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89-598: Kahr Arms is an American small firearms manufacturer focused on compact and mid-size semi-automatic pistols chambered for popular cartridges, including .380 ACP , 9mm Luger , .40 S&W and .45 ACP . Kahr pistols feature polymer or stainless steel frames, single-stack magazines , and double-action -only striker firing actions. Kahr Arms is part of the Kahr Firearms Group, a US-based firearms manufacturer, which also includes Thompson Auto-Ordnance and Magnum Research . The Kahr Firearms Group company headquarters

178-540: A Siena College poll showed that 63% of registered New York voters statewide said that they support the SAFE Act, but only 45% upstate voters did. The New York Times reported that in Upstate New York, "Counties, towns and villages have passed resolutions denouncing the laws, and some counties have even demanded that their official seals not be used on any paperwork relating to them. In response to an open records request,

267-553: A retronym to differentiate older full-powered rifles of these configurations like the M1 Garand , from newer assault rifles using intermediate cartridges like the Heckler & Koch HK33 , but it is sometimes used to describe similar modern rifles such as the FN SCAR . Battle rifles serve similar purposes as assault rifles, as they both are usually employed by ground infantry for essentially

356-445: A riot gun or breaching rounds to function as a door breaching shotgun. Shotgun munitions, regardless of type, are packed into shotgun shells (cartridges designed specifically for shotguns) that are loaded into the shotgun for use; these shells are commonly loose and manually loaded one-by-one, though some shotguns accept magazines. Shotguns share many qualities with rifles, such as both being descendants of early long guns such as

445-726: A Limited Lifetime Warranty on their pistols to one of only five years' duration. In 2003 the New York Daily News reported that the Kahr K9 was popular as a back-up weapon with New York City police officers, who called it the " Moonie gun". In June 2010, Kahr bought Magnum Research , which markets the Desert Eagle . During the Shot Show in January 2015, the Kahr Arms company changed its name to

534-663: A broad class of rifles generally summed up as short, lightweight, portable sniper rifles; and designated marksman rifles , semi-automatic high-precision rifles, usually chambered in intermediate or full-power cartridges, that fill the range gap between sniper rifles and regular rifles and are designed for designated marksmen in squads. Examples of sniper and scout rifles include the M40 rifle , Heckler & Koch PSG1 , Walther WA 2000 , Accuracy International AWM , M24 Sniper Weapon System , Steyr Scout , Sako TRG , and CheyTac Intervention . Examples of anti-materiel and anti-tank rifles include

623-533: A comprehensive background check. In 1994, the U.S. government banned manufacture and importation of pistol magazines with more than a 10-round capacity . These were the so-called "high-capacity" magazines, which again became legal to manufacture and import in most states in September 2004, after the relevant federal law expired. This change in federal law rendered many staggered-magazine pistol models (commonly with magazine capacities of 15 or more rounds) less popular in

712-423: A full-power caliber and a certain weight that can be operated by an individual but tend to work best with a crew; and heavy machine guns , machine guns that are too large and heavy to be carried and are thus mounted to something (like a tripod or military vehicle ), and require a crew to operate. A general-purpose machine gun combines these categories under a single flexible machine gun platform, often one that

801-625: A full-size rifle with a shortened carbine-style barrel for close-quarters use. The small size of a carbine provides lighter weight and better maneuverability, making them ideal for close-quarters combat and storage in compact areas. This makes them popular firearms among special forces and police tactical units alongside submachine guns , considerably so since the late 1990s due to the familiarity and better stopping power of carbines compared to submachine guns. They are also popular with (and were originally mostly intended for) military personnel in roles that are expected to engage in combat, but where

890-452: A full-size rifle would be an impediment to the primary duties of that soldier ( logistical personnel, airborne forces , military engineers , officers , etc.), though since the turn of the millennium these have been superseded to a degree in some roles by personal defense weapons . Carbines are also common among civilian firearm owners who have size, space, and power concerns similar to military and police users. Examples of carbines include

979-503: A handgun, but he could not find an ultra-compact 9mm pistol with the features he desired, so he designed one himself in his junior year of college. In 1999, Kahr Arms bought Auto-Ordnance Company , not associated with the original AOC, maker of Thompson submachine guns , then owned and operated by Numrich Arms who had bought the crated assets of Auto-Ordnance started by General John T. Thompson and his investors. Now Kahr manufactures Auto-Ordnance's line of semi-automatic weapons, including

