Kahr Arms Kahr MK Series Instructions Manual

							Operating Instructions
for Kahr MK Series
Warning!
Read and fully understand this manual before removing this firearm from its package.
This firearm, like many revolvers and autoloading pistols, is designed 
without any external manual safety or internal magazine disconnect. 
THIS PISTOL WILL FIRE IF THE TRIGGER IS PULLED! 
It should be considered loaded and ready to fire until the magazine 
has been removed and the chamber has been checked to verify 
that the firearm is unloaded.
Discharging firearms in poorly ventilated areas, cleaning firearms, or
handling ammunition may result in exposure to lead or other substances known to
the State of California to cause birth defects, reproductive harm, and other seri-
ous physical injury. Have adequate ventilation at all times. Wash hands thorough-
ly after exposure.
Be sure to read and fully understand all 
“Important Safety Instructions” shown in red type.
MK9, 9mm
MK40, .40 S&W
Pistols 
						

							Caution:
Law enforcement, military personnel and
certain individuals may choose, for self
defense purposes, to disregard or over-
ride several of the following safety
instructions.  To assure safety under
these special situations, proper initial
combat oriented training with periodical-
ly scheduled retraining, which stresses
safe tactical procedures, is strongly rec-
ommended.Caution:
Failure to observe safety instructions in
this manual can result in property dam-
age, personal injury or death. 
Caution:
Prior to loading and firing, carefully read
and understand this instruction manual.
It gives basic advice on the proper han-
dling and functioning of the KAHR Pistol.  
General Instructions
Always assume that the KAHR Pistol or
any other firearm is loaded and capable
of being discharged until you, the han-
dler, have personally verified the fact.
Until the magazine is removed and you
have inspected the chamber and com-
pleted the unloading procedure as pre-
sented on page 9, the firearm must be
considered loaded and capable of being
fired.Never transport a loaded firearm.
To reduce the possibility of an uninten-
tional discharge, do not place your fin-
ger on the trigger until the firearm is
pointed at the target and you intend to
fire. When handling, carrying or holster-
ing the pistol be sure that the trigger
cannot be snagged by a foreign object.
This can discharge the pistol. 
If you don
’t want the firearm to fire, keepyour finger off the trigger. 
When firing with a two hand grip, keep
the thumb of the weak hand on the weak
hand side of the firearm, never behind
the slide.
Before using the KAHR Pistol, completely
read and fully understand the operating
instructions and safety information in
this manual. If you have difficulty under-
standing anything in this manual, call
Kahr Technical Support at (508) 791-3919
or seek qualified instruction in the safe
use of the KAHR Pistol and other hand-
guns.
ContentsPage
General Instructions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Primary Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Technical Data  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Standard Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Parts Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Parts Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How The Kahr Pistol Functions . . . . . . . . 6
Safety Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sights & Sight Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Loading & Firing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Break-In Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dismantling & Reassembly . . . . . . . . . 10
Magazine Disassembly, 
Maintenance & Reassembly  . . . . . . . . 12
Checking Safety Devices . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Cleaning & Lubrication . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Notes on Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Warranty & Liability Exclusions . . . . . . 15
Service Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Shipping Firearms For Service . . . . . . . 16
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19
Warranty Statement . . . . . . . . Back Cover
The Kahr Pistol is covered by 
U.S. Patents: #5,359,799; 
#5,412,894; #5,415,075;   
#5,502,914; #5,678,340
2
Important Safety Information 
						

