. I also racked the Kahr slide and let it set.

I was busy today and did not have much time, but was interested to see how this gun shot.


Regardless, I came home, grabbed the Kahr and took off. I brought along a box of PMU and a box of cheap Fiocchi Lineia and had half a box of Freedom munitions reloads.
I had oiled the gun the night before and left it very wet. Mistake. I don't usually do this, but read somewhere where this gun like it.

My goal was too just break the gun in. See how it shoots.

Box 1--PMU 50 rounds-NICE-I like the way this gun shoots. NO Malfunctions.

Box 2--Fiocchi--Ok, this was a mistake. It took me only one round to know this gun will not take this ammo.
Ok, now what?-Told the range officer, I needed 5 min to buy a box of ammo and bought the cheapest stuff this over priced joint had. Aguila. I had never shot this stuff, was leary but I was in a hurry. $16.99 for a box of 50.

Good news this ammo ran flawless but was dirty as hell. I could tell the gun was in fact getting very dirty. On some of the loaded mags at last round I had to hit the receiver into action. I could feel the gritty dirt in the gun. But the gun ran and ran, despite the fact that this was the first time out and with the dirty ammo.

I then Shot the Freedom-25 rounds. This is a light charge ammo and yet the gun went through all 25 rounds. With One exception, the very first round I sent into the chamber. Not sure it was the gun or me at this point. I find the receiver harder to rack than the Pico. I am sure it will break in down the road.

So basically 125 rounds on first day out. With no flaws. Good Day.

Target below. All rounds shot quickly around 2 second delay. Bottom target was the PMU, the Middle the Aguila and the head the Freedom. Target about 1-2 yards pas 7 yd safety marker.

Got home and this gun was filfty. Pretty sure it was the Ammo, but could have been because I over lubed it.

This gun is going to be competition with the Pico. I like them both at this early stage. Trigger was very nice, Very Mild recoil and very similar to the Pico. I mostly point and shoot, but still use the sights as a reference. It will take a little time to get use to this gun, but once I do, I feel I can tighten these groups up considerably.
Have to say the Kahr is a real winner. "It made my day".
Will spend the next few weeks getting to know the gun and shoot more variety of ammo especially Carry Ammo.

The link below is the target from today. Not sure how to post a pic yet here, sorry for the link.

[joemsj51]

Congrats on your purchase and your successful first range visit.
My HP-carry ammo in the much bigger Kahr 45 is Hornady Critical Defense. It feeds excellent, so that's one for consideration on carry ammo.

[King Rat]

Thank you Joe, good seems Hornady CD is a common denominator on this forum. That is good news as I have plenty in stock. I'm going to measure all the ammo I shoot now and use a case gauge to figure out what this gun likes. I still want to try out HST. I also want to go through a variety of range ammo. The Pico and the Kahr both seem to share many of the same qualities. The Trigger on both are great triggers, the Pico being a little stronger but still very pleasant. The LCP's that I shot were not even close in comfort the mild shooting of both of these guns and the build quality not even in the same league. I had tried out the new LCP ll and hated shooting it. Mostly the squirrelly trigger. A lot of crazy free play, then a shot take up and then a surprise Bam! I really thought that trigger to be unsafe in a pocket gun.. But the good news, that gun motivated me to find the Pico and the Kahr. I love both of these.
I think the secret to both the Pico and the Kahr is to understand that these guns are built with tight tolerances which means quality. Simply breaking them in at home is all that is required. And that is a simple process.

[joemsj51]

I've read your similar posts on the Beretta messageboard. You membered with a Virginia-something screen name there.

I do not own a Beretta yet. Was considering the little 32 Tomcat a while back. Wife instead bought the Keltec P32 for half-the-price of the Tomcat. In our retirement years, we have become "thrifty" shoppers....lol I considered the Federal HSTs for my Kahr 45.

You will figure it out for sure. I had a rough time sorting-out the right HP ammo for my .380 Glock 42. That's one fussy handgun right there. Critical Defense to the rescue once again there too. I'm hearing the HSTs work real well in the Baby Glock also. Sometimes the stores we shop at has only one of the two we're interested in.

I always pick the wrong day and time of day to shop ammo. Not a good idea to find an assortment of ammo on Sunday evening. I should have looked early Friday morning, while the stores are still stocked well.

[King Rat]

Yes, I have to say I love the Pico, and the Kahr is certainly a great contender. Had her out today and she ran off 100 rounds of Freedom munitions with no problems other than toward the end with a new 7 round Mag and getting dirty. No big deal, just had to hit her back into battery a little on the last round fired. I can see I really like the 6 round mags better.(and Ihave a size 9 glove with long fingers) Great that She likes the Freedom, as I can buy that very cheap on line. The more the gun breaks in, I don't even see any problems with any ammo that is just not too long or has a wide case. This gun is a very sweet shooter for sure.