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1068-474: A law has been abolished. Under the previous standard, a law found to be a violation of the Second Amendment could be upheld if it was in the state's interest of public safety. Under the new standard, interest balancing no longer exists. Rather, a law may be struck down if it is a violation of the Second Amendment and if there is no text, history, or tradition of a similar law dating back to the ratification of

1157-605: A long-barreled rifle version of the famous "Tommy Gun". Kahr introduced its line of compact pistols at a time of significant liberalization of concealed weapons laws in many U.S. states. Since the 1990s, many states have passed "shall-issue" laws, as promoted by the National Rifle Association of America and other gun rights organizations . Such laws mandate that state authorities must issue permits to carry concealed weapons to all law-abiding applicants who met certain conditions set forth by state law, including passing

1246-635: A member ineligible to legally use guns. The NYSSA opposed the parts of the law that expanded the definition of assault weapons, limited magazine usage, and limited ammunition sales via the Internet. A number of rallies opposing the law have been held at the New York State Capitol in Albany; one in 2014 featured Donald Trump , Rob Astorino , and Carl Paladino , and drew over 3,000 people. Smaller pro-SAFE Act rallies have also occurred in Albany. The law

1335-793: A method of effective self-defense against skirmishers and infiltrators who cannot effectively be defeated by low-powered submachine guns and handguns, often the only firearms suitable for those personnel (while they could be issued rifles or carbines, those would become unnecessary burdens in their normal duties, during which the likelihood of hostility is fairly rare regardless, making their issuance questionable). Thus, per their name, personal defense weapons allow these personnel to effectively defend themselves from enemies and repel attacks themselves or at least until support can arrive. They are not intended for civilian self-defense due to their nature as automatic firearms (which are usually prohibited from civilian purchase), though some semi-automatic PDWs exist for

1424-469: A single soldier, though some are crew-served weapons that require a dedicated crew of soldiers to operate, usually between two and six soldiers depending on the machine gun's operation and the crew members' roles (ammunition bearers, spotters, etc.). Machine guns can be divided into three categories: light machine guns , individual-served machine guns of an intermediate cartridge that are usually magazine-fed; medium machine guns , belt-fed machine guns of

1513-410: A time by the user, rather than automatically. Manual action firearms can be divided into two basic categories: single-shot firearms that can only be fired once per barrel before it must be reloaded or charged via an external mechanism or series of steps; and repeating firearms that can be fired multiple times per barrel, but can only be fired once with each subsequent pull of the trigger or ignite, and

1602-551: Is a long gun that has a predominantly smoothbore barrel—meaning it lacks rifling—designed to fire a number of shot pellets in each discharge. These shot pellet sizes commonly range between 2 mm #9 birdshot and 8.4 mm #00 (double-aught) buckshot, and produce a cluster of impact points with considerably less range and accuracy, since shot spreads during flight. Shotguns are also capable of firing single solid projectiles called slugs , or specialty (often " less lethal ") munitions such as bean bags or tear gas to function as

1691-616: Is a magazine-fed carbine chambered in a small-caliber handgun cartridge (such as 9×19mm Parabellum , .45 ACP , .22 Long Rifle , and .40 S&W ). They cannot be considered machine guns due to their small-caliber, hence the prefix " sub- " to differentiate them from proper machine guns. Submachine guns are commonly associated with high rates of fire, automatic fire capabilities, and low recoil, though many submachine guns differentiate from this in various ways, such as having fairly low rates of fire or including burst and semi-automatic modes available through selective fire. Most submachine guns are

1780-550: Is also committed to ensuring the longevity and optimal performance of its firearms through a comprehensive offering of parts and service support. Small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions ). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China , when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make

1869-417: Is any firearm with a notably long barrel, typically a length of 10 to 30 inches (250 to 760 mm) (there are restrictions on minimum barrel length in many jurisdictions; maximum barrel length is usually a matter of practicality). Unlike a handgun, long guns are designed to be held and fired with both hands, while braced against either the hip or the shoulder for better stability. The receiver and trigger group

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1958-667: Is in Greeley, Pennsylvania , with a manufacturing facility in Worcester, Massachusetts . Kahr Arms was founded by Justin Moon , who is CEO and president. He is the son of Sun Myung Moon , founder of the Unification Church and brother to Hyung Jin Moon, pastor of the Rod of Iron Ministries , which is known to hold blessing ceremonies for AR-15 rifles. At age 18, Justin Moon obtained a license to carry