							Caution:
Your safety and the safety of your family
and others depends on your safe and
mature adoption, development and con-
sistent employment of SAFE FIREARMS
HANDLING PRACTICES.If you are unfa-
miliar with firearms, seek further advice
through safe handling courses run by
your local gun clubs, approved instructor,
or similar qualified organizations.Warning:
It is possible that a live round may remain
in the chamber when the magazine has
been removed or inserted. Any round in
the chamber will discharge upon pullingthe trigger regardless of whether the mag-azine is inserted or removed.Therefore,
never leave the pistol unattended, even if
the magazine is removed and exercise
extreme caution after removing the maga-
zine.
Any firearm, including the KAHR Pistol, is
a dangerous device. All firearms must be
safely stored to prevent access by unau-
thorized persons, especially children.
Always store ammunition separately
from firearms.
This manual is applicable only to the
KAHR Pistol with which it was included.
All instructions, warnings and precau-
tions are not applicable to any other
make or model. 
For all sales contracts with KAHR, the
place of jurisdiction shall be Delaware,
and Delaware State Law shall be applic-
able.
General Description
The KAHR Pistol, with its all-steel design,
incorporates the key features most
desired in a personal defensive hand-
gun:
• Low overall weight 
• Extremely compact size
• Outstanding quality of 
materials and workmanship
The KAHR Pistol is a mechanically-
locked, recoil operated pistol with a pas-
sive striker block and a trigger-cocking
(D/A Only) action. 
Each round is automatically loaded until
the magazine is empty. The  slide is then
held open by the slide release lever.
Primary Features
The KAHR Pistol trigger system allows
the shooter to quickly bring the pistol into
action by eliminating the need to operate
any manual safeties. Once the target has
been selected and identified, simply
pulling the trigger fires the pistol.
The striker is automatically held under
partial tension after each round and is
fully secured by a passive striker block
until the trigger is fully depressed.
The slide release lever and the maga-
zine catch are easily operated with the
shooting hand.
The KAHR Pistol frame is uniquely
designed to position the shooting hand
as close to the center line of the bore as
possible. This provides the benefit of
greater control and a perceived reduc-
tion in recoil.
The all-steel construction and sophisti-
cated computerized manufacturing tech-
nology employed in the construction of
the KAHR Pistol assure superior quality
and reliability.
Technical specifications may be altered
without notice.
3
Important Safety Information 
						

							You must personally verify that the cham-
ber is empty before field-stripping the
firearm for cleaning or any other reason.
Never place your finger on or 
near the trig-ger when operating the slide.
Warning:
If the KAHR Pistol or any other firearm is
carelessly or improperly handled, the user
could cause an unintentional discharge
which could result in death, serious injury,
and/or property damage.Caution:
This KAHR product is classified by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as
a firearm or dangerous weapon. It is
therefore, potentially lethal!
Read this entire instruction manual care-
fully.  It is essential to follow the safety
instructions for your safety and the safety
of others.
Operation: 
Locked breech, modified “Browning-type” recoil
lug
Safety Systems: 
Trigger cocking (DA) only, passive striker block.
No magazine disconnect or external manual
safeties 
Ammunition: 
9mm (9x19 Para) / .40 S&W
Trigger Weight:
7 - 9 pounds
Sights: 
Drift-adjustable, white bar-dot combat sights.
Tritium night sights optional
Length O/A: 
5.5” 
Barrel : 
3.0”, 1-10 RH twist, polygonal rifling / 9mm
3.0”, 1-16 RH twist, polygonal rifling / .40 S&W
Height: 
4.0“
Weight – Unloaded: 
Pistol: 22.0 oz.; Magazine 1.9 oz. / 9mm
Pistol: 23.0 oz.; Magazine 1.9 oz. / .40 S&W
Magazine Capacity: 
6-Rd with flush mag., 7-Rd with extended mag. / 9mm
5-Rd with flush mag., 6-Rd with extended mag. / .40 S&W
Grips: 
Wraparound, textured nylon
Material: 
Stainless steel
Finish: 
Matte stainless steel
Key&PartNamePart#1. Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M001
2. Barrel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M002
3. Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M003
4. Slide Back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M004
5. Recoil Spring Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M005
6. Striker Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M006
7. Striker Block Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M007
8. Trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M008
9. Trigger Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M009
10. Trigger Spacer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M010
11. Trigger Pivot Pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M011
12. Trigger Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M012
13. Trigger Bar Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M013
14. Cocking Cam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M014
15. Cocking Cam Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M015
16. Magazine Catch Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M016
17. Magazine Catch Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M017
18. Magazine Catch Lock Pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . M018
19. Striker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M019
20. Striker Spacer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M020
21. Striker Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M021
22. Striker Spring Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M022
23. Extractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M023
24. Extractor Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M024
25. Extractor Pin - Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M025
26. Extractor Pin - Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M026
27. Slide Release Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M027
28. Slide Release Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M028
29. Slide Release Spring Screw . . . . . . . . . . . M029
30.  Unibody Ejector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M030
31. Cocking Cam Pivot Pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M031
32. Rear Sight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M032
33. Front Sight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M033
34. Magazine Tube (6-round). . . . . . . . . . . . . . M034
35.  Magazine Spring (6-round) . . . . . . . . . . . . M035
36. Magazine Base Lock (6-round) . . . . . . . . . M036
37. Magazine Base (6-round) . . . . . . . . . . . . . M037
38. Magazine Follower (6-round) . . . . . . . . . . . M038
39. Magazine Tube (7-round). . . . . . . . . . . . . . M039
40.  Magazine Spring (7-round) . . . . . . . . . . . . M040
41. Magazine Base Lock (7-round) . . . . . . . . . M041
42. Magazine Base (7-round) . . . . . . . . . . . . . M042
43. Magazine Follower (7-round) . . . . . . . . . . . M043
44. Grip Screw (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M044
45.  Grips – Nylon (left & right) . . . . . . . . . . . . . M045
Parts List Technical Data
• Protective Polymer Case, Trigger Lock
• 2 Magazines: one flush baseplate 
& one grip extension baseplate  
Standard Equipment
4
Important Safety Information 
						

