After A Long Break, a Range Day with the MK9

[boscobarbell]

To make a long story short(ish): My personal EDC collection has been through a lot of changes over the past year; I've bought and sold a number of pistols, looking for the "perfect" solution for every carry niche...heavy clothing, light clothing, pocket carry, etc. I've shot dozens of pistols, often pitting pistols against each other in "shoot outs" to see which one prevails. In the course of all this, I ended up selling two of my Kahrs (PM9 and CW380) because I found options that suited me better.

In the midst of all this, my Kahr MK9...the very first pistol I bought during this period when I was looking for an EDC pistol as I approached LEO retirement...mostly stayed in the safe. I bought it used...it's a 1998 model with almost completely dimmed Tru Dots...and updated it with a Wolff recoil spring setup and Lakeline magazine followers, and with several hundred rounds through it I've yet to see a malfunction. On my very first range day a year ago, I rented a Glock 43 for the sake of comparison, and was blown away by the performance of the MK9 as compared to a manufacturer that I have admired and supported for over 30 years.

Fast forward a year, and I have a number of pistols that I very much enjoy and often carry. On a whim, I purchased a Walther PPS M2 because of all the awesome reviews it had received (like this one: http://www.gunsandammo.com/handguns/...-9mm-shootout/ ), and couldn't resist when one showed up on Gunbroker for about 2/3 the price I'd previously seen. Before I headed to the range, I decided to throw my MK9 in the bag (I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was going to sell it like I had my other Kahrs, and had even taken pictures in preparation for that sale).

I put about 100 rounds through each pistol, and I left the range convinced once again that the MK9 may be the finest handgun I've ever owned. The PPS is a fine pistol, but the Kahr (at seven yards) just flat-out ran circles around it. Long but buttery trigger, amazing recoil management (with +P ammo!), great hand feel, and a ragged hole in the target where all the rounds went...a grouping 1/2 the size of the Walther's.

I will NEVER get rid of this pistol...I am convinced that not only my son but also my future grandchildren will own and appreciate this fine, heirloom quality weapon. Time for some TLC...I'm going to shop around for some good night sights, and I'll also buy a decent hybrid IWB since that's become my preferred carry method. To celebrate my range day, I came home and reinstalled its wooden grips...this time with some pretty 1911 grip screws.

Darn, she is one pretty girl.