2047-540: Is most suitable as a light or medium machine gun but fares well as a heavy machine gun. A closely related concept is the squad automatic weapon , a portable light machine gun or even a modified rifle that is designed and fielded to provide a squad with rapid direct fire . Examples of machine guns include the Maxim gun , M2 Browning , Bren light machine gun , MG 42 , PK machine gun , FN MAG , M249 light machine gun , RPK , IWI Negev , and M134 Minigun . A submachine gun

2136-467: Is mounted into a stock made of wood, plastic, metal, or composite material, which has sections that form a foregrip, rear grip, and optionally (but typically) a shoulder mount called the butt . Early long arms, from the Renaissance up to the mid-19th century, were generally smoothbore firearms that fired one or more ball shot, called muskets or arquebuses depending on caliber and firing mechanism. Since

2225-528: Is similar in principle, though very different in execution, to the action design of Glocks . It also allows the firing pin block to be located further to the rear of the slide and therefore further from possible contamination by combustion gases and powder fouling. For this innovation, Justin Moon was awarded one of the five patents he owns on the Kahr pistol design. This system is employed on all Kahr pistols, regardless of frame material, size, or caliber. Kahr's trigger

2314-420: Is similar to a double-action revolver , with a short 3 ⁄ 8 -inch (0.95 cm) trigger travel. On polymer-framed models, the slide travels on steel inserts that are permanently set into the polymer frame. There are also polymer rails, which are not structurally functional, but aid in keeping out dirt, and with aligning the slide when reassembling the slide onto the polymer frame. In steel framed versions,

2403-520: The AK-74 and AKS-74U . However, some carbines, such as the M1 carbine , are not a variant of any existing design and are their own firearm model. Carbines are regardless very similar to rifles and often have the same actions (single-shot, lever-action, bolt-action, semi-automatic, automatic, etc.). This similarity has given carbines the alternate name of short barreled rifle (SBR), though this more accurately describes

2492-587: The FG 42 , Gewehr 43 , FN FAL , Howa Type 64 , and Desert Tech MDR . A sniper rifle is, per widespread definition, a high-powered precision rifle, often bolt-action or semi-automatic, with an effective range farther than that of a standard rifle. Though any rifle in a sniper configuration (usually with a telescopic sight and bipod ) can be considered a sniper rifle, most sniper rifles are purpose-built for their applications, or are variants of existing rifles that have been modified to function as sniper rifles, such as

2581-589: The Glock , Browning Hi-Power , M1911 pistol , Makarov pistol , Walther PP , Luger pistol , Mauser C96 , and Beretta 92 . Examples of revolvers include the Colt Single Action Army , Smith & Wesson Model 10 , Colt Official Police , Colt Python , New Nambu M60 , and Mateba Autorevolver . Examples of derringers include the Remington Model 95 , FP-45 Liberator , and COP .357 Derringer . A long gun

2670-958: The K9 , provided a full-power 9mm Parabellum pistol that was virtually the same size, and in some dimensions, smaller, as widely accepted "Pocket Pistol" .380 ACP and .32 ACP handguns such as the Walther PP and PPK/S, as well as the SIG Sauer P230/232 , and the Beretta "80" Series . Kahr offers a line of "economy" pistols which are identical to the P series of pistols except that some luxury features are eliminated to cut costs. The polymer-frame CW economy models have fewer machining operations, pinned-in front sights rather than dovetail, traditional rifling rather than polygonal rifling , "rolled-on" lettering rather than engraved, and come with only one magazine. CW pistols generally retail for approximately 20–30% less than

2759-500: The M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System . Shotguns are still popular with civilians for the suitability of their shot spread in hunting, clay pigeon shooting , and home defense. Double-barreled shotguns are break-action shotguns with two parallel barrels (horizontal side-by-side or vertical over-and-under), allowing two single shots that can be loaded and fired in quick succession. Examples of shotguns include

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2848-509: The MP 18 , MP 40 , Thompson submachine gun , M3 submachine gun , Uzi , Heckler & Koch MP5 , Spectre M4 , Steyr TMP , Heckler & Koch UMP , PP-2000 , KRISS Vector , and SIG MPX . A personal defense weapon is, in simplest terms, a submachine gun that is designed to fire ammunition with ballistic performance that is similar to (but not actually a type of) rifle cartridges, often called "sub-intermediate" cartridges. In this way, it combines

2937-649: The Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 , Boys anti-tank rifle , PTRS-41 , Barrett M82 , Gepárd anti-materiel rifle , and McMillan TAC-50 . Examples of designated marksman rifles include the SVD , SR-25 , Dragunov SVU , Marine Scout Sniper Rifle , Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle , and M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System . An automatic rifle is a magazine-fed rifle that is capable of automatic fire. They include most assault rifles and battle rifles, but originated as their own category of rifles capable of automatic fire, as opposed to

