It has been over three years now since I reviewed the dandy little Kahr PM9. The PM9 is an excellent choice for a small 9mm pocket pistol, exhibiting excellent workmanship in a very compact, reliable design. This new CM9 is very similar, so I won’t re-plow the same ground here, but instead refer the reader to the review of the PM9 for details.

Looking at the PM9 and the new CM9 side-by-side, most folks ask, “What’s the difference?”, and that is a good question. When it comes to performance, reliability, and accuracy, there is no difference. The CM9 has the same quality of material and workmanship, the same smooth Kahr trigger pull, the same look, the same feel, and it uses the same magazines as the PM9. The CM9 comes supplied with one six-round magazine that seats flush with the grip, but a seven-round version is available that gives a bit more purchase for the hand. Buying extra mags, I would get the seven-round version, and carry the pistol concealed in the pocket with the shorter mag in place. Kahr uses a barrel with polygonal rifling on their higher-priced PM9 pistol, and traditional rifling on this CM9. For this reason, and using a different method of marking the pistol, Kahr can produce and sell the CM9 for a lot less money than the PM9. I do not care that the rifling is different, nor that the slide markings are different. The little CM9 shoots every bit as well as does the PM9, and the money saved is substantial. The CM9 only comes with one magazine instead of two, but extra magazines can be purchased for forty bucks each, and the price difference between the two pistols, as of the date of this review, is $221 US.

Night sights and Crimson Trace Laserguards are available for either of these pistols, so I just do not see any advantage to buying the more expensive PM9 when this new CM9 is a superb little carry gun. Weighing in at just 16.6 ounces with an empty magazine, the compact pistol is also relatively lightweight.

I fired a variety of ammunition over the chronograph to check velocities, with the results listed in the chart below. Velocities are listed in feet-per-second. Bullet weights are listed in grains. JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet. DPX is a hollow nose homogenous copper bullet. EPR is a specialty premium bullet from Extreme Shock. FP is a frangible, pre-fragmented flatnose bullet. FMJ is a full metal jacket roundnose bullet. Velocities were taken at an elevation of 541 feet above sea level, with an air temperature of fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Velocities were recorded at ten feet from the muzzle.

The 3.06 inch barrel of the CM9 turned in very respectable velocities. The little pistol is easy to control, especially when using the optional seven-round magazine. Employing a passive internal firing pin block safety, the Kahr is a point-and-shoot design. No manual safeties are needed. The pistol will not fire until the trigger is pulled, releasing the striker to fire the weapon. It is a very simple and reliable design. The Kahr functioned perfectly with every brand and type of ammo that I tried to feed it. Reliability was one hundred percent. It is a dandy weapon that carries 9mm power, but is small enough and light enough to always be within reach. The Kahr CM9 is built right, and built in the USA. The CM9 is due to start shipping to dealers on March 20, 2011.

Check out this and other Kahr products online at www.kahr.com.

To order any of the high performance ammunition shown here, go to www.buffalobore.com, www.cor-bon.com, www.extremeshockusa.net, or www.theamericanmarksman.com.

For the location of a Kahr dealer near you, click on the DEALER LOCATOR at www.lipseys.com.

To order the CM9 online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.

Jeff Quinn