New here but not new to CHL or Guns!!!

[KRoyal]

Hello all,
I'm new here but not really new to the CHL or SHOOTING scene.

I have miagrated from the firingline forums as this one has alot more personal knowledge to read considering its about the best state in the US Texas.

I am now looking for a new carry gun I'm making the jump from carring a full size 1911 .45 IWB. To a smaller weapon in 9mm or 40cal. I want to start carring either a Glock 26/27, XD subcompact 9 or 40, or Kahr CW9 If any of you have any experience with these fine weapons could you please shed some light on this subject. Please no glock vs XD wars or murdering of a brand just real life experiences. Thanks in advace.

P.S if you have any suggestions besides the brands/loads I have mentioned please let me know.

[HighVelocity]

Out of the models you've listed, I'd go with the compact Glock. It's smaller and has a lower bore axis than the XD and mags/parts for the Kahr are expensive.
Quite often I am carrying a Glock 26 loaded with Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot and believe fully that the gun and load will perform as required if called upon to do so.

Gary

[shaggydog]

Welcome KRoyal. My daily carry is a Taurus (Yes you heard me correclty. It's a Taurus. One of those nasty things) PT-145 Millenium Pro 3rd generation (they are also available in 9 mm and .40). Have never had a FTF or FTF (other that 1 time when I tried some ammo that was supposedly for "short barrell" pistols. Never happened again after I quit using that ammo) and it is as accurate as any other weapon that I own. I love the size and capacity and contrary to what you will hear, IMHO Taurus manufactures as quality firearm as most others.

Call me crazy.

[KRoyal]

Welcome KRoyal. My daily carry is a Taurus (Yes you heard me correclty. It's a Taurus. One of those nasty things) PT-145 Millenium Pro 3rd generation (they are also available in 9 mm and .40). Have never had a FTF or FTF (other that 1 time when I tried some ammo that was supposedly for "short barrell" pistols. Never happened again after I quit using that ammo) and it is as accurate as any other weapon that I own. I love the size and capacity and contrary to what you will hear, IMHO Taurus manufactures as quality firearm as most others.

Call me crazy.

I have no problem with Taurus as I said in my first post i'm not a brand basher. I actually owned a PT-145 regular version liked everything about it besides the trigger pull. I traded it not to long ago for a Ruger 22/45 with 5 mags bull barrel case and reddot. Kinda hard to pass up but I have no problem with a Taurus.

[PhilR.]

I'm not yet ready to trust my life to a poly Kahr, but might do so later once they get a very good long-term track record (the all-steel Kahr's do have a very good record). The XD is ok, but doesn't balance well in my hand, and has features that I do not need. The price is also driven up by the plastic holsters that are included, and that you would not use for CC.

The Glock however has as good a track record as you will find. Mine has been 100% for about 1k rounds now. Even the limp-wristing wifey fires it without a single failure. Sure, there's a lot of other pistols out there that are equal in that respect, but you won't find better. There's not a lot of utterly reliable pistols out there for under $500 that combines size, reliability and firepower like a Glock 26.

PhilR.

[nuparadigm]

Howdy, Kroyal,
The Glock is a good, reliable weapon. I'm a Glock Armorer (factory-trained), but I carry a Kahr P45 daily. In your poll, I voted for the CW9.

[The Marshal]

Hiya KRoyal.

I use a XD9-SC as my daily carry. I love it.
Now, I have two friends that own & shoot Glocks, yet they carry Kahrs.
One went from his Glock-> XD9SC -> Kahr.

Both above switched to Kahr with WEIGHT being the deciding factor. I will keep the XD9 as I like the extra GRIP SAFETY.


Point is, they are all good! Best thing for you is to try each one, and see which one fits best, shoots best, and you are most comfortable with.

~Bill

[nuparadigm]

The Marshal is correct. I switched to carrying the Kahr because of weight and size. After the break-in, the Kahr has been just as reliable as any Glock I've owned or known about.

[Mark G26]

The Glock however has as good a track record as you will find. Mine has been 100% for about 1k rounds now. Even the limp-wristing wifey fires it without a single failure. Sure, there's a lot of other pistols out there that are equal in that respect, but you won't find better. There's not a lot of utterly reliable pistols out there for under $500 that combines size, reliability and firepower like a Glock 26.

PhilR.

