I was in the market for a small single stack 45 to replace my Glock 36. My Glock 36 was reliable, I just did not shoot it well. I tried to like the 36...I have owned 3 over the past 10-years, but I ended up selling them all (no reliability issues with any of them them).
I recently bought a Kahr CM45 and I really like it a lot ($350 new). It is a 5-shot handgun and to-date, I have fired about 200 rounds through it. I had 2 failure to feeds the first 50 rounds. New, this thing was very tight. So tight, I had a lot of difficulty keeping the slide back to disassemble the thing (you have to line up a mark on the slide to a mark on the frame and pull the slide stop out, like a 1911). Now, it is easy to hold back and disassemble. It has a LOOONG trigger, but is smooth. Some like it, some do not.
I rented a Springfield Armory XDS 45 ($500 new) yesterday and fired about 50 rounds through it. It is a 5-shot like the CM45. They're roughly same size and shape. XDS slide is probably 1/8 inch longer. This XDS was very dirty and had two failure to return to battery mishaps. In defense of this XDS, it was very dirty and had no lubricant (probably hadn't seen any since leaving the factory). I never like the Springfield XD line due to the grip safety, loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide, and they seemed top heavy. However, I loved this handgun. So much so, I plan to buy one next week. I am a big fan of single stack 45ACPs.
Both have very different triggers. Kahrs are more like a double action revolver, XDS is more like a Glock. Kahrs have very few parts in the frames of there handguns. It is a very simple setup with two rotating arms in the rear of the slide. One pulls the firing pin rearward and releases, while the other depresses the firing pin stop. It seems very ingenious to me.
Grip was similiar and I have very big hands ( 6'1 & 260 pounds) and I was able to keep my pinky finger on the grip of each. The Kahr's front strap was a bit rough on my pinky though.
When shooting, but have very manageable recoil and have a double recoil spring setup. I did notice a difference in accuracy. At 5-yards, I noticed no difference. Beyond that, the better XDS barrel shined. I forgot to check the barrels, but I think the XDS has a polygonal barrel, whereas the Kahr CW/CM line up has traditional rifled barrels. I had a hard time grouping with the Kahr at distances beyond 5-yards, but the XDS was no problem.
Magazine for each are cheapest on CDNN or Bud's Guns. Kahr magazines are about $10 more than the XDS mags.
I recently bought a Kahr CM45 and I really like it a lot ($350 new). It is a 5-shot handgun and to-date, I have fired about 200 rounds through it. I had 2 failure to feeds the first 50 rounds. New, this thing was very tight. So tight, I had a lot of difficulty keeping the slide back to disassemble the thing (you have to line up a mark on the slide to a mark on the frame and pull the slide stop out, like a 1911). Now, it is easy to hold back and disassemble. It has a LOOONG trigger, but is smooth. Some like it, some do not.
I rented a Springfield Armory XDS 45 ($500 new) yesterday and fired about 50 rounds through it. It is a 5-shot like the CM45. They're roughly same size and shape. XDS slide is probably 1/8 inch longer. This XDS was very dirty and had two failure to return to battery mishaps. In defense of this XDS, it was very dirty and had no lubricant (probably hadn't seen any since leaving the factory). I never like the Springfield XD line due to the grip safety, loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide, and they seemed top heavy. However, I loved this handgun. So much so, I plan to buy one next week. I am a big fan of single stack 45ACPs.
Both have very different triggers. Kahrs are more like a double action revolver, XDS is more like a Glock. Kahrs have very few parts in the frames of there handguns. It is a very simple setup with two rotating arms in the rear of the slide. One pulls the firing pin rearward and releases, while the other depresses the firing pin stop. It seems very ingenious to me.
Grip was similiar and I have very big hands ( 6'1 & 260 pounds) and I was able to keep my pinky finger on the grip of each. The Kahr's front strap was a bit rough on my pinky though.
When shooting, but have very manageable recoil and have a double recoil spring setup. I did notice a difference in accuracy. At 5-yards, I noticed no difference. Beyond that, the better XDS barrel shined. I forgot to check the barrels, but I think the XDS has a polygonal barrel, whereas the Kahr CW/CM line up has traditional rifled barrels. I had a hard time grouping with the Kahr at distances beyond 5-yards, but the XDS was no problem.
Magazine for each are cheapest on CDNN or Bud's Guns. Kahr magazines are about $10 more than the XDS mags.
about the recall that springfield had on them. Never really understood it myself, they handled it quickly and sent me an extra mag. Many decided they would sell their XDS the moment they got it back because they were upset yadda yadda... Maybe there are some good deals to be had on the used market for an XDS right now? 
