Frank Harris, V.P. of Sales and Marketing of newcomer Kahr Arms, has spent eight years building a dealer base for Kahr. The number of new Kahr retailers continues to mount.
In an interview from the company’s Pearl River, New York headquarters, Harris outlined how Kahr Arms ahs advanced in the concealed carry (CC) sphere, and why it deserves to.
Also tackled: recent court cases which ended in clear victories for the Second Amendment, and the producer’s willingness to build in additional safety features to satisfy gun-wary states like Maryland.
Harris, who’s been with the company from the beginning, said the first DAO production model wan introduced at the 1995 Shot Show.
Highlighted there was a new 9mm, 3-1/2 inch barrel, single-line mag, breech lock designed handgun of somewhat conventional design. The piece was ultra-compact. Response was curiosity, turning soon to accolades when reviews first appeared. In 1999 came the injected-molded "P Series" polymer line – currently the firm’s best seller. The following year, the P model had a boost, with a .40 caliber joining the popular 9mm. All production done at Kahr’s Worcester, Massachusetts facilities.
Harris cited several features as accounting for the popularity of the four-pistol line.
LIGHTNESS
"We wanted [the pistols] to be relatively light," Harris related, since "most of our customers are people who carry concealed; so our best market has been the concealed carry states." In fact, the basic P frame 3-inch barrel PM9 is just under 16 oz. (By contrast, the S&W Model 3913 – one of the smallest, alloy-frame "wonder nines" is a full 2 pounds.)
This remarkable weight is a real advantage for most-of-the-day carriers: bail enforcement officers, private detectives, bodyguards, undercover police officers and the like.
Other CC folk who go out for short periods (think business owners moving receipts to the bank across town, diamond merchants, etc.) also appreciate a smaller gun’s comfort. As do, surely, convenience store owners in uncertain metro areas, older or female home owners and the like. For "lighter" means not just an easier heft; the piece brought into action sooner – a potentially lifesaving feature.
The "advanced polymers" shave serious ounces without compromising the autoloaders’ strength, service life or target acquisition properties, Harris noted. As well, the sidearms are simply made, party the result of the double-action only trigger action on all models, said to be extremely smooth. "That" he adds, "makes Kahr an easy gun to learn."
NICHE
Nonetheless, the spokesman stressed that Kahr seeks to maintain its market position. "I would say if you had to describe our niche, it would be high-end, deep-cover, concealed carry."
Harris added, "We have made decisions as a company not to get into the larger gun market or police sales - what I call a duty-side or holster gun, because we felt like we still have room to broaden our line." On the other hand, the firm is "always working on new products a we’re looking to expand our line – [but] within our CC niche." Such growth is "a foregone conclusion," Harris disclosed.
A not inconsiderable number of shooters, for example, hope to see the introduction of a new P Series .45. (Obviously, that does not include the M1911 .45 auto replica classic Auto-Ordnance .45 replica line. Kahr bought the storied company in 1999 and produces as well the Thompson rifle in semi-auto versions.) Interestingly, while the company does not supply the military or federal agencies per se, non purchase - order sales to government offices and agencies are not rare, Harris asserted.
Citing one, he pointed out "Our biggest police sales are in New York City, where we’re on the very short list for backup and off-duty guns; they approved our stainless 9mms." Kahr’s in elite company; less than five firms have made the list.
COMPUTERS
Another reason Kahr’s DAOs do so well, Harris also credits the computer-reliant CAD/CAM and CNC techniques for producing a tightly-toleranced, long-lived firearms.
KAHR AND NSSF
Harris also was asked about Kahr’s involvement in the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), since 1961 the trade association for the makers and sellers f firearms, ammunition and related hunting and recreational shooting products. It’s at the forefront of organizations seeking to protect the arms industry against what NSSF calls "junk lawsuits." Remarked Harris, "Through the Heritage Fund, and through their other programs, (NSSF) serves a very important purpose for the industry – because they can stand as one voice, and they’ve been able to bring different parts of the industry… and voices together to fight municipal lawsuit." He added that the NRA shared "common goals" in the legislative arena. The distinction, Harris explained, was in this respect: "Once laws are passed and regulations put in place, as manufactures we have to find a way to conform… and produce our product so that it can be sold in various states where new regulations are being passed." Maryland is one glaring example; retailers will have their own examples.