+1

[stevie_d_64]

Out of the models you've listed, I'd go with the compact Glock. It's smaller and has a lower bore axis than the XD and mags/parts for the Kahr are expensive.
Quite often I am carrying a Glock 26 loaded with Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot and believe fully that the gun and load will perform as required if called upon to do so.

Gary

I agree with Gary here...Although I have not been a big fan of the sub-compact Glocks...I just think the G27 is just not enough gun to handle to keep "things" straight on that small a platform...And the caliber is just a bit too much pop IMO...that doesn't mean in a pinch would I just throw it away...Me be not that stupid...

A G26 in 9mm, now like Gary said, pair that up with some good defence ammo...And yeah, that is a solid pairing...

Good luck in your search, may it bear fruit and multiply...

[KRM45]

P.S if you have any suggestions besides the brands/loads I have mentioned please let me know.

I highly recommend a commander size 1911 in .45ACP.

[BadCo45ACP]

I like the looks and feel of the XD and those I've had experience w/ shot & handled well. I've never fired a Glock but they just don't feel right in my hand and if it doesn't feel right, I can't be comfortable carrying one. Though I admit I haven't researched it thouroughly, the ownership of Kahr Arms gives pause as to whether I should support their income. That being said I have no personal experience w/ any of the product.

[WarHawk-AVG]

P.S if you have any suggestions besides the brands/loads I have mentioned please let me know.

I highly recommend a commander size 1911 in .45ACP.

1911 FTW...ahhahahaha..sorry just had to throw that in there

You cant go wrong with most major manufacturers

XD, Glock, Colt........just practice, and heck if you could chuck a claw hammer with accuracy and speed there ya go (hah..it would still be a CHL..heh)

A firearm in an untrained hand is worthless!

[G.C.Montgomery]

Of the guns originally mentioned, I personally prefer the Glock but the grip doesn't work for everyone. The gun has it's faults but there aren't many. There are other alternatives that perform just as well but I think you'd be hard pressed to prove that any perform better.

A lot of shooters prefer the feel of the XD over the Glock. I can't knock that opinion. My quirks with the XD have more to do with small parts durability and ease of maintenance at the armorer level...This is not an issue for 99% of the people who will own this gun because they'll either send the gun off for service or never shoot it enough to care. Springfield also addressed the problem they had with trigger return springs breaking over a year ago. Still, if that part breaks...the gun is a paperweight.

The Kahr pistols work well most of the time in my experience. Sometimes there are issues with magazines but I've had good luck getting these issues fixed with their customer service department. If you want a flat 9mm/.40cal pistol this one is pretty darn flat. I've been thinking about getting one myself but other purchases have been higher on the list.

Another option since folks are throwing them out would be Smith & Wesson's M&P compact pistol. The 9c, as well as it's .357/.40 twin, splits the different between a Glock 26 and Glock 19. Actually, it's closer to the 26 than the 19 but what's cool to me is it's a 13-shot (12+1) pistol with a flush fitting magazine. Like the XD and Glock, it can use magazines from the full-size pistol. I think S&W did their homework on this gun and I'm planning to buy one myself in the not too distant future.

[HankB]

I bought a Kahr P9 for carry - nice package, but it was a horribly unreliable little gun, with numerous problems. (Premature slide lock. . Trigger pin had a tendency to walk out. Occasional failure to go into battery. And the worst, the trigger didn't engage the striker reliably.) Kahr made repeated efforts to fix it, but finally threw in the towel and replaced the pistol.

But not being happy about being an unwitting beta tester, I traded the replacement - unfired - for a Glock 26. The G26 isn't as nice a package as the Kahr P - or is it POS? - 9, but it works very well.

Kahr seems to have worked out many of the bugs, and they mostly seem to work now, but if you go through this and other firearm forums you'll probably find their polymer pistols are STILL showing a distressingly high number of problems.

As to the Glocks . . . my 1st generation G17 is prone to "limp wrist syndrome" . . . anytime I let one of the ladies in my life fire it, it's likely to jam. Not so the G26- even holding it very loosely with a limp wrist and thumb-and-index-finger grip, it doesn't jam. Upright, sideways, even upside down - the G26 just WORKS. The ONE time it didn't work perfectly was operator error - I let my thumb hit the slide lock.

I carry the G26 in a Comp Tac CTAC holster, and load it with Speer 115 GDHP +P+ ammo; may soon switch to Winchester 127 SXT +P+, as the former load seems to be getting less readily available.