							Warning:
The KAHR Pistol has several design fea-
tures and internal mechanical safeties
designed to prevent unintentional dis-
charges in the event that the pistol is
dropped or receives a severe blow.
Like any mechanical device, when sub-
jected to extreme forces not normally
encountered in sporting, law enforce-
ment, or military use, a part failure can occur. Therefore, extra care
and strict adherence to the safety instruc-
tions and other instructions contained in
this manual is mandatory to minimize the
risk of accidents.
Caution:
The proper and safe function of the
KAHR Pistol cannot be assured if any
parts have been altered or modified.
Micro-Compact Autoloading Pistol
5
Important Safety Information
KAHR MK SERIES
43
41 44
35 34 33
38 31 32
1
293012
9
17
16
39 15
4440
42 2726 25 23
22 20
21
36 24
37 3
2
5
6
8 74
13 11
1019
14 18
2844
44
4545 
						

							Warning:
The KAHR Pistol has no external, manu-
al safety lever and no grip safety. It is
fired like a double-action revolver by
pressing the trigger. Always keep the
firearm unloaded until you are ready to
shoot. When the firearm is loaded do
not touch the trigger unless you intend
to fire!Warning:
If the KAHR Pistol appears to be operat-
ing improperly for any reason, danger
of an unintentional discharge exists.
The firearm must be immediately
unloaded and not used until it is
repaired. Make sure that the pistol is
properly repaired and checked by
KAHR ARMS or an authorized gunsmith
before using it again.
How the Kahr Pistol Functions
FOR TESTING FUNCTION, ALWAYS USE
AN UNLOADED PISTOL WITH AN
EMPTY CHAMBER AND WITHOUT THE
MAGAZINE INSERTED.
(described immediately below)
1. Without placing finger on the Trigger,
remove the Magazine. Make sure that
there is no round in the chamber by
pulling the Slide fully to the rear and
carefully checking that the chamber is
empty. The pistol is now unloaded with
the Magazine out.
2. Keeping finger off the Trigger, cock the
pistol by pulling the Slide fully to its
rearmost position and letting it run for-
ward. The pistol is now partially cocked,
i.e. the Striker Spring is partially ten-
sioned. The Trigger is fully forward.
The following describes the functioning of
the KAHR Pistol when it is loaded and
fires:  
As the Trigger is pulled (pressed to the
rear), the internal passive Striker Block is
released, i.e. a protrusion on the
Cocking Cam lifts the Striker Block so
that it no longer blocks the Striker from
moving forward past the breech face to
fire a chambered round. Simultaneously
with this action, the Cocking Cam pulls
the Striker back from half-cock to a fully
cocked position under full spring tension.
Completing the rearward pull of theTrigger allows the Cocking Cam to
release the Striker. With the Striker Block
lifted, the Striker is free to move fully for-
ward to contact and fire the cartridge. 
The recoil impulse of the fired cartridge
moves the Barrel and Slide backwards.
After approximately 
1/2 inch of movement to the rear, 
the camming action of the recoil lug of
the Barrel and the pin on the Slide
Release Lever in the Frame pulls the rear
of the Barrel down to unlock it from the
Slide. Unlocked, the Slide  continues
fully to the rear of its travel. During this
rearward travel, the cartridge is pulled
out of the chamber by the Extractor and
is then thrown out  to the right by the
Ejector.
A ramp in the Slide rails disengages the
Trigger Bar from the Cocking Cam.This
allows the Cocking Cam to reset itself
and reactivates the Striker Block.
The Recoil Spring begins to move the
Slide forward toward its original locked
position.
As the Slide moves forward: 
1. a loaded round is pushed out of the
magazine into the chamber; 
2. the Striker is caught and put under
partial tension by the Cocking Cam, and 3.
the Barrel is pushed forward and
upward, locking it with the Slide. 
6
Important Safety Information 
						

