The Dixie Fried Bride - A Yankee living in The Deep South: Bringing Home Baby

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest member of our growing family for just over a year now. There was moments when I thought she'd never come home and times when I had some serious doubts on if it was the right choice, or if there was a less expensive option out there that would be just as good.

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I know what you're probably thinking....A less expensive option that would be just as good? What are you talking about?! How can you say that about a baby??? No my friends, it's not an actual baby (human or 4 legged) but the other kind of baby that tends to be just as doted on in this household...it's my newest firearm. Not just any gun, but the semi automatic handgun that I have been heavily lusting after for over a year because it seemed to ideally suited for concealed carry. I am proud to announce the arrival of my newest, cherished baby:

Which one is it? Oh, the suspense!!!

Shortly after purchasing my first semi automatic handgun, my Sig Sauer P250 compact, it became apparent that despite having an in the waistband (IWB) holster and an on the waistband(OWB) holster that concealing that particular gun on my frame was a very tall order. It is an excellent gun for home defense, and I do wear it holstered on my person when I'm home, but only in the dead of winter (for the 2-3 weeks of actual winter we get here) could I hope to conceal it on my frame under a heavy winter coat, and even then it was iffy. It's not that I don't love Siggy, or that she's less important to me now that Kahrina has come home, it's more a matter of choosing the right gun for the job.

As I was laid up for several months with a neck injury that took me off the shooting range entirely, I began doing a lot of research. I'd seen the Kahr PM40 in person and was very impressed with it's overall size and slim profile. The clerk at the gun counter warned me about 2 things: it bucks like a bronco, and the spring is so tight that you need to run at least 200 hundred rounds through it before relying on it for everyday carry. (that's a recommendation from the manufacturer) I looked at other gun manufacturers to see what their reviews and specifications were like. I went through KelTec, Ruger, Diamondback, Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Glock and Sig Sauer and handled all of them at gun shows and gun shops. My wishlist was very specific: I really, really, really wanted to stay with a .40 caliber both because it's the same type of ammo as 2 of our other guns, and my personal preference leans towards larger calibers. (Who, me? A caliber queen? Well, yeah.) The dimensions of the gun were another huge deciding factor for me - when I say I have a small frame I'm not kidding - at my absolute heaviest I'm 120 pounds at 5'7" and very small boned. Many guns that can conceal on someone with a more athletic or curvier frame will print on my frame unless I'm dressed in ultra baggy clothes and over-sized business clothes (which is primarily what my wardrobe consists of during the week) do not lend themselves to an overall professional appearance. So the gun needed to be very slim, and very small. Did I mention trigger pull? That was also a "must have" on my wishlist - my Sig has a very long trigger pull and for my carry weapon I wanted something that a trigger pull more along the lines of a Glock - short and smooth. Quality, craftsmanship and a good reputation were also important to me. I hated the way some of the guns felt so...well...cheap.

It kept coming back to Kahr, who offered everything I wanted: an easily concealable, well made gun that offered the right caliber with a nice trigger pull. Last year Santa Bear brought me a beast of a crossbow, this year I was really hoping he'd bring me the Kahr CW40. As it turns out, I didn't have to wait till Christmas!

Ta-Daaaaaah! Aw, look at her all snug in her bed!

We stopped off at our local gun store Thanksgiving weekend to pick up some ammo and targets before heading to the range. They had the Kahr PM40 and the Kahr CW40 both in stock and Bear encouraged me to look at them both again for a true side by side comparison. The next thing I knew, I was filling out the paperwork to take my new baby home, home on the raaaaaange... oh the range that was closed on that daaaaaaaay... Yep. Wouldn't you know it? Brand new gun that I've been dying to get my grubby paws on, and the range was closed. I had to content myself with shooting a few rounds on our property since it's bad luck not to shoot a gun the day you get it. Or at least that's what Bear tells me. Any excuse to go shooting is a good one to me! Stiff spring aside (and oh, the joys of trying to disassemble her in order to clean and lube her could be a post all its own) she's everything I wanted. Good solid weight in my hand, comfortable grip, good deep grooves on the slide for easier racking, shorter trigger pull and she disappears on my frame. Just melts away into the background like she's not even there. For those curious, I did not think the recoil was anywhere near as bad as people had led me to believe - even online video reviews stated that it felt like shooting a .45 - I respectfully disagree. Yes, it has a decent amount of recoil to it, however if it's really that much of an issue Kahr offers a recoil reducing barrel for the CW40 that you can switch out with the standard barrel.

I'll post a more thorough review of the Kahr CW40 after she's been thoroughly put through her paces at the range where we'll go over the sights, accuracy, trigger pull, recoil and overall performance after our next range day - which will hopefully be this coming Saturday! But until then, I'll keep practicing racking that slide and taking lots of baby pictures...sniffle...they grow up so fast!