A Review of the Kahr PM40

My Kahr PM40 has been unreliable with hollow point self-defense ammuntion; because of that I am sending the pistol to Cylinder and Slide for the “Concealed Carry Package” at a cost of nearly $1K before shipping. This is a considerable expense to insure that this stock $700 dollar pistol is completely and totally reliable using the ammunition of my choosing.

I like the pistol that much.

The Kahr’s DA trigger is smooth and the moderate pull length is just right for me: it’s not too long or too short and the trigger resets where I expect it to. The PM40 is completely accurate at normal self-defense ranges (<25 feet) and acceptably accurate at much greater distances. With Federals 165 grain Expanding Point Full Metal Jacket ammuntion - which my Kahr will feed reliably 100% of the time - the recoil is stout, but not completely unpleasant. It is not unusual for me to shoot 100 rounds through the PM40 at the range once or twice a month.

The PM40 may be the perfect concealed carry hand gun - at least for me. I have two IWB and three pocket holsters (Pocket Concealment Systems, Tomahawk and Harpoon and a DeSantis Nemesis) for the Kahr. In my experience even the polymer framed PM40 is too heavy and the pocket holsters to bulky to be an every day carry combination.

I could see how it might work for someone tall, with larger and wider pockets than myself. Being only 5’9” I find my kaki pants pockets to deep and my jeans a little too tight to effectivly carry every day like this. Maybe I just need to loose some weight.

The two IWB holsters (a Milt Sparks Summer Special II and the Comp-Tac Infidel) are both excellent. They are both easy to conceal and the Kahr is thin enough where I don’t require the next size larger pants or slacks to use them. Combined with a high-quality gun belt - I have and like both Milt Sparks and Tucker gun belts - the little Kahr dissppears easily covered by a sweater, sport coat or jacket. The PM40 has, over the last eight months, become my every day carry.

The Kahr PM40 is a modern, high powered knuckle duster on par with small wheel guns in .357 Magnum. These pistols pack a considerable amount of ‘ouch’ on each end of the gun and as always, it’s better to give than to receive. The Kahr PM40 not a perfect pistol - a $700 dollar pistol should be 100% reliable out of the box with JHP ammo.

Would I recommend this pistol? Yes, with two large caveats: find ammo that it will feed with 100% reliability and stick with it. If you can’t do that, then accept the fact that you’ll be sending it out to Cylinder and Slide before you’ll trust your life to it.

That being said: I have my eye on a second Kahr right now, a stainless MK40 Elite.