COURT MOVING TOWARDS MANUFACTURERS
Harris seemed gladdened over court defeats for anti-Second Amendment forces lately, and the shift in momentum that’s building in Congress. Anti-gun activities – especially in the crime-ridden inner cities – insist that gun makers be held liable for death or injuries from legal product like Kahr’s. Lawsuits of this kind are widely seen as efforts to bankrupt gun makers. "One interesting aspect," Harris noted on this score, "is that the police do use the products of the manufacturers that they’re trying to put out of business." If the gun opponents succeed, he wondered, "where are the police going to buy those products ensure the safety of the community and the cities?" He added that the gun industry was "sort of at the forefront … a lightning rod" in the efforts of American industry overall to "get relief" from company-destroying tort lawsuits. Echoing the "stand together" theme, the National Association of Manufactures commented in a recent news, "Today it’s handguns, but tomorrow it could be power tools, golf clubs or automobiles. Manufacturers of perfectly lawful, properly designed and well-functionally be held liable for third-party actions that may result in harm to another."
Perhaps it is the unity that comes from being faced with a common threat that has made the Congress non-partisan on this issue. "I was surprised," the Kahr marketing chief observed, "at the number of senior Democrats who’ve voted to protect the manufacturing sector from ‘junk lawsuits.’ "If you sell a product that functions properly and is made under government regulations – and if someone misuses it, (injured parties) really shouldn’t be able to sue the manufacturer. It really doesn’t make sense." The same idea applies to dealers and distributors who made illegal sales. Manufacturers cannot be blamed for not being the police when they by law, have no police powers.
A PLACE AT THE TABLE
The marketing specialist was asked, too, about what dealers ought to know about Kahr’s, as it were, place at the table. "We’re a new company as far as the firearms industry goes," he emphasized. "We’ve come on the scene just in the last 8 years. But I think dealers should know that we’re committed to the industry, and we’re committed to continue to develop our product line to meet the needs of their customers. "And we’re committed to product a high-quality product line – and stand behind the product so that parts and service will be available for many years to come.
As for competition, Harris welcomes it. "Competition is good. It improves your efficiency, … your technology. It forces you to wring out the inefficiencies in your manufacturing and distribution processes. And that’s good!"
Where does he see his company’s handguns vis-à-vis others? "Especially with our latest product, the PM9 … I think we have an edge, because our gun is a full-powered nine millimeter; it can handle high-powered 9mm ammo and it’s much smaller than other models. "in the 9mm area there are really very few competitors in our size. The PM9 spec-wise is very small."
Harris also offers accessories and says to keep down recoil, porting is offered by Magna-Port. "On our larger 3-1/2 inch barrel models. We have a drop-in four-inch barrel that sticks out half an inch that has a slot cut in the top of the barrel.
Harris said none of his pistols really were configured for competition of, say, the "bowling pin" variety since thy are the "eight-plus-one," single-stack magazine capacity type. Most such shoots require 10 rounds. A t the end of the day, Harris said, the company was well pleased by advances made in less than 10 years of existence and the legislative and legal environments suggested strong future growth.
Kahr Arms Becomes Newest Member of SAAMI
Kahr Arms of Blauvelt, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass., the innovative gun maker that has established an enviable reputation in just a few short years for the design and precision quality of its compact semiautomatic pistols, is the latest firearm company to join the Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute. With Kahr’s joining, the membership in SAAMI now totals 23 of America’s leading producers of sporting firearms, ammunition and propellants. "We are extremely pleased to welcome Kahr Arms to the SAAMI family," said James E. Chambers, SAAMI’s executive director. "The company brings a proven commitment to the highest standards of quality in the tradition of our 75-years-old organization, and we look forward to Kahr’s involvement," Chambers said. |
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