I gotta say I don’t get this gun!
Look at Destinee’s hands….I suspect she has smaller mitts than me:
And for reloads they have extended mags:
The Kahr holds the same amount of the same ammo, but its smaller, lighter, and gives you a bigger grip to hang onto. Never shot the two side-by-side, but that TALL slide and the short grip, I can’t imagine the Kahr being WORSE to shoot.
The Kahr is more expensive than the XDs….but you can FIND the Kahr. Also all Kahr has to do is make a CM45, and it’ll just blow the XDs out of the water…heck the CM45 is pretty close…but holds more, and is cheaper.
Gotta disagree with ya, Weerd… I think Springfield is right on top of the market with this one. S&W put out the Shield in 9mm and .40, the XD(s) is essentially the same size but throws .45 instead.
Add in the safeties (which the Kahr lacks; yeah, I know, whatever) and the Pic rail … well, I can see the attraction. It certainly got my attention.
Price is also/still a huge motivator for a lot of buyers; Kahr has a reputation as being an expensive gun (rightfully so, the PM series are Not Cheap).
Kahr’s P-series are right on par with my Sonos Radio system. The price does seem pretty ridiculous…but its a unique product, and that’s the price, so I’m glad to pay it.
Still Kahr heard what the people were saying, so they came up with the CW and CM line which directly competes with those other guns in price. Still no light rail, but frankly I don’t see that as a huge selling point, as when you buy a little gun, the last thing I want to do to it is drop a flashlight on it to bulk it up. But that’s me.
I like the CM line, at least. Bought my wife a CM9 and I’m a big fan. I’ll have to check out the CW45 sometime for me. I can pocket carry the CM9, and I do love .45….though really, I looked at an LCR .357 not long ago and REALLY want one of those.
No argument on the light rail, although I could see someone wanting to put on something like the Viridian C5L (I kind of want one for my M&P40c)…
As to the pricing, yes, Kahr did come out with the CM/CW lines, and they DO compete on price… unfortunately, they already have the rep of a high-price gun company, so a lot of people write them off on that basis alone.
I kinda wonder if they have much of a rep at all. Yeah they put a lot of ads in magazines, but really I don’t hear much about them minus what’s coming out of my flapping gums.
Hell Kahr had been making subcompact single-stack 9mm guns for decades before the recent crop of pocket nines have been coming out, and many of those gun makers have been given credit for “starting the pocket nine craze”. (OK maybe that’s fair, H&K dorks always get butthurt when people call Glocks “The First Polymer Gun”, when the VP70 POS was indeed the first….but Glock made it popular. Kahr and Kel-tecs were the first, but the others brought it mainstream) Still since the CM series has come about I’ve been seeing and hearing about a LOT of people carrying those guns.
So maybe not!
I’ve shot both (this year, even!) and the Kahr’s got the edge in shootability from my perspective. The XD just didn’t feel right, and jumped around a LOT in my hand – and this is from a guy who shoots a 12 ounce .357 Magnum!
Its all about bore axis and weight distribution. The XDs has a big slide set high up on the gun, and gives you only two fingers worth of grip. All that adds up to muzzle flip!
I think Springfield might be going for the Military/Police Market. Think of a Police Dept that has Full-Size Xd’s for the Street Guys, Mid-Size for the Detectives, and Small for Undercover/Backup.
Also, there’s the International Market to consider. A lot of Countries DEMAND Safeties for their Pistols, and their National Police Forces use the same criteria.
Recall that Holland just went to Smith M+Ps with Safeties for their National Police. Glock had a Hissy, because that’s what the Dutch used to use. But since Gaston REFUSES to alter his Design to get the Big Bucks Military/Police Contracts, they lost.
Also, since the Xd’s come from Croatia, the EuroMarket might be what they are aiming for.