With a bumper crop of wild and exotic new handguns this year, why should a plain-looking, subcompact 9mm be up for an Editor’s Choice Award? Because for every shooter who buys a huge .500 S&W Magnum for stalking the elusive woolly mammoth, there will be hundreds who have the need for a small, reliable, accurate handgun powerful enough to protect them from human predators. And the Kahr PM9 fills the bill in outstanding fashion.
The latest evolution of the Kahr pistol, which has become remarkably popular in the less than ten years it has been with us, has a polymer frame that brings weight down to under a pound unloaded. Slimmer than a Glock, it hides easily in pocket or waistband, or even ankle holster. It is one of the few small autos that can withstand the grit that accrues with ankle carry and still work.
We've achieved surprising accuracy with Kahr pistols in the past. When you're hosting an accurate pistol, you want to serve accurate ammo, so we put four of the most straight shooting 9mm rounds on the PM9's table. Accuracy testing was done from the 25-yard bench rest with a two-hand hold.
Most ammo exhibited the common auto pistol phenomenon called "4+1", with the first hand-cycled round printing its bullet a little away from the cluster formed by subsequent, automatically cycled rounds. Winchester's once-trendy 147-grain subsonic put five shots in 3-1/8 inches, with the best three measuring 1-5/8 inches. Federal's 9BP 115 grain at standard velocity stretched to 3-3/4 inches, its best three in 2-1/4 inches. Pro-Load's hotter Tactical 115 grain at +P velocity went 4-7/8 inches for everything including the errant 4+1 shot, with its best three in 2-1/4 inches. Best accuracy came with the cheapest ammo: Black Hills blue box 115 grain remanufactured. The five shot group measured a pleasing 2-1/4 inches for five shots, the best three in 1-5/16 inches. All the above loads were hollow points. The only malfunction of the test was one failure of a spent casing to clear the ejection port when firing the low-momentum Winchester subsonic. Kahr guns thrive on hot loads. Feeding was excellent.
Recoil was surprisingly soft for such a light gun. All testers commented on the mild kick, even with the Pro-Load +P ammo.
These little guns compete with the Airweight five-shot .38 revolvers. They are slimmer and flatter, shorter overall, and hold two more shots. The "carry" magazine holds six rounds, not counting the seventh in the chamber, and leaves the grip frame so short you have to tuck your pinky finger under it to fire. The gun comes with a second, longer magazine which holds one more round and, when inserted, allows you to wrap the last finger of the firing hand around something solid.
The trigger mechanism, double-action only, is better smooth and surprisingly light. Kahr has one of the best actions of this type in the industry… quite possibly the best. Sights are generous and easy to see. Workmanship is very good, and fit is snug, as you'll be reminded every time you take one apart for cleaning.
If the accuracy of the tiny PM9 doesn't sound up to Kahr's usual standards, remember that this is a very small gun with a very short barrel, and some precision is generally lost when you make a gun this small. For perspective, the center zone on an IDPA silhouette target is right inches in diameter, and this .380-size pistol would never have missed it. Buy a larger all steel Kahr 9mm as a companion gun for training, recreational shooting, and home defense; they function identically. |
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