In the world of concealed carry, some firearms rise to fame. Others, however, have a peak and then fade from the limelight. Kahr pistols, like the KAHR CW9, once held a strong position in the concealed carry market. Their slim design was a feature that was not as common back when they first became popular.
But as other companies began making their own compact firearms, Kahr was no longer that rare slim design. I remember the first time I held a Kahr pistol at a gun store. It was light, slim, and comfortable to hold. The grip has a soft, almost rubbery texture that is different than a lot of the other hard plastic grips on the market.
All images by Jason Mosher unless otherwise indicated.
But like many popular models, Kahr became one among hundreds of compact options, no longer stealing the spotlight.
Out of all their models, the CW9 remains one of their most popular today. It’s an affordable single-stack 9mm that, in my opinion, is still a great choice for concealed carry.
So, for those who are not as familiar with the CW9, here is a quick rundown of the pistol and how it shoots.
The KAHR CW9
The KAHR CW9 is a compact, polymer-framed pistol, which is the standard for today’s concealed carry handgun. This makes it light but durable enough to hold up to the pressure from the 9mm round.
Specs and Features of the CW9
The pistol’s overall size is 5.9 inches long and 4.5 inches tall. At just 0.90 inches wide, it is a very thin pistol. When it comes to thickness vs magazine capacity, a lot of people are divided on which is more important to them. The CW9 is thin, which makes it easier to conceal, but it uses a single-stack mag. Chambered in 9mm, the CW9 holds 7+1, but an extended 8+1 magazine is also available.
At 15.8 ounces without the magazine, this gun is a great weight for carrying all day with an IWB holster. The barrel is 3.6 inches long and has conventional rifling. An extended magazine is also available that holds 8+1 rounds.
Kahr markets the CW9 as a double-action-only gun. This means the trigger pull is long, but I did notice the trigger does not reset like a traditional double-action gun would. Because of this, I would not call it a genuine double-action pistol, but that’s just me.
The trigger pull is what I would call a long one. You basically must pull the trigger all the way to the rear before it goes off. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s just something you need to get used to.
There isn’t an external safety, but Kahr uses a passive striker block as an internal safety. This type of safety keeps the gun from going off if the trigger is not pulled.
Sights, grips, and field stripping
The sights are a white bar-dot combat style, which I don’t mind for a self-defense gun. You can adjust the rear drift-sight, but the front sight is fixed.
I mentioned above that I like the grips on the CW9. I’m not sure what they put on them, but there is some type of coating that gives them a slight rubber feel. Whatever it is, it stands out to me. There is some moderate stippling on the front and back of the grips, which gives you just a little more control when shooting.
Fieldstripping the CW9 is probably my least favorite thing about the gun. You have to hold the slide back nearly all the way to the rear and push the takedown pin out at the same time. This wouldn’t be as big of an issue except that the slide is somewhat stiff. When you are comparing it to a Glock or Sig design, it’s not even close to easy. This isn’t a huge deal, I guess,s for a self-defense gun, but something to be aware of.
Kahr CW9 Specifications
- Caliber: 9mm Luger
- Capacity: 7+1 (7 in the magazine, 1 in the chamber). An 8-round extended magazine is also available.
- Action: Trigger cocking DAO (Double-Action Only).
- Barrel: 3.6 inches. Conventional rifling with a 1-in-10 right-hand twist.
- Length: 5.9 inches
- Height: 4.5 inches
- Width: 0.90 inches (slide width)
- Weight: 15.8 ounces (unloaded, without magazine). The magazine itself weighs 1.9 ounces.
The CW9 is a small, single-stack 9mm pistol released in early 2006 as part of Kahr Arms’ “value” line. It was marketed as an EDC-slash-CCW gun intended as a more affordable variant of the P9. The nomenclature of the little pistol reflects that: CW is generally understood to stand for “Concealed Weapon.” Despite the minimal magazine capacity (by today’s compact standards), the pistol remains popular in parts of the gun-carrying community.