3026-784: The National Firearms Act and Firearm Owners Protection Act define a "machine gun" in United States Code Title 26, Subtitle E, Chapter 53, Subchapter B, Part 1, § 5845 as "... any firearm which shoots ... automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger". "Machine gun" is therefore largely synonymous with "automatic weapon" in American civilian parlance, covering all automatic firearms. In most jurisdictions, automatic rifles, as well as automatic firearms in general, are prohibited from civilian purchase or are at least heavily restricted; in

3115-820: The New York Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs' request for an injunction and later dismissed the challenge, finding no constitutional violation. A separate challenge took place in federal court. In December 2013, Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny , of the Federal District Court in Buffalo , upheld most of the New York SAFE Act, saying that its provisions "further the state's important interest in public safety.... it does not totally disarm New York's citizens; and it does not meaningfully jeopardize their right to self-defense". However he struck down

3204-638: The Springfield Armory (United States), the Royal Small Arms Factory (United Kingdom), Mauser (Germany), Steyr-Daimler-Puch (Austria), and Rock Island Armory under Armscor (Philippines). As of 2018 the Small Arms Survey reported that there were over one billion firearms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) were in civilian hands. U.S. civilians alone account for 393 million (about 46 percent) of

3293-464: The StG 44 produced by Nazi Germany during World War II , assault rifles have since become extremely popular among militaries and other armed groups due to their universal versatility, and they have made up the vast majority of standard-issue military service rifles since the mid-20th century. Various configurations of assault rifle exist, such as the bullpup , in which the firing grip is located in front of

3382-539: The Type 97 sniper rifle , which was essentially a standard Type 38 rifle that was modified to be lighter and come with a telescopic sight. Related developments are anti-materiel rifles , large-caliber rifles designed to destroy enemy materiel such as vehicles, supplies, or hardware; anti-tank rifles , anti-materiel rifles that were designed specifically to combat early armoured fighting vehicles , but are now largely obsolete due to advances in vehicle armour ; scout rifles ,

3471-520: The Winchester Model 1892 , Rifle No. 5 Mk I , SKS , M1 carbine , Ruger Mini-14 , M4 carbine , and Kel-Tec SUB-2000 . An assault rifle is commonly defined as a selective-fire rifle chambered in an intermediate cartridge (such as 5.56×45mm NATO , 7.62×39mm , 5.45×39mm , and .300 AAC Blackout ) and fed with a detachable magazine . Assault rifles are also usually smaller than full-sized rifles such as battle rifles . Originating with

3560-425: The Winchester Model 1897 , Browning Auto-5 , Ithaca 37 , Remington Model 870 , Mossberg 500 , Benelli M4 , Franchi SPAS-12 , Atchisson AA-12 , and Knight's Armament Company Masterkey . A carbine is a long gun, usually a rifle, that has had its barrel shortened from its original length or is of a certain size smaller than standard rifles, but is still large enough to be considered a long gun. How considerable

3649-633: The breech instead of behind it. Examples of assault rifles include the Kalashnikov rifles of Soviet and Russian origin (such as the AK-47 , AKM , and AK-74 ), as well as the American M4 carbine and M16 rifle . A battle rifle is commonly defined as a semi-automatic or selective-fire rifle that is larger or longer than an assault rifle and is chambered in a "full-power" cartridge (e.g. 7.62×51mm NATO , 7.92×57mm Mauser , 7.62×54mmR ). The term originated as

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3738-404: The firing pin mechanism, expelling the old cartridge and loading a new one. Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act The NY SAFE Act contains a number of firearms regulations. It also contains a severability provision that allows other measures to remain in place in case the broad prohibitions against weapons are invalidated by the courts. The New York State Senate approved

3827-509: The "message of necessity" procedure has been frequently used in New York to pass many pieces of legislation (it has been used at least 415 times since 1938). The NY SAFE Act includes the following provisions: Support for the SAFE Act was strongly polarized by region, with support in New York City and its suburbs, but heavy opposition in upstate New York . Fourteen months after its passage,

