(GunReports.com) — Gun Test’s Idaho test team has spent a lot of time looking at relatively tiny 9mm handguns over the past year. They have found there are a few good designs that permit the use of some relatively hot ammo in the small 9mm packages. But some people want still more power, so the Sr. Technical Editor Ray Ordorica and the magazine’s test team decided to sample a few of the smaller forties out there.
For this March 2013 test, GT looked at a S&W M&P Compact 40 ($569) and a Kahr CW40 ($485). They are a bit larger than the tiny nines tested recently, and there are good reasons for that. The 40 S&W is a lot more cartridge than the 9mm Parabellum, and when forties get smaller than these two test guns, recoil is entirely unfriendly. However, Kahr and a few other makers do offer smaller guns in this caliber if you must have one. GT tested these two compact forties with three types of ammo, Remington 155-grain JHP, Black Hills 165-grain JHP, and American Eagle 180-grain FMC. Here’s what the magazine found out.
Gun Test’s Idaho test team has spent a lot of time looking at relatively tiny 9mm handguns over the past year. We’ve found there are a few good designs that permit the use of some relatively hot ammo in the small 9mm packages. But some people want still more power, so we’ve decided to sample a few of the forties out there. For this test we looked at a S&W M&P Compact 40 ($569) and a Kahr CW40 ($485). They are a bit larger than the tiny nines we’ve been trying, and there are good reasons for that. The 40 S&W is a lot more cartridge than the 9mm Parabellum, and when forties get smaller than these two test guns, recoil is entirely unfriendly. However, Kahr and a few other makers do offer smaller guns in this caliber if you must have one. We tested these two compact forties with three types of ammo, Remington 155-grain JHP, Black Hills 165-grain JHP, and American Eagle 180-grain FMC. Here’s what we found.
Smith & Wesson M&P 40 Compact
No. 109003 40 S&W, $569
First impression of the M&P Compact was that, yes, it can fit in a big pocket, but many wouldn’t be completely happy with it there. The grip extension made it hard to get out of the pocket. A suitable concealed-carry holster would be far better for packing this amount of powerful handgun.
The fit and finish were excellent, we thought. The pebbly leather feel of the grip was pleasant, but it did not provide enough traction during our shooting. The three-white-dot sights were excellent, giving good visibility and a good sight picture.
The overall design of the M&P permits easy takedown for maintenance.
With the extended magazine, testers liked the feel of the gun in the hand very much. With the flat-bottom mag in place, they didn’t like it so much.
Takedown for cleaning and maintenance with this design is extremely easy. Clear the gun, lock the slide back and turn that lever on the left side downward 90 degrees. Release the slide, press the trigger, and pull the slide off the frame. The captive spring comes easily out and so does the barrel. Reassembly was just as easy.
The M&P’s trigger was relatively predictable and controllable. However, the M&P 40 Compact kicked quite hard. The recoil was, we thought, unlike the push of the average 45 ACP round, but more of a vicious snap. The gun twisted badly in our hands, and we concluded some additional traction on the front and rear straps was needed.
Accuracy was adequate, but there was no tack driving. The gun seemed to like the heavier bullets more, and so did shooters, because the heavier rounds were not as brutal as the lighter JHP loads.
To read the M&P’s final evaluation and Gun Tests grade, subscribers click here
Kahr CW40 No. CW4043
40 S&W, $485
Our first meeting with the CW40 Kahr was relatively pleasant. The look of the gun was businesslike, with a similarity to the look of other Kahr handguns. The left side of the matte-white slide told us the model and maker. There were no markings on the right. The grip frame had coarse, ratchet-like serrations on the front and rear strap. These were grooved horizontally and stepped vertically along each row to the sides of the grip. We quickly found out that while this was superior to the traction on the S&W M&P, we would have preferred the open grooves to be vertical.
Turn the artificial roughness 90 degrees and you’ve got it, Mr. Kahr.
A few of us thought the trigger was a bit too curved, with its tip gouging the tip of our finger. But it was nothing like the Kel-Tec P11 we tested a while back. We thought the slide was extremely well made, inside and out.
Like the Smith & Wesson, the Kahr had an internal safety plunger that prevented the firing pin from moving forward until the trigger was pressed. So if the guns are dropped, despite having no external safety levers, they can’t fire.
Takedown was a bit more complex than for the M&P. After clearing the gun, line up two marks on the left side of the slide and frame, and tap the crosspin out to the left. Or pry it out with a screwdriver, keeping the marks lined up. With the cross pin, which is the slide stop, out of the gun, move the slide forward while pressing the trigger, and off it comes. The spring can then be removed carefully to avoid zinging the guide rod into your eye, and out comes the barrel. Reassembly was not too easy.
On the range we found the six-round magazines were not that easy to load. They required a strong push against a stiff spring. We also found the gun to be something of a handful, just as the S&W had been, but the Kahr was somewhat easier to hold on target after each shot. Our two hottest loads made significant noise and caused the gun to try to twist in the hand, like the M&P had done, but the serrations on front and back straps helped us keep the Kahr CW40 lined up properly.
Like the S&W, the Kahr did not show a lot of accuracy. However, it hit where it looked for the most part, and we were able to hit can-size targets offhand with relative ease from 10 or 15 yards.
After our initial testing, inside the Kahr we found some fibrous particles in the left raceway of the plastic frame, where the slide rides. They looked like bits of polymer. We inspected the slide and found a sharp edge that could have been shaving the frame.
To see if there was a problem with continued cutting or gouging of the frame, we put some Slide Glide (BrianEnos.com) onto the rail guides and ran some more ammo through the CW40. On inspection, we found what appeared to be a slight bit of additional gouging of the frame by the slide.
