I would have bought a used K9 last night, except.... this was to be my wife's first gun, and she had a lot of difficulty racking the slide. This was an eye opener for me: I found the slide "stiff", but not difficult, while she had to really work at racking the slide. (She said she didn't want a revolver. She could rackt the slide on a Glock G19 no problem, but liked the feel of the Kahr better (so did I).)
Question: This was a used gun, being sold on consignment. Are Kahr K9 recoil springs really stiff? Or might this have been an aftermarket spring? Or does one really want a really stiff recoil spring in a Kahr to soak up the recoil? (Was not planning on shooting any +P, just 9mm FMJ for the range, and probably 147g Hydroshoks or the like for defense load.)
I was impressed as hell at the lightness and smoothness of the trigger pull. After I dry fired the K9 for the first time, the first word that jumped into my mind was WOW!!!
You might want to examine the technique your wife is using to rack the slide. If she's trying to pinch the slide between the thumb and index finger of her support hand and pull rearward, it can be pretty hard to do. This approach requires a good deal of grip strength and puts the support arm's wrist at an awkward and weak angle for withdrawing the slide.
Instead, have her try grasping the slide between the "drumstick" portion of her thumb and the tips of all four fingers (this will result in the knife-edge of her had being toward the muzzle. Now, as she pulls rearward with her support hand, have her push forward with her strong hand (which is in a normal firing grip on the pistols butt (finger off the trigger, natch). This method allows the pistol to be grasped in a stronger manner and brings the strength of BOTH arms to bear in an advantageous isometric manner.
Take care as to muzzle direction, as this technique causes the muzzle to point off to a right-handed shooter's left. Just have her rotate her footing 90 degrees clockwise to keep it pointed downrange.
I would be very surprised if she could not rack the Kahr's slide using this technique.
If I'm not mistaken, Kahr introduced a ladies model a few years ago, because some women had trouble operating the slide.
I think they sell the lighter recoil spring.
Give 'em a call.
As to ammo. I recommend the lighter 115 or 124 grain bullets, since they will have less recoil. This would also be important if you do install a light ladie's recoil spring.
Most people have had great results with the Federal 124gr Hydra-shock.
As for you: You've just been bitten by Kahr's little dog!
You'll HAVE to have one for yourself.
Don't let the stiff spring hold her back from getting the Kahr. Using the method that Rosco described, plus a bit of practice, should solve the problem
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