# Used K9



## afg

I have been Looking at a lot of 9mm's lately, searching for a small gun yet one that I can hold comfortably in my large hands. Yesterday I came across a used K9 at the LGS. Looks to be in excellent condition with almost no external wear on it. Fit my hand great. The salesman knew nothing about them, told me they were no longer made. At $550 I thought it was on the high side but when I did a little internet browsing maybe it's not, as a quick check of Gunbroker indicated it was about in line. I liked the trigger, grips etc and would like to seriously consider this gun. Not sure what kind of warranty the gun store offers on a used gun. Is this gun considered to have good reliability? Anything special I should look for in a used gun? I realize I could probably buy a new one with a polymer frame for the same price but I did like the feel of this one.


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## Bisley

I'm assuming you are referring to the Kahr K9. If so, $550 is not bad for a good one, since the MSRP on a new one is $855 (they are still making them). Kahrs are quality pistols and my experience with four different ones have all been positive. I am a little surprised that you say the K9 fits your large hands well, because it actually has a short trigger reach, combined with an 'upturned' trigger and stingy trigger guard area, that made it very uncomfortable for me to shoot, until I learned how to modify my grip appropriately.

As for relibility, all four of mine have been, and very accurate, too.


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## afg

Bisley said:


> I'm assuming you are referring to the Kahr K9. If so, $550 is not bad for a good one, since the MSRP on a new one is $855 (they are still making them). Kahrs are quality pistols and my experience with four different ones have all been positive. I am a little surprised that you say the K9 fits your large hands well, because it actually has a short trigger reach, combined with an 'upturned' trigger and stingy trigger guard area, that made it very uncomfortable for me to shoot, until I learned how to modify my grip appropriately.
> 
> As for relibility, all four of mine have been, and very accurate, too.


Not having fired one, all I can say is that it felt quite comfortable in my hand. I was reading some reviews this afternoon and the statement was made that if a round was in the chamber, the gun would fire if the magazine was removed. Can that be true?


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## SouthernBoy

I have owned eleven Kahr's and still own five, one of which is a K9 Elite '03. They have very tight tolerances so they can be sensitive to certain ammunition. The feed ramp is offset to allow space for the trigger draw in an effort to keep the gun slim. The gun handles recoil quite well and is also quite accurate. The steel versions, which of course the K9 is one, have a better track record than the polymer framed versions. The carry very well and are comfortable and easy to conceal. They are not rated for +P+ ammunition, however so don't go beyond +P loadings. Keep it clean since it does not like to get dirty (one of the causes of failures for this gun since it is so tight).

Be sure to run a few boxes of your chosen defensive load through it if you get it.


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## SouthernBoy

afg said:


> Not having fired one, all I can say is that it felt quite comfortable in my hand. I was reading some reviews this afternoon and the statement was made that if a round was in the chamber, the gun would fire if the magazine was removed. Can that be true?


Yes, there is no magazine safety with this gun... which is a good thing in the eyes of most. Glocks are the same way.


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## afg

SouthernBoy said:


> Yes, there is no magazine safety with this gun... which is a good thing in the eyes of most. Glocks are the same way.


That makes more sense. The way this was stated was that the gun would discharge if the magazine was removed. Couldn't understand how that could be true. Should have figured he meant it did not have a magazine safety.
The gun definitely interests me and I think I will go back for another look. 
Thanks


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## SouthernBoy

afg said:


> That makes more sense. The way this was stated was that the gun would discharge if the magazine was removed. Couldn't understand how that could be true. Should have figured he meant it did not have a magazine safety.
> The gun definitely interests me and I think I will go back for another look.
> Thanks


Feel free to ask any questions you wish. I am pretty familiar with Kahr's. I currently have four all steel versions and one polymer and as I mentioned, I have owned eleven of them since they came out in the mid 90's.


