
GLOCK VS. KAHR:
I guess I am the only guy in the world who doesn't care for a Glock. At least here in San Antonio anyhow. It is not the way it is made, the look, or the "safety" of the pistol that I dislike. As a matter of fact, I actually LIKE the safety on the Glock, although, I believe the biggest and best safety mechanism is between the shooter's ears. Granted, some of us have better safety mechanisms than others, but that is besides the point. What I don't like about the Glock is the feel in my hands and more importantly, the trigger squeeze. I had a Glock 36, a single stack .45, it fit well in my hand but by no means perfect. I am a 1911 kind of guy, my favorite pistol is my older model Kimber custom compact. It has a 4" barrel about 12 yrs old and still it looks, feels and of course shoots wonderfully. So why not just carry it? Bottom line: it's heavy.
After carrying it for a few years, I decided to get a lighter pistol. I bought a Kahr PM45. I read a lot of negative feed back on Kahr pistols......... After I bought it. I loved this piece: the weight, the look, the way it felt in my hand, the way it rode on my hip in the holster, everything about it. That is, until I shot it!
MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS WITH KAHR:
I took the PM45 to the range. The book says to give it a thorough cleaning before firing the pistol, so I did. The night before the range, I put some good lube on it and it was ready to fire. The first few rounds were fine, in fact, they shot great! I had a nice tight group, controllable recoil, and I was loving life.......... then, about my 3rd mag, I started to have trouble. The magazine fell out at random times, the slide would go forward when I inserted the magazine, and I started to have failure to feed issues. One about every 2nd or 3rd round. I was beyond pissed off. It was so bad, the slide would get stuck and I would have to force it open to eject the round. The grip on these pistols are... let's just say a little rough. So rough, my hand hurt and started to bleed from forcing it open. After about 150 rounds or so, I gave up. It was getting worse and not better. The range master let me use some different types of ammo and I kept having the same issues. I decided to trade it in for my Glock 36. The Glock shot well and I had no real issues, except for having to relearn my trigger squeeze. After close to 1000 rds through it, I still couldn't get the hang of the trigger. I hated it. So... where did this leave me? I needed a carry piece... one I knew was reliable and would work, but also did not cost a fortune.
SHOPPING AROUND:
I wanted a new Kimber, one of the ultra carry models. BUT, after talking to several shooters and gun store owners, I found out that the Kimber QA/QC wasn't what it used to be. They changed the design to a cheaper less reliable trigger and things just were not what they used to be. Plus, the cost had sky rocketed! More then doubled what I'd paid for mine. I still love the Kimber and would really like to shoot some of the ultra carry models, but I just couldn't afford that. Nor was I willing to fork out the dough with out shooting it myself and take the chance of using it as a carry piece. A buddy on Facebook recommended the Springfield arms 1911 models. I REALLY liked these. But, they cost just as much as a Kimber, unless I bought an all steel one...... Why? I might as well just carry mine and save a few bucks. I saw and shot a few of the XD's, but they're too much like a Glock for me. So I kept looking around.
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE:

My wonderful fiancé knew I was not happy and told me that for my birthday, I could get a new pistol. So I really put in some time and research and kept coming back to the Kahr. I was more then skeptical to try this pistol out again. BUT...this time, I found very positive feed back on different forums and a lot of great reviews. I did see that there were still some issues with magazine dropping but I also read a simple fix for it. My fears slowly dissipated and I was less skeptical after 2 days of reading. I sold my Glock and went to order my new piece. During my wait, I kept reading more and more and asking around. I was getting a lot of positive responses this time.
Finally, it came in. I was more than excited. I brought it home and field stripped it, taking care to clean every nook and cranny of this pistol. I wanted to be sure there would be no issues with it. I even started a new shooting log just for this pistol. I figured since this would be my carry piece, it should probably have it's own log, separate from my other pistols and rifles. So I got a composition book and recorded all the important info:
SPECS:
Make: Kahr. Model: CW 4543 ( 3.64" barrel)
Caliber: .45 ACP. Capacity: 6+1
Operation: DAO. Barrel: 3.64" 1-16.38 right hand twist conventional rifling
Length: 6.32" Height: 4.8". Slide width: 1.01". Weight: 19.7oz.
There is not a whole lot of difference between this pistol and the Glock 36, but it does feel a lot different. Much more 1911 like. It is also worth it to note that this pistol is just about identical to the Kahr P45. The major difference: the barrel is a match grade polygonal barrel and it comes with 2 magazines verses the 1 I got with the CW. There are some slight size differences but thats about it....... Well, that and the fact that the P45 is a few hundred dollars more.
BREAK IN PERIOD:
Kahr recommends that you fire at least 200 rounds through the pistol before it can be called reliable. I read a lot of negative stuff online about this. My thinking is that it makes sense. Everyone knows that Kahrs are a little tight and can be unfriendly to some ammo's, so I take this more as a precaution... aiming to get the shooter to know his or her new pistol. Don't you want that comforting feeling if you are going to rely on this as a defense tool? I sure do. I brought 256 rounds with me and five different types of ammo. I wanted to be sure of what it would and wouldn't shoot. I also wanted to get comfortable with it in my hands. I think that 200 or so rounds will allow you to get that comfortability in your hands and allow you to settle in with it..... Kind of like that favorite spot on the couch you have. If you think about it in these terms, it really isn't too bad. How often do you shoot? How many rounds? Is 200 really that bad? Lastly, I do remember reading on my Glocks paper work about break in period but no one remembers this.. Maybe, it's because Kahr phrases it differently. Can you really call your Glock, Kimber, or any other pistol truly reliable in your hands with less than 200 rounds fired through it? Are you truly comfortable with it at that point?
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
There were only two things I did not like about the CW, at least at first. One being the way the magazine protrudes from the well, almost like an after market mag. But it is not horrible and doesn't really hinder anything. There are some tweaks online that you can easily perform to make a more flush magazine. or you can also buy some flush magazines. The other was the sights. It is a "white bar-dot combat rear sight, pinned in polymer front sight". Basically, think of a lower case letter "i". Lining up the body of the "i" and the doget this will take a bit to get used to. I still shoot a little low, but mostly on target, and well with in the kill zone.