3916-865: The 19th and 20th centuries, various types of long guns have been created for different purposes. A rifle is a long gun that has riflings (spiral grooves) machined into the bore (inner) surface of its barrel, imparting a gyroscopically stabilizing spin to the bullets that it fires. A descendant of the musket, rifles produce a single point of impact with each firing with a long range and high accuracy. For this reason, as well as for their ubiquity, rifles are very popular among militaries as service rifles , police as accurate long-range alternatives to their traditional shotgun long guns, and civilians for hunting , shooting sports , and self-defense . Many types of rifles exist owing to their wide adoption and versatility, ranging from mere barrel length differences as in short-barreled rifles and carbines , to classifications per

4005-426: The 20th century, but have since been superseded in most combat roles by rifles, carbines, and personal defense weapons due to their low effective range and poor penetration against most body armor developed since the late 20th century. However, they remain popular among special forces and police for their effectiveness in close-quarters and low likelihood to overpenetrate targets. Examples of submachine guns include

4094-433: The American market. They were now overly large in light of their newly mandated 10-shot limit. Kahr was at the forefront, offering relatively small, well-made pistols with magazine capacities of up to eight rounds of 9mm or .40-caliber ammunition. These single-stack magazines allow for slender, compact pistols that have proven popular with the buying public. Since late 2003 or very early in 2004, Kahr has changed from offering

4183-564: The Kahr Firearms Group. Kahr Arms is currently under the Kahr Firearms Group as a private firearms manufacturer, alongside Magnum Research and Auto-Ordnance . The company's trademarks include: Kahr Arms, Thompson, Auto-Ordnance, Magnum Research, BFR, and Desert Eagle. In September 2019, Kahr Firearms Group donated eight Thin Blue Line PM9's to the NRA Law Enforcement Division, two of which were used as special Firearm Awards at

4272-583: The National Police Shooting Championships. On July 1, 2013, the Kahr Arms company announced that it was leaving New York state because of New York's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act ( NY SAFE Act ) of 2013. Kahr purchased 620 acres (250 ha) in Pike County, Pennsylvania , and said it will move its corporate staff after building offices in 2014 with plans to build a new factory by 2019. The firearms group ceremoniously cut

4361-483: The Second Amendment in the 1780s. Due to the recent changes, new challenges to the SAFE Act and other New York gun laws have been proposed and discussed. The NY SAFE Act as originally passed did not explicitly exempt police officers from some of the law's provisions, such as the seven-round limit, although older law (not repealed by the NY SAFE Act) did provide such an exemption. This prompted some initial confusion, but

4450-479: The U.S. for instance, most automatic rifles are Title II weapons that require certain licenses and are greatly regulated. Examples of automatic rifles include the Cei-Rigotti , Lewis gun , Fedorov Avtomat , and M1918 Browning automatic rifle . A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm, chambered in intermediate or full-power rifle cartridges, designed to provide sustained automatic direct fire as opposed to

4539-485: The act on a 43–18 vote on January 14, 2013. The vote was bipartisan, with nine Senate Republicans voting in favor. State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein sponsored the legislation. The following day (the second full day of the 2013 legislative session), the New York State Assembly approved the legislation by a 104–43 vote, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law less than one hour later. The passage of

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4628-731: The act. In 2014, the Remington Arms Co. decided to open a manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama . The president of United Mine Workers Local 717, which represents workers at Remington's existing plant in Ilion, New York expressed fears about the future of the New York facility and citing the NY SAFE Act for the company's decision to expand in Alabama rather than New York. Subsequently, about 100 Remington jobs were shifted from New York to Alabama;

4717-839: The bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles commonly issued to infantry at the time of their invention. They usually have smaller magazine capacities than machine guns ; the French Chauchat had a 20-round box magazine, while the Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun , the French Army 's standard machine gun at the time, was fed by a 250-round ammunition belt . Though automatic rifles are sometimes considered to be their own category, they are also occasionally considered to be other types of firearms that postdated their invention, usually as light machine guns . Automatic rifles are sometimes confused with machine guns or vice versa, or are defined as such by law;

4806-495: The civilian market, albeit often with longer barrels. Examples of personal defense weapons include the FN P90 , Heckler & Koch MP7 , AAC Honey Badger , and ST Kinetics CPW . Types aside, firearms are also categorized by their "action", which describes their loading, firing, and unloading cycle. Manual action or manual operation is essentially any type of firearm action that is loaded, and usually also fired, one cartridge at

4895-508: The death of Justice Antonin Scalia, it decided it was unlikely to win a favorable Supreme Court opinion. Since the 2022 NYSRPA v. Bruen Supreme Court decision striking down another New York gun law, the Sullivan Act (a law pertaining to the application of a pistol/conceal carry permit) from 1911, as unconstitutional, the old standard of interest balancing for deciding the constitutionality of