							Safety Rules:
1. Always handle any firearm as if it
were loaded to avoid unintended dis-
charges.
2. Never point any firearm at anything
you do not intend to shoot.
3. Never take anyone’s word that any
firearm is unloaded. Check for yourself,
with fingers off the trigger, and the
firearm pointed in a safe direction.4. Always be sure barrel and action are
clear of obstructions. First remove the
magazine and unload the pistol, then
clear obstructions immediately so that
the firearm will function correctly and
safely.
5. Never squeeze the trigger or put your
finger in the trigger guard until you are
aiming at the target you intend to shoot.
CAUTION: THE PISTOL WILL NOW FIREIF THE TRIGGER IS PULLED.
After the last round has been fired and
ejected, the Slide is held open by the
Slide Release Lever.
NOTE REG
ARDING SLIDE RELEASEOPERATION:When the Slide is held
open on an empty Magazine, the Slide
Release Lever is very hard to depress.
This warns the  shooter that the
Magazine is empty. 
To easily release the Slide, either remove
the empty Magazine or replace it with a
loaded Magazine. Depressing the Slide
Release Lever will then be much easier.
Safety Devices
The KAHR Pistol has no conventional,
externally-located safety lever.
Therefore, the Trigger should only be
touched when you intend to discharge
the pistol.
STRIKER BLOCK:          
In the pre-tensioned position, a spring-
loaded Striker Block projects into a
recess in the Striker, preventing it from
moving forward.  The Striker Block is
only released when the Trigger is fully to
the rear.SAFETY FUNCTION OF THE COCKING
CAM DESIGN AND POSITION:
The forward movement of the Striker is
blocked by the Cocking Cam. Due to the
design and positioning of the Cocking
Cam, there is no way for the Striker to
move forward past the Cocking Cam
under normal use unless the Trigger is
pulled.
Sights &Sight Adjustment
These consist of a Rear Sight which has
a white bar insert under the sighting
notch and a Front Sight which has a
white dot insert.
W
indage adjustments are normallymade with the Rear Sight Only. 
Both the Front and Rear Sights are held
in place by the tight fit of the Sight to the
dovetail. Windage (side to side) adjust-
ments are made by pressing the Rear
Sight in the direction that you want the
bullet placement to move. For example, if
the pistol groups to the left of your aim-
ing point, move the Rear Sight to the
right. This will move the bullet placement
to the right.
Note:
Sight adjustments should be made
with a sight adjustment tool that is
designed to move the Sight without dam-
aging the Slide, dovetail cut or the Sight
itself. When pressing the Sights to make
an adjustment, use a non-marring mater-
ial against the Sight and the Slide to
avoid damage.
7
Important Safety Information 
						

							6. Never store a loaded firearm.  Unload
the KAHR Pistol as described on page 9.
After verifying that the firearm is empty
and magazine out, point the firearm in a
safe direction and pull the trigger. Store
the KAHR Pistol in this condition only.7. Never shoot at a hard surface, such as
a rock, or a liquid surface, such as water.
A bullet may ricochet and travel in any
direction to strike you or an object that
you cannot see.
8. Always be sure your backstop is ade-
quate to stop and contain bullets before
shooting so that you do not hit anything
outside the range area.
Loading &Firing
WHEN LOADING THE KAHR PISTOL,
ALWAYS BE SURE THAT THE PISTOL IS
POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION AND
THAT THE TRIGGER FINGER IS OUT-
SIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD AND
WELL AWAY FROM THE TRIGGER.
USE ONL
Y AMMUNITION OF THE PROPER CALIBER AS SPECIFIED ON THE FIREARM.
The Magazine is filled by pushing indi-
vidual rounds, base first, into the front of
the Magazine. First press the round
down to overcome the pressure of the
Magazine Spring, then push the partially
inserted round fully to the rear.Note: be sure that all rounds are pressed
fully to the back of the Magazine.
Insert the Magazine into the magazine
well at the base of the Grip until the
Magazine Catch engages fully.
Pull the Slide fully to the rear and allow
it to spring forward into the locked posi-
tion. Do not impede the forward travel of
the Slide or attempt to ease the Slide for-
ward. The full spring tension of the
Recoil Spring is required to assure prop-
er feeding of the round from the
Magazine.
The trigger finger must remain outside
the trigger guard until the target hasbeen identified and youintend to shoot.
Note: Do not load an 
individual round into the
chamber and then close the
Slide. This can damage the
Extractor. Only chamber
rounds from the Magazine
as described above.
The KAHR Pistol is now
ready to fire.
IF YOU PULL THE TRIGGER,
THE PISTOL WILL FIRE.
After the last round has
been fired, the Slide will
remain open.
Photo 1
8
Important Safety Information 
						

