The Kahr K40 Revisited

Back in 1999 I purchased this Kahr K40 as a carry gun. I found it at a used gun counter, and forked over $489 for it. Unlike many of it's brethren, this pistol is plated in electroless nickel, making for a durable and beautiful finish.

I carried the pistol for a while, until my wife shot it. It then became her carry gun. The Kahr is one of the first pistols that was designed on computers through CAD/CAM and 3D modeling and then produced on CNC equipment. The result is a mass produced pistol that has the fit and feel of surgical precision. It is not a flyweight pistol like some of the polymer Kahrs that followed it. The K40 has heft. You know it is on your belt.

The K40 utilizes polygonal rifling, and a 6 round single stack magazine. Until the pistol is grasped in a firing grip, it feels top heavy. Insert a full magazine and grip the pistol properly, and all that changes. It becomes an imminently pointable pistol, an extension of one's hand. The Kahr pistol incorporates six different design patents that make it unique in the world of firearms. It sits lower in one's hand, and the single stack magazine provides an almost straight path for chambering ammunition. The feed ramp is offset, allowing the trigger to be next to it, rather than below it. The barrel hood is relieved to facilitate ejection from tight quarters. The result is a pistol that carries the maximum amount of ammunition in the smallest space, while maintaining the lowest possible bore axis, without compromising reliability.

The Kahr K40 is not a match quality pistol, but it is accurate. I can keep all shots on a 5X9 index card at 10 yards. Other people had better accuracy, but then, gun magazines usually have better results. The Kahr K40 does exhibit some snappy torque on recoil. It's not unmanageable, but it is stouter than a Government Model in .45ACP. I no longer care for the trigger on the Kahr. It is silky smooth, but it progressively stacks until sear release. For a man grown accustomed to 1911s and Smith & Wesson revolvers, the Kahr trigger is disconcerting. For other shooters, it may be ideal. When I bought the pistol in 1999, I liked the trigger. In fact, I bought the pistol because of the superior fit and finish, and that trigger. It's strange how perceptions change over time.

My wife now carries a J frame, and I prefer a 1911. I don't have any .40S&W practice ammo in my cabinet any more, and the Kahr rests in it's plastic box in my safe. I don't shoot it any more. I suppose the time is coming that it will be traded off. It is a good pistol though, just not my taste anymore.