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## afg

When I got back to the local dealer on the used K9 he had for sale he told me it had come from a European PD. Beyond that he couldn't tell me if it had the NYPD trigger or the standard trigger. It seemed very smooth to me irregardless. Does anyone know the difference between the two? Is the NYPD trigger heavier or just longer in reach? Thanks. As I look around on Gunbroker etc it seems most of the used ones have the police dept trigger. If its just more takeup I can probably live with that if the difference isn't too much


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## recoilguy

Ask the guy in the gun shop if you can dry fire the weapon. If he says no then bummer if he says yes and you like the feel buy the gun. I am not 100% sure but I do own a couple Kahrs (no K9's) and in talking with othr "Kahr guys" my understanding is the NYPD trigger has 1/2" take up and the other has 3/8". Now I can not validate this so this is just a guy on the internet telling you what he has heard from others who own the gun in question. I shoot quite offten and I think I would have a hard time telling the differance between the two if this is the case.

I will say this I love my Kahrs and am carrying one right now as I type this. The K9's guy all love their guns and brag on the triggers and how pleasant they are to shoot. Good Luck. $550 is a very god price if the gun is in decent shape!!!!

RCG


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## afg

recoilguy said:


> Ask the guy in the gun shop if you can dry fire the weapon. If he says no then bummer if he says yes and you like the feel buy the gun. I am not 100% sure but I do own a couple Kahrs (no K9's) and in talking with othr "Kahr guys" my understanding is the NYPD trigger has 1/2" take up and the other has 3/8". Now I can not validate this so this is just a guy on the internet telling you what he has heard from others who own the gun in question. I shoot quite offten and I think I would have a hard time telling the differance between the two if this is the case.
> 
> I will say this I love my Kahrs and am carrying one right now as I type this. The K9's guy all love their guns and brag on the triggers and how pleasant they are to shoot. Good Luck. $550 is a very god price if the gun is in decent shape!!!!
> 
> RCG


I did get a chance to dry fire the gun and thought it was very smooth although the dealer had no idea which trigger is on it. So, I called Kahr. You're right, the difference is 1/8" longer take up with a longer reset, no change between the two in the weight of the trigger pulls. I have large hands and don't think the longer take up would be a deal killer with a smooth pull. Kahr did tell me the NYPD trigger is no longer in production. I'm going to keep looking for a little while longer to see if I can find one with the standard trigger though.


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## SouthernBoy

When Kahr's were first introduced, they all came with a 1/2" trigger travel. Then when they came out with their "Elite" series, one of the improvements was the 3/8" trigger. This turned out to be very popular so Kahr dropped the 1/2" trigger for all of their production guns. I still have one Kahr with a 1/2" trigger. It is an MK9 (if you know their numbering system, you'll know that is an all steel gun). Another improvement that the Elite had which made it into the standard Kahrs was a slightly lighter trigger.

If the bottom of the trigger bites your index finger a little, have a good gunsmith round the corners and shave off a little of the trigger's end. This helps greatly and gives a much better feel. The 'K' series uses polygonal rifling so avoid the use of non-jacketed bullets. As I mentioned previously, this is gun with very tight tolerances so keep it clean between firings if you plan on using it as a defensive handgun.


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## Shinymind

if you haven't bought it yet, i have a virtually brand new K9 Elite with big dot tritium night sights. I bought it for my wife as a gift (i think it's quite a sexy gun)...I just finished breaking it in with only around 200 rounds through it, but she now has decided taht she wants something smaller. I would sell it for $500 including two clips. Not sure how to privately sell, but I'm sure it can be done legally. I'm in Los Angeles. Let me know if interested! -YR


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## colkid

*Quote Originally Posted by Shinymind*



Shinymind said:


> if you haven't bought it yet, i have a virtually brand new K9 Elite with big dot tritium night sights. I bought it for my wife as a gift (i think it's quite a sexy gun)...I just finished breaking it in with only around 200 rounds through it, but she now has decided taht she wants something smaller. I would sell it for $500 including two clips. Not sure how to privately sell, but I'm sure it can be done legally. I'm in Los Angeles. Let me know if interested! -YR


 Each of you get an FFL guy and take the gun to him and he will send it to the other FFL and the buyer
can pick it up from his FFL guy. California may be slightly different,but the FFL guys will know.


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