P2000sk or Kahr for summer carry?

[hessy]

Gents, do you have experience carrying a Kahr PM9? The gun seems much thinner than P2000sk and can be dropped in a pocket, but I do not know how reliable it is. It is about $150-200 cheaper than the HK.
I have a P30, but use an OWB holster for it.
TIA

[hwjohn]

Gents, do you have experience carrying a Kahr PM9? The gun seems much thinner than P2000sk and can be dropped in a pocket, but I do not know how reliable it is. It is about $150-200 cheaper than the HK.
I have a P30, but use an OWB holster for it.
TIA

I have never shot the Kahr, but I do carry a P2SK and I was in the same situation as you a few months back.

My original carry gun was a USPc, but I found that it just didnt work well for me because of the length of the grip. To be fair, I was using a comp-tac CTAC holster which I never could really get used to either.

I started to realize that unless the gun/holster was comfy, I wasn't going to wear it and have it when I needed it. So I started looking for the smallest gun possible with decent reliability in 9mm and above. The Kahr seemed to fit the bill, so I started researching it.

I read about a lot of problems online, but I read some good things too. The biggest concern I had was that the Kahr seemed to have a "break in" period of 100-200 rounds, during which it may have feed problems and so forth. Even after that period, there were accounts of it not being reliable. I took the internet accounts with a grain of salt and went out to look at them myself.

I visited a few local shops and asked them about the reliability. The Kahr was nice looking, seemed ok with fit and finish, but was also expensive for such a little gun. What stopped me in my tracks was when a guy at one of the shops told me "you can't expect any gun not to jam during the first 200 rounds. It has to break in." That was clearly an effort to justify the poor performance of the Kahr (there are plenty of guns that won't jam in the first 200 rounds).

I looked at him, halfway thinking he was joking. When I realized he wasn't, I told him he must have never shot an HK, and walked out.

The next day I ordered a P2SK and an MTAC holster from CompTac. My little brother had recently bought this combo and swore by it. And now I do too. It is so comfortable that I forget I have it on, and I don't worry about reliability or being able to get a grip on the gun. I don't have the concealment problems I had with the USPc... it is the perfect carry gun for me.

I also have to say this about the Comp Tac holsters; the MTAC is a significant improvement over the CTAC for me. I don't think I'll ever buy another IWB holster that puts kydex against your body, but I do like the half leather half kydex combination of the MTAC.

Just my experience.

[reaper8154]

I carry a PM9 and like it ok. It has about 600 rounds through it and I am starting to trust it alittle more. During the first 200 rounds I had a few failures. Some of them were due to the extended mag, which I don't use anymore. That took care of most of the problems.

About two months ago I took it out with several different 9mm loads (most were FMJ) and tried to make it choke. About two hundred rounds later I was getting bored and did not have a single malfunction. I did find out that my PM9 is ammo sensitive tho. Put 115 grain +P in it and watch it choke. It runs 147 Golden Sabers like a champ, so thats what I use.

I carry the Kahr in a Bladetech IWB holster and it disapears. It is much thinner than the SK. I carry my USPC 40 when I wear heavier clothing, but for summer time carry I don't think you can beat the Kahr.

You might want to try the all steel Kahr, I think it is the MK9. I hear people love those, while the PM9 is hit or miss. I've also heard great things about the Walter PPS, but I'm not quite ready to give up on my Kahr.

[xskylitox]

I used to own a Kahr CW40, and now I own a p2000sk40. I purchased the Kahr for concealability issues. I put about 500 rounds through it without it jamming on me. However, with hollowpoints it would sometimes jam when racking the slide. The fit and finish on the Kahr was far below that of the HKs I've owned. The plastic had extra shaving pieces on it, and one of the followers on the magazine broke. I guess that's why it was half the price of the HK. The slide was really nice, though. The things I didn't like about it was its dismantling, the trigger, and the plastic frame. Putting the gun back together after cleaning was a little tricky the first time. The frame seemed cheap and would cut into my hand when shooting. The trigger was why I got rid of it. It had a lot of pull and was heavy which I wasn't used to (I learned to shoot with Glocks, and Sig SA/DA triggers). Even after 500 rnds I was still pulling everything down and away. I sold the Kahr and bought the HK and I couldn't be happier. The Kahr felt much better in my waist band, but I can carry the HK concealed and comfortable with the Desantis Tuck This! holster. The p2000sk seems to be a much higher quality than the Kahr, shoots a lot better, and has a higher magazine capacity. The LEM trigger fits my shooting tyle a lot better. If money is an issue, the Kahr is still a good gun. If you can spend an extra couple hundred I would go with the HK; the HK shoots much better and is still able to be concealed (I'm 5'7'' 145lbs, and I conceal it fine).