4984-699: The design's primary intended use (e.g. hunting rifle), or to the commonly accepted name for a particular variation (e.g. Gatling gun ). Shooters aim firearms at their targets with hand-eye coordination , using either iron sights or optical sights . The accurate range of pistols generally does not exceed 100 metres (110 yd; 330 ft), while most rifles are accurate to 500 metres (550 yd; 1,600 ft) using iron sights, or to longer ranges whilst using optical sights. Purpose-built sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,000 metres (2,200 yd). (Firearm rounds may be dangerous or lethal well beyond their accurate range;

5073-507: The difference is between a rifle and a carbine varies; for example, the standard Heckler & Koch G36 's barrel has a length of 480 mm (18.9 in), the G36K carbine variant's barrel is 318 mm (12.5 in), and the G36C compact variant's barrel is 228 mm (9.0 in). Some carbines are also redesigned compared to their rifle counterparts, such as the aforementioned G36/G36K and G36C, or

5162-570: The estimated number of assault weapons requiring registration neared 1 million. On March 11, 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would not follow the provision of the NY SAFE Act requiring mental health professionals to report patients who seem more likely to hurt themselves or others. A Department spokesman stated that federal laws protecting the privacy of veterans take precedence over state laws. Advocates for military veterans had expressed concern that

5251-423: The firearm's action must be reloaded or charged via an internal mechanism between trigger pulls. Types of manual actions include lever action, bolt action, and pump action. Lever action is a repeating action that is operated by using a cocking handle (the "lever") located around the trigger guard area (often incorporating it) that is pulled down then back up to move the bolt via internal linkages and cock

5340-503: The full-featured P series. The E series is a discontinued line of Kahr economy pistols with stainless frame; the E series was discontinued in 2004. Kahr currently manufactures and distributes the following semi-automatic pistols: Kahr Arms Owner's Manuals are available to view or download for a deeper dive into the Premium, Value, and S-Series lineup, including primary features, technical data, parts schematics, and safety features. Kahr Arms

5429-403: The global total of small arms. A handgun is, as defined generally and in many gun laws , a firearm that can be used with a single hand. They are the smallest of all firearms, and are common as sidearms , concealed carry weapons, or as backup weapons for self-defense . Handguns can be categorized into two broad types: pistols , which have a single fixed firing chamber machined into

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5518-583: The governor's office shared hundreds of pages of such resolutions, from far-flung places like the Adirondack town of North Hudson , with 238 residents, to more populous areas like Erie County ." By contrast, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. ( D‑NY ) strongly supported the law, saying that it would "provide law enforcement with stronger tools to protect our communities from gun violence, including provisions that better enable us to combat gun trafficking and violent gangs, and others that close

5607-457: The high automatic rate of fire, reliable low recoil, and lightweight compact maneuverability of submachine guns with the versatility, penetration, and effective range of rifles, effectively making them an "in-between" of submachine guns and carbines. Personal defense weapons were developed to provide rear and "second-line" personnel not otherwise armed with high-caliber firearms (vehicle and weapon crews, engineers, logistical personnel, etc.) with

5696-602: The law made New York the first to pass restrictions on gun laws since the Sandy Hook massacre . Cuomo described the law as the toughest gun control law in the United States. The bill passed under the "message of necessity" procedure, a device in the New York State Constitution by which the governor may expedite a vote on a bill, bypassing a usual three-day waiting period. Although nominally used for emergencies,

5785-622: The law might interfere with their treatment of potentially dangerous individuals, or discourage such people from seeking treatment. The United States Veterans Health Administration (VA) has already said they will not comply with the provision requiring release of certain mental health records as it violates federal patient confidentiality laws. Others argued that this is a backdoor ban on handgun sales, noting that seven-round magazines simply do not exist for many popular models. After realizing seven-round magazines do not exist for most firearms, New York governor Andrew Cuomo reversed his position on

5874-836: The minimum distance for safety is much greater than the specified range for accuracy.) A firearm is a barreled ranged weapon that inflicts damage on targets by launching one or more projectiles driven by rapidly expanding high-pressure gas produced by exothermic combustion ( deflagration ) of a chemical propellant , historically black powder , now smokeless powder . In the military, firearms are categorized into heavy and light weapons regarding their portability by infantry . Light firearms are those that can be readily carried by individual foot soldier , though they might still require more than one individual ( crew-served ) to achieve optimal operational capacity. Heavy firearms are those that are too large and heavy to be transported on foot, or too unstable against recoil , and thus require