							9. Always be sure of your target and the
area behind it before you shoot.  A bullet
can travel through or past your target up
to 1 mile. If in doubt, do not shoot.
10. Always put a responsible and compe-
tent person in charge to maintain safety
and discipline when a group is firing on
a range to reduce the likelihood of acci-
dents.11. Always carry a firearm empty and
open while at a public, or private range,
until you are ready to fire. Keep it point-
ed towards the backstop during loading,
firing, and unloading.
12. Never leave a firearm unattended.
Anyone, especially a child, may fire it.
Remove the empty Magazine by pushing
the Magazine Catch on the front of the
left Grip (see photo #1) and pulling the
Magazine from the magazine well. Insert
a full Magazine and then push the Slide
Release Lever downward, The KAHR
Pistol is again ready to fire.
Unloading
WHEN UNLOADING THE KAHR PISTOL,
ALWAYS BE SURE THAT THE PISTOL IS
POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION AND
THAT THE TRIGGER FINGER IS OUT-
SIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD AND
WELL AWAY FROM THE TRIGGER. Remove the Magazine by depressing the
Magazine Catch on the front of the left
Grip (see photo #1) and pulling the
Magazine from the magazine well. Pull
the Slide fully to the rear (see photo #2)
to eject the round which may be in the
chamber. Visually check to ensure that
no round remains in the chamber. 
Allow the Slide to spring forward by
releasing it. 
After making absolutely sure that the
Magazine is removed and the chamber
is empty, point the pistol in a safe direc-
tion and pull the Trigger to release ten-
sion on the Striker.
CA
UTION:ALWAYS UNLOAD YOUR
KAHR PISTOL IMMEDIATELY
AFTER USE AND PRIOR TO
CLEANING AND STORAGE
TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF
UNINTENTIONAL DIS-
CHARGE.
Break-In Period
The KAHR Pistol must run
through an initial break-in
period before achieving fully
reliable feeding and func-
tioning. The pistol should
not be considered fully reli-
able until after it has fired
200 rounds.
Photo 2
9
Important Safety Information 
						

							13. Never use a firearm that fails to func-
tion properly and never force a jammed
action, as the jammed round may dis-
charge.
14. Always transport the KAHR Pistol
unloaded with the trigger untensioned
(See page 9) in a locked case.15. Failure to fire:
Keep the firearm pointed toward the tar-
get and wait 30 seconds after it fails to
fire. If a hangfire (slow ignition) has
occurred, the round should fire within 30
seconds. If it does not fire, remove the
magazine, eject the round and check for
an obstruction. Then, examine the
primer. If the firing pin indent on the
primer is light or nonexistent, have the
firearm examined by a competent gun-
Dismantling & Reassembly
BEFORE DISMANTLING OR CLEANING
THE KAHR PISTOL, BE ABSOLUTELY
SURE THE PISTOL IS UNLOADED
(Follow the unloading instructions on
page 9).
For normal cleaning, the KAHR Pistol
should only be dismantled into its main
components:
• Slide 
• Barrel 
• Recoil Spring Assembly 
• Frame 
• Magazine 
DO NOT DISMANTLE THE PISTOL FUR-
THER THAN THE MAIN COMPONENTS
DESCRIBED ABOVE (except Magazine),
To do so may create an unsafe condition
and affect the pistol’s Warranty.  
For maintaining and cleaning the KAHR
Pistol, use only high quality, commercial-
ly available cleaning equipment, sol-
vents and lubricants. 
Dismantling
The KAHR Pistol is disman-
tled to its main components
in the following steps:
1. Remove the Magazine
and visually check to be
sure that the chamber is
empty by pulling back the
Slide. (see photo #1 and
#2) 2. Draw the Slide back about 1⁄2 inch so
that the small witness marks on the Slide
and Frame align (see circled area in photo
#3) and internal projection on the Slide
Release Levercan be seen through the
rear semi-circular relief cut in side of the
Slide (see photo #3). 
3. Push the pin of the Slide Release Lever
out of the pistol from right to left. (Use a
light, non-marring hammer or plastic
screwdriver handle if necessary).
4. Ease the Slide forward under Recoil
Spring tension.
5. With the Slide Release Lever removed,
pull the Trigger to release the Striker,
then relax pressure on the Trigger and
push the Slide forward off of the Frame.
6. Removal of the Barrel (see photos #4
& #5) is carried out as follows:
Push the rear of the Recoil Spring
Assembly slightly forward with the thumb
and lift it clear of the recoil lug.
10Photo 3
Important Safety Information