NW Arms is not too far from my house, and given the good reviews here I checked it out. The staff was very friendly, and had great senses of humor.
I ended up trading in my Kahr P9 for an M&P9 compact. I was looking for a gun with the slide release on the right side (I am a lefty) and the M&P was about the only gun with good reviews that was set up for lefties. The M&P9 compact they had there was priced about $30 below MSRP. With my trade-in I got the gun for $400. After I cleared a quick background check with NHP, I walked out of the store with my new gun.
I am excited about having the M&P. I've heard good things about it and read some good reviews. There do seem to be some issues with it for me though.
I got the Kahr because it had a slim profile and was lightweight. It was an easy gun to carry. The M&P9 compact is a heavier gun, even without the added weight of a 12 round mag (the Kahr had a 7 round mag), and is wider than the Kahr P9. However, I do like having more rounds on hand in the M&P.
Next, the grip is not long enough for my hand without the finger extension mag in place. The second mag has a flat plate. When I was looking at the Kahr line, I had narrowed my choice down to between the Kahr PM9 and the Kahr P9. The Kahr PM9 was a bit lighter and smaller than the Kahr P9, but the grip was also shorter. With the Kahr PM9, my grip would have ended up with my middle two fingers around the grip and my pinky finger resting underneath the bottom of the grip. I didn't like that feeling, so I went with the Kahr P9, which had a longer grip so I could get all three of my fingers around it. Unfortunately, the second mag that came with the M&P doesn't have the finger extension; it is a flat plate. This results in my pinky finger ending up under the bottom of the grip.
Another thing I am experiencing with the loaded mag for the M&P is that it doesn't slide right into place. The empty mag slips right on into the grip and locks in place smoothly. With a loaded mag, however, I am finding that I have to slap the mag into place to lock it in.
It may sound like I see a lot of negatives with the M&P9 compact, but I am hoping the gun will live up to its positive reviews when I shoot it; and at least I have a gun that works for lefties, like me.