5963-512: The musket; both having single-shot , break-action , bolt-action , lever-action , pump-action , semi-automatic , and automatic variants; and both being popular with militaries, police, and civilians for largely the same reasons. However, unlike rifles, shotguns are less favored in combat roles due to their low accuracy and limited effectiveness in modern warfare , with combat shotguns often only used for breaching or close-quarters combat and sometimes limited to underbarrel attachments such as

6052-399: The notable exception of smoothbore shotguns ) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability. Modern firearms can be described by their caliber (i.e. bore diameter). For pistols and rifles this is given in millimeters or inches (e.g. 7.62mm or .308 in.); in the case of shotguns, gauge or bore (e.g. 12 ga. or .410 bore.). They are also described by

6141-516: The office of Governor Andrew Cuomo said soon after passage that police officers were exempt from the seven-round limit. In July 2013, Cuomo signed into law a measure that expressly exempted qualified retired law enforcement officers from some of the provisions of the Act. The exemption allows retired officers (who served for at least ten years and left in good standing) to retain guns and magazines purchased as part of official duty, so long as registered with

6230-509: The portable fire lance , operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon . The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant , but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other explosive propellants. Most modern firearms (with

6319-452: The provision that only seven rounds of ammunition could be loaded into a ten-round magazine, calling it "an arbitrary restriction" that violated the Second Amendment, and saying that it could result in "pitting the criminal with a fully-loaded magazine against the law-abiding citizen limited to seven rounds." The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association dropped its suit in March 2016. Following

6408-516: The rail design is traditional and very similar to that of the M1911 pistol . Kahr pistols have their feed ramps offset to the left, which allows the trigger draw bar to lie flatter against the right side of the frame. This feature helps the Kahr pistol line to achieve a slide width of .90 inches (2.3 cm) in 9mm and .40 S&W models, and 1.01 inches (2.6 cm) when chambered in .45 ACP , narrower than many popular pistols. The initial Kahr offering,

6497-734: The rear of the barrel, and are often loaded using magazines of varying capacities; revolvers , which have a number of firing chambers or "charge holes" in a revolving cylinder , each one loaded with a single cartridge or charge; and derringers , broadly defined as any handgun that is not a traditional pistol nor a revolver. There are various types of the aforementioned handguns designed for different mechanisms or purposes, such as single-shot , manual repeating , semi-automatic , or automatic pistols; single-action , double-action , or double-action/single-action revolvers; and small, compact handguns for concealed carry such as pocket pistols and " Saturday night specials ". Examples of pistols include

6586-506: The reporting requirement would deter some people from seeking needed treatment. Robert L. Schulz and several hundred other gun-rights activists pursued a legal challenge against the NY SAFE Act in New York state court, arguing that the act was unconstitutional as Governor Cuomo's use of a "message of necessity" to waive the usual three-day waiting period had violated the New York State Constitution. Judge Thomas J. McNamara of

6675-530: The ribbon at the grand opening of their new 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m) headquarters on August 11, 2015, in Blooming Grove Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania . The Kahr action is a Browning locked-breech design featuring a striker-operated firing pin with a passive firing pin safety, making it a true hammerless action . When the trigger is pulled, the trigger bar begins to rotate a double-lobed cocking cam. This cam simultaneously begins to draw

6764-523: The rifle's function and purpose as in semi-automatic rifles , automatic rifles and sniper rifles , to differences in the rifle's action as in single-shot , break-action , bolt-action , and lever-action rifles. Examples of rifles of various types include the Henry rifle , Winchester rifle , Lee–Enfield , Gewehr 98 , M1 Garand , MAS-36 rifle , AKM , Ruger 10/22 , Heckler & Koch G3 , Remington Model 700 , and Heckler & Koch HK417 . A shotgun

6853-510: The same purposes. However, some prefer battle rifles for their more powerful cartridge, despite the added recoil. Some designated marksman rifles are configured from battle rifles, such as the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle and United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle , both essentially heavily modified and modernized variants of the M14 rifle . Examples of rifles considered to be battle rifles include

6942-596: The semi-automatic or burst fire of standard rifles. They are commonly associated with being belt-fed , though many machine guns are also fed by box, drum, pan, or hopper magazines. They generally have a high rate of fire and a large ammunition capacity, and are often used for suppressive fire to support infantry advances or defend positions from enemy assaults. Owing to their versatility and firepower, they are also commonly installed on military vehicles and military aircraft , either as main or ancillary weapons . Many machine guns are individual-served and can be operated by

