When it came time for me to purchase my first handgun I needed something that fell into 2 major categories. The first was that it needed to be chambered in 9mm, and secondly it needed to be comfortable. I looked into the 9mm round and found it was very available, cheaper priced to shoot and very effective for personal defense. 9mm also is very mild on recoil which was important to me as I would be carrying it and would need to be as accurate as possible with follow up shots. It has been proven that 9mm is becoming the Goldilocks option as more government agencies and Police Departments choose to switch after in depth FBI testing has proven its effectiveness. As for comfort everyone has different preferences. For me a big one is getting all of my fingers on the grip. Some smaller CCW guns may allow 2 or 3 fingers and your remaining fingers hang off the pistol grip. This for me wasn't an option. I had to have a smaller option that facilitated all of my fingers comfortably when I practiced. The Kahr CW9 did just that. As soon as I picked it up I knew that it was the one. For reference I have medium sized hands.
For comfort we as carriers sacrifice a few things. Major things sometimes. Carrying a gun isn't comfortable by any means. It grates, irritates, and constantly reminds you its there. Kahrs C line value guns are very slim which I noticed right off the bat. This means you get better comfort carrying concealed inside the waistband. The cost of this added comfort for a slick and thin little package is the round capacity for the CW9 is limited. It boasts a 7+1 capacity which as the time of writing this is on the lower side. Which is okay if you plan to carry 2 magazines. Which you should. Always. No matter what you choose to carry. So that itself isn't much problem but it does only come with one magazine. The CW9 is also very light as a package as it's just under 1 pound. Polymer lowers make it so much easier to find lighter and durable options for the every day consumer. Heavier options will be uncomfortable over the course of a long day in your holster.
Speaking of the C line, the Kahr value line is priced just right. New to CCW folks commonly go to a gun shop and buy the cheapest option in the gun case. Do not do that! Remember this a tool to put your life on the line with. You are worth more than the cheapest gun in your local shops cabinet. Kahr has been making precision CNC'd guns and gun parts here in the USA since 1985. These guns are functional and reliable and they do not have anything extra a new CCW carrier does not need. Which is also why they can be priced competitively against much more expensive guns for similar qualities. They put everything you need into the package, nothing to cause price bloat.
Prices for the CW9 varies. Kahr has an MSRP of $449 but I have seen them in store as low as $279. At that price range these things are an absolute steal. There are a lot of functional cheap guns out on the market. Its a great time to be a gun buyer. There are so many options. But rarely do you see a mix of really top notch quality machining, functionality, design, and ease of use and maintenance at this price point.
Its simple to take down and work on. No frills. No extra bells and whistles. It has a super easy disassembly for cleaning which is important for folks new to the cleaning process. It has no safety selector on it which makes for scar free training (training scars means practicing habits that may not translate well with other platforms). The trigger is very smooth and predictable and crisp. And most importantly it will eat nearly any ammo you run through it without any issue or problem. I never had any issues with any ammo type I ever used with mine. This is probably the most important factor, reliability. In cheaper guns you may sacrifice some of this for that lower price tag. And in a moment of need you want to be certain its going to work. Buy once, cry once. And if it doesn't work you die once.
My experiences with the CW9 were above average and I highly suggest it for new to CCW people. All the people who tested mine out at the range or in training always commented on how nice it functioned, how smooth it was to operate and how accurate it was. Even with new shooters it was very forgiving. They always had very good groupings at the standard 7 yard shot. Its a great platform to learn what CCW is all about.
Don't take my word for it. Find a local shop that has them and check Kahr pistols out. They are an underdog in a highly saturated low quality, low price era for CCW guns. Ask questions and handle the ones you are interested in. Chances are you will know right away which one you should get when you pick it up. I know I did.
Bottom line: if you are in the market for a CCW pistol go get your mitts on many different models and brands. Ask questions in the shops about the ones you like. And if you have the option to test fire some of them out before buying. What ever you choose get something you feel comfortable with. And ladies, what ever you do please do NOT buy a hot pink or a Tiffany blue pistol. But that's a discussion for another time.
Questions, comments, concerns? What was your first CCW pistol? Feel free to reach out to me.
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