I walked off the range at Range USA last Wednesday completely sick and tired of my POS Charter Arms Off Duty. Upon perusing the used-gun case, I found a Kahr CT380 available for $214. I assumed it must be way used, or defective in some manner. It appears almost new. I traded the CA OD and $106 for the CT380. In the recent past, I've been looking for a CW380, but the barrel length (2.58") concerned me. I can comfortably carry a CM9 (3") in a Desantis Nemesis, sooooo... the 3" CT380 should not be a problem. It is thinner and lighter than the CM9, but equally long and high. Pictured below are a few comparison shots of the CT380 vs my newest carry, the Ruger LCP (original version). Notice I have a Hogue grip on the LCP; it is too small to shoot well without that. I do not plan to add a grip rubber to the CT380, but have ordered S and M versions from Kahr, just in case.
I have not fired the CT380, yet. When I got home with it, I disassembled it and thoroughly cleaned and lubed it. Initial observations: It still had factory lube on it. It was only minimally dirty. Only one of the two magazines had any powder residue in it. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with it, someone shot less than one box (perhaps only one magazine) through it, and found it impossible to rack the slide, and traded/sold it. It's my fantasy, let me have it. Anyway, it has dual nested recoil springs and THEY ARE QUITE STIFF! I bought my CM9 new, and this is way more stiff than that was. Same for the magazines. In the 5 days I've had the CT380, I have loaded/unloaded the magazines 15-20 times, and left each in the gun, loaded for at least 24 hours. To address the insanely stiff recoil springs, I have racked the slide 400 times, and left it locked open for 10 or so minutes about 6 times. I hope all of this helps it function well on its first outing this coming Wednesday (my day off). I will be testing it initially with S&B 95gr FMJ. If it eats 50 of those properly, I will test it with Precision One 90gr (Hornady) XTP, my carry load.
The trigger is identical to that on my CM9. Perfectly smooth, no stacking, no wall, just a clean pull all the way to a 'no-way-to-anticipate it' break. I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing it is 6-8 pounds, and glass smooth, and DAO long just like I like it. If Smith & Wesson, and Taurus could field a trigger this good, they'd be golden. The reset is audible w/o hearing protection, and noticeably tactile. I'm not overly concerned with the reset. I am training to get off the trigger completely when shooting DAO. Habits, muscle memory, tactile memory, and all that.
Updates after my planned range trip on Wednesday 10/2/24.
I have not fired the CT380, yet. When I got home with it, I disassembled it and thoroughly cleaned and lubed it. Initial observations: It still had factory lube on it. It was only minimally dirty. Only one of the two magazines had any powder residue in it. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with it, someone shot less than one box (perhaps only one magazine) through it, and found it impossible to rack the slide, and traded/sold it. It's my fantasy, let me have it. Anyway, it has dual nested recoil springs and THEY ARE QUITE STIFF! I bought my CM9 new, and this is way more stiff than that was. Same for the magazines. In the 5 days I've had the CT380, I have loaded/unloaded the magazines 15-20 times, and left each in the gun, loaded for at least 24 hours. To address the insanely stiff recoil springs, I have racked the slide 400 times, and left it locked open for 10 or so minutes about 6 times. I hope all of this helps it function well on its first outing this coming Wednesday (my day off). I will be testing it initially with S&B 95gr FMJ. If it eats 50 of those properly, I will test it with Precision One 90gr (Hornady) XTP, my carry load.
The trigger is identical to that on my CM9. Perfectly smooth, no stacking, no wall, just a clean pull all the way to a 'no-way-to-anticipate it' break. I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing it is 6-8 pounds, and glass smooth, and DAO long just like I like it. If Smith & Wesson, and Taurus could field a trigger this good, they'd be golden. The reset is audible w/o hearing protection, and noticeably tactile. I'm not overly concerned with the reset. I am training to get off the trigger completely when shooting DAO. Habits, muscle memory, tactile memory, and all that.
Updates after my planned range trip on Wednesday 10/2/24.