Want a great Pocket gun trainer for Point and Shoot skills? I have two Phoenix Hpa 22.cals. The little suckers run like crazy on cheap ammo. I like to place about 6 or 7 three (3) inch target on one B27 target and quickly try and get a round in each one as fast as I can. I was lousy when I first started but Have really become pretty proficient. Really trains the mind and eyes to move fast. I also practice a lot with Air Pistols. Really helps me and I can shoot more frequently.

ps I also placed traction grips on the slid same as Pico and it really helped.

AND ON THIS GREAT DAY, LET NO MAN FORGET THAT HE IS FROM OLD VIRGINA!-- George Pickett-before charge at Gettysburg.

[Ed M]

I have one of those Phoenix Arms HP22's - soooo much fun to shoot! Well worth the $120 or so that I paid for it brand new...

[King Rat]

Day 2, 100 rounds of Freedom munition reloads, no problems. Total so far 225 rds. Great shooter. Ordered night sights, stainless steal guide rod, and set of extra recoil springs. The Kahr and the Pico will be going head to head in many future fighting matches this summer. Both great guns for sure.

[boscobarbell]

Nice to hear you're enjoying it. When I get mine out to the range in the next couple of weeks to test out the Federal Hydra Shok and Underwood Extreme Defender ammos, I'll be bringing my Pico along for some direct comparisons. I may even bring my Remington RM380, too. After a year of hits and misses with 380 micros, it's nice to have some viable carry options.

[Ed M]

Was at one of the local gunshops yesterday, and they have the Pico marked down to $199. The owner says they can't give them away.

It has some good qualities - very well made, awesome takedown, some of the nicest mags you'll ever find on a semi-auto pistol, really good sights, modular construction...

Then there's the weak points - it's High Point ugly, the slide is even tougher to rack than the Kahr - next to no slide serrations, that slide release is just plain ignorant to operate (gotta use a thumbnail), and the mag release must be an acquired skill to operate. I had to use my weak hand to operate it. It feels like a toy in my hand, whereas the Kahr feels like a real gun.

If Beretta targeted the Pico for female shooters, they really screwed up. The ergonomics are just plain awful - and this was the opinion of the half dozen women that were looking for a small self defense 380 in the shop, not me. I could probably get used to it for that good price, but thankfully, I don't have to. I prefer the CW380, S&W Bodyguard 380, and the Ruger LCP II to the Pico, and those were what the women bought. 4 Kahrs, one Bodyguard, and one LCP II. If they had more Kahrs in stock, it might have been a clean sweep.

[King Rat]

It is High point uglly?? LOL, HardlyH I doubt Beretta ever made a ugly gun. And it is TOP QUALITY. It is very similar appearance to the other guns you described. The Ergonomics looks like it was engineered in a wind tunnel. Designed for total concealment. I find it amazing you can even compare it to a LCP. Seems like a lot of women at that one counter. How many of them even had experience? It is a Pocket and yes the slide take release it takes a acquired skill to operate, which then becomes simple. No It is not a IDA gun. The owner said they cannot give them away. I wonder how many People that actually walk into a gun shop ever even heard of a Beretta? Like I said, I would have to say I have shot thousands of rounds more out of a LCP than you will in a lifetime. I will tell you in a second the LCP is NOT even close to the Beretta. I also have not only owned four LCP's but shot the new model the LCP ll. You really think that is a better shooting gun? Obviously you have never shot either gun.
You say that the gun was on sale for $200. Where is this and was this the first model or the 2nd generation with the new springs? I did intensive search and could not find them anywhere for that price. Really?
I liked the Pico so much, I bought a second one. Wish I had seen them for $200.00, that is a steal.

You know what? I heard these kind of comments toward the Kahr. Yes same kind of things. Jamamatic, prefer the LCP and on and on. Glad I did not listen to them. I would be out two great guns.
The Jury is still out for me on the preference of the Pico or the Khar. Too early to tell and not sure if either one will actually be a preference. They both have their Plus and Minuses. The Pico at the point shoots about the same, but seems to prefer any any. I have over 2000 rounds fired between both the Pico's with no failures. I only have about 225 rounds with the Kahr. I love the Kahr at this point. Love the Pico's. Would not trade anyh of them. Just too nice.

These are both beautiful well crafted guns. Sorry, I do not want another LCP. However I think they are right up your alley. Thanks for posting.