WHAT I DO LIKE:

The feel of this pistol is great. It fits the hand perfectly. Feels much more like a 1911 style grip then a Glock does. The recoil is very manageable even for this small frame and barrel length. Many people have said that putting a .45 caliber into this light and small of a gun is a mistake and that it is too small and tight light for the caliber. Well I think that Kahr has proven them all wrong. They did a astounding job at putting this piece together. It works great and shoots superbly. The "tightness" of the pistol makes the shooting experience even more enjoyable.
AT THE RANGE:
At the range I brought five different types of ammo with me. They all fired with out fail and the gun performed almost flawlessly. I only had one small issue with it, which I will explain in a bit. As I already stated the pistol did fire a little low for me but I think that that was due to the fact that I am getting used to the sight picture which is a little different than what I am used to. As you can see from my targets I was able to mostly get pretty tight groups. This was at the 15 yr mark. I only had two targets to shoot at for 256 rounds so as I was getting used to the sights I would move my point of aim around to see my shot groups. I still have a few flyers and pulled shots but shooting over 200 rounds in an hour and a half gets tiring.
The first ammo I shot was Remington 230 grain MC L45ap4 FMJ
I put 50 rounds of this down range, this is where I first thought I might have some trouble. But no I had one FTF OR FTE malfunctions. These hits are mostly in the bottom of the target where the writing is and the bottom 6 ring.
Next I fired 50 rounds of federal 230 grain FMJ RN
Again no issues. Tis pistol seemed to actually fire a little smoother and straighter with these rounds. But I am sure it had more to do with me getting used to the gun
Next I shot 100 rounds of Winchester 45 Auto 230 grain FMJ. these are the white "value" pack that wal-mart sells. Once again the pistol shot flawlessly. I thought I might start to have some feed or eject issues here. But no. The only problem I had was the that slide release came loose and protruded out of place enough to cause the slide to go forward with out feeding. To correct this I pulled the slide back and pushed in the release rechambered and shot away. This happened twice while firing and this was the ONLY issue I had all day long. The only problem I found while shooting. I plan to call Kahr about it but I have not had a chance to yet. And mind you this only happened after sending many rounds down range. This wouldn't be an issue in a defense situation unless you were in a prolonged gun fight with a ton of magazine on you. I will still hunt for an answer as I was not pleased about this. But with the quick fix it worked great for the rest of the day with out any problems.
I then fired 50 rounds of Winchester 45 auto personal protection hollow point 230 grain JHP
I followed that up with 8rounds of Remington golden saber HPJ. These last few rounds are what I carry on a day to day basis. They shoot great and cause a lot of damage.
Again flawless performance on the personal protection rounds. All in all a great day shooting at the range with out any problems. A true night and day experience from my first encounter with the Kahr. And I can not be any happier.

MY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Get this pistol!!! Let me say that again....... If you carry or are serious about carrying a .45 but want a smaller light weight alternative to a 1911 or a Glock then go and get this pistol! You will not be sorry. I have been wearing this pistol every day now for about a week and for several hours at a time. Up to 10 hours a day. And with the holster I have for it I couldn't be happier. It rides perfectly and feels great in the hand and when fired. A perfect carry piece and companion.
So go... Now... And get one.
Corey .
