For those that have owned/shot both, how does the Kahr K9 shoot and carry compared to the lighter S&W Shield?

quote:

Originally posted by KevH:
For those that have owned/shot both, how does the Kahr K9 shoot and carry compared to the lighter S&W Shield?

Shooting wise, I'd give the edge to the Kahr. Because it's a heavier pistol, I personally think it handles better.
Carry is a toss up. Both conceal nicely and I've done a tee shirt over both and never had a problem. The Kahr is heavier of course but a good belt and holster solve that.
I've had all 3 calibers of the Shield and all of them were great pistols but the Kahr does it for me.
IIRC, I bought the Kahr ~3 years ago and it's one that won't be sold. I have the K9 Elite model with night sights and it's probably my favorite.
Capacity is limited in both the Shield and the Kahr but you can't go wrong with either one really.

If you like a double action revolver trigger more, you'll like the trigger on the Kahr more.

I prefer the Kahr in every way, other than the DAO trigger. Don’t get me wrong, the trigger on the Kahr’s are better DAO than the Shield’s striker action. I just dislike the long reset on DAO pistols.

I've never shot a Kahr. I did buy both a S+W bodyguard 380 and a Shield 1 9mm. I took both to the range today. The bodyguard as a heavy and REALLY long double action trigger that breaks at the very back of the trigger guard and is hard to stage and hard to be accurate with. The Shield however has a light trigger pull 2/3 of the way back that is easy to stage, and firm and relatively short pull/break. I liked the trigger on the shield for a carry pistol, the shield also shoots well and recoil is no problem with it (or the bodyguard for that matter).

My only concern with any of the Kahr triggers is that if you aren't 100% used to them, and also shoot guns with shorter resets frequently, under stress you will shortstroke the Kahr reset.

Their triggers are like butter, otherwise.

Yup. My K9 trigger is smooooooth.

Before I retired, my Kahr CW9 replaced my S&W 642 as my BUG.

I looked very hard at the K9 because it shot so well, but just couldn't get pass the weight penalty. Having said that, the K9 is a great gun to practice and train with and would serve very well if worn on a belt holster.

One of my IDPA guns is a S&W M&P9 tricked out with Apex Tactical action parts and barrel. It was my go-to polymer gun until I starting exploring the SIG 320.

I've shot maybe 3-4 different Shields and just didn't feel comfortable with them. I could hit fairly well with them, but it felt like I was always fighting the gun getting back on target.

Disclaimer:I had my Kahr trigger smoothed out a bit and the slide stop deburred. It now feels like a factory tuned S&W K-frame..not a competition tune, just a clean up. It is easy to get accurate followup shots by using DA revolver techniques.

The only irritating thing about the Kahr line of pistols is that you are required to release the slide, from slide lock, to chamber a the first round.

I have had both and prefer the shield due to the lighter trigger and shorter reset. The shield also felt like a higher quality pistol to me compared to the cw9 that I had. Also easier to break down and put back together.

I prefer the Shield. The recoil difference is negligible, the trigger works better for me, and overall the shield is round where the Kahr is round. The Shield is far more comfortable in IwB carry.

I like the DA trigger pull on my K9 elite. I fired a friends Shield at the range and that is my only experience with it, however I am not a fan of striker fired weapons and compared to my P365 I am much more accurate with the K9. Same for my Sig P250C 9mm- great DA trigger there too.

Apples and...Well, it’s more grapefruits and oranges.