I'm a proponent of double-action-only triggers on defensive handguns, and some of the most user friendly of the many DAO pistols on today's market are made by the Kahr Arms Company. The trigger stroke on Kahr pistols is smooth, light and stage-free. This is accomplished by means of a system in which a trigger stroke of approximately 0.7 inch rotates a cam that then unlocks the spring-loaded striker safety and draws the striker to full cock position before releasing it to fire the pistol.

There are no external safety devices on Kahr pistols. Instead, a striker block immobilizes the partially cocked striker from any movement, and it can be deactivated only by pulling the trigger through a complete stroke.

Locking is via the barrel hood bearing on the front edge of ejection port. Upon firing, the slide moves rearward and a cam on the barrel lug pulls the barrel down, unlocking it from the slide. The slide continues rearward, extracting and ejecting the spent case.

KAHR ARMS: CW45 Type: DAO semiauto Caliber: .45 ACP Capacity:6-round magazine Weight: 21.7 oz. Barrel length: 3.64 in. Overall length: 6.4 in. Height: 4.8 in. Width: 1 in. Slide: matte stainless steel Grip: textured polymer Sights: white bar rear, white dot front Price: $606 Manufacturer: Kahr Arms,508-795-3919

A recoil spring, located on a full-length guide rod under the barrel, pulls the slide forward, stripping a round from the magazine and chambering it. As the slide goes into battery, the barrel and slide are locked together by the barrel hood moving up into the ejection port.

Kahr pistols use an offset barrel with the trigger mechanism beside it, rather than under it, to provide a frame design with a high grip close to the centerline of the bore, which provides enhanced recoil control while reducing muzzle flip and felt recoil A self-cleaning extractor forces powder residue away from the extractor to prevent fouling buildup, and a rather impressive ejector throws spent cases well clear of the pistol.

Kahr introduced its first polymer frame pistol, the P9, in 2000. The P9 was soon followed by a line of full-size, compact and subcompact 9mm and .40 pistols. To satisfy the fans of the most popular large-bore pistol cartridge of all time, next in line were the P45, TP45 and PM45 chambered for, you guessed it, the .45 ACP. The most recent additions to its line of polymer pistols is the CW45.

While it bears a strong family resemblance to the P45 and uses the same textured polymer frame (Kahr pistols have a snag-free exterior, a nice feature for a pistol meant to be carried and drawn from concealment) the CW45 is intended as an entry-level or economy model. It's priced at $200 less than the P series .45s.

For this reason there are certain features that differ from the P series, the most obvious being the slide. To keep cost down, the exterior of the slide has fewer machining operations, resulting in a more slab-sided appearance, while the front sight is pinned in place rather than using a dovetail cut as on the P series. There are also fewer markings, and these are engraved rather than rollmarked.

The polymer grip frame is nicely checkered and textured to provide a non-slip purchase. The CW45's slide stop is produced by a metal-injection-molding process; on the P series it's a machined part. The barrel on the CW45 has conventional rifling, as opposed to the P series' polygonal rifling.