On a side note, the company Kahr is owned by some weird religous group called the Unification Church; just an interesting fact.

[mexicanstyle]

If you're looking for something compact for summer/pocket carry, you might want to take a look at the Walther PPS. I've had one for a few months now, and love it.

[hessy]

Thanks for all the replies, gents. I held a Kahr and it feels a bit weird in my hands. Of course, this is a pocket BUG...I am 5'7" and weigh 200 lbs, so OWB is the preferable way of carry. For summer, I thought of pocket carry. I think I'll go with the P2000sk. Although it is thicker, I've had a very good experience with HK reliability. As far as Kahr, I am hearing it can be a hit or miss.

[EchoAngel17]

I carry a PM9 and like it ok. It has about 600 rounds through it and I am starting to trust it alittle more. During the first 200 rounds I had a few failures. Some of them were due to the extended mag, which I don't use anymore. That took care of most of the problems.

About two months ago I took it out with several different 9mm loads (most were FMJ) and tried to make it choke. About two hundred rounds later I was getting bored and did not have a single malfunction. I did find out that my PM9 is ammo sensitive tho. Put 115 grain +P in it and watch it choke. It runs 147 Golden Sabers like a champ, so thats what I use.

I carry the Kahr in a Bladetech IWB holster and it disapears. It is much thinner than the SK. I carry my USPC 40 when I wear heavier clothing, but for summer time carry I don't think you can beat the Kahr.

You might want to try the all steel Kahr, I think it is the MK9. I hear people love those, while the PM9 is hit or miss. I've also heard great things about the Walter PPS, but I'm not quite ready to give up on my Kahr.

I have to echo this one...the heavier the bullet, the better mine performs. I bought it as a pocket gun as well. I still have it but I do not carry it any more. I looked at it as a "it's may be a my life issue" so even though I was getting good reliability with the heavier loads, I switched to my P7- not the same size but the relliabilty issue was long gone. I think you already made up your mind anyway...

[spyder1439]

i carry a p2000sk v3 357sig and never had a single problem with it. i carry it off duty and it hides like a champ. i like the fact that it carries 10 rounds of 40/357 which is more bullets then the kahr so carrying an extra mag is optional (although reccomended just in case the defecation hits the ventilation)

[Landpimp]

carry a PM9 in the winter mostly, pocket carry, works well. Summer I carry a S&W 340PD(and sometimes in the winter) really depends on what pants/shorts I have on

[ydaho]

I have a CW9 and have never had a reliability issue with it; even with a variety of heavy and light loads. I have about 800 rounds through it. It is very slim. Apparently it is the same size as a P7. It is a good gun to throw in a jacket pocket for carry if I don't want to carry IWB.

I have not shot an SK but I felt one once and really liked the feel.

I currently carry a USP45 and it does just fine in the summer. All you have to do is modify your clothing to carry bigger guns. Just wear a wide shirt that is slightly longer.

Personally, I would like to get my hands on a usp45c for carry purposes.

I am actually thinking of selling my CW9 because I rarely carry it anymore. If you are interested let me know.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s131/ydaho/DSC00030.jpg

[JessR45]

I used to have a PM9, and this has to be on the 'miss' category. Had a lot of jams first 200 rounds, then this diminished somewhat but I still got one from time to time. Then I had barrel peening problems, then when I tried hollowpoints, it would not feed reliably. I really like the size, the trigger is decent enough, and I can overlook the build quality of the polymer, but I just could not trust it enough. I carry a P2SK most of the time, and I believe I have found my ideal carry piece. If I cannot carry the P2SK, I have an S & W 638 snubby to substitute. I have the Walther PPS, and I have tried carrying it, but I still prefer the P2SK for now.

Thanks,
Jess

[sentinel]

I bought this MK9 2 months ago for use as a summer off duty carry piece. It's narrow profile makes it ideal for carry with lite summer clothing (shorts and t-shirts) either IWB or OWB though it's weight may make it a little heavy for pocket carry. As for reliability, so far I've shot 200 rounds of PMC 115 gr ball and 100 rounds of Federal 124 gr +P HST with no malfunctions. Controllability is excellent and as you can see accuracy is acceptable.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/sentinel208/DSC01797.jpg

[murfdog]

I carry a P2sk 9mm OWB Galco I got from H&K.I'm 5'9" and about 240 so there is not much room for a IWB for me.I love mt P2sk and it's a true tack driver just my .02.

:901:

[spyder1439]

looking at the walther pps i think the gun is ugly. i know im hk biased but it looks like a brick with a handle. i hope it shoots better than it looks.