Although it has substantially less aftermarket support than more current compacts, Kahr “loyalists” continue to not only carry it, but to volubly recommend it to prospective new gun owners. Part of this is due to brand loyalty (which suggests a strong record of reliability), but it is also a nod to the CW9’s extreme light weight and slim dimensions. A thin slide (0.90 inches) and sub-1lb weight (unloaded), it’s small enough to conceal easily but large enough to provide full-hand control for the master grip of most users.
Recoil management on small handguns tends to be a little more difficult than that of their larger cousins, but the CW9’s 3.6-inch barrel (traditional rifling with a 1-in-10 twist) is long enough – if barely – to help with that. This also provides it with a decent sight radius, though at typical defensive CCW distances that might not be significant.
Range Testing the CW9
I’ve shot this gun before, but it had been a while. This is the gun I normally keep in my gym bag, so I don’t train with it as much as I do with other handguns. I wanted to put some more ammo through it before I wrote this review. And AmmoToGo.com provided some 9mm Blazer 115gr FMJ ammo for the range, so a huge shout-out to them.
On the range, I did some holster draw practice from a concealed carry position. The longer trigger pull was noticeable and made it a little harder to shoot fast. But again, this is not an issue with the CW9, as it is most double-action-only handguns.
The two rear dots and single front dot on the sights are white, so that made them easy to see. It always puzzles me when gun companies only put a dot on the front and leave the rear completely black.
Altogether, I put just over 400 rounds through the CW9 without any malfunctions. While I was shooting, I also did some mag changes drills and had a little trouble getting the second magazine in quickly. The mag-well is not flared, so you have to line it up perfectly to insert it. I’m being overly picky, but for a compact pistol, it performed pretty well on the range overall.
Who is Kahr?
Justin Moon founded Kahr Arms in 1995 and designed the K9 as part of his mission to create a handgun made just for concealed carry. Kahr Arms became Kahr Firearms Group in 2015 (a change announced at that year’s NSSF SHOT Show) and is now one part of a large company that includes Thompson, Auto-Ordnance, Magnum Research, BFR, and Desert Eagle.
Kahr pistols are made right here in the United States. They have production facilities in two locations: Worcester, Massachusetts, and Greeley, Pennsylvania.
Final Thoughts: Is the Kahr CW9 Still Worth Carrying?
There are a lot of choices these days for a compact concealed carry gun. I like having so many choices because I like guns! It’s also nice to have different guns for different setups (like my gym bag), so when I find a good deal on a gun like this, I go for it.
The Kahr isn’t the smoothest or most comfortable gun I’ve shot, but I would still put it in that “great” category. I’ll find something to nitpick about with any gun. But when it comes to key boxes like accuracy, reliability, concealability, and affordability, the Kahr CW9 checks all the boxes.
If you’re looking for more information about the CW9, watch the videos below. It was the “NRA Gun of the Week” a few years back. Don’t let the age of the video dissuade you, though. Although other versions with minor differences have been released since then, this still contains some useful information.
Kahr CW9: Some Questions Answered
How much does the Kahr CW9 cost? The Kahr CW9 is a budget-friendly pistol. Its average street price is typically around $400. The lower cost compared to other quality guns is a result of specific manufacturing differences, including a pinned front sight and traditional rifling.
What is the capacity of the Kahr CW9? The Kahr CW9 has a standard magazine capacity of 7+1. It can also use an optional 8-round extended magazine.
Is the Kahr CW9 reliable? The Kahr CW9 has a reputation for being reliable. Kahr Arms recommends a break-in period of 200 rounds. Once broken in, the CW9 can function reliably with different types of ammunition.
Is the Kahr CW9 optics-ready? No, the Kahr CW9 is not optics-ready. Its slide is not milled for a red dot sight. The pistol comes with standard white bar-dot combat sights. The rear sight can be adjusted for windage. The front sight is pinned in place.
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