7031-486: The seven-round limit, stating, "There is no such thing as a seven-bullet magazine [sic]. That doesn't exist, so you really have no practical option." He went on to say the state needs to allow the sale of handguns and rifles with ten-round magazines, but requires the people of New York only load seven rounds in them, except at shooting ranges and competitions. He claimed the law is still enforceable. Cuomo and New York State Senate leaders planned an indefinite suspension of

7120-427: The seven-round magazine limit until they could rewrite the measure. In March 2013 during budget negotiations, Cuomo and lawmakers agreed to continue to allow 10-round magazines to be sold, but could still only be loaded with 7 cartridges. As of 2015, the number of assault weapons registered had not met expectations, suggesting mass non-compliance with the law. Only around 45,000 such registrations were performed, while

7209-586: The size of carbines and short-barreled rifles, and use similar configurations. Many are designed to take as little space as possible for use in close-quarters or for easy storage in vehicles and cases. Some submachine guns are designed and configured similar to pistols even down to size, and are thus occasionally classed as machine pistols , even if they are not actually a handgun (i.e. designed to require two hands to use). Submachine guns are considered ideal for close-quarters combat and are cheap to mass-produce. They were very common in military service through much of

7298-494: The state gun show loophole and regulate large-quantity sales of ammunition and firearms." Following the passage of the Act, the New York State Sheriff's Association (NYSSA) wrote a letter offering a mixed opinion on the SAFE Act. The NYSSA favored the parts of the law that enhanced sentences for violent offenses committed with a gun, expanded background checks, and mandated safe storage of guns in households that included

7387-516: The state within 60 days of retiring. In 2013, Justin Moon 's Kahr Arms of Pearl River, a gun manufacturer, announced that it would be moving its headquarters from New York to Pennsylvania after the passing of the NY SAFE Act. The company also announced that it would be building a manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, rather than Orange County, New York , as it had looked into. AR15.com moved in 2013 from Farmington to Texas after passage of

7476-467: The striker to the rear, compressing the spring behind it, while depressing and deactivating the firing pin block. At the end of the trigger's travel, the lobe contacting the striker slips off the striker and releases it; the other lobe has, by this point, completely depressed the firing pin block and permitted the striker to snap forward and strike the primer. This single piece takes the place of more complicated and fragile designs employed in other pistols. It

7565-560: The support of a weapons platform (e.g. a fixed mount , wheeled carriage , vehicle , aircraft or water vessel ) to be tactically mobile or useful. The subset of light firearms that only use kinetic projectiles and are compact enough to be operated to full capacity by a single infantryman (individual-served) are also referred to as small arms . Such firearms include handguns such as pistols , revolvers , and derringers ; and long guns such as rifles (and their subtypes), shotguns , submachine guns , and machine guns . Among

7654-456: The type of action employed (e.g. muzzleloader , breechloader , lever , bolt , pump , revolver , semi-automatic , fully automatic , etc.), together with the usual means of deportment (i.e. hand-held or mechanical mounting). Further classification may make reference to the type of barrel used (i.e. rifled ) and to the barrel length (e.g. 24 inches), to the firing mechanism (e.g. matchlock , wheellock , flintlock , or percussion lock ), to

7743-414: The world's arms manufacturers , the top firearms manufacturers are Browning , Remington , Colt , Ruger , Smith & Wesson , Savage , Mossberg (United States), Heckler & Koch , SIG Sauer , Walther (Germany), ČZUB (Czech Republic), Glock , Steyr Arms (Austria), FN Herstal (Belgium), Beretta (Italy), Norinco (China), Rostec , and Kalashnikov (Russia). Former top producers included

7832-485: The worldwide total of civilian-held firearms. This amounts to "120.5 firearms for every 100 residents". The world's armed forces control about 133 million (about 13 percent) of the global total of small arms, of which over 43 percent belong to two countries: the Russian Federation (30.3 million) and China (27.5 million). Law enforcement agencies control about 23 million (about 2 percent) of

7921-602: Was criticized as "rushed through" by the state legislature without consideration of whether it would criminalize police and other law enforcement officers who carry firearms with magazines with a larger capacity than those allowed for civilians. Republicans in the New York Legislature have made a number of unsuccessful efforts over a series of years to repeal the Act; these efforts have been led by State Senator Kathleen A. Marchione and State Assemblyman Marc Butler . Some mental health experts expressed concerns that

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