Pity Kahr.
They make an all-steel framed 9mm that’s marginally popular for off-duty carry in New York City.
Why is it popular? Well, the standard issue Glocks there are mandated (by lawyers and politically-appointed police brass) to have the horrific 12-pound “New York trigger”.
Why a 12-pound trigger? Because Ivory Tower types think a heavier trigger will prevent unintentional firings of police sidearms, and thereby prevent NYC from getting sued (as much).
I’ve shot a gun with a NY trigger, and folks, it sucks – BADLY. It’s no wonder the NYPD has such a record of shooting the wrong people.
Remember this story:
NYPD: 9 shooting bystander victims hit by police gunfire
NEW YORK (FoxNews) – All nine people wounded during a dramatic confrontation between police and a gunman outside the Empire State Building were struck by bullets fired by the two officers, police said Saturday, citing ballistics evidence.
Or this one:
NYPD shoot bystanders
(Salon) – File under trigger-happy cop impunity: In September, NYPD officers shot at an unarmed, emotionally disturbed man in Times Square after he was “lurching around near traffic,” as the New York Times put it.
The Brooklyn man, Glenn Broadnax, 35,reached in to his pocket, prompting the (obviously reasonable) police response of opening fire in one of the most densely populated intersections on the planet. The cops missed Broadnax, striking instead two female bystanders. (Reminiscent of the police shooting last year in which NYPD bullets struck nine bystanders outside the Empire State Building.)
These were both from just last year.
So the Kahr, with its 7.5 pound trigger, is a more popular alternative for off-duty cops then simply carrying their duty gun, the Glock 19.
Due to a dozen reported negligent discharges, that’s coming to an end.
NYPD brass to cops: Stop using Kahr K-9 semi-automatic pistol as an off-duty gun
(NY Daily News) – The NYPD has instructed cops to stop carrying an off-duty gun that has a trigger so light it’s been blamed for a series of accidental discharges, the Daily News has learned.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says the Kahr K-9 semi-automatic pistol has led to more than a dozen such shootings — none resulting in a fatality. The shootings have occurred over the last few years, a source said.
The NYPD last Monday ordered that the revocation order be read aloud to cops at each precinct for 10 consecutive roll calls.
“A trigger so light”?
Remember, the Kahr has a 7-pound trigger.
The factory standard trigger on a Glock is 5.5 pounds. Millions of these standard guns are out there and are considered the standard when it comes to law enforcement guns and they are incredibly popular with civilian concealed carriers as well.
This isn’t a trigger weight issue. This is a training issue.
Guns don’t go bang unless you put your booger picker on the bang switch.
As we say in our NRA Rule #2: Keep your cotton-pickin’ finger off the cotton-pickin’ trigger until you’ve decided to fire!
I install and carry a 3.5-pound trigger on all of my Glocks. They are the same guns that I carry to defend my life and are available to students as loaner guns in training classes. Not only are our Glocks equipped with lighter triggers, but our revolvers have all had action jobs (thank you Tom Kilhoffer) to smooth and reduce the trigger weight. Life is way too short for crappy, heavy triggers.
Why am I not worried about getting sued over a 3.5-pound trigger? Because the lighter, smoother trigger allows me greater accuracy and reduces the likelihood that I’m going to wound nine bystanders when trying to stop the mentally deranged man trying to kill me. It’s also safer for the recipient of my ballistic affections because I’ll have to perforate the individual fewer times to achieve the same result: an end to the unlawful violent attack.
In 17 years of classes, with thousands and thousands of students, we have never had a negligent discharge. We’ve had a couple people pop off rounds when on the range and we’re supposed to be dry firing, but nobody has ever caressed one off into a classroom wall or into the clear blue sky. Why? Because we teach students – and a majority of our enrollees are what could be considered novices – to keep their fingers off the go button until they’ve decided to shoot. It’s not that difficult to teach and we don’t even carry rulers to whack the knuckles of those who absent-mindedly forget once or twice.
But the NYPD seems to have a serious problem with negligence when it comes to keeping fingers off triggers.
Sadly, they think that they can overcome a training issue by installing heavy triggers on the guns their people use.
Unfortunately for NYC’s residents and visitors, this simple-minded solution simply puts them at greater risk of being perforated by errant rounds.
I assume the decision makers (lawyers and politically-appointed NYPD brass) are all Democrats. When was the last time in the last few years did anyone ever hear of a Democrat making the right decision on anything? I ALWAYS assume that the decisions they make are wrong and the opposite is the right course of action. Same principle applies to liberal Republicans who would have probably mandated that cops also keep keep their duty weapons unloaded and only one bullet could be carried in their shirt pockets (role model – Barney Fife – but hate to denigrate Barney by comparing to NYPD officials). What a bunch of losers!
That’s a big fish.
If we only get one thing from this story, that was it, lol.
Why should we think that people who think gun bans reduce crime, even in the face of overwhelming evidence they do not, know enough about firearms to make practical decisons on how firearms should be set up to be safest. These people probably think the safety on a Glock is built into the trigger.
Er… isn’t this story from years ago? The NYPD cable disallowing the K-9 was sent on December 5, 2011, and Department-owned Kahrs were dumped on the market thereafter. The NYDN story you quote is from Dec. 12, 2011 I believe.
The K-9 was approved in 1998, and disapproved as a duty (vs. off-duty and backup) gun in 2005 because Kahr’s version of a “New York Trigger” did not increase the DAO pull to 12 pounds or more. The 2011 decision bricked them as off-duty and backup guns.
NYPD officers ND with the Glock weekly, and there’s one in One Police Plaza at least twice a year. There’s never any consequences for an ND in the NYPD, even if someone is hit, even if it’s citizen they’re supposed to be protecting and serving. A guy might be “punished” with an extra trip to the range. (Which gives you an idea of what the brass thinks of firearms proficiency).
Your commentary is right on, it’s just not a new story.
Whoops! Our bad.
John